2024 Clerkship Hiring Movement Forum

[Anonymous User]

does anyone know about Texas district courts?

[Anonymous User]

How many interviews do competitive applicants normally get in the first week? Top 10% at a t14 and only have 2. I have seen people in other threads saying it can take many interviews to get one, so I'm a bit concerned. Most of the movement happens in the first week right?

Getting 2 as only (note, still good, though) top 10% at T14 is great. You're definitely doing better than someone with your profile would suggest unless you were applying to 100s of judges.

Is top 10% at a t14 not pretty competitive? My understanding is that people in the top 1/3 get D. Ct. clerkships all the time. Or is your thinking that its still early?

For those on-plan yeah. A top 10% at T14 is competing with top 10% T14s with work experience and top 5%s at T6s on plan (and also top 5% T6s with work experience). Hard to understate how many apps a circuit judge or a competitive district judge gets when they are on plan, but a top 10% at T14 isn't necessarily going to the top of a massive pile in June.

What even are the "T6" if the actual rankings have Duke, Harvard, Penn and Virginia tied for fourth and NYU, Northwestern and Michigan tied for ninth?

YSHCCN is imprinted in the minds of lawyers and judges. US News isn't a magic scroll that automatically changes how people view these schools.

[Hihihiha]

Does anyone know about nardini?

[Anonymous User]

How many interviews do competitive applicants normally get in the first week? Top 10% at a t14 and only have 2. I have seen people in other threads saying it can take many interviews to get one, so I'm a bit concerned. Most of the movement happens in the first week right?

Getting 2 as only (note, still good, though) top 10% at T14 is great. You're definitely doing better than someone with your profile would suggest unless you were applying to 100s of judges.

Is top 10% at a t14 not pretty competitive? My understanding is that people in the top 1/3 get D. Ct. clerkships all the time. Or is your thinking that its still early?

Students who get lots of interviews in the first day or two tend to be top 5-10% or so at T6s or very competitive for non-grades reasons (diversity, Fed Soc, your odd Rhodes Scholar). At a traditionally lower T14 with a weaker clerkship program you probably have to be #1 overall or close to it. Not all judges move that fast and the vast majority of federal clerks do not clerk for judges targeting that level of applicant.

In the last few years, the most competitive students from my lower T-14 (top 1-3 in the class) got ~3-5 interviews right after the plan opened. Obviously it skews lower if they get an offer and accept right away. But just goes to show that even considering the high number of selective judges across CA2/9/DC, and SDNY/EDNY/DDC, there’s only so many interview offers you’ll land. Especially when professor calls are a limited good.

[Anonymous User]

How many interviews do competitive applicants normally get in the first week? Top 10% at a t14 and only have 2. I have seen people in other threads saying it can take many interviews to get one, so I'm a bit concerned. Most of the movement happens in the first week right?

Getting 2 as only (note, still good, though) top 10% at T14 is great. You're definitely doing better than someone with your profile would suggest unless you were applying to 100s of judges.

Is top 10% at a t14 not pretty competitive? My understanding is that people in the top 1/3 get D. Ct. clerkships all the time. Or is your thinking that its still early?

For those on-plan yeah. A top 10% at T14 is competing with top 10% T14s with work experience and top 5%s at T6s on plan (and also top 5% T6s with work experience). Hard to understate how many apps a circuit judge or a competitive district judge gets when they are on plan, but a top 10% at T14 isn't necessarily going to the top of a massive pile in June.

My math isn’t great here but even top 10% at H is 50+ students, and top 10% across YSHCCN is at least 200 students. Then you at least double that number when considering 3Ls and recent grads who will have more experience or other clerkships already on their resume, and you’re looking at potentially hundreds of applicants who all have 10%, even assuming not every top 10% applies for a clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

How many interviews do competitive applicants normally get in the first week? Top 10% at a t14 and only have 2. I have seen people in other threads saying it can take many interviews to get one, so I'm a bit concerned. Most of the movement happens in the first week right?

HYS, roughly top-third w/ a circuit clerkship already. Two district interviews lined up so far.

The vast majority of interviews in our tracker have been 2/9/DC/SDNY/NDCA/CDCA, and only a couple people have more than one. Not a lot of traction anywhere else in the first couple days, though we'll know more once the weekend comes.

Does anyone know which 9th circuit judges have moved? I think some if not all are sitting for oral arguments this week, no? That said, of course they could have preselected their candidates and asked their clerks to email and set up interviews.

[Anonymous User]

How many interviews do competitive applicants normally get in the first week? Top 10% at a t14 and only have 2. I have seen people in other threads saying it can take many interviews to get one, so I'm a bit concerned. Most of the movement happens in the first week right?

HYS, roughly top-third w/ a circuit clerkship already. Two district interviews lined up so far.

The vast majority of interviews in our tracker have been 2/9/DC/SDNY/NDCA/CDCA, and only a couple people have more than one. Not a lot of traction anywhere else in the first couple days, though we'll know more once the weekend comes.

Does anyone know which 9th circuit judges have moved? I think some if not all are sitting for oral arguments this week, no? That said, of course they could have preselected their candidates and asked their clerks to email and set up interviews.

Murguia, Desai, Friedland, Thomas, Sanchez, and Collins have all at least begun interviewing candidates.

[Anonymous User]

Looks like the first SDNY judge has filled their 2027-2028 term start date - Rakoff.

[Anonymous User]

Looks like the first SDNY judge has filled their 2027-2028 term start date - Rakoff.

Officially I know a ton more which have already filled their 2027 start dates.

[Anonymous User]

Haha that's so bananas

[Anonymous User]

Seeger, Chang, Lee, and St. Eve have moved in NDIL/CA7. Any news on any of the other judges on those courts?

[Anonymous User]

Recent graduate here. Last year, I was top 5-10% and Law Review at a T6 and got nothing the whole summer. But in the fall, I got 5 interviews with district judges on EDNY and SDNY and accepted a clerkship on SDNY. Please do not give up hope. So many judges, including the judge I am clerking for in the end, who is fantastic, hire in the fall.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard anything from the New Haven Second Circuit - Calabresi, Nardini, Cabranes, Kahn?

Calabresi, Nardini, Carney, Walker have all moved; Cabranes, Kahn, Merriam - haven't heard anything.

[Anonymous User]

How many interviews do competitive applicants normally get in the first week? Top 10% at a t14 and only have 2. I have seen people in other threads saying it can take many interviews to get one, so I'm a bit concerned. Most of the movement happens in the first week right?

HYS, roughly top-third w/ a circuit clerkship already. Two district interviews lined up so far.

The vast majority of interviews in our tracker have been 2/9/DC/SDNY/NDCA/CDCA, and only a couple people have more than one. Not a lot of traction anywhere else in the first couple days, though we'll know more once the weekend comes.

Does anyone know which 9th circuit judges have moved? I think some if not all are sitting for oral arguments this week, no? That said, of course they could have preselected their candidates and asked their clerks to email and set up interviews.

Murguia, Desai, Friedland, Thomas, Sanchez, and Collins have all at least begun interviewing candidates.

Lee has too

[Anonymous User]

As for CA2, did Sullivan and/or Raggi move? Raggi didn't even post this year.

[Anonymous User]

How many interviews do competitive applicants normally get in the first week? Top 10% at a t14 and only have 2. I have seen people in other threads saying it can take many interviews to get one, so I'm a bit concerned. Most of the movement happens in the first week right?

HYS, roughly top-third w/ a circuit clerkship already. Two district interviews lined up so far.

The vast majority of interviews in our tracker have been 2/9/DC/SDNY/NDCA/CDCA, and only a couple people have more than one. Not a lot of traction anywhere else in the first couple days, though we'll know more once the weekend comes.

Does anyone know which 9th circuit judges have moved? I think some if not all are sitting for oral arguments this week, no? That said, of course they could have preselected their candidates and asked their clerks to email and set up interviews.

Murguia, Desai, Friedland, Thomas, Sanchez, and Collins have all at least begun interviewing candidates.

Lee has too

M. Smith has also started interviewing.

[Toastedwalnutsauce]

Anything from Paez (9c), Cole (6c), Merriam (2c), Kennelly/pallmeyer (ndil), or staton (cdcal)?? Atp I’m assuming most, at least of the circuit court judges, have started interviewing but no idea 🥲

[Anonymous User]

Any news from Gregory (4th Cir.), Livingston or Lohier (2d Cir.), Oetken or Rochon (SDNY), or Bates, Contreras, Howell, Jackson, Kollar-Kotelly (all DDC)?

[Anonymous User]

Anything from Paez (9c), Cole (6c), Merriam (2c), Kennelly/pallmeyer (ndil), or staton (cdcal)?? Atp I’m assuming most, at least of the circuit court judges, have started interviewing but no idea 🥲

Looks like Staton's moved. Nothing on the others.

Last year Kennelly and Pallmeyer moved quickly, but they haven't shown up on our tracker yet.

[Anonymous User]

Anything from Paez (9c), Cole (6c), Merriam (2c), Kennelly/pallmeyer (ndil), or staton (cdcal)?? Atp I’m assuming most, at least of the circuit court judges, have started interviewing but no idea 🥲

Looks like Staton's moved. Nothing on the others.

Last year Kennelly and Pallmeyer moved quickly, but they haven't shown up on our tracker yet.

Pallmeyer has moved.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard of movement from Castel, Hellerstein, or Gardephe on SDNY?

[Anonymous User]

Has Nathan moved?

[Anonymous User]

Has Nathan moved?

Yes. She was interviewing on Tuesday.

[Anonymous User]

Has Nathan moved?

OSCAR shows 2025 position filled.

[Anonymous User]

Top 10% at a T14, appellate clerkship lined up, and received no interviews from competitive district courts (DDC, NDCA) last week. Is this normal given the targets or am I right to be disappointed?