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I'm a lit associate at a V50. Do I need to publish something to have a shot at a district court clerkship? Is it an exercise in futility altogether?

Anonymous User wrote:I'm a lit associate at a V50. Do I need to publish something to have a shot at a district court clerkship? Is it an exercise in futility altogether?

On the CSO website there is a page that lists the GPAs of people who have got certain clerkships. Not sure if it included district courts or not.

Tom Joad wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:I'm a lit associate at a V50. Do I need to publish something to have a shot at a district court clerkship? Is it an exercise in futility altogether?

On the CSO website there is a page that lists the GPAs of people who have got certain clerkships. Not sure if it included district courts or not.

I'm an alum, and I don't have access to these stats anymore.

Ask Career Services.

Anonymous User wrote:I'm a lit associate at a V50. Do I need to publish something to have a shot at a district court clerkship? Is it an exercise in futility altogether?

It's not a futile exercise, but it may not be very successful. If I recall correctly, a 3.4 at UVA is somewhere between median and top third. It will be an uphill battle. Most of the major districts are out, but there are plenty of good judges in 'flyover' districts where you would have a good shot. I would try to find former clerks for your target judges and talk to them. Moreover, I would specifically target judges who hire only, or predominantly, alums. And, I would talk to your faculty recommenders to see if they can put in some calls for you. My only over all concern would be that you should make sure that a clerkship would be beneficial to your career -- if you're a junior associate, then yes, it would be useful, if you're a mid-level/senior associate, then probably less useful.

-DoubleClerk

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Yes, it's definitely possible. I had around a 3.4 at UVA and clerked for a flyover district judge. I got interviews with 3 other federal district judges and a state supreme court justice in a big state. I seem to recall the grade distribution thing Ruth Payne gave out saying that the average district court clerk from UVA had around a 3.5, but plenty of districts had average GPAs in the 3.35-3.45 range. And she said these were ITE ranges. Just call career services and spend 15 minutes talking to them. They will give you the info, even if you're a few years out.

bringin this one back from the dead ... when y'all are talking about your GPAs are you talking about 1L year only?

Dato wrote:bringin this one back from the dead ... when y'all are talking about your GPAs are you talking about 1L year only?

Generally at least 1.5L year - most people apply at least after getting fall 2L grades. Technically, under the hiring plan, rising 3Ls can't apply until after 2L grades are in (whether that was September previously, or end of June now). But as more and more judges go off-plan, I think 3 semesters of grades is most common.

(Unless you apply as a 3L or alum, of course.)