SCOTUS clerk taking questions about federal clerkships Forum

[Anonymous User]

Do any of the liberal justices actively disfavor double appellate clerkships? Looking at their past hires, I don't think SS or EK do, but would KBJ?

[Anonymous User]

Obviously grades matter a great deal for securing a clerkship with any of the 9 SCOTUS justices. Equally obvious is that there are other factors that matter a lot in addition to grades -- ideology, connections, personality, professional goals, etc.

I'm curious, how would people rank the justices in terms of how grade-conscious they are/how much they insist on a platinum resume in every respect? And how would people characterize the "personalities" of the justices' respective clerk networks? Have people noticed that different justices tend to hire certain personality types, or that certain clerk families have a tendency to go into specific practice areas or geographies after the clerkship?

[Anonymous User]

Obviously grades matter a great deal for securing a clerkship with any of the 9 SCOTUS justices. Equally obvious is that there are other factors that matter a lot in addition to grades -- ideology, connections, personality, professional goals, etc.

I'm curious, how would people rank the justices in terms of how grade-conscious they are/how much they insist on a platinum resume in every respect? And how would people characterize the "personalities" of the justices' respective clerk networks? Have people noticed that different justices tend to hire certain personality types, or that certain clerk families have a tendency to go into specific practice areas or geographies after the clerkship?

Connections are the only thing that matters outside of being the Fay Diploma winner at Harvard. Their importance cannot be overstated. Without a personal advocate known to the Justice, you will not get a SCOTUS clerkship.

The only two Justices who are especially strict about grades and school pedigree are Roberts and Kagan. If you’re not at the very top of your class at one of the handful of schools they hire from, don't even bother.

[Anonymous User]

Obviously grades matter a great deal for securing a clerkship with any of the 9 SCOTUS justices. Equally obvious is that there are other factors that matter a lot in addition to grades -- ideology, connections, personality, professional goals, etc.

I'm curious, how would people rank the justices in terms of how grade-conscious they are/how much they insist on a platinum resume in every respect? And how would people characterize the "personalities" of the justices' respective clerk networks? Have people noticed that different justices tend to hire certain personality types, or that certain clerk families have a tendency to go into specific practice areas or geographies after the clerkship?

Connections are the only thing that matters outside of being the Fay Diploma winner at Harvard. Their importance cannot be overstated. Without a personal advocate known to the Justice, you will not get a SCOTUS clerkship.

The only two Justices who are especially strict about grades and school pedigree are Roberts and Kagan. If you’re not at the very top of your class at one of the handful of schools they hire from, don't even bother.

To elaborate on what this poster said a bit, the relevant connections can be personal between the clerk and the Justice, but also (and more often) are through the judge(s) the applicant has clerked for. The enduring ability of some judges to feed is explained in part by their ability to hire people with the right profile and in part by their own relationships with and advocacy to the justices. This is at least partly because many of the justices must rely heavily on a judge’s recommendation and likely have preferences with respect to whose they take the most seriously.

The previous poster is right that the two justices who appear to have the highest grade cutoffs and enforce them strictly are Kagan and Roberts (EK even more so than CJR, to my knowledge). I’m sure there are exceptions (and for CJR there appear to be more of them), but generally speaking they appear to only consider the top small handful of students at a small handful of schools.

By contrast, SAA/ACB/NMG/BMK/CT on the right and SMS/KBJ on the left appear to cast their nets a bit more widely (to varying degrees). Though it’s worth noting these conservatives all appear to hire almost exclusively at this point from Fed Soc. Not so many counter clerks as there previously were in that group.

For the retired justices, SGB appears to hire mostly from Harvard at this point (and maybe just from his RAs). And I have no insight into AMK’s hiring.

[Anonymous User]

Obviously grades matter a great deal for securing a clerkship with any of the 9 SCOTUS justices. Equally obvious is that there are other factors that matter a lot in addition to grades -- ideology, connections, personality, professional goals, etc.

I'm curious, how would people rank the justices in terms of how grade-conscious they are/how much they insist on a platinum resume in every respect? And how would people characterize the "personalities" of the justices' respective clerk networks? Have people noticed that different justices tend to hire certain personality types, or that certain clerk families have a tendency to go into specific practice areas or geographies after the clerkship?

Connections are the only thing that matters outside of being the Fay Diploma winner at Harvard. Their importance cannot be overstated. Without a personal advocate known to the Justice, you will not get a SCOTUS clerkship.

The only two Justices who are especially strict about grades and school pedigree are Roberts and Kagan. If you’re not at the very top of your class at one of the handful of schools they hire from, don't even bother.

To elaborate on what this poster said a bit, the relevant connections can be personal between the clerk and the Justice, but also (and more often) are through the judge(s) the applicant has clerked for. The enduring ability of some judges to feed is explained in part by their ability to hire people with the right profile and in part by their own relationships with and advocacy to the justices. This is at least partly because many of the justices must rely heavily on a judge’s recommendation and likely have preferences with respect to whose they take the most seriously.

The previous poster is right that the two justices who appear to have the highest grade cutoffs and enforce them strictly are Kagan and Roberts (EK even more so than CJR, to my knowledge). I’m sure there are exceptions (and for CJR there appear to be more of them), but generally speaking they appear to only consider the top small handful of students at a small handful of schools.

By contrast, SAA/ACB/NMG/BMK/CT on the right and SMS/KBJ on the left appear to cast their nets a bit more widely (to varying degrees). Though it’s worth noting these conservatives all appear to hire almost exclusively at this point from Fed Soc. Not so many counter clerks as there previously were in that group.

For the retired justices, SGB appears to hire mostly from Harvard at this point (and maybe just from his RAs). And I have no insight into AMK’s hiring.

Does anyone have a sense of the extent to which each of SAA/ACB/NMG/BK/CT/SS/KBJ are willing to "cast their nets a bit more widely"? In other words, to what extent the degree really does vary, and how grade standards cash out for each of the justices?