N.D. Ca. and C.D. Ca. discussion thread Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am sure a lot of people on this board are targeting these districts, so I thought a separate thread would be nice.

Who are especially good judges to work for in these districts? Who is on- or off-plan? Anything else people are willing to share about hiring practices?

[Anonymous User]

(2L applying this cycle)

Thanks for starting this thread. Anybody have any idea just how tough these districts are for people coming from lower T14s?

When do they generally start hiring 2Ls? Mostly off plan?

[Anonymous User]

3L here, sharing my impressions from the 2012 cycle.

C.D. Ca.: Mostly on-plan as far as I could tell. A good number of students from my T14 interviewed with C.D. Cal. judges on-plan.
N.D. Ca.: Very different. Not as many judges, and most of them require experience (either a CoA clerkship or a few years of practice).

If you're a 2L interested in these districts, I think you will have much better chances focusing on C.D. Ca.

[Anonymous User]

3L here with a COA lined up for 2013-14 and applied to NDCA and CDCA for 2014-15. So far just a rejection from Judge Feess for 2014-15, who doesn't appear to be hiring.

[Anonymous User]

What's the logic on people going COA first and then NDCA second? Is NDCA really that preftigous?

[Anonymous User]

What's the logic on people going COA first and then NDCA second? Is NDCA really that preftigous?

Some district judges give strong preference for those with a CoA clerkship under that belt. Also, despite what tends to be the belief of all law students, clerkships are valuable for more than just preftige. District clerkships and CoA clerkships are very different beasts and may teach very different skills (albeit with some overlap).

[Anonymous User]

What's the logic on people going COA first and then NDCA second? Is NDCA really that preftigous?

(different anon, currently a 2L applying)

In addition to what the above poster said, it's not easy to just target NDCA or even all district courts if your goal is to maximize your chances at any clerkship (or if you want to do both). Because circuit judges tend to go before district judges, waiting to apply to district judges leaves a lot of potential opportunities on the table.

[Anonymous User]

What's the logic on people going COA first and then NDCA second? Is NDCA really that preftigous?

I heard that one N.D. Cal. judge explained it this way: it's one of the busiest district courts in the country, and in the past, he has gotten burned by hiring people fresh out of law school. Some of them just couldn't hack it, no matter how good their grades were. In his experience, by only considering COA clerks, he's bringing in people with at least one year of clerking experience. Plus, if they were able to get a COA clerkship, it narrows the pool to a group of people who for the most part have really strong credentials.

Also, there are just so few NDCA judges that they can afford to be super duper picky.

[Anonymous User]

Tigar has been interviewing. I think both 2Ls and 3Ls.

[Anonymous User]

C.D. Cal - I interned for Otero and he was great to work for and his clerks had very reasonable work schedules and workloads. Great person to work with and very friendly with clerks. I believe he's technically on-plan but he takes applications anytime. So apply early.

[Anonymous User]

As others have stated, NDCA is particularly tough due to a relatively small number of judges and high demand on the part of highly qualified applicants. I think virtually all of the NDCA judges are hiring off-plan, most requiring prior experience.

As for CDCA, they tend to LOVE top of the class @ UCLA and USC, and those grads saturate that court.

[Anonymous User]

Tigar has been interviewing. I think both 2Ls and 3Ls.

Anything else on Tigar? Whether about working for him or his hiring status?

[Anonymous User]

Who is taking applications from 2Ls? Who are the more "prestigious" judges in C.D./N.D. Cal.?

[Anonymous User]

Who is taking applications from 2Ls? Who are the more "prestigious" judges in C.D./N.D. Cal.?

As my school's clerkship adviser likes to say, N.D. Cal. is as competitive as most circuit court clerkships. By that token, all of its judges are "prestigious." But Charles Breyer is considered especially desirable, as he has a Supreme Court justice for a brother and requires a COA clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

Who is taking applications from 2Ls? Who are the more "prestigious" judges in C.D./N.D. Cal.?

As my school's clerkship adviser likes to say, N.D. Cal. is as competitive as most circuit court clerkships. By that token, all of its judges are "prestigious." But Charles Breyer is considered especially desirable, as he has a Supreme Court justice for a brother and requires a COA clerkship.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[Anonymous User]

Several of the NDCA judges have completed their 2014 hiring.