Interview prep: federal appellate Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hey you crafty barristers,

I'm trying to prepare for a circuit court interview I have in a couple of weeks. No one from my school has previously clerked for this judge (she/he was recently appointed) and I can't seem to track down anyone who knows him/her. I've found some others in the circuit, and they have been somewhat helpful.

I've also looked into what types of case the circuit typically gets, and how things work there. I'm going to read a few of his cases

What else can I do? Any tips on learning about this? Here is a specific question:

1. this interview is with a democrat-appointee. my previous interviews were with very conservative bush/reagan appointees. should I avoid mentioning these interviews? what if I'm asked about previous interviews?

[ph14]

Hey you crafty barristers,

I'm trying to prepare for a circuit court interview I have in a couple of weeks. No one from my school has previously clerked for this judge (she/he was recently appointed) and I can't seem to track down anyone who knows him/her. I've found some others in the circuit, and they have been somewhat helpful.

I've also looked into what types of case the circuit typically gets, and how things work there. I'm going to read a few of his cases

What else can I do? Any tips on learning about this? Here is a specific question:

1. this interview is with a democrat-appointee. my previous interviews were with very conservative bush/reagan appointees. should I avoid mentioning these interviews? what if I'm asked about previous interviews?

1. With almost every judge, this won't matter. Maybe for some it might. But I think that they first of all don't care, and second of all understand that students want a clerkship and aren't only trying to clerk for judges with similar ideological viewpoints.
2. What if you're asked about previous interviews? Don't lie, obviously. Be forthright. If you lean left then you could weave that as part of the reason why you are interest in clerking for that particular judge.
3. General advice: look to see if your school's career service has some interview preparation materials. My school has a big list of questions you should prepare for before a clerkship interview. It is pretty helpful, I think. Most of the questions you are going to get are probably going to be standard, although they might be substantive. Make sure you have a few Supreme Court precedents you can discuss, since you will probably be asked variations of things like: SCOTUS case you most agree with, least agree with, least agree within the past five years, most agree within the past five years, constitutional doctrine that is problematic or that you would change; favorite and least favorite justice, and why (both historical and current); your writing sample; favorite and least favorite classes and why; anything on your resume; why you want to clerk for this judge; why do you want to clerk for a federal appellate judge (as opposed to a federal district court judge); future plans, etc. etc.

[Anonymous User]

That post was extraordinarily helpful. Thank you.

[ph14]

That post was extraordinarily helpful. Thank you.

No problem. Good luck in your interview.