Clerks Taking Questions Forum

[mjb447]

A practical question to clerks who have served as the first line of defense for their judges:

To what extent does OSCAR let you filter by GPA and school and post-graduation work experience?

For example, will your judge say: "OK, filter for GPAs above 3.6/3.7 and ignore the rest." And you'll read exclusively from that pile. Or, "OK, find me all graduates of [X] University."

I suppose what I'm really asking is, is there any point at all in using OSCAR to apply to judges in the most desirable districts? Or would a paper application serve me better in that situation, since my materials at least would get a quick glance before being thrown out?

Paper always serves you better unless the judge expressly doesn't want paper applications.

Yep. In our chambers, we always review paper applications. I handle OSCAR, and if an OSCAR application doesn't meet the judge's criteria it won't get printed out and reviewed.

This is my sense as well. On OSCAR it's much easier to screen apps on one or just a few criteria without knowing anything else about the app. Paper pretty much always gets at least a brief glance at the whole cover letter and resume (if only in trying to find that info).

[ProbablyWaitListed]

How much does undergraduate GPA matter for getting clerkships? I've seen it mentioned in some places as a factor and that makes me a little nervous for getting a future Article III clerkship. I'll be starting at a MVPB school in the fall and recently graduated from a t20 undergrad with a 3.4 GPA. Will this be an issue for me when it comes time to apply for clerkships?

Some judges care a lot about your undergraduate record, including GPA, school prestige, and whether you did a thesis (some will even want to read it). Some don't care at all.

For those that do care, that you went to what is presumably a prestigious and well-known undergraduate school will probably balance out the GPA so it's not likely to be an issue.

Thanks for the advice! And awesome, that's good to hear, I'm just a classic "freshman adjustment" kid who turned it around sophomore-senior year at a school equivalent in prestige to the lower tier Ivies. I would be beyond delighted to find a judge interested in reading my senior thesis lol, I would have to be careful not to talk about it too much if that was the case.

[wdbfls95]

Has anyone ever seen a judge shorten a deadline? It wasn't an OSCAR posting, but I noticed a judge delete a prior job posting then repost the same exact one with a shorter deadline. Does it mean anything or was it just that the first deadline was an error?

[mjb447]

Has anyone ever seen a judge shorten a deadline? It wasn't an OSCAR posting, but I noticed a judge delete a prior job posting then repost the same exact one with a shorter deadline. Does it mean anything or was it just that the first deadline was an error?

The first one may have been an error. They also might be getting more applications than they expected and they don't need the window open as long. Or perhaps their need is going to arise sooner than they anticipated and they need to fill the position faster. Not worth speculating about.

[Anonymous User]

Question re follow-up email. Had a great interview, Judge said he wanted to interview as little as possible and I would hear about a decision in 1-2 weeks. 2 weeks will be up Thursday. DC superior court if that helps.

When is it appropriate to send an email to the clerks and ask for an update?

[Anonymous User]

Question re follow-up email. Had a great interview, Judge said he wanted to interview as little as possible and I would hear about a decision in 1-2 weeks. 2 weeks will be up Thursday. DC superior court if that helps.

When is it appropriate to send an email to the clerks and ask for an update?

In our chambers an email only would have gotten a helpful response if the applicant had a reason they needed to know quickly (like a competing offer). Otherwise it wouldn’t have been much help emailing us since we know that, if you came in to interview, you’re interested. My guess is that the final scheduled interview hasn’t happened yet and you’ll hear back either way once it does, although there are unfortunately some judges who (unprofessionally IMHO) ghost reject people by never following up.

[kbzon]

A practical question to clerks who have served as the first line of defense for their judges:

To what extent does OSCAR let you filter by GPA and school and post-graduation work experience?

For example, will your judge say: "OK, filter for GPAs above 3.6/3.7 and ignore the rest." And you'll read exclusively from that pile. Or, "OK, find me all graduates of [X] University."

I suppose what I'm really asking is, is there any point at all in using OSCAR to apply to judges in the most desirable districts? Or would a paper application serve me better in that situation, since my materials at least would get a quick glance before being thrown out?

Paper always serves you better unless the judge expressly doesn't want paper applications.

Yep. In our chambers, we always review paper applications. I handle OSCAR, and if an OSCAR application doesn't meet the judge's criteria it won't get printed out and reviewed.

This is my sense as well. On OSCAR it's much easier to screen apps on one or just a few criteria without knowing anything else about the app. Paper pretty much always gets at least a brief glance at the whole cover letter and resume (if only in trying to find that info).

Is the lack of a "paper application" icon equal expressly not wanting paper apps or does that only apply if they also say something like "paper applications will not be reviewed"?

[Chokenhauer]

What is the status of hiring right now with the recent pandemic? I sent out some applications right before everything went downhill and I'm trying to figure out if I should resend them when things are less crazy.

[Anonymous User]

What is the status of hiring right now with the recent pandemic? I sent out some applications right before everything went downhill and I'm trying to figure out if I should resend them when things are less crazy.

To hijack this a bit, how safe are our jobs if we've accepted clerkships for 2020 or 2021?

[lavarman84]

What is the status of hiring right now with the recent pandemic? I sent out some applications right before everything went downhill and I'm trying to figure out if I should resend them when things are less crazy.

To hijack this a bit, how safe are our jobs if we've accepted clerkships for 2020 or 2021?

Should be safe (unless, of course, your judge is a casualty of the virus, but that's a pretty unlikely scenario). Whether you're working from home or the office, the courts are still going to be needed. The only thing I don't know is if some judges might ask future clerks to bump back a year if their current clerks are struggling to secure work due to the pandemic. But a judge doing that would be more the exception than the norm.

[Anonymous User]

After an interview and a period of time, is it ever appropriate to ask chambers for an estimate of when a decision might be forthcoming?

[Fireworks2016]

After an interview and a period of time, is it ever appropriate to ask chambers for an estimate of when a decision might be forthcoming?

I generally wouldn’t, except to let them know that you interviewed with another judge or have another offer. Under those circumstances though, I think it’s completely appropriate.

[Anonymous User]

How much will a district court clerkship help in terms of getting a COA position?

I have a D. Ct clerkship, and in the process of applying to COAs, but I cannot tell if I'm a competitive applicant.

CCN above median, below top third.
LR Board
At least two good LOR
RA experience
Strong leadership experience in law school

Open to any region.

Above getting my judge/profs to make calls, would this resume get picked up for an interview?

[Anonymous User]

How much will a district court clerkship help in terms of getting a COA position?

I have a D. Ct clerkship, and in the process of applying to COAs, but I cannot tell if I'm a competitive applicant.

CCN above median, below top third.
LR Board
At least two good LOR
RA experience
Strong leadership experience in law school

Open to any region.

Above getting my judge/profs to make calls, would this resume get picked up for an interview?

Definitely apply. I was top third/likely ~20% at CCN, no RA, secondary journal board, and with very strong LOR, I landed multiple COA interviews and got an offer for one in a major market, before even getting a district clerkship. Don’t rule yourself out, no harm in applying if that’s what you want.

[Anonymous User]

How much will a district court clerkship help in terms of getting a COA position?

I have a D. Ct clerkship, and in the process of applying to COAs, but I cannot tell if I'm a competitive applicant.

CCN above median, below top third.
LR Board
At least two good LOR
RA experience
Strong leadership experience in law school

Open to any region.

Above getting my judge/profs to make calls, would this resume get picked up for an interview?

Definitely apply. I was top third/likely ~20% at CCN, no RA, secondary journal board, and with very strong LOR, I landed multiple COA interviews and got an offer for one in a major market, before even getting a district clerkship. Don’t rule yourself out, no harm in applying if that’s what you want.

My strong suspicion is that this anon was at Chicago, which isn't much like Columbia or NYU for clerkship purposes (fed app from cum laude at Chicago close to the norm vs. the exception), but "don't rule yourself out" is excellent advice regardless esp with the D Ct clerkship + LR board.

[Anonymous User]

Is it worth applying to a position (21-22 term) that was posted to OSCAR in January 2020? Is there any way to tell whether the judge is still hiring?

[lavarman84]

Is it worth applying to a position (21-22 term) that was posted to OSCAR in January 2020? Is there any way to tell whether the judge is still hiring?

You could try calling chambers, but they may not answer. If they don't, just apply. Worst case scenario, they say no.

[apl4332]

Would appreciate any help at all in assessing chances/making a judge list.

2L at HLS
Can't really assess rank. Mainly Hs with 1 DS and a few Ps.
1L and 2L SAs plus other externship/clinic/RA experiences
secondary journal

Aiming at more competitive districts, maybe a few circuit judges. Geographically flexible but prefer large cities. Hoping to get some indications of chances at SDNY/DDC/2nd/1st so I know how far to expand my options. Thank you in advance.

[Anonymous User]

Would appreciate any help at all in assessing chances/making a judge list.

2L at HLS
Can't really assess rank. Mainly Hs with 1 DS and a few Ps.
1L and 2L SAs plus other externship/clinic/RA experiences
secondary journal

Aiming at more competitive districts, maybe a few circuit judges. Geographically flexible but prefer large cities. Hoping to get some indications of chances at SDNY/DDC/2nd/1st so I know how far to expand my options. Thank you in advance.

No advice but also an HLS 2L who is kinda in the same boat (no DS and 4Ps, but LR). Want COA, willing to go anywhere for a year. Also looking for help and I suspect we are roughly the same level of competitiveness (i.e. competitive but not elite/feeder level)

[Anonymous User]

Any current clerks have insight into how judges are handling future clerks who are moving for their clerkship this year? Are those judges asking clerks not to move yet since work is remote? Are those judges leaving it up to the clerk to move when restrictions are lifted? Obviously everyone is at home right now and hard to tell what the next few months hold.

[Anonymous User]

Any current clerks have insight into how judges are handling future clerks who are moving for their clerkship this year? Are those judges asking clerks not to move yet since work is remote? Are those judges leaving it up to the clerk to move when restrictions are lifted? Obviously everyone is at home right now and hard to tell what the next few months hold.

I'm interested in this too. Its got to be judge-specific.

[Anonymous User]

Any current clerks have insight into how judges are handling future clerks who are moving for their clerkship this year? Are those judges asking clerks not to move yet since work is remote? Are those judges leaving it up to the clerk to move when restrictions are lifted? Obviously everyone is at home right now and hard to tell what the next few months hold.

Not a current clerk, but judge for my 2020 clerkship in a hard hit COVID area told us we may be starting remote, but right now they don’t really know yet. I would just ask.

[Anonymous User]

Any current clerks have insight into how judges are handling future clerks who are moving for their clerkship this year? Are those judges asking clerks not to move yet since work is remote? Are those judges leaving it up to the clerk to move when restrictions are lifted? Obviously everyone is at home right now and hard to tell what the next few months hold.

Not a current clerk, but judge for my 2020 clerkship in a hard hit COVID area told us we may be starting remote, but right now they don’t really know yet. I would just ask.

Current district court clerk here, based on the west coast. Judge has given incoming clerks the option not to move to the city in which we're based, because we don't expect to be back in chambers until the fall. We've been entirely remote and tbh it's fine. Giving incoming clerks an option seems like this is a common approach in our district, especially for clerks starting in June/July.

[Anonymous User]

Any current clerks have insight into how judges are handling future clerks who are moving for their clerkship this year? Are those judges asking clerks not to move yet since work is remote? Are those judges leaving it up to the clerk to move when restrictions are lifted? Obviously everyone is at home right now and hard to tell what the next few months hold.

Not a current clerk, but judge for my 2020 clerkship in a hard hit COVID area told us we may be starting remote, but right now they don’t really know yet. I would just ask.

Current district court clerk here, based on the west coast. Judge has given incoming clerks the option not to move to the city in which we're based, because we don't expect to be back in chambers until the fall. We've been entirely remote and tbh it's fine. Giving incoming clerks an option seems like this is a common approach in our district, especially for clerks starting in June/July.

OP who started this quoted chain above here. Is your judge giving you the option to entirely not move (ever) or just to delay your move until after the fall? (I'm assuming here that you're a June/July start that is going for 12 months but feel free to correct me)

[Anonymous User]

Any current clerks have insight into how judges are handling future clerks who are moving for their clerkship this year? Are those judges asking clerks not to move yet since work is remote? Are those judges leaving it up to the clerk to move when restrictions are lifted? Obviously everyone is at home right now and hard to tell what the next few months hold.

Not a current clerk, but judge for my 2020 clerkship in a hard hit COVID area told us we may be starting remote, but right now they don’t really know yet. I would just ask.

Current district court clerk here, based on the west coast. Judge has given incoming clerks the option not to move to the city in which we're based, because we don't expect to be back in chambers until the fall. We've been entirely remote and tbh it's fine. Giving incoming clerks an option seems like this is a common approach in our district, especially for clerks starting in June/July.

OP who started this quoted chain above here. Is your judge giving you the option to entirely not move (ever) or just to delay your move until after the fall? (I'm assuming here that you're a June/July start that is going for 12 months but feel free to correct me)

Just delay. Once the judge is back in chambers, I assume he'll want clerks there with him, even if on a rotating basis. But even the delay of a couple months can result in significant rent savings.