Rising 3L looking to clerk as alum - what should I be doing? Forum

[TLSNYC]

Will graduate in May 2014 and put in one year at vault ranked firm in NYC. I would like to clerk for a federal district court judge in 2015. What should I be doing now and when should I expect to have to submit apps by?

[lolwat]

Start applying to judges that you're interested in that are already accepting applications for 2015-16 via OSCAR. More commonly it's COA that's already accepting applications for that year, but there are some district courts. I think some judges in SDNY have begun accepting applications for 2015-16. Other than that, have your online applications ready and keep a look out for positions you're interested that open up for 2015-16. I think the majority of them will start popping up starting in Feb/Mar on OSCAR.

For hard copies, I would start sending them out somewhere around March/April 2014. The hiring plan got moved up, so you want to have your applications in before the horde of rising 3Ls do in June, but you don't want them in too early before the judge has started seriously reviewing applications.

That's just my thought, anyway. It's definitely different with the new hiring plan; previously I would have said you should start applying in May/June 2014 for a 2015-16 spot.

[Anonymous User]

Start applying to judges that you're interested in that are already accepting applications for 2015-16 via OSCAR. More commonly it's COA that's already accepting applications for that year, but there are some district courts. I think some judges in SDNY have begun accepting applications for 2015-16. Other than that, have your online applications ready and keep a look out for positions you're interested that open up for 2015-16. I think the majority of them will start popping up starting in Feb/Mar on OSCAR.

For hard copies, I would start sending them out somewhere around March/April 2014. The hiring plan got moved up, so you want to have your applications in before the horde of rising 3Ls do in June, but you don't want them in too early before the judge has started seriously reviewing applications.

That's just my thought, anyway. It's definitely different with the new hiring plan; previously I would have said you should start applying in May/June 2014 for a 2015-16 spot.

I sent mine out in March this year and felt behind the curve. I would just have everything ready to go and send them out mid January to early February, once you have fifth semester grades. If you know the judge is accepting this fall, then this fall, and supplement your app with updated grades.