clerkship comp Forum

[Anonymous User]

how much does a sdny or edny clerk make? Same for circuit court positions?

How much does a ny court of appeals clerk make?

not talking about bonuses just salary as a clerk. Also, what sorts of benefits does a clerk get? Dental/Health?

[legalese_retard]

Pay is based on locality. Dist and COA clerks are the same pay and start at JSP11. Here is the table for NY: http://www.uscourts.gov/Careers/Compens ... /JSP66.pdf

[legalese_retard]

Here is the info on benefits: http://www.uscourts.gov/Careers/BeneFitForLife.aspx. However, term law clerks do not qualify for the TSP or retirement benefits.

[Anonymous User]

JSP-11 column 1 for the first year and JSP-11 column 2 for the second year?

[A. Nony Mouse]

No, the second year you go from JSP-11 to JSP-12 (assuming you've passed the bar).

[Anonymous User]

Then what do the columns mean?

[A. Nony Mouse]

As I understand it (which might be not at all), the columns are relevant for permanent employees. (I went from JSP-11 to JSP-12, so I know that's how that part works.)

[Anonymous User]

NY COA clerks make around 76K + location pay. In NYC that's around 80K.

The second year clerks make 90K.

http://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/clrkship.htm

Career clerks make significantly more than that- low six figures.

[legalese_retard]

Then what do the columns mean?

The rows are grades and the columns are steps. A law clerk starts at grade 11 and maxes out at grade 14. Grade 12 requires bar passage and 1 year experience, Grade 13 is 2 years+ experience, and Grade 14 is 3 years+ of clerkship experience. The step increases occur once you max out on the grade level you are at. It also depends on your chambers. There cannot be more than one Grade 14s in a chamber, so if there is a career law clerk at a 14 and you are joining the same chambers at a 14 level, you would actually start at Grade 13 with the appropriate step increase.

Unless you are planning on clerking for a while, you really shouldn't be considered with the grades and steps on the chart - just know your locality pay and what level you start.

[Anonymous User]

Do you get JSP 12 if you were admitted to the bar when you started your clerkship?
For example, say:
I started my clerkship already, but I was just recently admitted to the bar. Should I ask HR about a bump from JSP 11 to 12? Should I ask my judge? Is it possible to get a bump, which would be nice?

[A. Nony Mouse]

You have to have a full year of legal experience AND be admitted somewhere to get JSP 12. If you have both of those, ask your HR people - I think some districts have had freezes on giving raises to term employees.

[Anonymous User]

You have to have a full year of legal experience AND be admitted somewhere to get JSP 12. If you have both of those, ask your HR people - I think some districts have had freezes on giving raises to term employees.

Thanks. My alumni-clerk friend said that I should ask for a raise after taking the bar, but I think he took for granted the fact that you need work experience too.

[Anonymous User]

So if someone starts the clerkship with 1.5 years of experience at a law firm, they are still coming in as Grade 12, step 1?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Yes, at least according to everything I've ever seen.

[Anonymous User]

Does summer associate experience count as work experience for purposes of clerkship comp?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Does summer associate experience count as work experience for purposes of clerkship comp?

No - only post-graduation experience counts. (Unless you do a SA post-graduation pre-clerkship, in which case, yes, it should count, but you'd probably want to confirm that with the clerkship HR people.)

[Anonymous User]

Does summer associate experience count as work experience for purposes of clerkship comp?

No - only post-graduation experience counts. (Unless you do a SA post-graduation pre-clerkship, in which case, yes, it should count, but you'd probably want to confirm that with the clerkship HR people.)

Speaking from experience, pre-clerkship SAs count for JS scale credit.

[Anonymous User]

Random question: Do clerks get any kind of paternity leave? I assume it would depend on the judge.

[Anonymous User]

Random question: Do clerks get any kind of paternity leave? I assume it would depend on the judge.

Well, FMLA wouldn't apply, because you wouldn't have worked for the employer for long enough (you have to have worked for the employer for at least 12 months and 1250 hours in the last 12 months). Clerks can qualify for leave under the Federal Leave Act, but it's at the discretion of your judge. If your judge will sign you up for this, you can accrue annual leave and sick leave (I'm pretty sure it's 4 hours of each per pay period), so technically you could take that time off. But in practice, whether you get any time off is at your judge's discretion/pleasure. Mine had no problem with me taking time off for interviews and a sick day, but the (possibly apocryphal) story was that one of the other judges on that court made his clerks agree to get all their annual medical/dental/etc. checkups out of the way before starting their term of service, because he didn't want them taking any time off.

I have heard of people taking maternity leave during a clerkship, but I don't know for how long or how easily they arranged it.