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Last week I interviewed for a clerkship with the 3rd highest court in my state. The pay is low 30s, in a small-ish town about an hour from a big city. The judge was extremely nice, and the workload described by the current clerk seemed both manageable and interesting. Yesterday I got a call offering me an interview (scheduled in about a week and a half) for a clerkship with the 2nd highest court in my state, in a city (which is a more desirable location for me personally) that I believe will pay high 40s or low 50s. I haven't met with the judge yet, so I can't speak to how we get along yet. I would not want to practice law in the location of either clerkship long-term.

My question comes from the fact that if I get an offer for the first clerkship that I have already interviewed for, it will likely come before I get a chance to interview for the second clerkship. I need to take the first clerkship if I get the offer right? I can't hope that I get the one with more money and a semi-better location and turn down an offer for just a chance, right? I just need some outside perspective.

Top 10% at a T2 if that matters at all.

I think if you get an offer, and the judge doesn't give you any time to consider, yeah, you probably have to take the bird in the hand. That said, in my experience state judges are much less wedded to the "answer on the spot" model than federal judges are, so it may be that the first judge will actually give you some time to answer, and you may be able to see how the second one plays out.

(If you don't get an offer from the first until after interviewing with the second, I think - depending on the judge's demeanor and how the offer is made - you can ask for at least a little time to consider, then call up the second judge and ask where you stand, explaining the situation. This is probably harder to pull off if you get an offer from the first before you've even interviewed with the second, though.)