Best and worst judges to clerk for Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone knows what kind of clerks bumatay hires? Like top tier grades from top tier schools plus fed soc? Or

Supposedly he's trying to become a feeder (though I don't think he's fed any yet) so he's pretty aggressive about top grades/top school. I was reasonably competitive for COA clerkships at HYS and was specifically told Bumatay would be a pretty severe reach (same with Bress, fwiw).

I don't think this is true at all. I graduated fairly recently and his focus was very heavily on fed soc ties. He even hired a classmate after just his first semester grades.

I was FedSoc board and (roughly) top-third at HYS, and told that was insufficient (the specific words, from someone who would definitely know, was "probably disqualifying") for Bumatay earlier this year. Meanwhile other moderately-grade-sensitive COAs were more than willing to interview me.

Edit: also, I do think there's a distinction between 1L hires and later hires. Lots of FedSoc judges hire based on stellar 1L grades and then the future clerks slack off, while later hires are held to a consistently high standard.

Well whoever told you that lied, or things have changed in a year. One of my recent classmates clerked for him and he earned a grade at least once below a “pass,” which is an exceptionally hard thing to do at my hys. like it’s almost unfathomable how that happened. More likely to graduate w straight Hs—that’s how rare. So he was certainly not even top half, and obviously so. Butamaya likes fedsoc!

This isn't true, and straight H is not more common than LP/RC at any of HYS, and yes, as others have mentioned, his clerkships are increasingly competitive so the bar is higher every year. Like most conservative judges, he appears to hire largely from FedSoc, though not exclusively so.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone knows what kind of clerks bumatay hires? Like top tier grades from top tier schools plus fed soc? Or

Supposedly he's trying to become a feeder (though I don't think he's fed any yet) so he's pretty aggressive about top grades/top school. I was reasonably competitive for COA clerkships at HYS and was specifically told Bumatay would be a pretty severe reach (same with Bress, fwiw).

I don't think this is true at all. I graduated fairly recently and his focus was very heavily on fed soc ties. He even hired a classmate after just his first semester grades.

I was FedSoc board and (roughly) top-third at HYS, and told that was insufficient (the specific words, from someone who would definitely know, was "probably disqualifying") for Bumatay earlier this year. Meanwhile other moderately-grade-sensitive COAs were more than willing to interview me.

Edit: also, I do think there's a distinction between 1L hires and later hires. Lots of FedSoc judges hire based on stellar 1L grades and then the future clerks slack off, while later hires are held to a consistently high standard.

Well whoever told you that lied, or things have changed in a year. One of my recent classmates clerked for him and he earned a grade at least once below a “pass,” which is an exceptionally hard thing to do at my hys. like it’s almost unfathomable how that happened. More likely to graduate w straight Hs—that’s how rare. So he was certainly not even top half, and obviously so. Butamaya likes fedsoc!

This isn't true, and straight H is not more common than LP/RC at any of HYS, and yes, as others have mentioned, his clerkships are increasingly competitive so the bar is higher every year. Like most conservative judges, he appears to hire largely from FedSoc, though not exclusively so.

Whatever, I’m not debating someone who clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about and obtusely ignores hyperbole. at my hys that isn’t h, anything below a P is absolutely dreadful. Professors have to ASK the dean (allegedly) to give students less than a P. And Butamay has hired at least one person who did exactly that, earned less than a P, on at least two occasions. Maybe things have changed in one year, but you should absolutely shoot your shot if you have an elite school and conservative bonafides

[Anonymous User]

Anyone knows what kind of clerks bumatay hires? Like top tier grades from top tier schools plus fed soc? Or

Supposedly he's trying to become a feeder (though I don't think he's fed any yet) so he's pretty aggressive about top grades/top school. I was reasonably competitive for COA clerkships at HYS and was specifically told Bumatay would be a pretty severe reach (same with Bress, fwiw).

I don't think this is true at all. I graduated fairly recently and his focus was very heavily on fed soc ties. He even hired a classmate after just his first semester grades.

I was FedSoc board and (roughly) top-third at HYS, and told that was insufficient (the specific words, from someone who would definitely know, was "probably disqualifying") for Bumatay earlier this year. Meanwhile other moderately-grade-sensitive COAs were more than willing to interview me.

Edit: also, I do think there's a distinction between 1L hires and later hires. Lots of FedSoc judges hire based on stellar 1L grades and then the future clerks slack off, while later hires are held to a consistently high standard.

Well whoever told you that lied, or things have changed in a year. One of my recent classmates clerked for him and he earned a grade at least once below a “pass,” which is an exceptionally hard thing to do at my hys. like it’s almost unfathomable how that happened. More likely to graduate w straight Hs—that’s how rare. So he was certainly not even top half, and obviously so. Butamaya likes fedsoc!

This isn't true, and straight H is not more common than LP/RC at any of HYS, and yes, as others have mentioned, his clerkships are increasingly competitive so the bar is higher every year. Like most conservative judges, he appears to hire largely from FedSoc, though not exclusively so.

Whatever, I’m not debating someone who clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about and obtusely ignores hyperbole. at my hys that isn’t h, anything below a P is absolutely dreadful. Professors have to ASK the dean (allegedly) to give students less than a P. And Butamay has hired at least one person who did exactly that, earned less than a P, on at least two occasions. Maybe things have changed in one year, but you should absolutely shoot your shot if you have an elite school and conservative bonafides

It's not a debate. You made something up about a judge whose name you can't spell. Nobody from that chapter received an RC (whether "at least once" or "on at least two occasions") before clerking anywhere.

[Anonymous User]

Supposedly he's trying to become a feeder (though I don't think he's fed any yet) so he's pretty aggressive about top grades/top school. I was reasonably competitive for COA clerkships at HYS and was specifically told Bumatay would be a pretty severe reach (same with Bress, fwiw).

I don't think this is true at all. I graduated fairly recently and his focus was very heavily on fed soc ties. He even hired a classmate after just his first semester grades.

I was FedSoc board and (roughly) top-third at HYS, and told that was insufficient (the specific words, from someone who would definitely know, was "probably disqualifying") for Bumatay earlier this year. Meanwhile other moderately-grade-sensitive COAs were more than willing to interview me.

Edit: also, I do think there's a distinction between 1L hires and later hires. Lots of FedSoc judges hire based on stellar 1L grades and then the future clerks slack off, while later hires are held to a consistently high standard.

Well whoever told you that lied, or things have changed in a year. One of my recent classmates clerked for him and he earned a grade at least once below a “pass,” which is an exceptionally hard thing to do at my hys. like it’s almost unfathomable how that happened. More likely to graduate w straight Hs—that’s how rare. So he was certainly not even top half, and obviously so. Butamaya likes fedsoc!

This isn't true, and straight H is not more common than LP/RC at any of HYS, and yes, as others have mentioned, his clerkships are increasingly competitive so the bar is higher every year. Like most conservative judges, he appears to hire largely from FedSoc, though not exclusively so.

Whatever, I’m not debating someone who clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about and obtusely ignores hyperbole. at my hys that isn’t h, anything below a P is absolutely dreadful. Professors have to ASK the dean (allegedly) to give students less than a P. And Butamay has hired at least one person who did exactly that, earned less than a P, on at least two occasions. Maybe things have changed in one year, but you should absolutely shoot your shot if you have an elite school and conservative bonafides

It's not a debate. You made something up about a judge whose name you can't spell. Nobody from that chapter received an RC (whether "at least once" or "on at least two occasions") before clerking anywhere.

+1. There's a worrisome trend of TLS posters making demonstrably false claims about the hiring standards of FedSoc judges. Some posters may be innocently sharing second-hand misinformation they heard from sour-grape applicants. Others may be deliberately fabricating information to dilute the perceived prestige of conservative clerkships. Either way, you should take anecdotes like the above with a grain of salt.

FedSoc is an excellent opportunity for conservative and libertarian law students to network with likeminded judges. It it is not sufficient and - except for a tiny sliver of judges - not necessary to secure clerkships with those judges. The FedSoc boost is just one of many unearned advantages certain law students enjoy during the clerkship application process, and it is not close to being the strongest of the bunch. As with liberal judges, conservative judges sometimes bend on grades for a candidate that they otherwise love. Those hires are the exception to the general rule, and there's usually a lot more going on with them behind the scenes.

[Anonymous User]

I don't think this is true at all. I graduated fairly recently and his focus was very heavily on fed soc ties. He even hired a classmate after just his first semester grades.

I was FedSoc board and (roughly) top-third at HYS, and told that was insufficient (the specific words, from someone who would definitely know, was "probably disqualifying") for Bumatay earlier this year. Meanwhile other moderately-grade-sensitive COAs were more than willing to interview me.

Edit: also, I do think there's a distinction between 1L hires and later hires. Lots of FedSoc judges hire based on stellar 1L grades and then the future clerks slack off, while later hires are held to a consistently high standard.

Well whoever told you that lied, or things have changed in a year. One of my recent classmates clerked for him and he earned a grade at least once below a “pass,” which is an exceptionally hard thing to do at my hys. like it’s almost unfathomable how that happened. More likely to graduate w straight Hs—that’s how rare. So he was certainly not even top half, and obviously so. Butamaya likes fedsoc!

This isn't true, and straight H is not more common than LP/RC at any of HYS, and yes, as others have mentioned, his clerkships are increasingly competitive so the bar is higher every year. Like most conservative judges, he appears to hire largely from FedSoc, though not exclusively so.

Whatever, I’m not debating someone who clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about and obtusely ignores hyperbole. at my hys that isn’t h, anything below a P is absolutely dreadful. Professors have to ASK the dean (allegedly) to give students less than a P. And Butamay has hired at least one person who did exactly that, earned less than a P, on at least two occasions. Maybe things have changed in one year, but you should absolutely shoot your shot if you have an elite school and conservative bonafides

It's not a debate. You made something up about a judge whose name you can't spell. Nobody from that chapter received an RC (whether "at least once" or "on at least two occasions") before clerking anywhere.

+1. There's a worrisome trend of TLS posters making demonstrably false claims about the hiring standards of FedSoc judges. Some posters may be innocently sharing second-hand misinformation they heard from sour-grape applicants. Others may be deliberately fabricating information to dilute the perceived prestige of conservative clerkships. Either way, you should take anecdotes like the above with a grain of salt.

FedSoc is an excellent opportunity for conservative and libertarian law students to network with likeminded judges. It it is not sufficient and - except for a tiny sliver of judges - not necessary to secure clerkships with those judges. The FedSoc boost is just one of many unearned advantages certain law students enjoy during the clerkship application process, and it is not close to being the strongest of the bunch. As with liberal judges, conservative judges sometimes bend on grades for a candidate that they otherwise love. Those hires are the exception to the general rule, and there's usually a lot more going on with them behind the scenes.

This exactly. I clerk for a "fedsoc" judge, and I regularly toss applications with fedsoc on them if they are otherwise insufficient. Fedsoc is simply a signal that you generally will approach legal questions in a similar way--not a way to elevate a shitty application. In other words, for *some* judges, it is necessary but NOT sufficient.

[Anonymous User]

I’m the OP who first commented on Gelpi’s work product. I have no gripes with his ideological priors; I just noticed that his opinions were clearly worse than everyone else’s on CA1. I appreciate people sharing intel confirming that Gelpi is, frankly, not a judge to be taken seriously.

It’s a shame, too, given that his predecessor was so thorough (if very left leaning)

Not surprised in the least that the work product coming out of his chambers is subpar. Gelpi has been hiring from a particular top law school as long as you show the tiniest interest in Puerto Rico. Not sure how it is this year, but last year was particular astonishing!

[Anonymous User]

I was FedSoc board and (roughly) top-third at HYS, and told that was insufficient (the specific words, from someone who would definitely know, was "probably disqualifying") for Bumatay earlier this year. Meanwhile other moderately-grade-sensitive COAs were more than willing to interview me.

Edit: also, I do think there's a distinction between 1L hires and later hires. Lots of FedSoc judges hire based on stellar 1L grades and then the future clerks slack off, while later hires are held to a consistently high standard.

Well whoever told you that lied, or things have changed in a year. One of my recent classmates clerked for him and he earned a grade at least once below a “pass,” which is an exceptionally hard thing to do at my hys. like it’s almost unfathomable how that happened. More likely to graduate w straight Hs—that’s how rare. So he was certainly not even top half, and obviously so. Butamaya likes fedsoc!

This isn't true, and straight H is not more common than LP/RC at any of HYS, and yes, as others have mentioned, his clerkships are increasingly competitive so the bar is higher every year. Like most conservative judges, he appears to hire largely from FedSoc, though not exclusively so.

Whatever, I’m not debating someone who clearly doesn’t know what they’re talking about and obtusely ignores hyperbole. at my hys that isn’t h, anything below a P is absolutely dreadful. Professors have to ASK the dean (allegedly) to give students less than a P. And Butamay has hired at least one person who did exactly that, earned less than a P, on at least two occasions. Maybe things have changed in one year, but you should absolutely shoot your shot if you have an elite school and conservative bonafides

It's not a debate. You made something up about a judge whose name you can't spell. Nobody from that chapter received an RC (whether "at least once" or "on at least two occasions") before clerking anywhere.

+1. There's a worrisome trend of TLS posters making demonstrably false claims about the hiring standards of FedSoc judges. Some posters may be innocently sharing second-hand misinformation they heard from sour-grape applicants. Others may be deliberately fabricating information to dilute the perceived prestige of conservative clerkships. Either way, you should take anecdotes like the above with a grain of salt.

FedSoc is an excellent opportunity for conservative and libertarian law students to network with likeminded judges. It it is not sufficient and - except for a tiny sliver of judges - not necessary to secure clerkships with those judges. The FedSoc boost is just one of many unearned advantages certain law students enjoy during the clerkship application process, and it is not close to being the strongest of the bunch. As with liberal judges, conservative judges sometimes bend on grades for a candidate that they otherwise love. Those hires are the exception to the general rule, and there's usually a lot more going on with them behind the scenes.

This exactly. I clerk for a "fedsoc" judge, and I regularly toss applications with fedsoc on them if they are otherwise insufficient. Fedsoc is simply a signal that you generally will approach legal questions in a similar way--not a way to elevate a shitty application. In other words, for *some* judges, it is necessary but NOT sufficient.

The person I reference (a good friend) — I didn’t say the person had a shitty application, but the person did have subpar grades. I don’t know what to tell you… not all clerkships are made the same. I’m not saying below passing will work for everyone but it absolutely did at least once.

Edit: clarity. my advice remains the same — shoot your shot if you have bonafides.

[Anonymous User]

I think we're talking about S here (the dean story is exactly the one I heard when I was there) and... I have a harder time believing that you apparently know multiple people with RCs than that these people you know with supposedly bad grades got Bumatay. I'm sure that people do actually get RCs, but it's so goddamn rare that I'm suspicious.

For context, I never heard of anyone actually getting an RC. We joked that they were rarer than unicorns.

I remember hearing Pam Karlan once mention that if you've ever gotten an H in a class you wouldn't be physically capable of writing an RC-level exam, but that might be hyperbole.

[Anonymous User]

I’m the OP who first commented on Gelpi’s work product. I have no gripes with his ideological priors; I just noticed that his opinions were clearly worse than everyone else’s on CA1. I appreciate people sharing intel confirming that Gelpi is, frankly, not a judge to be taken seriously.

It’s a shame, too, given that his predecessor was so thorough (if very left leaning)

Not surprised in the least that the work product coming out of his chambers is subpar. Gelpi has been hiring from a particular top law school as long as you show the tiniest interest in Puerto Rico. Not sure how it is this year, but last year was particular astonishing!

In fairness to Gelpi, finding students that are willing to move to Puerto Rico and wouldn't find it a massive culture shock could be pretty difficult. Even if you may think beforehand you'd be fine living in Puerto Rico for a year, he'd probably know better than anyone that a clerk might become miserable halfway through.

[Anonymous User]

I’m the OP who first commented on Gelpi’s work product. I have no gripes with his ideological priors; I just noticed that his opinions were clearly worse than everyone else’s on CA1. I appreciate people sharing intel confirming that Gelpi is, frankly, not a judge to be taken seriously.

It’s a shame, too, given that his predecessor was so thorough (if very left leaning)

Not surprised in the least that the work product coming out of his chambers is subpar. Gelpi has been hiring from a particular top law school as long as you show the tiniest interest in Puerto Rico. Not sure how it is this year, but last year was particular astonishing!

In fairness to Gelpi, finding students that are willing to move to Puerto Rico and wouldn't find it a massive culture shock could be pretty difficult. Even if you may think beforehand you'd be fine living in Puerto Rico for a year, he'd probably know better than anyone that a clerk might become miserable halfway through.

Yeah, I can't fault him for prioritizing interest in Puerto Rico or (pure speculation) something like speaking Spanish. That said, I know nothing about the clerks in question or their grades or whatever. I'm also definitely NOT suggesting that being interested in Puerto Rico and/or speaking Spanish are at all correlated with subpar work product; I'd put a lot of that on the judge, since they're the one approving what goes out and there's still a learning curve for anyone who hasn't clerked before.

To the extent the work product is subpar (don't have enough info to have an opinion), I wonder if any of it has to do with his history as a DCt judge in Puerto Rico. It appears to have a pretty heavy caseload compared to the rest of the 1st Circuit, especially criminal cases, and based on my experience in a few different districts now, courts in high-volume criminal districts tend to have a bit more of a rough-and-ready approach, as a way to stay on top of the volume. The First Circuit as a whole is definitely *not* like this (I've heard some people say that it's the opposite, their volume is generally low and so their judges dig way too deep into even very routine cases) so maybe that heightens the contrast.

[Anonymous User]

I’m the OP who first commented on Gelpi’s work product. I have no gripes with his ideological priors; I just noticed that his opinions were clearly worse than everyone else’s on CA1. I appreciate people sharing intel confirming that Gelpi is, frankly, not a judge to be taken seriously.

It’s a shame, too, given that his predecessor was so thorough (if very left leaning)

Not surprised in the least that the work product coming out of his chambers is subpar. Gelpi has been hiring from a particular top law school as long as you show the tiniest interest in Puerto Rico. Not sure how it is this year, but last year was particular astonishing!

In fairness to Gelpi, finding students that are willing to move to Puerto Rico and wouldn't find it a massive culture shock could be pretty difficult. Even if you may think beforehand you'd be fine living in Puerto Rico for a year, he'd probably know better than anyone that a clerk might become miserable halfway through.

Probably because he was a good jurist, but Torruella didn’t seem to have problems getting good clerks.

[Anonymous User]

I think we're talking about S here (the dean story is exactly the one I heard when I was there) and... I have a harder time believing that you apparently know multiple people with RCs than that these people you know with supposedly bad grades got Bumatay. I'm sure that people do actually get RCs, but it's so goddamn rare that I'm suspicious.

For context, I never heard of anyone actually getting an RC. We joked that they were rarer than unicorns.

I remember hearing Pam Karlan once mention that if you've ever gotten an H in a class you wouldn't be physically capable of writing an RC-level exam, but that might be hyperbole.

There’s a lot here I didn’t say, but it’s unimportant—if you’re at fedsoc at Yale or Chicago or whatever and have subpar grades but an otherwise strong app, apply. That’s all.

In any event, unless you’re undeniable, I wouldn’t count on that or any specific appellate opportunity. It’s always competitive, even if not traditionally so.

[Anonymous User]

I think we're talking about S here (the dean story is exactly the one I heard when I was there) and... I have a harder time believing that you apparently know multiple people with RCs than that these people you know with supposedly bad grades got Bumatay. I'm sure that people do actually get RCs, but it's so goddamn rare that I'm suspicious.

For context, I never heard of anyone actually getting an RC. We joked that they were rarer than unicorns.

I remember hearing Pam Karlan once mention that if you've ever gotten an H in a class you wouldn't be physically capable of writing an RC-level exam, but that might be hyperbole.

No dog in this fight, but that's definitely hyperbole. Life happens. Parents suddenly die the week of exams. Law students go into insulin shock from previously undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes the week of exams. Your wife's baby is born a month early the week before exams. Those aren't random examples, all of those happened to people I know (no idea what they got for grades). Obviously law schools will make accommodations for those sorts of things, but still, H-caliber students can go into exams in RC condition through no real fault of their own.

[Anonymous User]

I think we're talking about S here (the dean story is exactly the one I heard when I was there) and... I have a harder time believing that you apparently know multiple people with RCs than that these people you know with supposedly bad grades got Bumatay. I'm sure that people do actually get RCs, but it's so goddamn rare that I'm suspicious.

For context, I never heard of anyone actually getting an RC. We joked that they were rarer than unicorns.

I remember hearing Pam Karlan once mention that if you've ever gotten an H in a class you wouldn't be physically capable of writing an RC-level exam, but that might be hyperbole.

No dog in this fight, but that's definitely hyperbole. Life happens. Parents suddenly die the week of exams. Law students go into insulin shock from previously undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes the week of exams. Your wife's baby is born a month early the week before exams. Those aren't random examples, all of those happened to people I know (no idea what they got for grades). Obviously law schools will make accommodations for those sorts of things, but still, H-caliber students can go into exams in RC condition through no real fault of their own.

It is hyperbolic because I know of at least two students who received such grades (which is still rare given how the law bar is, and people are obviously not forthcoming), but it does sounds like something Karlan would say.

[Anonymous User]

I think we're talking about S here (the dean story is exactly the one I heard when I was there) and... I have a harder time believing that you apparently know multiple people with RCs than that these people you know with supposedly bad grades got Bumatay. I'm sure that people do actually get RCs, but it's so goddamn rare that I'm suspicious.

For context, I never heard of anyone actually getting an RC. We joked that they were rarer than unicorns.

I remember hearing Pam Karlan once mention that if you've ever gotten an H in a class you wouldn't be physically capable of writing an RC-level exam, but that might be hyperbole.

No dog in this fight, but that's definitely hyperbole. Life happens. Parents suddenly die the week of exams. Law students go into insulin shock from previously undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes the week of exams. Your wife's baby is born a month early the week before exams. Those aren't random examples, all of those happened to people I know (no idea what they got for grades). Obviously law schools will make accommodations for those sorts of things, but still, H-caliber students can go into exams in RC condition through no real fault of their own.

It is hyperbolic because I know of at least two students who received such grades (which is still rare given how the law bar is, and people are obviously not forthcoming), but it does sounds like something Karlan would say.

Just going to assume it isn't HLS also, because LPs are mandatory 1L

[Anonymous User]

I think we're talking about S here (the dean story is exactly the one I heard when I was there) and... I have a harder time believing that you apparently know multiple people with RCs than that these people you know with supposedly bad grades got Bumatay. I'm sure that people do actually get RCs, but it's so goddamn rare that I'm suspicious.

For context, I never heard of anyone actually getting an RC. We joked that they were rarer than unicorns.

I remember hearing Pam Karlan once mention that if you've ever gotten an H in a class you wouldn't be physically capable of writing an RC-level exam, but that might be hyperbole.

No dog in this fight, but that's definitely hyperbole. Life happens. Parents suddenly die the week of exams. Law students go into insulin shock from previously undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes the week of exams. Your wife's baby is born a month early the week before exams. Those aren't random examples, all of those happened to people I know (no idea what they got for grades). Obviously law schools will make accommodations for those sorts of things, but still, H-caliber students can go into exams in RC condition through no real fault of their own.

It is hyperbolic because I know of at least two students who received such grades (which is still rare given how the law bar is, and people are obviously not forthcoming), but it does sounds like something Karlan would say.

Just going to assume it isn't HLS also, because LPs are mandatory 1L

Not correct. Some professors give them and some do not.

[Anonymous User]

I think we're talking about S here (the dean story is exactly the one I heard when I was there) and... I have a harder time believing that you apparently know multiple people with RCs than that these people you know with supposedly bad grades got Bumatay. I'm sure that people do actually get RCs, but it's so goddamn rare that I'm suspicious.

For context, I never heard of anyone actually getting an RC. We joked that they were rarer than unicorns.

I remember hearing Pam Karlan once mention that if you've ever gotten an H in a class you wouldn't be physically capable of writing an RC-level exam, but that might be hyperbole.

No dog in this fight, but that's definitely hyperbole. Life happens. Parents suddenly die the week of exams. Law students go into insulin shock from previously undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes the week of exams. Your wife's baby is born a month early the week before exams. Those aren't random examples, all of those happened to people I know (no idea what they got for grades). Obviously law schools will make accommodations for those sorts of things, but still, H-caliber students can go into exams in RC condition through no real fault of their own.

The bolded happens a lot. And even leaving an exam intentionally blank will not guarantee a RC at SLS. The few RCs I've heard of involved both behavioral issues and a dreadful exam performance on the exam.

[Anonymous User]

Can you all please have your discussion about Stanford's (or whichever school's) grading system on a separate thread that isn't titled "Best and worst judges to clerk for." Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

Can you all please have your discussion about Stanford's (or whichever school's) grading system on a separate thread that isn't titled "Best and worst judges to clerk for." Thanks.

+1

[Anonymous User]

Can you all please have your discussion about Stanford's (or whichever school's) grading system on a separate thread that isn't titled "Best and worst judges to clerk for." Thanks.

Stanford is going to turn into the next Penn at this rate. Can someone from Stanford just create their own thread like Penn did? In fact, just create a thread for each T-14 school to chat/complain about clerkships.

[Anonymous User]

Anybody have any info on Gibbons on CA6? Is she a nice boss? Anything! Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

Anybody have any info on Gibbons on CA6? Is she a nice boss? Anything! Thank you!

She's incredibly nice as a boss and well respected on both sides. I know a lot of Sixth Circuit clerks (hers included) and its really just uniform praise. Only potential downside is Memphis, as a city, is not necesarrily for everyone, but that's not her fault of course.

[Anonymous User]

Anybody have any info on Gibbons on CA6? Is she a nice boss? Anything! Thank you!

She's incredibly nice as a boss and well respected on both sides. I know a lot of Sixth Circuit clerks (hers included) and its really just uniform praise. Only potential downside is Memphis, as a city, is not necesarrily for everyone, but that's not her fault of course.

What's wrong with Memphis?

[Anonymous User]

Anybody have any info on Gibbons on CA6? Is she a nice boss? Anything! Thank you!

She's incredibly nice as a boss and well respected on both sides. I know a lot of Sixth Circuit clerks (hers included) and its really just uniform praise. Only potential downside is Memphis, as a city, is not necesarrily for everyone, but that's not her fault of course.

What's wrong with Memphis?

Different poster, but agree with the positive comments about Gibbons - her clerks did seem pretty busy my year, but things might ease up if they ever nominate/confirm a successor so she can take senior status. She's definitely the most moderate/open-minded of the Republican appointees and has no problem hiring liberal clerks/listening to their point of view, though I would say she's still pretty conservative on criminal/habeas issues.

Memphis doesn't have the greatest rep given its high crime rate, but the Gibbons (and Gilman/Donald clerks) I knew all said they didn't feel unsafe walking around and liked it - I can see the South being an adjustment for people from like the coasts though.

[Anonymous User]

Anybody have any info on Gibbons on CA6? Is she a nice boss? Anything! Thank you!

She's incredibly nice as a boss and well respected on both sides. I know a lot of Sixth Circuit clerks (hers included) and its really just uniform praise. Only potential downside is Memphis, as a city, is not necesarrily for everyone, but that's not her fault of course.

What's wrong with Memphis?

In my opinion, like most cities, people tend to overexagerate how dangerous or downtrodden it is. Memphis is no exception to that. However, there is some truth in the idea that it is downtrodden or that it has issues with crime. If you grew up in a wealthy suburban neighborhood and attended top undergrads or law schools in nice neighborhoods it can be a bit of a culture shock. If you grew up in the city (like at least a working class place, not the upper west side or the rich parts of Los Angeles or whatever) as a kid and you know how to navigate it's fine. I sincerely hope the city gets better though, and I, thankfully, see some improvements in the news occasionally.