four month downtime between clerkships? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I accepted a clerkship for January 2014-2015, but my current clerkship ends in September of this year. Unsure what to do with the 4 months inbetween. I don't really want to spend the time sitting around or spending money traveling. Doubt I'm going to find anything paying for the four months, so ideally I'd like to volunteer clerk for a judge or find some place where I can work as a volunteer attorney. Any suggestions of something that might look on a resume that I can do with that time?

[thesealocust]

I'd imagine volunteering with a public interest outfit would be your best bet.

[Anonymous User]

Why don't you use that time to write an article and submit it for publication? That might be somewhat interesting and could help your career.

That won't take up all of your days though, so you could use the other ones to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity or something similar.

[patrickd139]

Why don't you use that time to write an article and submit it for publication? That might be somewhat interesting and could help your career.

That won't take up all of your days though, so you could use the other ones to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity or something similar.

Publishing is always a good idea, but be sure to check with both your outgoing and incoming courts to make sure you're square with all the ethics/appearance of impropriety rules. The publication process is almost always longer than 4 months from beginning to end, and I think most clerks are prohibited from publishing something while they're currently clerking.

If you're gung-ho about publishing/academia, you might consider spending that time writing a non-time-sensitive/theoretical article that could be submitted right after the conclusion of your second clerkship. For example, instead of critiquing the holding of the most recent SCOTUS case on X Law, develop an alternative to even using X Law in the first place.

Then, after you're finished clerking, you can write the fluff pieces analyzing recent caselaw to augment it. Those are usually quicker and less stressful to write than the theoretical pieces anyway.

[IAFG]

While I don't mean to single out OP, because lots of OPs have this attitude, but like, have you ever cultivated a hobby? Baking? Embroidery? Gardening? Woodworking? Any other activity that would make you that kind of interesting person who isn't totally at a loss for how to spend 4 months?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Why don't you use that time to write an article and submit it for publication? That might be somewhat interesting and could help your career.

That won't take up all of your days though, so you could use the other ones to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity or something similar.

Publishing is always a good idea, but be sure to check with both your outgoing and incoming courts to make sure you're square with all the ethics/appearance of impropriety rules. The publication process is almost always longer than 4 months from beginning to end, and I think most clerks are prohibited from publishing something while they're currently clerking.

If you're gung-ho about publishing/academia, you might consider spending that time writing a non-time-sensitive/theoretical article that could be submitted right after the conclusion of your second clerkship. For example, instead of critiquing the holding of the most recent SCOTUS case on X Law, develop an alternative to even using X Law in the first place.

Then, after you're finished clerking, you can write the fluff pieces analyzing recent caselaw to augment it. Those are usually quicker and less stressful to write than the theoretical pieces anyway.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that it's perfectly fine for clerks to publish legal scholarship while clerking, assuming you don't otherwise violate any of the canons of conduct for judiciary employees (no appearance of impropriety, conflict of interest, disclosure of confidential material, etc.).

[patrickd139]

Why don't you use that time to write an article and submit it for publication? That might be somewhat interesting and could help your career.

That won't take up all of your days though, so you could use the other ones to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity or something similar.

Publishing is always a good idea, but be sure to check with both your outgoing and incoming courts to make sure you're square with all the ethics/appearance of impropriety rules. The publication process is almost always longer than 4 months from beginning to end, and I think most clerks are prohibited from publishing something while they're currently clerking.

If you're gung-ho about publishing/academia, you might consider spending that time writing a non-time-sensitive/theoretical article that could be submitted right after the conclusion of your second clerkship. For example, instead of critiquing the holding of the most recent SCOTUS case on X Law, develop an alternative to even using X Law in the first place.

Then, after you're finished clerking, you can write the fluff pieces analyzing recent caselaw to augment it. Those are usually quicker and less stressful to write than the theoretical pieces anyway.

Actually, I'm pretty sure that it's perfectly fine for clerks to publish legal scholarship while clerking, assuming you don't otherwise violate any of the canons of conduct for judiciary employees (no appearance of impropriety, conflict of interest, disclosure of confidential material, etc.).

Fair enough. My court has a prohibition on publishing while clerking, but apparently that's a local policy as much as anything.

For the record, I'm pro-publish if it's done within the bounds of what your judge allows. My main point was to make sure to check with both courts first.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Fair enough. My court has a prohibition on publishing while clerking, but apparently that's a local policy as much as anything.

For the record, I'm pro-publish if it's done within the bounds of what your judge allows. My main point was to make sure to check with both courts first.

Oh, sure, definitely do that. (The little "ethics of clerking" book specifically mentions legal publishing as okay, but yeah, it's what your judge/court says that goes.)

[nevdash]

. . . Woodworking? . . .

No matter how hard you try, you'll never be as interesting as this man: