Clerks Taking Questions Forum

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Apr 23, 2022 1:09 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Apr 21, 2022 3:41 pm
3L graduating from CLS who recently decided to clerk but have little idea what I'm competitive for. Secondary journal/starting V5 in fall/3.84 gpa in mostly black letters/not much relationship with recommenders/profs in general though.

Do I just blind apply all over or can I be more targeted with my #s.
If you don't care where you clerk, you can just mass apply and you will get hits, your numbers are competitive for almost everywhere. Still, I would recommend putting in some legwork into getting decent recommendation letters, even if that means you delay applying.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:10 pm

Why the hell are some judges already posting 2025–26 term positions on OSCAR? Internally, what's the judge's rationale for filling up clerkships that far in advance? It's not like there still won't be an abundance of qualified applicants in a couple years, and if anything they're isolating potential applicants such as myself who do not feel comfortable committing to a job that wouldn't begin until over three years from now.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 25, 2022 3:35 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:10 pm
Why the hell are some judges already posting 2025–26 term positions on OSCAR? Internally, what's the judge's rationale for filling up clerkships that far in advance? It's not like there still won't be an abundance of qualified applicants in a couple years, and if anything they're isolating potential applicants such as myself who do not feel comfortable committing to a job that wouldn't begin until over three years from now.
Because clerks hiring is an arms race of sorts to lock down the 'best' candidates. Judges inclined to hire so far out care deeply about the perceived quality of their clerks. That, or, as I have personally seen, new judges get overwhelmed by the number of quality applicants they get and aren't great at saying no to people, and start a trend of needing to hire people farther and farther out.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 25, 2022 11:21 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 25, 2022 3:35 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:10 pm
Why the hell are some judges already posting 2025–26 term positions on OSCAR? Internally, what's the judge's rationale for filling up clerkships that far in advance? It's not like there still won't be an abundance of qualified applicants in a couple years, and if anything they're isolating potential applicants such as myself who do not feel comfortable committing to a job that wouldn't begin until over three years from now.
Because clerks hiring is an arms race of sorts to lock down the 'best' candidates. Judges inclined to hire so far out care deeply about the perceived quality of their clerks. That, or, as I have personally seen, new judges get overwhelmed by the number of quality applicants they get and aren't great at saying no to people, and start a trend of needing to hire people farther and farther out.
The latter totally happened to my judge, and once it happens, it’s hard to undo. If you’re a new judge in a big city with a big-prestige background and connections, the quality of the resume stack is just staggering—you’ll get quite a few applicants who are SCOTUS-caliber, single-digits T6 types if that’s what you’re after, especially if you aren’t picky on ideology. My judge kind of accidentally hired, like, ten in their first year.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Apr 27, 2022 3:17 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 25, 2022 3:35 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:10 pm
Why the hell are some judges already posting 2025–26 term positions on OSCAR? Internally, what's the judge's rationale for filling up clerkships that far in advance? It's not like there still won't be an abundance of qualified applicants in a couple years, and if anything they're isolating potential applicants such as myself who do not feel comfortable committing to a job that wouldn't begin until over three years from now.
Because clerks hiring is an arms race of sorts to lock down the 'best' candidates. Judges inclined to hire so far out care deeply about the perceived quality of their clerks. That, or, as I have personally seen, new judges get overwhelmed by the number of quality applicants they get and aren't great at saying no to people, and start a trend of needing to hire people farther and farther out.
Heck, this happened a bit to my judge, and they were anything but new! But with the plan in place again plus COVID meaning no one was traveling for interviews, they were worried about missing out on good candidates because everyone was interviewing at the same time, so they interviewed more candidates than needed, but then liked everyone and didn't want to say no to anyone, so ended up filling the year we were meant to be hiring for and then spilling over into the year after.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by LawBurner1 » Thu May 05, 2022 2:27 pm

There's a liberal COA judge whose OSCAR posting says they only require 1.5 years of grades. Does this mean they're off-plan?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu May 05, 2022 2:55 pm

LawBurner1 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:27 pm
There's a liberal COA judge whose OSCAR posting says they only require 1.5 years of grades. Does this mean they're off-plan?
Who is the liberal COA judge? It could mean that, or it could just be that they recognize people won't have two full years' worth of grades by the time the application reviewing process begins in June.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu May 05, 2022 2:59 pm

LawBurner1 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:27 pm
There's a liberal COA judge whose OSCAR posting says they only require 1.5 years of grades. Does this mean they're off-plan?
I can't imagine Barron's not following the plan and assume that this was a copy-and-paste error from last year, when the 2Ls only had 1.5 years of real grades.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by LawBurner1 » Thu May 05, 2022 3:01 pm

Jill Pryor on CA11!
Anonymous User wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:55 pm
LawBurner1 wrote:
Thu May 05, 2022 2:27 pm
There's a liberal COA judge whose OSCAR posting says they only require 1.5 years of grades. Does this mean they're off-plan?
Who is the liberal COA judge? It could mean that, or it could just be that they recognize people won't have two full years' worth of grades by the time the application reviewing process begins in June.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat May 07, 2022 8:03 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:49 pm
Do I have any chance at a federal clerkship if I'm below median at HYS?
Tough even at YSC

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 10, 2022 5:00 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat May 07, 2022 8:03 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:49 pm
Do I have any chance at a federal clerkship if I'm below median at HYS?
Tough even at YSC
Tough, but not impossible! My grades at YLS were fine-ish (although I'm not really sure how that's measured in P/H). I still got a 2d Cir. and district court clerkship (SDNY/EDNY) through connections I made at law school, including a professor from whom I got a "P" but liked me personally.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed May 11, 2022 8:48 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Apr 27, 2022 3:17 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 25, 2022 3:35 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:10 pm
Why the hell are some judges already posting 2025–26 term positions on OSCAR? Internally, what's the judge's rationale for filling up clerkships that far in advance? It's not like there still won't be an abundance of qualified applicants in a couple years, and if anything they're isolating potential applicants such as myself who do not feel comfortable committing to a job that wouldn't begin until over three years from now.
Because clerks hiring is an arms race of sorts to lock down the 'best' candidates. Judges inclined to hire so far out care deeply about the perceived quality of their clerks. That, or, as I have personally seen, new judges get overwhelmed by the number of quality applicants they get and aren't great at saying no to people, and start a trend of needing to hire people farther and farther out.
Heck, this happened a bit to my judge, and they were anything but new! But with the plan in place again plus COVID meaning no one was traveling for interviews, they were worried about missing out on good candidates because everyone was interviewing at the same time, so they interviewed more candidates than needed, but then liked everyone and didn't want to say no to anyone, so ended up filling the year we were meant to be hiring for and then spilling over into the year after.
I think this actually happens quite a bit. My chambers hires slightly earlier than the plan (Spring instead of Summer). But we typically interview 4-5 candidates per opening. Sometimes there’s 3-4 great candidates that our Judge doesn’t want to pass on, so we offer them spots for the coming year and the year after that. If deferred, judge usually will help the candidates find another clerkship to fill the gap.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed May 11, 2022 12:53 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue May 10, 2022 5:00 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sat May 07, 2022 8:03 am
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Apr 11, 2022 9:49 pm
Do I have any chance at a federal clerkship if I'm below median at HYS?
Tough even at YSC
Tough, but not impossible! My grades at YLS were fine-ish (although I'm not really sure how that's measured in P/H). I still got a 2d Cir. and district court clerkship (SDNY/EDNY) through connections I made at law school, including a professor from whom I got a "P" but liked me personally.
Would you mind giving a ballpark of how many Hs/Ps you had and how close those connections were?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed May 11, 2022 8:03 pm

~50% H/50% P. I'm not totally sure what you mean about how close a connection. I took multiple classes with the prof who recommended me to the Circuit, but they recommended me in 2L after the first class. The other was through a YLS alum I reached out to because I thought their judge was cool (during 3L).

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Wed May 18, 2022 11:11 am

Clerking for two-years at the district court in 2023 after a year working for a firm. Interested in CoA after the district court clerkship but my grades are probably just aren't strong enough on their own (T14 maybe top 30-40%, if I had to guess).

Best case scenario from what I have gathered is that my district court judge could reccomend me for a CoA clerkship but wanted to know if it might be worth applying earlier without that recommendation? Obviously, no real harm in applying but really just wanted to know whether, without the say-so of my judge, would I just be an automatic rejection and overall, would it just better to wait it out? Would having the two-year clerkship already lined up help?

Interested in CAs 1, 3–4 if helpful.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon May 23, 2022 4:18 pm

Just got grades back at HLS, cumulative GPA jumped to a 3.85 - including H in fed courts + a DS.

My first semester grades were like fine but nothing spectacular so my judges list does not include any competitive districts and has a limited circuit presence. How much should I be changing it in light of my recent grades.

Lists are due asap so kinda on a time crunch and panicking

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 pm

Recently interviewed for a COA clerkship (think CA2/CA9). Nothing was said about the timeline. I assume I won’t hear anything until the 2Ls can apply and be interviewed. Any thoughts on keeping the interest alive so my candidacy doesn’t go stale? Or do I just have to ride out the wave for two more weeks and hope for the best?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:13 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 pm
Recently interviewed for a COA clerkship (think CA2/CA9). Nothing was said about the timeline. I assume I won’t hear anything until the 2Ls can apply and be interviewed. Any thoughts on keeping the interest alive so my candidacy doesn’t go stale? Or do I just have to ride out the wave for two more weeks and hope for the best?
Ride it out.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:57 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:13 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 pm
Recently interviewed for a COA clerkship (think CA2/CA9). Nothing was said about the timeline. I assume I won’t hear anything until the 2Ls can apply and be interviewed. Any thoughts on keeping the interest alive so my candidacy doesn’t go stale? Or do I just have to ride out the wave for two more weeks and hope for the best?
Ride it out.
Agree, ride it out. The only real reason to contact chambers after an interview is if you have another offer and you need an answer by a deadline. Otherwise, candidacies don't really go stale; chambers is just hiring on their timeline, not yours. They haven't forgotten about you and they know you're interested, because you interviewed and you haven't withdrawn your application. They don't need to be reminded, and it's really unlikely that you can say/do anything that will improve your application in a check-in.

I can see only two exceptions: first, if you have some kind of material change to your resume - like an award, honors, a publication, another clerkship, that kind of thing - then of course send in an update. Second of course if the judge says something like, "I plan to make a decision in 3 weeks, but if you haven't heard anything after that, please feel free to check in," then you have carte blanche.

If they did give a deadline (I know you said this judge didn't) without expressly inviting you to check back in, I don't think checking in 1-2 weeks after it is bad or going to hurt you or anything. It's just that either they've blown their deadline and still don't know if they want to hire you, or they've made a decision and it's not you, so your call/e-mail won't achieve much. They're not going to drop everything else and turn to the hiring process just because you check in.

(I'm not exactly sure where the idea that you need to remind employers about your existence after an interview comes from - whether it's just a holdover from boomer advice that "you've got to show initiative! go down there and hand them your resume in person! keep calling to follow up and don't take no for an answer!" or comes from the practice of needing to show continuing interest when you're wait-listed at a law school. Either way, it generally doesn't help with rational employers.) (And to the extent this post is ranty, I don't mean it at all personally, OP. I just see this question come up a lot.)

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:57 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:13 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 pm
Recently interviewed for a COA clerkship (think CA2/CA9). Nothing was said about the timeline. I assume I won’t hear anything until the 2Ls can apply and be interviewed. Any thoughts on keeping the interest alive so my candidacy doesn’t go stale? Or do I just have to ride out the wave for two more weeks and hope for the best?
Ride it out.
Agree, ride it out. The only real reason to contact chambers after an interview is if you have another offer and you need an answer by a deadline. Otherwise, candidacies don't really go stale; chambers is just hiring on their timeline, not yours. They haven't forgotten about you and they know you're interested, because you interviewed and you haven't withdrawn your application. They don't need to be reminded, and it's really unlikely that you can say/do anything that will improve your application in a check-in.

I can see only two exceptions: first, if you have some kind of material change to your resume - like an award, honors, a publication, another clerkship, that kind of thing - then of course send in an update. Second of course if the judge says something like, "I plan to make a decision in 3 weeks, but if you haven't heard anything after that, please feel free to check in," then you have carte blanche.

If they did give a deadline (I know you said this judge didn't) without expressly inviting you to check back in, I don't think checking in 1-2 weeks after it is bad or going to hurt you or anything. It's just that either they've blown their deadline and still don't know if they want to hire you, or they've made a decision and it's not you, so your call/e-mail won't achieve much. They're not going to drop everything else and turn to the hiring process just because you check in.

(I'm not exactly sure where the idea that you need to remind employers about your existence after an interview comes from - whether it's just a holdover from boomer advice that "you've got to show initiative! go down there and hand them your resume in person! keep calling to follow up and don't take no for an answer!" or comes from the practice of needing to show continuing interest when you're wait-listed at a law school. Either way, it generally doesn't help with rational employers.) (And to the extent this post is ranty, I don't mean it at all personally, OP. I just see this question come up a lot.)
Thanks! This was my gut reaction. I just haven’t kept up with this process since getting out of school 6+ years ago and thought it was best to see if things have changed before I had a missed opportunity. This place is great for that raw input (and me an old timer didn’t even know this new plan existed until yesterday)

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:44 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:11 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:57 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:13 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 pm
Recently interviewed for a COA clerkship (think CA2/CA9). Nothing was said about the timeline. I assume I won’t hear anything until the 2Ls can apply and be interviewed. Any thoughts on keeping the interest alive so my candidacy doesn’t go stale? Or do I just have to ride out the wave for two more weeks and hope for the best?
Ride it out.
Agree, ride it out. The only real reason to contact chambers after an interview is if you have another offer and you need an answer by a deadline. Otherwise, candidacies don't really go stale; chambers is just hiring on their timeline, not yours. They haven't forgotten about you and they know you're interested, because you interviewed and you haven't withdrawn your application. They don't need to be reminded, and it's really unlikely that you can say/do anything that will improve your application in a check-in.

I can see only two exceptions: first, if you have some kind of material change to your resume - like an award, honors, a publication, another clerkship, that kind of thing - then of course send in an update. Second of course if the judge says something like, "I plan to make a decision in 3 weeks, but if you haven't heard anything after that, please feel free to check in," then you have carte blanche.

If they did give a deadline (I know you said this judge didn't) without expressly inviting you to check back in, I don't think checking in 1-2 weeks after it is bad or going to hurt you or anything. It's just that either they've blown their deadline and still don't know if they want to hire you, or they've made a decision and it's not you, so your call/e-mail won't achieve much. They're not going to drop everything else and turn to the hiring process just because you check in.

(I'm not exactly sure where the idea that you need to remind employers about your existence after an interview comes from - whether it's just a holdover from boomer advice that "you've got to show initiative! go down there and hand them your resume in person! keep calling to follow up and don't take no for an answer!" or comes from the practice of needing to show continuing interest when you're wait-listed at a law school. Either way, it generally doesn't help with rational employers.) (And to the extent this post is ranty, I don't mean it at all personally, OP. I just see this question come up a lot.)
Thanks! This was my gut reaction. I just haven’t kept up with this process since getting out of school 6+ years ago and thought it was best to see if things have changed before I had a missed opportunity. This place is great for that raw input (and me an old timer didn’t even know this new plan existed until yesterday)
I totally get it! Crossing fingers for you.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:52 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:11 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:57 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:13 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 pm
Recently interviewed for a COA clerkship (think CA2/CA9). Nothing was said about the timeline. I assume I won’t hear anything until the 2Ls can apply and be interviewed. Any thoughts on keeping the interest alive so my candidacy doesn’t go stale? Or do I just have to ride out the wave for two more weeks and hope for the best?
Ride it out.
Agree, ride it out. The only real reason to contact chambers after an interview is if you have another offer and you need an answer by a deadline. Otherwise, candidacies don't really go stale; chambers is just hiring on their timeline, not yours. They haven't forgotten about you and they know you're interested, because you interviewed and you haven't withdrawn your application. They don't need to be reminded, and it's really unlikely that you can say/do anything that will improve your application in a check-in.

I can see only two exceptions: first, if you have some kind of material change to your resume - like an award, honors, a publication, another clerkship, that kind of thing - then of course send in an update. Second of course if the judge says something like, "I plan to make a decision in 3 weeks, but if you haven't heard anything after that, please feel free to check in," then you have carte blanche.

If they did give a deadline (I know you said this judge didn't) without expressly inviting you to check back in, I don't think checking in 1-2 weeks after it is bad or going to hurt you or anything. It's just that either they've blown their deadline and still don't know if they want to hire you, or they've made a decision and it's not you, so your call/e-mail won't achieve much. They're not going to drop everything else and turn to the hiring process just because you check in.

(I'm not exactly sure where the idea that you need to remind employers about your existence after an interview comes from - whether it's just a holdover from boomer advice that "you've got to show initiative! go down there and hand them your resume in person! keep calling to follow up and don't take no for an answer!" or comes from the practice of needing to show continuing interest when you're wait-listed at a law school. Either way, it generally doesn't help with rational employers.) (And to the extent this post is ranty, I don't mean it at all personally, OP. I just see this question come up a lot.)
Thanks! This was my gut reaction. I just haven’t kept up with this process since getting out of school 6+ years ago and thought it was best to see if things have changed before I had a missed opportunity. This place is great for that raw input (and me an old timer didn’t even know this new plan existed until yesterday)
Anecdotally, following up with a judge who had fallen behind was a large reason I got the clerkship. He liked the initiative and my passion for the opportunity with him. So, your mileage may vary, but obviously touch grass before doing anything to make sure you're not coming off like a stalker.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:03 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:52 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 10:11 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:57 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 9:13 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:42 pm
Recently interviewed for a COA clerkship (think CA2/CA9). Nothing was said about the timeline. I assume I won’t hear anything until the 2Ls can apply and be interviewed. Any thoughts on keeping the interest alive so my candidacy doesn’t go stale? Or do I just have to ride out the wave for two more weeks and hope for the best?
Ride it out.
Agree, ride it out. The only real reason to contact chambers after an interview is if you have another offer and you need an answer by a deadline. Otherwise, candidacies don't really go stale; chambers is just hiring on their timeline, not yours. They haven't forgotten about you and they know you're interested, because you interviewed and you haven't withdrawn your application. They don't need to be reminded, and it's really unlikely that you can say/do anything that will improve your application in a check-in.

I can see only two exceptions: first, if you have some kind of material change to your resume - like an award, honors, a publication, another clerkship, that kind of thing - then of course send in an update. Second of course if the judge says something like, "I plan to make a decision in 3 weeks, but if you haven't heard anything after that, please feel free to check in," then you have carte blanche.

If they did give a deadline (I know you said this judge didn't) without expressly inviting you to check back in, I don't think checking in 1-2 weeks after it is bad or going to hurt you or anything. It's just that either they've blown their deadline and still don't know if they want to hire you, or they've made a decision and it's not you, so your call/e-mail won't achieve much. They're not going to drop everything else and turn to the hiring process just because you check in.

(I'm not exactly sure where the idea that you need to remind employers about your existence after an interview comes from - whether it's just a holdover from boomer advice that "you've got to show initiative! go down there and hand them your resume in person! keep calling to follow up and don't take no for an answer!" or comes from the practice of needing to show continuing interest when you're wait-listed at a law school. Either way, it generally doesn't help with rational employers.) (And to the extent this post is ranty, I don't mean it at all personally, OP. I just see this question come up a lot.)
Thanks! This was my gut reaction. I just haven’t kept up with this process since getting out of school 6+ years ago and thought it was best to see if things have changed before I had a missed opportunity. This place is great for that raw input (and me an old timer didn’t even know this new plan existed until yesterday)
Anecdotally, following up with a judge who had fallen behind was a large reason I got the clerkship. He liked the initiative and my passion for the opportunity with him. So, your mileage may vary, but obviously touch grass before doing anything to make sure you're not coming off like a stalker.
I *really* think this is an exception that proves the rule. But it is true that judges are idiosyncratic and what one judge loves, another may hate.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 09, 2022 1:08 pm

I have a question re OSCAR for any of the clerks who have used it and sort through applications. Still missing one letter of recommendation but have everything else. If my Professor still does not get his letter in by Monday when the plan begins what will it look like on your end? Will my application not go through? Will my application go through but it will say one LOR is pending? Will it go through with just two letters instead of three.

Hope is he gets it in by Monday but it is already Thursday and I have heard nothing despite following up. Want to know how screwed I may end up being by this.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 09, 2022 3:52 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Jun 09, 2022 1:08 pm
I have a question re OSCAR for any of the clerks who have used it and sort through applications. Still missing one letter of recommendation but have everything else. If my Professor still does not get his letter in by Monday when the plan begins what will it look like on your end? Will my application not go through? Will my application go through but it will say one LOR is pending? Will it go through with just two letters instead of three.

Hope is he gets it in by Monday but it is already Thursday and I have heard nothing despite following up. Want to know how screwed I may end up being by this.
Apps are visible on OSCAR even if not all of the recommendations are in, but it will show that there is a pending letter of recommendation. How clerks and judges treat that situation likely varies judge-by-judge.

Anecdotally, when I applied only 1 of my 4 recommenders had their letters uploaded to OSCAR as of 11:59 p.m. the night before the plan. This, despite weeks of lead time. All of the letters were up by noon the next day, but I'll be damned if it wasn't stressful. I think a lot of professors just have turned procrastination into an art form.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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


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