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Hi all. I'm a 3L at Vandy/UT and have accepted a two year USDC clerkship in a southern market where I'd like to work after spending a few years in NYC (where I worked this past summer--I'm going back to that firm post-clerkship).

Is there any added value in pursuing a COA clerkship either immediately after my 2 year USDC clerkship ends or after working at my NYC firm for a few years but before going to the southern market I eventually plan on ending up in? Because of significant other constraints, I'd probably only look at COA clerkships in the 5th/11th circuits.

Thanks!

My situation was similar to yours. For me, the answer was yes. The second clerkship (COA) helped me get back into the Southern market where I wanted to be.

I think doing a COA clerkship on top of a DC clerkship never hurts anyone - or, really, any second clerkship at a different level court than the first. The only issue I can see in your case is that if you do the COA clerkship directly after the DC one, there might be some concern about how much credit you can/want to claim for the clerkships (i.e. whether you'd come in as a 4th year).

Given your geographic interests, I'd suggest working at the NYC firm for a few years, then doing a COA clerkship in the southeast (assuming no problems getting one), and use the year of the COA clerkship to network/find a job in that non-NYC market. But that's just a suggestion.