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I accepted an offer during the interview and was told his secretary would handle everything later on. Do I still send thank you notes to the judge and the clerks? Do I call up the secretary and find out what the next steps are? Clerkship hiring is such a weird situation, since we all don't start the job for about 16 months after we accept.

Anonymous User wrote:I accepted an offer during the interview and was told his secretary would handle everything later on. Do I still send thank you notes to the judge and the clerks? Do I call up the secretary and find out what the next steps are? Clerkship hiring is such a weird situation, since we all don't start the job for about 16 months after we accept.

I would write a short letter confirming that you have accepted the clerkship and expressing your gratitude for the opportunity and excitement to start. A hybrid thank you note and confirmation letter, in other words.

I sat back and waited. I highly doubt any judge requires some action on your part to advance in the process. A month after I accepted I received a letter acknowledging my acceptance of the offer along with my fellow clerks' resumes (the ones I would be working with). While I start in Aug. 2014 there still has been no need to do any paperwork.

user1221 wrote:I sat back and waited. I highly doubt any judge requires some action on your part to advance in the process. A month after I accepted I received a letter acknowledging my acceptance of the offer along with my fellow clerks' resumes (the ones I would be working with). While I start in Aug. 2014 there still has been no need to do any paperwork.

Agreed. Both of my judges mailed me a confirmation letter within two weeks of my acceptance. I don't think any further action is necessary on your part.

They'll let you know, although there's nothing wrong with calling the secretary and asking. When I accepted my offer, I was told I'd be receiving a letter shortly in the mail and that I needed to respond in writing so they have an official acceptance for their files, but that was pretty much it. They eventually asked for some additional information for HR but the paperwork was filled out & submitted the first day I actually showed up to work.

I got a letter in the mail about a month after I accepted confirming my acceptance of the clerkship. If you don't get something like that, just email the judicial assistant and ask. You'll probably also want to get something from them stating (1.) your clerkship term and (2.) your salary so that you have proof of income when you're looking for an apartment.

Anonymous User wrote:I got a letter in the mail about a month after I accepted confirming my acceptance of the clerkship. If you don't get something like that, just email the judicial assistant and ask. You'll probably also want to get something from them stating (1.) your clerkship term and (2.) your salary so that you have proof of income when you're looking for an apartment.

Yeah, I didn't get one of these until I was starting to look for apartments, and asked for it (and got one right away). So you might not get it automatically, but they won't mind if you ask for it. I got hired in July 2011, and started in August 2012. I didn't hear a thing until March, when I e-mailed my predecessor about start dates (and if I hadn't e-mailed, I don't know when I'd have heard from him). I didn't hear anything official from HR etc. until the very beginning of August. So if you don't hear anything, don't worry about it - they haven't forgotten you.

If you have access to his/her secretary, just email him/her. My judge does precisely nothing when it comes to scheduling, paperwork, etc. And if his/her secretary is like ours, she/he doesn't have much to do 99% of the time.