2015-2016 Clerkship Application Thread Forum

[SouthernMiss]

Is it too late to send out applications for the 2015-2016 term? If it's not too late, I figured I could apply this summer. But I don't want to if it's a waste of time.

[hoos89]

Definitely not too late: I've seen new openings on OSCAR for this year (2014-15). Judges all pretty much have their own time frames for hiring now that the hiring plan is gone.

[BearState]

Has anyone had any experience asking a firm for time off during a SA for clerkship interviews? Would you ask hr/recruiting, or hiring partner?

[elibrarian]

Has anyone had any experience asking a firm for time off during a SA for clerkship interviews? Would you ask hr/recruiting, or hiring partner?

Definitely recruiting.

[blahblewblah]

Has anyone had any experience asking a firm for time off during a SA for clerkship interviews? Would you ask hr/recruiting, or hiring partner?

Definitely recruiting.

Would also talk to your supervisor in whatever group you are currently working in.

[Anonymous User]

Question for veteran "interview hustler":

Say judge 1 wants an interview, you call judge 2 in the same district to see if s/he is interested in interview you while you are in town. Judge 2 says yes, and knows about your interview with judge 1. Do you disclose to judge 1 about your interview with judge 2 or no? My concern is that if you don't disclose and judge 1 finds out from judge 2, wouldn't it make you look bad/dishonest?

[hoos89]

Why would that look bad or dishonest, unless the judge asked you directly and you lied about it? I wouldn't feel the need to go out of my way to disclose that information, but there's also no reason to hide it if asked.

[let/them/eat/cake]

if I graduated from Cornell in 2012 in the top half (top quarter after 1L, was on Dean's List both semesters of 1L and have a CALI Award for first semester civ pro -- if any of that matters), and have worked for almost 2 years now at a V50 firm, will I have a shot at, say, EDNY in Fall 2015 (there's at least one judge requiring post-LS experience), or, e.g., some 'less competitive' districts in Fall 2015 (e.g., EDPA [Philly, Allentown], MDPA [Scranton]), DNJ [Trenton])?

Feel free to disabuse me of my notions, as it were.

[Anonymous User]

At Berkeley and Stanford, people talk as if NDCA is harder to get than SDNY. That might just be because there seem to be fewer NDCA judges who will consider law students. But yeah, I don't know if there's a meaningful difference.

I know very little about S.D.N.Y, but as a former Berkeley ND Cal clerk, I know one reason it is so challenging to land an SF (or Oakland or San Jose) gig is that a number of N.D. Cal. judges only hire former 9th Circuit clerks. Breyer and Chen have this policy, and I believe so does Illston. And Koh and Alsup hire mostly alums with lots of experience. Very rare for a law student to land on N.D. Cal.

[Anonymous User]

As far as I know, most of Koh's clerks were hired when they were still law students. The catch, though, is that they usually have a COA clerkship locked down for the prior year.

As for Alsup, it's not uncommon for him to hire law students.

[Anonymous User]

At Berkeley and Stanford, people talk as if NDCA is harder to get than SDNY. That might just be because there seem to be fewer NDCA judges who will consider law students. But yeah, I don't know if there's a meaningful difference.

I know very little about S.D.N.Y, but as a former Berkeley ND Cal clerk, I know one reason it is so challenging to land an SF (or Oakland or San Jose) gig is that a number of N.D. Cal. judges only hire former 9th Circuit clerks. Breyer and Chen have this policy, and I believe so does Illston. And Koh and Alsup hire mostly alums with lots of experience. Very rare for a law student to land on N.D. Cal.

Illston will hire people straight out.

[Anonymous User]

has anyone received a call from DE or SDNY bankruptcy judges?

[Anonymous User]

Judge Henderson of CAND has hired students.

[Anonymous User]

DE Bankruptcy Judge Walrath called on Thursday.

[Anonymous User]

DE Bankruptcy Judge Walrath called on Thursday.

Called you or called all of her applicants? Do you know about Shannon and Gross? It appears that Shannon extended the time for candidates to submit OSCAR applications.

[Anonymous User]

DE Bankruptcy Judge Walrath called on Thursday.

Called you or called all of her applicants? Do you know about Shannon and Gross? It appears that Shannon extended the time for candidates to submit OSCAR applications.

Called me, and I had to decline. I have no idea if she called others and I don't know about the other judges.

[Anonymous User]

DE Bankruptcy Judge Walrath called on Thursday.

Called you or called all of her applicants? Do you know about Shannon and Gross? It appears that Shannon extended the time for candidates to submit OSCAR applications.

Called me, and I had to decline. I have no idea if she called others and I don't know about the other judges.

Nice. Do you mind if I ask about your stats (I am trying to speculate on whether I will receive a call)?

Thank you for the help.

[Chuck59]

No-offered late in the game so I am considering the clerkship route now. Is it too late to consider the 2015-16 cycle?

Stats -
Top 15% at T50
Law Review
2L big law regional SA (no-offer)

[dannynoonan87]

No-offered late in the game so I am considering the clerkship route now. Is it too late to consider the 2015-16 cycle?

Stats -
Top 15% at T50
Law Review
2L big law regional SA (no-offer)

US CoA? Almost certainly.

USDC? Probably. Depends on the district. But I just applied to a 2015 posting on oscar yesterday.

State Highest Ct? Probably.

State Appellate Ct? Probably hiring now.

State Trial Ct? Probably not.

[Anonymous User]

I keep hearing before/after a clerkship interview I should ask the professors who wrote my recommendations to call the judge on my behalf. Is this appropriate? If so, is it beneficial? I am specifically curious about a state supreme court judge I recently interviewed with. Also note I don't go to law school in a nearby state to the judge, so my professors and the judge are not familiar with each other.

[bk1]

I keep hearing before/after a clerkship interview I should ask the professors who wrote my recommendations to call the judge on my behalf. Is this appropriate? If so, is it beneficial? I am specifically curious about a state supreme court judge I recently interviewed with. Also note I don't go to law school in a nearby state to the judge, so my professors and the judge are not familiar with each other.

Yes it is appropriate (though no guarantee that your prof will agree to do it). Yes it is beneficial (how much so will depend on your prof and the judge).

[Chuck59]

No-offered late in the game so I am considering the clerkship route now. Is it too late to consider the 2015-16 cycle?

Stats -
Top 15% at T50
Law Review
2L big law regional SA (no-offer)

US CoA? Almost certainly.

USDC? Probably. Depends on the district. But I just applied to a 2015 posting on oscar yesterday.

State Highest Ct? Probably.

State Appellate Ct? Probably hiring now.

State Trial Ct? Probably not.

Thank you for the advice.

Related Question: If one were to have a decent "law clerk" position at a regional mid-law firm and stayed there for a year in order to swing at 2016 clerkship positions - is this still marketable to the judges and how bad is this gap when applying to firms post-clerkship?

[swimmer11]

Does anyone know how you figure out which state appellate court judges are hiring clerkships? Do you call or e-mail their offices? Or do you just wait for something to pop up on Symplicity or similar website?

tyia

[A. Nony Mouse]

Does anyone know how you figure out which state appellate court judges are hiring clerkships? Do you call or e-mail their offices? Or do you just wait for something to pop up on Symplicity or similar website?

tyia

Check out the Vermont guide to state clerkships. Your CSO can give you the password.

[Chuck59]

Is DE state court hiring already wrapped up?