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I will be interviewing for a circuit court position later this month.* I have only had one clerkship interview before (for a D.Ct. position), and it was relatively easy without any tough questions. I have heard that this judge's interviews can be difficult, with lots of substantive legal questions. Can any current, former, or future circuit court clerks recall substantive questions they were asked during their interviews? Other than general questions like "Name a recent SCOTUS case you agree/disagree with and why," I can't really think of what I might be facing during this interview.

*Don't worry, 2Ls. I am a 3L and this judge requires D.Ct. clerkship first.

A friend of mine had a substantive CoA interview, in which he was grilled intensely on his LR note (which was published) and a seminar paper. Lots of questions about his argument and evidence and what about this counterargument and what about that counterargument. So one suggestion might be to be ready to defend your writing sample like it's a mini-dissertation.

It seems like you know in advance that the judge is going to ask substantive legal questions, so prepare accordingly. I had a handful of COA interviews with varying degrees of substance:

-One pulled out my transcript, said, "you took [xyz class] last year -- tell me a few pieces of black letter law from [xyz]"
-Another had thoroughly read my writing sample and grilled me on the legal reasoning, including arguments and counterarguments
-Another, when I brought up a recent opinion s/he wrote, asked what I thought about the area of law, what I thought SCOTUS might do on review, etc.

My recommendations: skim your outlines from previous classes, thoroughly reread your writing sample(s) and be prepared to defend them, and read up on commentary about hot areas of law in general, in the circuit you're in, and in opinions written by your judge or by panels on which s/he sat.

Good luck!

"Who is your favorite SCOTUS justice and why?"