Pepperdine Clerkship Institute Forum

[Cir. Clerk]

Has anyone done the institute/heard anything about it?

My judge emailed me the link and suggested that other clerks have found it useful. It's over spring break and costs a few hundred bucks for hotel and airfare. If the judge seems to value it, do I definitely have to go?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone done the institute/heard anything about it?

My judge emailed me the link and suggested that other clerks have found it useful. It's over spring break and costs a few hundred bucks for hotel and airfare. If the judge seems to value it, do I definitely have to go?

Talk to previous clerks and ask if they went, what they thought, etc.

[Anonymous User]

It seems interesting from what I saw on the website: http://law.pepperdine.edu/judicial-clerkship-institute/
I would consider going, but I'm clerking nowhere near Malibu, and I don't know if I could make it on my busy schedule. Also, is it more for training or networking? I see that the conference is in March 2014. By then I'll be well into my clerkship.

[lolwat]

Don't know how useful it is--but my thought is that if the judge told you he thinks it's useful, but didn't tell you that you need to go to it, then you don't have to. I've generally found judges to be fairly direct in what they say/mean (in other words, he would've said "I want you to go to this thing"), but that might just be here. OP: Did you just get hired and still have 3L to go through (hence the "it's over spring break" comment)?

[Cir. Clerk]

Don't know how useful it is--but my thought is that if the judge told you he thinks it's useful, but didn't tell you that you need to go to it, then you don't have to. I've generally found judges to be fairly direct in what they say/mean (in other words, he would've said "I want you to go to this thing"), but that might just be here. OP: Did you just get hired and still have 3L to go through (hence the "it's over spring break" comment)?

Yep. I think that's why they schedule it for that particular week, since most students will be on break. And I believe it's supposed to be like "law preview," but for clerkships (so pre-clerkship).

[Anonymous User]

Don't know how useful it is--but my thought is that if the judge told you he thinks it's useful, but didn't tell you that you need to go to it, then you don't have to. I've generally found judges to be fairly direct in what they say/mean (in other words, he would've said "I want you to go to this thing"), but that might just be here. OP: Did you just get hired and still have 3L to go through (hence the "it's over spring break" comment)?

Yep. I think that's why they schedule it for that particular week, since most students will be on break. And I believe it's supposed to be like "law preview," but for clerkships (so pre-clerkship).

Is this helpful at all then? I never heard of this thing until now. However, my clerkship is from 2013-14. So I'm already graduated. I get no spring break. Is this kind of program for me?

[lolwat]

Is this helpful at all then? I never heard of this thing until now. However, my clerkship is from 2013-14. So I'm already graduated. I get no spring break. Is this kind of program for me?

Probably not.

As for how useful it is, I've never heard of this program (much less anyone that went to it) so I can't tell you whether it's going to be useful or not. I'd imagine the practical usefulness of it is limited though, since you'll learn all of the basic stuff in the first couple weeks of your clerkship anyway (and this might just give you a small head start in doing so) and anything more complicated that you won't pick up in the first few weeks, you probably wouldn't get from a program like this anyway.

[A. Nony Mouse]

As for how useful it is, I've never heard of this program (much less anyone that went to it) so I can't tell you whether it's going to be useful or not. I'd imagine the practical usefulness of it is limited though, since you'll learn all of the basic stuff in the first couple weeks of your clerkship anyway (and this might just give you a small head start in doing so) and anything more complicated that you won't pick up in the first few weeks, you probably wouldn't get from a program like this anyway.

This is exactly what I'd have written except lolwat said it first.

[Anonymous User]

I went to the one in March 2013. Never heard of it until my judge told me about it. The only reason I went is because I was able to get a scholarship from the American Bankruptcy Institute to attend. It covered the cost of the flight, and my only significant out of pocket cost was for a hotel room ($275 for 3 nights).

Honestly, I didn't find it all that helpful, but I basically got a subsidized trip to Malibu, so I think it was worth it overall. If you're not having at least a portion of your costs covered, then I don't really see the point.