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...can we assume that we never will? Bob Dylan once sang "it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe, if you don't know by now," but Bob Dylan is not a district court judge (or even a clerk).

For the record, I've applied broadly to alum-favorable district court judges for 2014 positions, but I saw in quite a few OSCAR postings that applications are reviewed on a rolling basis with applicants who aren't subject to the plan and on-plan otherwise. I started applying in May, so while I got a jump on quite a few judges who posted their vacancies around then, I was behind on several others (who nevertheless still list those positions as "available"). I got a few interview invitations in early June in competitive districts, but radio silence since then, even from less competitive regions.

I guess I'm curious as to whether the prevailing way this new system works will be district court judges bringing everyone in, plan-covered or not, all at once after the hiring plan starting gun goes off, and if so, when we could expect to hear about that.

FWIW, I was getting interview requests and "are you still interested?" emails from district court judges several months after the plan date. I would not count yourself out quite yet.

Really depends on the judge. But I personally would say (without any real evidence supporting this) that your chances decrease pretty dramatically if you haven't heard by now. (I'm in the same boat w/r/t COA judges). Above anon's example of being asked if s/he was still interested several months after the plan date happens, but considering all of the on-plan judges that have hired by that time, it's a very large decrease in the number of available judges/positions.

On the plus side, for those judges that hire late, if your stats are good and you haven't withdrawn your app, you're probably closer to the top of their list when they do look at hiring--because most of the other people with those stats probably have some other job already.

OP here. Thanks for your answers. I'm not despondent as of yet, since I have some interviews and generally positive feedback. For me it's currently a concern about scheduling -- my job is high-pressure and I need to start prepping how to balance my case load if I get an email from a judge somewhere across the country next week saying "right, see you Friday."

Sorry to hear about your COA situation, lolwat, but as you've told me, you never know.

Anonymous User wrote:I guess I'm curious as to whether the prevailing way this new system works will be district court judges bringing everyone in, plan-covered or not, all at once after the hiring plan starting gun goes off, and if so, when we could expect to hear about that.

I've noticed a handful of judges stating as much in their OSCAR pages. I think there's still plenty of interviewing left to be done for D.Cts just given the number of judges who first listed positions in the last two months or so.

Anonymous User wrote:For me it's currently a concern about scheduling -- my job is high-pressure and I need to start prepping how to balance my case load if I get an email from a judge somewhere across the country next week saying "right, see you Friday."

Same boat. I'm a current SSC clerk. Our term concludes at the end of July, so we spend the entire month rushing around trying to finish up opinions and handle off-term emergency appeals. It's a perfect storm of scheduling insanity.

This is a little disconcerting as an alum who had a couple of interviews on plan but no luck as a rising 3L. As an alum, if I haven't heard a peep by now I should expect no change come June 28th? Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse, but it's the type of bad news I'd like to confirm...

Anonymous User wrote:This is a little disconcerting as an alum who had a couple of interviews on plan but no luck as a rising 3L. As an alum, if I haven't heard a peep by now I should expect no change come June 28th? Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse, but it's the type of bad news I'd like to confirm...

Wouldn't give up all hope, but odds are certainly down. A lot of judges like to do all the interviewing at once so even if you get a bump for being an alum, they won't bring you in until they are interviewing you along side the rising 3Ls.

In the competitive districts on the coasts, judges have been interviewing alums with consistency over the last few months. Do not underestimate the general perspective of a judge to get this process over with as soon as they can. Some judges hold out for strictly 3L candidates, but most d.ct. judges and their clerks that I am familiar rarely pass up interviewing the alums before the 3L's if the candidate is competitive and they have a sense that this could be it.

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I've gotten a decent amount of e-mails (all from flyover judges though) essentially saying "thanks for your application, but since the hiring plan moved up, you will be considered along with everyone else later this month," so maybe a number are waiting and will just include you with everyone else.

The judge that I work for, even before the hiring plan changes, interviews all candidates at once. At most, the judge will put out feelers to an alum early, but never interviews or offers. Another judge that I interviewed with was also the same way- no interviews until can interview all candidates. A lot of judges don't want to drag the process out. My judge specifically spends maybe 1 week on the process, including looking at resumes, interviewing, and making an offer. As a law clerk, I spent more time reviewing applications than the judge did in total. All hope is not gone in any case.