Clerks Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

I posted this as a separate thread, but perhaps this is a better thread to post.

I am at a T14, with 3.5 GPA. I have a district court clerkship already lined up, after 1 year in BL. I want to do a COA, is it even worth trying? I am Fedsoc and was on the board. Secondary journal but also did HJLPP (guest editor, obviously not at Harvard lol). I am willing to pretty much be anywhere. I went to a state school in the 8th Circuit (not a good state school, but flagship) and also worked in the 8th Circuit. My school and DCT is not on the 8th though. Also, I grew up in CA, so that does not help me lol.

[Anonymous User]

I posted this as a separate thread, but perhaps this is a better thread to post.

I am at a T14, with 3.5 GPA. I have a district court clerkship already lined up, after 1 year in BL. I want to do a COA, is it even worth trying? I am Fedsoc and was on the board. Secondary journal but also did HJLPP (guest editor, obviously not at Harvard lol). I am willing to pretty much be anywhere. I went to a state school in the 8th Circuit (not a good state school, but flagship) and also worked in the 8th Circuit. My school and DCT is not on the 8th though. Also, I grew up in CA, so that does not help me lol.

I am the CLS student above so grain of salt but I personally know people with those/around those stats and COA clerkships with some of the more ideological Trump appointees.

[Anonymous User]

I posted this as a separate thread, but perhaps this is a better thread to post.

I am at a T14, with 3.5 GPA. I have a district court clerkship already lined up, after 1 year in BL. I want to do a COA, is it even worth trying? I am Fedsoc and was on the board. Secondary journal but also did HJLPP (guest editor, obviously not at Harvard lol). I am willing to pretty much be anywhere. I went to a state school in the 8th Circuit (not a good state school, but flagship) and also worked in the 8th Circuit. My school and DCT is not on the 8th though. Also, I grew up in CA, so that does not help me lol.

I am the CLS student above so grain of salt but I personally know people with those/around those stats and COA clerkships with some of the more ideological Trump appointees.

You could be competitive for some judges on the 8th. Especially ones in the state you went to undergrad in—you’re probably out of luck with the Minnesota or Iowa judges due to grades but based on your description I doubt you went to school there. (Though come to think of it Kobes is an Iowan and hires a lot of Iowans.) As always with ties the stronger the better though, and demonstrated intent to practice locally is stronger than anything else.

[Anonymous User]

I posted this as a separate thread, but perhaps this is a better thread to post.

I am at a T14, with 3.5 GPA. I have a district court clerkship already lined up, after 1 year in BL. I want to do a COA, is it even worth trying? I am Fedsoc and was on the board. Secondary journal but also did HJLPP (guest editor, obviously not at Harvard lol). I am willing to pretty much be anywhere. I went to a state school in the 8th Circuit (not a good state school, but flagship) and also worked in the 8th Circuit. My school and DCT is not on the 8th though. Also, I grew up in CA, so that does not help me lol.

I am the CLS student above so grain of salt but I personally know people with those/around those stats and COA clerkships with some of the more ideological Trump appointees.

You could be competitive for some judges on the 8th. Especially ones in the state you went to undergrad in—you’re probably out of luck with the Minnesota or Iowa judges due to grades but based on your description I doubt you went to school there. (Though come to think of it Kobes is an Iowan and hires a lot of Iowans.) As always with ties the stronger the better though, and demonstrated intent to practice locally is stronger than anything else.

Thank you both for your reply. Is Kobes, Erickson, Gruender, and Grasz grade sensitive? I know Stas is but unsure of the other ones.

[Anonymous User]

I posted this as a separate thread, but perhaps this is a better thread to post.

I am at a T14, with 3.5 GPA. I have a district court clerkship already lined up, after 1 year in BL. I want to do a COA, is it even worth trying? I am Fedsoc and was on the board. Secondary journal but also did HJLPP (guest editor, obviously not at Harvard lol). I am willing to pretty much be anywhere. I went to a state school in the 8th Circuit (not a good state school, but flagship) and also worked in the 8th Circuit. My school and DCT is not on the 8th though. Also, I grew up in CA, so that does not help me lol.

I am the CLS student above so grain of salt but I personally know people with those/around those stats and COA clerkships with some of the more ideological Trump appointees.

You could be competitive for some judges on the 8th. Especially ones in the state you went to undergrad in—you’re probably out of luck with the Minnesota or Iowa judges due to grades but based on your description I doubt you went to school there. (Though come to think of it Kobes is an Iowan and hires a lot of Iowans.) As always with ties the stronger the better though, and demonstrated intent to practice locally is stronger than anything else.

Thank you both for your reply. Is Kobes, Erickson, Gruender, and Grasz grade sensitive? I know Stas is but unsure of the other ones.

[Anonymous User]

I posted this as a separate thread, but perhaps this is a better thread to post.

I am at a T14, with 3.5 GPA. I have a district court clerkship already lined up, after 1 year in BL. I want to do a COA, is it even worth trying? I am Fedsoc and was on the board. Secondary journal but also did HJLPP (guest editor, obviously not at Harvard lol). I am willing to pretty much be anywhere. I went to a state school in the 8th Circuit (not a good state school, but flagship) and also worked in the 8th Circuit. My school and DCT is not on the 8th though. Also, I grew up in CA, so that does not help me lol.

I am the CLS student above so grain of salt but I personally know people with those/around those stats and COA clerkships with some of the more ideological Trump appointees.

You could be competitive for some judges on the 8th. Especially ones in the state you went to undergrad in—you’re probably out of luck with the Minnesota or Iowa judges due to grades but based on your description I doubt you went to school there. (Though come to think of it Kobes is an Iowan and hires a lot of Iowans.) As always with ties the stronger the better though, and demonstrated intent to practice locally is stronger than anything else.

Thank you both for your reply. Is Kobes, Erickson, Gruender, and Grasz grade sensitive? I know Stas is but unsure of the other ones.

FWIW Erickson has interviewed candidates from my T14 who graduated without any honors, including one candidate who was likely in the bottom quartile of their class.

[clerk26abc]

I'm interviewing on plan (rising 3L). I got an offer from a district and an offer from a circuit judge yesterday for the following year, very excited! My question is... how do I go about the rest of my summer at my firm? I don't know if I'll come back after my two years clerking, especially because my firm is across the country from my clerkships. How do I approach this? Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

I'm interviewing on plan (rising 3L). I got an offer from a district and an offer from a circuit judge yesterday for the following year, very excited! My question is... how do I go about the rest of my summer at my firm? I don't know if I'll come back after my two years clerking, especially because my firm is across the country from my clerkships. How do I approach this? Thank you!

also sorry double post! my firm knows about me interviewing, obviously, and they know I got these offers. I just feel bad about not coming back for several years if ever when I go to lunches and stuff with my summer mentors

[Anonymous User]

I'm interviewing on plan (rising 3L). I got an offer from a district and an offer from a circuit judge yesterday for the following year, very excited! My question is... how do I go about the rest of my summer at my firm? I don't know if I'll come back after my two years clerking, especially because my firm is across the country from my clerkships. How do I approach this? Thank you!

also sorry double post! my firm knows about me interviewing, obviously, and they know I got these offers. I just feel bad about not coming back for several years if ever when I go to lunches and stuff with my summer mentors

Congrats! Assuming you are a litigation summer, it will be fine. This is extremely normal, and most firms prefer you do the clerkships before you start rather than leave after a year or two. You are still very likely to get a return offer with a bonus and two years of class credit. And when it comes up with attorneys, just say you're excited for the clerkship as a learning experience and that you look forward to hopefully returning to the firm after the clerkship (I.e., signal that you're still hoping for a return offer). I would proactively tell the recruitment contacts since they knew about the interviews, and again, stress you'd like to return to the firm afterwards. Assuming you get an offer, I personally would accept it since (1) it sounds like there are unlikely to be conflicts issues, and (2) even if you're not sure you'll end up back there, it provides job security. You can still apply to other firms if you want, even if just to negotiate your clerkship bonus. (It does without saying, but don't mention that last part to your firm. It's normal, but firms don't love it, obviously.)

Clerking post-grad is completely normal and the firm will either be excited about it (if they think you might return – no one assumes you'll end up where your clerkships are, since they're federal) or, at worst, ambivalent. Summers clerking and not returning is just the cost of doing business. My only advice is show a lot of enthusiasm and express interest in coming back to the firm post-clerkship.

[cls2k25!]

Looking for advice on where to apply to clerkships/how competitive I am. ~3.9 GPA from CLS (top 2-4%), solid w/e, secondary journal, will have 1 year of public service work experience post-law school. Hoping to clerk 2/3/9/DC and/or SDNY/EDNY/DDC, but would go basically anywhere for the right judge. Clerkship office isn't helpful at all, just pushing me to apply everywhere. Worried mostly about not being on journal since vast majority of judges I looked at write that it's preferred. Would be grateful for general thoughts on competitiveness, but especially for judge recs that might care less about journal

[Anonymous User]

Looking for advice on where to apply to clerkships/how competitive I am. ~3.9 GPA from CLS (top 2-4%), solid w/e, secondary journal, will have 1 year of public service work experience post-law school. Hoping to clerk 2/3/9/DC and/or SDNY/EDNY/DDC, but would go basically anywhere for the right judge. Clerkship office isn't helpful at all, just pushing me to apply everywhere. Worried mostly about not being on journal since vast majority of judges I looked at write that it's preferred. Would be grateful for general thoughts on competitiveness, but especially for judge recs that might care less about journal

I would apply everywhere for COA and SDNDY/EDNY/DDC for districts. 3.9+ from a T6 is a good position to be in but we get a lot of those apps so theres no guarantee for any judges. Good to cast a wide net. Law review really depends on the judge. My circuit judge cared about it a lot (way too much in my opinion, but she wouldn't budge) I know other judges in the circuit who don't even care if you arent on a journal period and instead are looking for writing experience.

[Anonymous User]

Looking for advice on application strategy. 3.55 gpa at a T14 (no latin honors) / LR / two publications (1 Note, 1 Article) / multiple writing awards / TA'd and RA'd for 5 professors. Strong recommenders in terms of what they can say and personal relationships (booked major doctrinal / RA'd / TA'd), but they're not super connected (they are willing to make calls). Will be working V5 Lit in nyc. Strong resume, but lacking grades and seeking guidance.

My hope is to stay within tristate area if possible. Looking for district court clerkship. Would consider D. Conn. Thoughts on maximizing odds? Lots of personalized cover letters? Is it helpful to work for a year or two and get a letter of rec from someone at my firm? I'm a URM, so another thought was to emphasize calling judges looking for diversity (but I'm unsure how much this strengthens odds). If anyone has been in a similar position and triumphed in hard markets, any advice on what you think worked would be appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

Kinda neurotic question, but I would appreciate any insight even if it's just to say I'm overthinking things!

I'm at a T50 and landed a district court clerkship in a flyover district. I feel very fortunate b/c my school only sends ~5 students to federal clerkships each year (district isn't in the same state as my school), but I'm getting increasingly concerned because I can't seem to find any former clerks from this district on LinkedIn, firm bio pages, etc. Only two former clerks I could find from well over a decade ago are running their own personal injury firms in the area. (Actually I think all the judges in this district used to have their own PI/medmal firms before being appointed. There's just no other legal talent to pull from in this district.)

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind being in a flyover district at all, and I'm not chasing prestige for prestige's sake, but I always heard the conventional wisdom that a clerkship with an Article III judge was transferable anywhere, so this feels odd. I kinda feel like I've stumbled into the Bermuda Triangle of clerkships here.

Have I really found the one district that's a dead end, or is there a simpler explanation? Are former clerks just not listing this clerkship on their bios? Are people interested in biglaw/bigFed just self-selecting and not applying here? Have the judges only been hiring applicants from the local unranked school every year who are simply unemployable outside the immediate area? All of the above?

[Anonymous User]

Kinda neurotic question, but I would appreciate any insight even if it's just to say I'm overthinking things!

I'm at a T50 and landed a district court clerkship in a flyover district. I feel very fortunate b/c my school only sends ~5 students to federal clerkships each year (district isn't in the same state as my school), but I'm getting increasingly concerned because I can't seem to find any former clerks from this district on LinkedIn, firm bio pages, etc. Only two former clerks I could find from well over a decade ago are running their own personal injury firms in the area. (Actually I think all the judges in this district used to have their own PI/medmal firms before being appointed. There's just no other legal talent to pull from in this district.)

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind being in a flyover district at all, and I'm not chasing prestige for prestige's sake, but I always heard the conventional wisdom that a clerkship with an Article III judge was transferable anywhere, so this feels odd. I kinda feel like I've stumbled into the Bermuda Triangle of clerkships here.

Have I really found the one district that's a dead end, or is there a simpler explanation? Are former clerks just not listing this clerkship on their bios? Are people interested in biglaw/bigFed just self-selecting and not applying here? Have the judges only been hiring applicants from the local unranked school every year who are simply unemployable outside the immediate area? All of the above?

Could be a mixture few things: the district is remote; it's a small district, so not that many clerks; the judges tend to hire folks who want to be in that area long-term, and there are no BigLaw firms in that area; career clerks are popular in that district.

If you were competitive for BigLaw before the clerkship, you still are – a clerkship with an A3 judge is certainly never a bad thing for a litigator. If you were a long shot for BigLaw before the clerkship, it's probably not going to work a miracle but it should help.

[lavarman84]

Kinda neurotic question, but I would appreciate any insight even if it's just to say I'm overthinking things!

I'm at a T50 and landed a district court clerkship in a flyover district. I feel very fortunate b/c my school only sends ~5 students to federal clerkships each year (district isn't in the same state as my school), but I'm getting increasingly concerned because I can't seem to find any former clerks from this district on LinkedIn, firm bio pages, etc. Only two former clerks I could find from well over a decade ago are running their own personal injury firms in the area. (Actually I think all the judges in this district used to have their own PI/medmal firms before being appointed. There's just no other legal talent to pull from in this district.)

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind being in a flyover district at all, and I'm not chasing prestige for prestige's sake, but I always heard the conventional wisdom that a clerkship with an Article III judge was transferable anywhere, so this feels odd. I kinda feel like I've stumbled into the Bermuda Triangle of clerkships here.

Have I really found the one district that's a dead end, or is there a simpler explanation? Are former clerks just not listing this clerkship on their bios? Are people interested in biglaw/bigFed just self-selecting and not applying here? Have the judges only been hiring applicants from the local unranked school every year who are simply unemployable outside the immediate area? All of the above?

Unless you clerk for a notorious judge, an Art. III clerkship isn't going to be a net negative. I wouldn't worry about it. It's possible that you're not finding former clerks because they're typically not pursuing biglaw roles (either because they choose to stay in the region or because they go to work for the government).

[Anonymous User]

Appreciate the responses! Looking at the current clerks (who are listed on the district website under each judge for some reason) they are all from this part of the state, so it's probably like the above poster said and the judges just strongly prefer people who plan to stay in the local community. The spot I got was only open because the judge's current clerk had to leave in the middle of a two year term, so I may well be the only outsider! Should be interesting.

[Anonymous User]

I have seen this topic come up before but I am not sure if there is a consensus--what is the right time to express flexibility in class year as a clerk applying to BL lit roles, who does not care about it, at all? Two-year clerkship. Is a cover letter too early/desperate? Would this even helpful for facilitating movement, or is it a non-factor until negotiations?

Any insight/opinions are appreciated!