Best and worst judges to clerk for Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into W.D. Wash. or E.D. Wash. judges? Specifically Martinez, Lasnik, and Robart in W.D. Wash. and Rice, Peterson, or Mendoza in E.D. Wash.?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into W.D. Wash. or E.D. Wash. judges? Specifically Martinez, Lasnik, and Robart in W.D. Wash. and Rice, Peterson, or Mendoza in E.D. Wash.?

Not very helpful, but the judge I clerked for (not in WA) was friends with Robart and spoke very highly of him as a judge and person.

[Anonymous User]

Any information on 9th cir judges in socal (LA, Pasadena, SD)? Especially interested in SD since haven't seen much info there.

+1 for non-feeder 9th judges that aren't mentioned often (Nguyen, Owens, Hawkins etc.)

Also I don't want to turn this into a chances thread but I haven't got the straight dope from OCS on my competitiveness for 2/9/DC (which may not portend well but idk); with 11H 4P at HLS + HLR and three strong recs from non-famous profs, is applying to semifeeders like Friedland, Kearse, Pillard etc. worthwhile or (as I suspect) am I just a few Ps too many?

I've heard very positive things from clerks for Nguyen and Owens, and both of them seem like very nice people

[Anonymous User]

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

[Anonymous User]

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

Milan Smith has a VERY negative review in my school’s clerkship database. We’re talking “this clerkship was a big mistake” bad. Anon bc my school isn’t hard to figure out and I wouldn’t want to out the clerk more than he chose to.

[Anonymous User]

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

Any thoughts/info on the senior judges by any chance? A few seem to be very active still

[Anonymous User]

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

Any thoughts/info on the senior judges by any chance? A few seem to be very active still

Seconded, please. Thoughts on Nelson, Wallace, Tashima, and Schroeder?

[Anonymous User]

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

Any thoughts/info on the senior judges by any chance? A few seem to be very active still

Seconded, please. Thoughts on Nelson, Wallace, Tashima, and Schroeder?

Regarding the statements about M. Smith--I've think he generally prefers clerks that are more mature and serious, but I have a friend who clerked for him who had good things to say.

As for the senior judges mentioned here, my understanding is that Judge Tashima is no longer hiring term clerks. Judge Nelson is no longer sitting on oral argument panels; she does have one term clerk who is shared with an active judge, but I'm not sure if that's something she plans to continue or if that person was hired before she took a step back. Judge Sshroeder is in Arizona, not SoCal, and appears to still be fairly active. Haven't heard much one way or the other on her. Judge Wallace is still very active, but is also 91 years old, so I might be hesitant to apply to him for something a few years out. I haven't heard anything specific about him

[Anonymous User]

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

Any thoughts/info on the senior judges by any chance? A few seem to be very active still

Seconded, please. Thoughts on Nelson, Wallace, Tashima, and Schroeder?

Regarding the statements about M. Smith--I've think he generally prefers clerks that are more mature and serious, but I have a friend who clerked for him who had good things to say.

As for the senior judges mentioned here, my understanding is that Judge Tashima is no longer hiring term clerks. Judge Nelson is no longer sitting on oral argument panels; she does have one term clerk who is shared with an active judge, but I'm not sure if that's something she plans to continue or if that person was hired before she took a step back. Judge Sshroeder is in Arizona, not SoCal, and appears to still be fairly active. Haven't heard much one way or the other on her. Judge Wallace is still very active, but is also 91 years old, so I might be hesitant to apply to him for something a few years out. I haven't heard anything specific about him

I'm also not sure why M. Smith would have such terrible reviews. A very close friend of mine recently clerked for him and seemed to have a great experience, often describing him as a kind and thoughtful judge. His clerks work relatively hard (and maybe harder than other CA9 clerks), but nothing even close to Kozinski/Reinhardt hours

[Anonymous User]

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

Any thoughts/info on the senior judges by any chance? A few seem to be very active still

I am one of the anons who had negative things to say about Wardlaw earlier in this thread. I will add that I never heard a Wardlaw clerk speak negatively of her or of their clerkship experience. My impression of Wardlaw comes only from the fact that, in other chambers on the circuit, she and her chambers are perceived as unnecessarily difficult to work with at times.

It’s possible Wardlaw is similar to the many district judges across the country who are disliked by litigants for their temperament on the bench, but in chambers are actually excellent bosses and mentors.

[Anonymous User]

Fully agree with prior poster re: Wardlaw. We had multiple sittings with her during my clerkship year. Her reputation is not unearned. But I've never heard anything bad about her from former clerks.

Re: M. Smith: a friend of mine had a very negative experience, similar to the one reflected above (i.e., "this clerkship was a mistake"). It was both substance and personality clash. That said, I agree with the other poster above that his reputation on the circuit is closer to the thoughtful/kind end of the spectrum.

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

I agree with both the inclusions and exclusions on this list, but would give a word of caution on Owens not in terms of any rumblings of being a jerk -- if anything, I've heard he's an excellent boss -- but on substance and in particular on criminal law. In particular, my perception is that he might be the worst draw for criminal defendants on the entire circuit, or at least bottom 3-5. Though I don't generally recommend choosing clerkships based on a judge's substantive views on the law, if you are sympathetic to the defense side, I could see it being a frustrating clerkship. Judge Owens also does not appear externally to be very involved in the en banc process, which has its upsides and downsides for clerking on the Ninth Circuit in particular.

[Anonymous User]

Fully agree with prior poster re: Wardlaw. We had multiple sittings with her during my clerkship year. Her reputation is not unearned. But I've never heard anything bad about her from former clerks.

Re: M. Smith: a friend of mine had a very negative experience, similar to the one reflected above (i.e., "this clerkship was a mistake"). It was both substance and personality clash. That said, I agree with the other poster above that his reputation on the circuit is closer to the thoughtful/kind end of the spectrum.

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

I agree with both the inclusions and exclusions on this list, but would give a word of caution on Owens not in terms of any rumblings of being a jerk -- if anything, I've heard he's an excellent boss -- but on substance and in particular on criminal law. In particular, my perception is that he might be the worst draw for criminal defendants on the entire circuit, or at least bottom 3-5. Though I don't generally recommend choosing clerkships based on a judge's substantive views on the law, if you are sympathetic to the defense side, I could see it being a frustrating clerkship. Judge Owens also does not appear externally to be very involved in the en banc process, which has its upsides and downsides for clerking on the Ninth Circuit in particular.

If this ever had any truth (and I'm fairly skeptical), there is no way it's anywhere close to true after Trump appointed 10 judges to the court. For active judges, I would categorize Judge Owens as probably the most moderate on criminal cases of the Obama appointees and one of the most moderate of all the Democratic appointees (Gould, Rawlinson, and sometimes Graber might be closer to the center). But with the possible exception of M. Smith, I would say all of the Republican-appointed active judges would be worse draws for a criminal defendant

[Anonymous User]

Fully agree with prior poster re: Wardlaw. We had multiple sittings with her during my clerkship year. Her reputation is not unearned. But I've never heard anything bad about her from former clerks.

Re: M. Smith: a friend of mine had a very negative experience, similar to the one reflected above (i.e., "this clerkship was a mistake"). It was both substance and personality clash. That said, I agree with the other poster above that his reputation on the circuit is closer to the thoughtful/kind end of the spectrum.

Here are the Ninth Circuit judges I would apply to in Pasadena and San Diego:

McKeown, Wardlaw (some people in this thread have had negative things to say, but I've also heard very positive views from some of her clerks), Paez, M. Smith, Nguyen, Watford, Owens, and Lee. It is too early to say about Bumatay, but I've heard early positive rumblings about him.

I agree with both the inclusions and exclusions on this list, but would give a word of caution on Owens not in terms of any rumblings of being a jerk -- if anything, I've heard he's an excellent boss -- but on substance and in particular on criminal law. In particular, my perception is that he might be the worst draw for criminal defendants on the entire circuit, or at least bottom 3-5. Though I don't generally recommend choosing clerkships based on a judge's substantive views on the law, if you are sympathetic to the defense side, I could see it being a frustrating clerkship. Judge Owens also does not appear externally to be very involved in the en banc process, which has its upsides and downsides for clerking on the Ninth Circuit in particular.

If this ever had any truth (and I'm fairly skeptical), there is no way it's anywhere close to true after Trump appointed 10 judges to the court. For active judges, I would categorize Judge Owens as probably the most moderate on criminal cases of the Obama appointees and one of the most moderate of all the Democratic appointees (Gould, Rawlinson, and sometimes Graber might be closer to the center). But with the possible exception of M. Smith, I would say all of the Republican-appointed active judges would be worse draws for a criminal defendant

[Anonymous User]

Responded and thought better of it. I will leave it at my experience has been different, but fair enough that I wasn't considering the new judges in that category (mainly out of ignorance of how they approach criminal cases).

[Anonymous User]

Fully agree with prior poster re: Wardlaw. We had multiple sittings with her during my clerkship year. Her reputation is not unearned. But I've never heard anything bad about her from former clerks.

Re: M. Smith: a friend of mine had a very negative experience, similar to the one reflected above (i.e., "this clerkship was a mistake"). It was both substance and personality clash. That said, I agree with the other poster above that his reputation on the circuit is closer to the thoughtful/kind end of the spectrum.

I don't have a wealth of knowledge about either, but I'll say that I felt Wardlaw had an awful temperament on the bench (and will second that her chambers wasn't the easiest with whom to work). But she might well be a delightful boss. I can't say.

As for M. Smith, in my limited dealings, he struck me as thoughtful, personable, and not overly stiff or formal (seemed to have a sense of humor), but his clerks seemed like they worked very hard. They were by far the most intense when it came to editing opinions of any chambers during my year. It almost seemed like they had a quota for the number of edits they had to make. A lot of them were very nitpicky. I can't imagine that you can work 40 hours a week in that chambers with the effort they were putting into edits of short, routine opinions.

[Anonymous User]

Of the new CA9 judges, Lee is extremely pleasant and Collins is extremely not.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on CD/SD Cal judges, other than to avoid Real?

[Anonymous User]

Real died last year, so no need to avoid.

Re: new CA9 judges: I've also heard positive things about Miller and Bennett in terms of pleasantness to work/interact with, and similarly heard Collins is a hard avoid.

[Anonymous User]

Real died last year, so no need to avoid.

Re: new CA9 judges: I've also heard positive things about Miller and Bennett in terms of pleasantness to work/interact with, and similarly heard Collins is a hard avoid.

Bade also struck me as a delightful person. Didn't get great vibes from R. Nelson.

[Anonymous User]

Real died last year, so no need to avoid.

Re: new CA9 judges: I've also heard positive things about Miller and Bennett in terms of pleasantness to work/interact with, and similarly heard Collins is a hard avoid.

For those who care about ideology, Miller and Bennett (except on criminal cases) are also probably the two most moderate Trump appointees

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on CD/SD Cal judges, other than to avoid Real?

I'm not sure that there are any CD Cal judges that I would avoid at all costs. Anderson, Walter, and Wright don't have the greatest reputation from lawyers practicing in front of them, but I don't know whether the same holds true for the chambers environment. Former Wright clerks in particular seem to have liked their experience.

Judges who I've specifically heard positive things about from former clerks: Phillips, Klausner, Carney, Gutierrez, Wu, Fitzgerald, Birotte, Lew, and Pregerson.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight on CD/SD Cal judges, other than to avoid Real?

I'm not sure that there are any CD Cal judges that I would avoid at all costs. Anderson, Walter, and Wright don't have the greatest reputation from lawyers practicing in front of them, but I don't know whether the same holds true for the chambers environment. Former Wright clerks in particular seem to have liked their experience.

Judges who I've specifically heard positive things about from former clerks: Phillips, Klausner, Carney, Gutierrez, Wu, Fitzgerald, Birotte, Lew, and Pregerson.

Wright is hit and miss. A friend of mine had a very negative experience with him.

[Anonymous User]

If this ever had any truth (and I'm fairly skeptical), there is no way it's anywhere close to true after Trump appointed 10 judges to the court. For active judges, I would categorize Judge Owens as probably the most moderate on criminal cases of the Obama appointees and one of the most moderate of all the Democratic appointees (Gould, Rawlinson, and sometimes Graber might be closer to the center). But with the possible exception of M. Smith, I would say all of the Republican-appointed active judges would be worse draws for a criminal defendant

We sat with Rawlinson a few times. She is IMHO the most pro-prosecution of the Democrats and probably more pro-prosecution than many of the Republicans, but she is also quite liberal on civil rights issues, which can overlap with criminal matters. It's always interesting to see how she comes down on criminal cases that raise a racial discrimination question.

[Anonymous User]

Former CA3 clerk happy to take questions.

[Anonymous User]

Former CA3 clerk happy to take questions.

Thoughts on Ambro, Chagares, Krause, Shwartz, or Hardiman?