Clerks Taking Questions Forum

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 31, 2022 4:00 pm

OP also said it’s a district court judge, so it’s unlikely that it would be substantive - OP, your best bet is to ask previous clerks what to expect. If your school doesn’t know anyone, even just googling “clerked for judge” + your judge’s name might get you some email addresses.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jul 31, 2022 11:47 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jul 31, 2022 3:18 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jul 31, 2022 2:52 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jul 31, 2022 2:38 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jul 31, 2022 11:24 am
Just got invited for a short 20 minute interview with just the clerks for a district court judge. So I guess this is sort of like an OCS type firm screener before I get a potential callback with a judge. Does anyone in this thread who has done these type of things have any idea of what to expect?
Mine was basically the same as the clerk part of an actual interview. Why this judge, questions about resume, etc
If it's COA, be prepared for more substance-- what SCOTUS case would you overturn, best/worst justice, questions about this term, etc.
Would OP really be quizzed on this stuff if it was only 20 minutes though?
Very unlikely, particularly if it's for a D. Ct. clerkship (which OP said it was). It'll likely be about fit. That said, it doesn't hurt to have answers prepped for more substantive questions in case they come up. It's also possible you'll get on a substantive tangent related to your resume (i.e. questions about your writing sample, work experience, etc.)

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Aug 01, 2022 7:13 pm

For those clerks who do interviews what typically were you looking for and what was your role vis-a-vis the judge given than the judge likely has more experience interviewing. Also what is the discussion like post-interview—do you gather with the judge and discuss things you liked and/or did not like and vote on a decision or do you just discuss with the judge and then he or she decides.

Of course this depends on chambers, but this is more of a curiosity thing than a hard data thing. I think it would be interesting to read some anecdotal experiences about how interviews worked in your chambers.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Aug 01, 2022 8:39 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 7:13 pm
For those clerks who do interviews what typically were you looking for and what was your role vis-a-vis the judge given than the judge likely has more experience interviewing. Also what is the discussion like post-interview—do you gather with the judge and discuss things you liked and/or did not like and vote on a decision or do you just discuss with the judge and then he or she decides.

Of course this depends on chambers, but this is more of a curiosity thing than a hard data thing. I think it would be interesting to read some anecdotal experiences about how interviews worked in your chambers.
Double federal clerk here. Typically, judge is looking for someone (1) smart-- i.e., raw brainpower; (2) thoughtful-- i.e., has clearly spent time thinking about judicial issues; (3) not weird; and (4) vibes with judicial philosophy. In my experience (one feeder and one rural district judge) this eliminated like 95% of candidates.

In my experience, each clerk voiced a yes or no vote, and the judge typically followed that.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lavarman84 » Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:09 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Aug 01, 2022 7:13 pm
For those clerks who do interviews what typically were you looking for and what was your role vis-a-vis the judge given than the judge likely has more experience interviewing. Also what is the discussion like post-interview—do you gather with the judge and discuss things you liked and/or did not like and vote on a decision or do you just discuss with the judge and then he or she decides.

Of course this depends on chambers, but this is more of a curiosity thing than a hard data thing. I think it would be interesting to read some anecdotal experiences about how interviews worked in your chambers.
I clerked for two judges. With one of the two, there was a candidate who stood out over all others (had a rec from a former clerk, strong credentials, and ties to the area, plus the sort of life story that appealed to my judge). Due to that candidate being so stellar, he was the only person we interviewed that year. The point of the interview was to determine whether he would be a good fit in chambers. We all agreed when we had our discussion afterwards that he would be.

With the other judge, I believe we interviewed two candidates for each available position. They were fit-based interviews. The people we were bringing in already had elite credentials, so we weren't worried about intelligence. The judge asked for our input on each candidate and hired the candidates we rated the highest. But I think that was less because our input was dispositive and more because the judge agreed.

What did I look for in interviews? Frankly, whether a person was likable, could hold a conversation, was mature, and seemed passionate about the clerkship.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Aug 01, 2022 9:25 pm

Similar to the others. Everyone we interviewed was more than qualified on paper, we offered probably 75% of people we interviewed, and interviews were mostly about making sure they weren't socially off-putting. We gave input to the judge and they made the final decision. All of this differs a lot by chambers.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 05, 2022 11:15 am

Would I be dumb for saying no to my school wanting to pitch me to a judge on a very flashy court? I already clerked once for a non-flashy trial court, and planned on going back to my previous public sector job after, which was a good gig—potentially a very long term thing. But now my school is asking if I want to apply to some fancy circuit with their support, and while I feel silly to say no I’m not sure if I really want it. Am I being silly?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lavarman84 » Fri Aug 05, 2022 12:16 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 11:15 am
Would I be dumb for saying no to my school wanting to pitch me to a judge on a very flashy court? I already clerked once for a non-flashy trial court, and planned on going back to my previous public sector job after, which was a good gig—potentially a very long term thing. But now my school is asking if I want to apply to some fancy circuit with their support, and while I feel silly to say no I’m not sure if I really want it. Am I being silly?
If it doesn't advance your career goals and isn't something you want to do, I don't think you're being silly.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 05, 2022 3:05 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 11:15 am
Would I be dumb for saying no to my school wanting to pitch me to a judge on a very flashy court? I already clerked once for a non-flashy trial court, and planned on going back to my previous public sector job after, which was a good gig—potentially a very long term thing. But now my school is asking if I want to apply to some fancy circuit with their support, and while I feel silly to say no I’m not sure if I really want it. Am I being silly?
Are they sending you an email like hey you should apply to this court or are they like we really want you to clerk for this judge/court and we will work hard to make it happen?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 05, 2022 5:08 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 3:05 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 11:15 am
Would I be dumb for saying no to my school wanting to pitch me to a judge on a very flashy court? I already clerked once for a non-flashy trial court, and planned on going back to my previous public sector job after, which was a good gig—potentially a very long term thing. But now my school is asking if I want to apply to some fancy circuit with their support, and while I feel silly to say no I’m not sure if I really want it. Am I being silly?
Are they sending you an email like hey you should apply to this court or are they like we really want you to clerk for this judge/court and we will work hard to make it happen?
So my clerkship office doesn’t promote applicants usually, but they cold emailed me, after not being in the talks with them for quite some time (18 months?) saying “hey are you interested in Judge X; we would highlight your app if you apply” and then clarified they’d be directly giving it to the judge since I look like I have the resume/fit for the job. I have never had them offer that to me before

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 05, 2022 6:51 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 5:08 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 3:05 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 11:15 am
Would I be dumb for saying no to my school wanting to pitch me to a judge on a very flashy court? I already clerked once for a non-flashy trial court, and planned on going back to my previous public sector job after, which was a good gig—potentially a very long term thing. But now my school is asking if I want to apply to some fancy circuit with their support, and while I feel silly to say no I’m not sure if I really want it. Am I being silly?
Are they sending you an email like hey you should apply to this court or are they like we really want you to clerk for this judge/court and we will work hard to make it happen?
So my clerkship office doesn’t promote applicants usually, but they cold emailed me, after not being in the talks with them for quite some time (18 months?) saying “hey are you interested in Judge X; we would highlight your app if you apply” and then clarified they’d be directly giving it to the judge since I look like I have the resume/fit for the job. I have never had them offer that to me before
Person you responded to here. To give you context for why I asked the question is it seems like your clerkship office is really going to bat for you here, so they are going to quasi-expect you to accept an interview offer if the judge decides to interview. Also like broader moral principles as well, you don't want to screw over potential future applicants. If you're new in your career, young, and willing to move where the court is I'd honestly take it. But I don't know you as well as you know yourself so not as comfortable giving you advice on that front. The advice I am somewhat more comfortable in giving though is that if you agree to this there is going to be a lot of (justified) pressure to accept the job if the judge offers it so just keep that in mind.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 05, 2022 7:13 pm

So, I'm an evening student who went to law school to pivot my career. Along the way I really fell in love with the law and would love to clerk because my favorite assignments have involved drafting opinions and legal research/writing. Right now, I'm ranked second in my class at a regional school (lower T50), all while working full time in government. I'm on the flagship journal at my school, have substantial involvement in other extracurriculars, I have a BL summer associate position secured for next summer, and very positive recommendation letters.

I'm wondering what my current odds are for an Article III clerkship, how to stand out, and what else I could/should be doing to make my application stand out. Things I'm currently considering include: running for EIC, joining the moot court board, and, obviously, trying to become ranked first in my class. My Note was not selected for publication, but I can try to rework it and shop it, if it'd be helpful.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 05, 2022 8:08 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 7:13 pm

I'm wondering what my current odds are for an Article III clerkship, how to stand out, and what else I could/should be doing to make my application stand out. Things I'm currently considering include: running for EIC, joining the moot court board, and, obviously, trying to become ranked first in my class. My Note was not selected for publication, but I can try to rework it and shop it, if it'd be helpful.
all of the above, plus a sob story re needing to work full time for XYZ reasons to explain your participation in evening program, is your most realistic path

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 06, 2022 1:33 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 7:13 pm
So, I'm an evening student who went to law school to pivot my career. Along the way I really fell in love with the law and would love to clerk because my favorite assignments have involved drafting opinions and legal research/writing. Right now, I'm ranked second in my class at a regional school (lower T50), all while working full time in government. I'm on the flagship journal at my school, have substantial involvement in other extracurriculars, I have a BL summer associate position secured for next summer, and very positive recommendation letters.

I'm wondering what my current odds are for an Article III clerkship, how to stand out, and what else I could/should be doing to make my application stand out. Things I'm currently considering include: running for EIC, joining the moot court board, and, obviously, trying to become ranked first in my class. My Note was not selected for publication, but I can try to rework it and shop it, if it'd be helpful.
I don't think I can give you odds because by virtue of being an evening student you are a very idiosyncratic hire. Plenty of judges would be impressed by your resume--you have the academic boxes checked (though becoming law review EiC would be an additional boost), you have significant work experience, and have shown that you have grit and can work hard. I clerked for a district court judge who looked for those qualities, so I would have given your application a serious look. How does ranking at your school work? Are you ranked alongside day students? If not, how many evening students are you ranked alongside?
But you are also a nontraditional hire; being an evening student (and also going to a T50) excludes you from a lot of the more competitive clerkships.

If you just care about clerking for an Article III judge, I would apply broadly to district court judges, particularly those in more rural areas that would care less about preftige and more about someone showing they can work hard and are pleasant to work with. Leverage professor connections, too--you are a candidate that could especially benefit from a recommender who knows your story.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 06, 2022 10:08 am

You could also try an appellate state court clerkship (hell maybe even a state supreme court clerkship depending on where your T50 is located). Those also involve legal research and writing and would certainly set you up well for a federal clerkship down the line. I know my district judge was always impressed with those who had state clerkships on their resume although that may be idiosyncratic to him because he was a state trial court judge before becoming a federal district judge.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Aug 06, 2022 10:09 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat Aug 06, 2022 10:08 am
You could also try an appellate state court clerkship (hell maybe even a state supreme court clerkship depending on where your T50 is located). Those also involve legal research and writing and would certainly set you up well for a federal clerkship down the line. I know my district judge was always impressed with those who had state clerkships on their resume although that may be idiosyncratic to him because he was a state trial court judge before becoming a federal district judge.
Agreed with this, and I don't think it's limited to your judge, I know a lot of people who couldn't get federal clerkships the first time around who had much more success after doing a state appellate clerkship.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Aug 07, 2022 10:33 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 7:13 pm
So, I'm an evening student who went to law school to pivot my career. Along the way I really fell in love with the law and would love to clerk because my favorite assignments have involved drafting opinions and legal research/writing. Right now, I'm ranked second in my class at a regional school (lower T50), all while working full time in government. I'm on the flagship journal at my school, have substantial involvement in other extracurriculars, I have a BL summer associate position secured for next summer, and very positive recommendation letters.

I'm wondering what my current odds are for an Article III clerkship, how to stand out, and what else I could/should be doing to make my application stand out. Things I'm currently considering include: running for EIC, joining the moot court board, and, obviously, trying to become ranked first in my class. My Note was not selected for publication, but I can try to rework it and shop it, if it'd be helpful.
I have no idea about odds because federal clerkship hiring is idiosyncratic. But some thoughts. I would target the districts near your law school. Your class rank will make you a strong candidate. EIC would be very helpful. Your school rank is not as strong but is not a disqualifier (which is why I’d suggest applying in/around that district). Apply broadly. See if anyone you know has a connection to a particular judge. Make connections at your firm.

Finally, contrary to what I see posted here, being an evening student (plus doing extremely well in school) will be seen as a benefit to many judges. Many judges, particularly district court judges, have heavy dockets. They need clerks who will be independent and can manage their own work loads. You’ve shown that you can hold a full time job and achieve high grades. Many judges will think they won’t need to train you quite as much and that you’ll be able to function like a normal person in an adult job. (You’d be shocked how many candidates don’t meet that threshold.) I think it’s a positive thing and something you can emphasize to distinguish yourself.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lavarman84 » Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:06 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Aug 07, 2022 10:33 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 7:13 pm
So, I'm an evening student who went to law school to pivot my career. Along the way I really fell in love with the law and would love to clerk because my favorite assignments have involved drafting opinions and legal research/writing. Right now, I'm ranked second in my class at a regional school (lower T50), all while working full time in government. I'm on the flagship journal at my school, have substantial involvement in other extracurriculars, I have a BL summer associate position secured for next summer, and very positive recommendation letters.

I'm wondering what my current odds are for an Article III clerkship, how to stand out, and what else I could/should be doing to make my application stand out. Things I'm currently considering include: running for EIC, joining the moot court board, and, obviously, trying to become ranked first in my class. My Note was not selected for publication, but I can try to rework it and shop it, if it'd be helpful.
I have no idea about odds because federal clerkship hiring is idiosyncratic. But some thoughts. I would target the districts near your law school. Your class rank will make you a strong candidate. EIC would be very helpful. Your school rank is not as strong but is not a disqualifier (which is why I’d suggest applying in/around that district). Apply broadly. See if anyone you know has a connection to a particular judge. Make connections at your firm.

Finally, contrary to what I see posted here, being an evening student (plus doing extremely well in school) will be seen as a benefit to many judges. Many judges, particularly district court judges, have heavy dockets. They need clerks who will be independent and can manage their own work loads. You’ve shown that you can hold a full time job and achieve high grades. Many judges will think they won’t need to train you quite as much and that you’ll be able to function like a normal person in an adult job. (You’d be shocked how many candidates don’t meet that threshold.) I think it’s a positive thing and something you can emphasize to distinguish yourself.
I think you're misinterpreting what people are saying about the OP being an evening student. As I understood it, the point they were making is that it's unclear if evening students are ranked alongside the rest of their entering class. If they are, being #2 would put OP in a strong spot to land a clerkship. If they aren't, being #2 might not do that.

Obviously, there's a huge difference between being #2 out of 250 students and #2 out of 50 students, particularly at a law school that may not have the best clerkship numbers. And when the person reviewing applications sees that, they may make assumptions about what that ranking says (because it's out of the ordinary). In other words, it's more about OP being unconventional than evening students having it easy.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:12 am

Evening student OP from above. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. I realize I’m in a unique position, so I really appreciate all your thoughts.

In terms of rank, we are ranked separately (and also held to the same 1L curve despite smaller class sizes). I’m about three hundredths of a point away from overtaking #1 in my class right now, so obviously I’ll grind this year to see if I can take it, but who knows.

If we were combined, I’d still likely fall within the top 10ish percent. My GPA is above a 3.7 on a B median, with As in multiple black letter courses, so hopefully that helps some?

The issue with state courts is that my big law job is in a major market & not my state, so I thought that a federal district court would have more relevancy? Not sure if that’s accurate, though. I don’t think it makes sense to double clerk right away, because I am older, but I also went into law school not sure I wanted to do big law… and now I’m doing it, so, having an open mind has paid dividends.

I do plan to target my state and states nearby, as well as the area I did my undergrad, even though it’s been several years. But I’m also willing to apply broadly and hope for the best.

Anyway, appreciate all the advice so far and I’d love to hear any additional thoughts.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Aug 08, 2022 11:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:12 am
Evening student OP from above. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. I realize I’m in a unique position, so I really appreciate all your thoughts.

In terms of rank, we are ranked separately (and also held to the same 1L curve despite smaller class sizes). I’m about three hundredths of a point away from overtaking #1 in my class right now, so obviously I’ll grind this year to see if I can take it, but who knows.

If we were combined, I’d still likely fall within the top 10ish percent. My GPA is above a 3.7 on a B median, with As in multiple black letter courses, so hopefully that helps some?

The issue with state courts is that my big law job is in a major market & not my state, so I thought that a federal district court would have more relevancy? Not sure if that’s accurate, though. I don’t think it makes sense to double clerk right away, because I am older, but I also went into law school not sure I wanted to do big law… and now I’m doing it, so, having an open mind has paid dividends.

I do plan to target my state and states nearby, as well as the area I did my undergrad, even though it’s been several years. But I’m also willing to apply broadly and hope for the best.

Anyway, appreciate all the advice so far and I’d love to hear any additional thoughts.
I'm the poster who had originally asked about how your ranking works. Knowing that you're ranked separately but that you still have a high GPA, I still think we would have given your application a close look. So find ways to leverage connections and tell your story succinctly. The judges who would be more likely to hire you (district court judges who value character and hard work more than preftige) are also more likely to value community ties. We liked to see cover letters that made it clear that the applicant cared about applying to our judge or district court specifically, rather than just a blanket mass-mail. Talk to folks who have clerked before to get a decent sense of how to get that message across in cover letters.

EDIT: I'll also say that your ranking in the evening program (i.e. whether you are #1 or #2) wouldn't matter much to us, knowing that you're ranked separately from the rest of your class. The advantage of being #1 is that there's a sense that there's a possibility that you're exponentially better than the rest of your class and the gradescale can't properly measure it. That's not really the case when there are folks who are at your same school with much higher grades. I would work on a couple of ways to format your GPA/ranking on your resume. My gut reaction is that "Top 10% in class" is better than "#1 in the evening program" because most people have a good frame of reference for the former, but not the latter.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Aug 09, 2022 10:47 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Aug 08, 2022 11:11 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:12 am
Evening student OP from above. Thanks to everyone who has posted so far. I realize I’m in a unique position, so I really appreciate all your thoughts.

In terms of rank, we are ranked separately (and also held to the same 1L curve despite smaller class sizes). I’m about three hundredths of a point away from overtaking #1 in my class right now, so obviously I’ll grind this year to see if I can take it, but who knows.

If we were combined, I’d still likely fall within the top 10ish percent. My GPA is above a 3.7 on a B median, with As in multiple black letter courses, so hopefully that helps some?

The issue with state courts is that my big law job is in a major market & not my state, so I thought that a federal district court would have more relevancy? Not sure if that’s accurate, though. I don’t think it makes sense to double clerk right away, because I am older, but I also went into law school not sure I wanted to do big law… and now I’m doing it, so, having an open mind has paid dividends.

I do plan to target my state and states nearby, as well as the area I did my undergrad, even though it’s been several years. But I’m also willing to apply broadly and hope for the best.

Anyway, appreciate all the advice so far and I’d love to hear any additional thoughts.
I'm the poster who had originally asked about how your ranking works. Knowing that you're ranked separately but that you still have a high GPA, I still think we would have given your application a close look. So find ways to leverage connections and tell your story succinctly. The judges who would be more likely to hire you (district court judges who value character and hard work more than preftige) are also more likely to value community ties. We liked to see cover letters that made it clear that the applicant cared about applying to our judge or district court specifically, rather than just a blanket mass-mail. Talk to folks who have clerked before to get a decent sense of how to get that message across in cover letters.

EDIT: I'll also say that your ranking in the evening program (i.e. whether you are #1 or #2) wouldn't matter much to us, knowing that you're ranked separately from the rest of your class. The advantage of being #1 is that there's a sense that there's a possibility that you're exponentially better than the rest of your class and the gradescale can't properly measure it. That's not really the case when there are folks who are at your same school with much higher grades. I would work on a couple of ways to format your GPA/ranking on your resume. My gut reaction is that "Top 10% in class" is better than "#1 in the evening program" because most people have a good frame of reference for the former, but not the latter.
Evening student OP.

Thank you so much, this is incredibly helpful & much appreciated. I will talk to some professors at my school and reach out to former clerks in my district for how to market myself, as well as how to handle the rank/gpa thing. The publicly available clerkship cover letters from other schools’ career service offices seem to be really tailored to T14s and are brief to the point of being mass marketed. So, the tip to (succinctly) do the opposite is one I will certainly follow.

In the mean time, I will continue to put in the work in classes that are offered when I can take them & seem to be appealing to judges and trying to become EIC.

In terms of courses, I’ve read employment law, admin law (never offered at night, sadly, as I deal with administrative law regularly in my day job), & federal courts (hardly ever offered, unfortunately) are somewhat expected. I will certainly try to take some of these, but any other course suggestions would be appreciated. I’ve already taken Evidence & Business Associations, alongside a substantive course in an area of IP, in addition to the 1L requirements (if it matters, Con Law is required at my school). This fall’s evening offerings leave much to be desired, but I am taking trial practice, a course in a niche area of federal law, and advanced coursework in civil procedure.

Anyway, thank you again. :)

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:39 pm

Excluding DDC, which I assume is special because of the government, is there a salient difference in experience or learning between the hyper competitive districts like SDNY and the less competitive districts that are still in major cities so presumably also get major cases like SDFL etc... Don't really care about prestige or whatever so am happy to clerk anywhere, but also wondering if maybe there is a reason beyond prestige that districts like SDNY are so highly sought after.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by axiomaticapiary » Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:05 pm

Rising 2L, top 10%, LR at low T14. I wanted to ask: do your odds of getting a federal clerkship go up if you have work experience? If there's no real difference, I might just start the clerkship application process to apply in 2L spring -- but if I could boost my chances a bit by waiting for a few years and clerking after a year as an associate, I would be willing to do so. Thoughts?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:25 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:39 pm
Excluding DDC, which I assume is special because of the government, is there a salient difference in experience or learning between the hyper competitive districts like SDNY and the less competitive districts that are still in major cities so presumably also get major cases like SDFL etc... Don't really care about prestige or whatever so am happy to clerk anywhere, but also wondering if maybe there is a reason beyond prestige that districts like SDNY are so highly sought after.
Caveat that I didn’t clerk in SDNY, but I think any major city is going to have enough complex cases that you will get the same kind of learning experience.

I’ll admit that a small/rural district will have fewer really complex/sophisticated cases. That said, I think you learn a ton even on less complex cases (if you’re prepping for trial and working on jury instructions for the first time, for instance, that’s a significant learning experience whether it’s a complex securities case or a run of the mill gun case). And a lot of what you get out of the experience depends on the judge and how they run chambers and what kind of a mentor they are.

To the extent that SDNY is sought after for reasons besides prestige, I would say that it’s because so many people do biglaw in NYC before/after, so the experience and connections are especially valuable. If someone was hellbent on working in Montana after clerking, they’re going to want to clerk for the District of Montana; there are just a lot fewer people who want to do this than who want to work in NYC biglaw.

Marginally, the case load in SDNY is (to my understanding) pretty intense as well, so you might just see more kinds of cases due to volume, compared to another district. But I really don’t think SDNY is more competitive because people think it’s going to be a materially better learning experience than any other major city. That would be like saying that the education at Yale is materially better than the education at Cornell: the education is basically the same, although the experience of the two schools will be quite different. There are definitely benefits to going to Yale over Cornell, but not because the education offered at Cornell is inferior.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:30 pm

axiomaticapiary wrote:
Fri Aug 12, 2022 6:05 pm
Rising 2L, top 10%, LR at low T14. I wanted to ask: do your odds of getting a federal clerkship go up if you have work experience? If there's no real difference, I might just start the clerkship application process to apply in 2L spring -- but if I could boost my chances a bit by waiting for a few years and clerking after a year as an associate, I would be willing to do so. Thoughts?
While as always, it depends, there are a lot of judges who do favor work experience, so yes, it can definitely help. Anecdotally it seems that district court judges tend to like work experience more than COA judges, because experience as an associate is more directly relevant to running a trial court than to writing appeals opinions, which is closer to what students do in law school. I think there are also some old school judges who feel a clerkship should be an apprenticeship for newbies just setting out, not a job for more experienced people, but I don’t think that’s a huge percentage. Most judges will welcome anything that will make a clerk more efficient and helpful, which includes work experience.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


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