Clerks Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

I find it very hard to believe that you aren't acting strange if you are this unsuccessful. Do a practice interview with someone who will give harsh feedback and figure out what's going on.

[Anonymous User]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

This is normal. I took like 4 interviews before getting a yes, I had classmates that took the same, more and fewer than that, out of Y/S. Fit does matter.

[Anonymous User]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

I had the same issue, got it on my sixth. My hypothesis is that my gpa/school profile made me a borderline candidate for most of the judges I interviewed for, and I didn't get an offer until I knocked an interview out of the park.

[Anonymous User]

If it makes anyone feel better I had about 8 interviews and 7 nos. I readily admit I am an awful interviewer though.

[Anonymous User]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

I had 10 interviews, 6 active rejections, and ended up withdrawing from 3 of them (after not hearing for a while). Some of the reasons I think I caught those rejections:

1. Judge noticed a massive typo in my cover letter mid-interview
2. Judge apparently believed I was from his home state; I wasn't (from the same region, though)
3. Judge asked me why I got a low grade in a particular class and I fumbled the answer
4. Clerk asked me to craft an argument for overturning Brown v. Board and I couldn't come up with one
5. I mentioned my interest in MDLs to a Judge who I thought was on the MDL panel... turns out I had misread and she went on a rant about how bad MDLs are for the judiciary
6. In my very first interview a clerk asked me about my views on substantive due process and I had to honestly say that I wasn't sure what that was

I still ended up with a pretty nice COA clerkship; if you've got competitive numbers you'll end up with something most likely

[Anonymous User]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

I am the person who originally said this. Thanks to everyone for their responses. It gives me fuel to keep trying.

I have definitely made mistakes in these interviews but am generally normal and nice. Many have been for very competitive positions that I do think I am a borderline candidate for - good enough stats to get in the door but up against HYS coif types. To the guy who said I should just do a practice interview and get feedback, I have done several, trust me.

Some of the reasons I think I caught those rejections:

4. Clerk asked me to craft an argument for overturning Brown v. Board and I couldn't come up with one

This is fucking insane and would catch me flat footed for sure. I am going to try to prepare a response for this if anyone ever somehow asks me.

[Anonymous User]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

I am the person who originally said this. Thanks to everyone for their responses. It gives me fuel to keep trying.

I have definitely made mistakes in these interviews but am generally normal and nice. Many have been for very competitive positions that I do think I am a borderline candidate for - good enough stats to get in the door but up against HYS coif types. To the guy who said I should just do a practice interview and get feedback, I have done several, trust me.

Some of the reasons I think I caught those rejections:

4. Clerk asked me to craft an argument for overturning Brown v. Board and I couldn't come up with one

This is fucking insane and would catch me flat footed for sure. I am going to try to prepare a response for this if anyone ever somehow asks me.

It was for one of the more aggro ideological fedsoc judges, so unlikely to come up if you're not applying to the VanDykes/Oldhams/Kasmaryks of the world.

[Anonymous User]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

I am the person who originally said this. Thanks to everyone for their responses. It gives me fuel to keep trying.

I have definitely made mistakes in these interviews but am generally normal and nice. Many have been for very competitive positions that I do think I am a borderline candidate for - good enough stats to get in the door but up against HYS coif types. To the guy who said I should just do a practice interview and get feedback, I have done several, trust me.

Some of the reasons I think I caught those rejections:

4. Clerk asked me to craft an argument for overturning Brown v. Board and I couldn't come up with one

This is fucking insane and would catch me flat footed for sure. I am going to try to prepare a response for this if anyone ever somehow asks me.

It's a weird question, but here's the "correct" answer for this one and one's similar to it. I think what the point of this question is, is to see how you handle taking an unpopular position that instinctively feels revolting. So, this is how you answer. First, you say Brown v. Board was rightly decided for X reason. However, you think the best argument would be Y (originalism; better handled through legislation and not constitution; etc.). However, ultimately you stick with X for whatever.

The above is for a normal judge. Maybe in ten years we'll have insane judges and then this question is just a primer to make sure you're on the same team.

[Anonymous User]

The above is for a normal judge. Maybe in ten years we'll have insane judges and then this question is just a primer to make sure you're on the same team.

As the person who dealt with that question, it felt much more like an ideological priors question than a "how do you deal with unpopular arguments" question. The clerk who asked me it said it's basically just if you oppose substantive due process you have to oppose Brown for ideological consistency (I think--this was way back in February).

[Anonymous User]

The above is for a normal judge. Maybe in ten years we'll have insane judges and then this question is just a primer to make sure you're on the same team.

As the person who dealt with that question, it felt much more like an ideological priors question than a "how do you deal with unpopular arguments" question. The clerk who asked me it said it's basically just if you oppose substantive due process you have to oppose Brown for ideological consistency (I think--this was way back in February).

That's wild. Most originalists I know don't think Brown was wrongly decided—like a public education is pretty clearly a privilege of citizenship across the US, and the black schools were pretty clearly inferior to the white schools in the segregation era. To get to a contrary result, you need to either believe that the privileges and immunities of citizenship were a fixed list in 1868 or close your eyes to the reality of segregation.

[Anonymous User]

The above is for a normal judge. Maybe in ten years we'll have insane judges and then this question is just a primer to make sure you're on the same team.

As the person who dealt with that question, it felt much more like an ideological priors question than a "how do you deal with unpopular arguments" question. The clerk who asked me it said it's basically just if you oppose substantive due process you have to oppose Brown for ideological consistency (I think--this was way back in February).

That's wild. Most originalists I know don't think Brown was wrongly decided—like a public education is pretty clearly a privilege of citizenship across the US, and the black schools were pretty clearly inferior to the white schools in the segregation era. To get to a contrary result, you need to either believe that the privileges and immunities of citizenship were a fixed list in 1868 or close your eyes to the reality of segregation.

It is a fedsoc judge after all

[lavarman84]

3L, just graduated. Six interviews, five nos. I promise I am not a weirdo or acting strange in these interviews or anything. Any success stories from anyone that had to push through this much failure to eventually succeed? I don't want to quit, but I have to believe there's hope to keep trying.

This is normal. I took like 4 interviews before getting a yes, I had classmates that took the same, more and fewer than that, out of Y/S. Fit does matter.

I did a D. Ct. and COA clerkship. I think I got rejected after four interviews for each before I got my yes. It's not abnormal. I'm not an elite interviewee, but I'm not a bad interviewee either.

[Munchy Macaroni]

I just accepted a COA for 2026 but still haven't received interviews for 2025 district court.

For the district judges I applied to via email, should I send them an email with my updated resume with the COA?

[Anonymous User]

I just accepted a COA for 2026 but still haven't received interviews for 2025 district court.

For the district judges I applied to via email, should I send them an email with my updated resume with the COA?

Yes.

[Anonymous User]

I just accepted a COA for 2026 but still haven't received interviews for 2025 district court.

For the district judges I applied to via email, should I send them an email with my updated resume with the COA?

Yes.

Very much yes. Also, did you mention to your COA judge that you are looking to apply to district courts for 2025? Sometimes, initiating that conversation will lead to the COA judge making a phone call for you. It benefits the COA judge to have a district judge training you on how to be a law clerk for a year.

[Munchy Macaroni]

I just accepted a COA for 2026 but still haven't received interviews for 2025 district court.

For the district judges I applied to via email, should I send them an email with my updated resume with the COA?

Yes.

Very much yes. Also, did you mention to your COA judge that you are looking to apply to district courts for 2025? Sometimes, initiating that conversation will lead to the COA judge making a phone call for you. It benefits the COA judge to have a district judge training you on how to be a law clerk for a year.

Yes, they mentioned in the interview they'd help me find a district court — but they only mentioned the district they currently sit in, which I'm not interested in clerking in.

Thanks for the comments!

[Anonymous User]

For SLS grads, what are the typical grades needed for non-SDNY big-city district courts (NDCA/EDNY/NDIL etc)? Would half-Hs get a serious look, or do you need to be pushing 2/3rds to have a shot?

SLS ND Cal clerk from a few years back. Had just under half Hs from SLS and if I'm being honest, a fairly light academic schedule where I didn't take a ton of doctrinals 2L/3L. I got 2 interviews on the district and 1 offer, but from the folks I clerked alongside who were also from SLS I would imagine my grades were near the low end. So not out of the question, but you'll probably need a good reason to have your app pulled to get an interview.

[Anonymous User]

New grad applying to COAs. Are people still listing their law school and undergrad GPAs on their resumes? Or is Latin honors/Coif etc. enough?

[Anonymous User]

New grad applying to COAs. Are people still listing their law school and undergrad GPAs on their resumes? Or is Latin honors/Coif etc. enough?

Law school: yes. If you just say Coif, I will assume you are the lowest-ranked member of your class to get Coif and are trying to minimize that fact. That assumption might be rebutted once I get to your transcript, but why start off on that foot?

Undergrad: if it's a selling point, or if the OSCAR post specifically asks for it.

[Anonymous User]

I’m personally not reading too deep into whether you do or do not list anything. I’ll know what I need to know.

[Anonymous User]

Going to disagree with the prior poster. I don’t remember seeing many GPAs on resumes period, especially from post-grads, and even moreso especially not undergrad GPAs. In particular, HYSC students, the most competitive applicants all else being equal, customarily never list GPAs. It’s more common the lower down the rankings you go. Which makes some sense—if you’re applying to a COA from (say) Creighton, even summa cum laude may not catch the eye, but summa, 4.2/4.0, 1/200 (or w/e) overall might.

[Anonymous User]

Going to disagree with the prior poster. I don’t remember seeing many GPAs on resumes period, especially from post-grads, and even moreso especially not undergrad GPAs. In particular, HYSC students, the most competitive applicants all else being equal, customarily never list GPAs. It’s more common the lower down the rankings you go. Which makes some sense—if you’re applying to a COA from (say) Creighton, even summa cum laude may not catch the eye, but summa, 4.2/4.0, 1/200 (or w/e) overall might.

As someone who snagged a COA from a Creighton-esque school with those stats, this was my approach.

[Anonymous User]

New grad applying to COAs. Are people still listing their law school and undergrad GPAs on their resumes? Or is Latin honors/Coif etc. enough?

Law school: yes. If you just say Coif, I will assume you are the lowest-ranked member of your class to get Coif and are trying to minimize that fact. That assumption might be rebutted once I get to your transcript, but why start off on that foot?

Undergrad: if it's a selling point, or if the OSCAR post specifically asks for it.

Yeah, maybe I’m the weird one here, but that’s definitely not an assumption I’d make lol

As the other poster said, I rarely saw applicants from highly ranked law schools list their GPA. I can tell from eyeballing your resume and transcript, so I don’t really need the number. It’s not even that useful given that I’m looking to see whether an applicant took actual classes and tons of students now tend to take fluff classes to boost GPA

[Anonymous User]

Personally as a clerk looking at apps I'd appreciate a gpa regardless of the school.

[Anonymous User]

Same, I think the above comment is HYS brainrot. Both judges I worked for looked at GPA almost immediately and were annoyed if they had to dig to see how the candidate performed academically. Even if your school doesn't calculate GPA, you should be fronting academic achievements (DS, etc.).