Let's Talk 9th Circuit! Forum

(Seek and share information about clerkship applications, clerkship hiring timelines, and post-clerkship employment opportunities)
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about clerkship applications and clerkship hiring. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Jan 29, 2023 6:39 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jan 29, 2023 5:06 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:38 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jan 29, 2023 4:32 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Jan 29, 2023 12:54 pm
Any word (or speculation) on whether the remaining active Clinton appointees (Wardlaw, Gould, Rawlinson) will go senior in the next few years, before the Senate switches hands in 2024?

Even more of a shot in the dark, but any rumored candidates for who might replace them if they do? Same question for who might replace Watford as well, when he steps down in June.
Rawlinson seems unlikely - she publicly stated that she would go senior if Biden nominated one of her clerks and it doesn't seem like the administration wants to set a precedent of letting judges pick their successors.

I think folks were discussing Gould on another thread and think it's also not very likely. Something about Gould not wanting to be seen as retiring because of his disability? Going senior isn't really retiring so sounds like no one really knows. Any of the Biden judges confirmed to WDWA could be candidates for his successor - I could see either Tiffany Cartwright (young, civil rights litigator, former B. Fletcher clerk), Lauren King (young, first Native COA judge), or Jamal Whitehead (worked at EEOC, mostly seems to represent plaintiffs in employment cases, black man when CA9 will have no black male judges post-Watford, has a disability). The Biden nominees to WDWA have been great, so I really hope Gould goes senior soon so one of them can join CA9.

Wardlaw is the one that I thought would go senior already (and don't know why she hasn't). She's reliably liberal and is the most senior active judge at this point, and she doesn't seem like the type of judge who thinks they're a gift to humanity and won't go senior because of pride/vanity. She seems like somebody the administration should be calling/lobbying to go senior.

Lots of options for the Wardlaw seat (if it opens) or the Watford seat - my guess is that one of the Biden nominees to CDCA would be elevated since both are SoCal-based seats. Frimpong and Sunshine Sykes seem the most likely for Watford's seat (especially since Sykes would also be the first Native COA judge if King in WDWA isn't elevated before then), but Vera or Almadani could also be likely once they are confirmed to the district court. Also totally possible that the administration doesn't elevate a district judge at all and goes with someone else just because there's so many possibilities.
Bolded is such an insane recent trend in demands from some of these judges
Yeah when did this become a thing? Didn't a conservative judge try this too under Trump?
Michael Kanne in Indiana. Apparently Pence opposed the clerk he wanted to succeed him. Kanne ended up dying while still on active status last year.

I think this happens more often than is publicly known--Forrest, for example, seems like she was the "spare" to Bounds's "heir" when O'Scannlain went senior (both are O'Scannlain clerks). But while O'Scannlain likely had a hand in his successor, he went senior long before any successor was nominated, which is different from what Kanne and Rawlinson tried to do.

Rawlinson probably had a chance to privately offer the deal to the Biden administration and went public with her preferred successor (Berna Rhodes-Ford, wife of the current Nevada AG) after the White House said no for whatever unknown reason.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:30 am

All of the (unfounded) speculation regarding WDWA's King's elevation is absolutely hysterical.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:41 am

Before Biden's heavy diversity focus became known, conventional wisdom was that Noah Purcell would end up on CA9. He still might; it's not too surprising that he hasn't been picked for a trial judge spot bc I believe he has no trial experience. But Tiffany Cartwright looks a lot like an ideal Biden nominee to me.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:55 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:30 am
All of the (unfounded) speculation regarding WDWA's King's elevation is absolutely hysterical.
Is she just really bad at being a district judge or something?

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 30, 2023 1:09 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:41 am
Before Biden's heavy diversity focus became known, conventional wisdom was that Noah Purcell would end up on CA9. He still might; it's not too surprising that he hasn't been picked for a trial judge spot bc I believe he has no trial experience. But Tiffany Cartwright looks a lot like an ideal Biden nominee to me.
One issue with this is that Noah wants to be AG and then Governor. So he'll need to pick a lane, assuming he's the direction the White House wants to go in.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:52 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:41 am
Before Biden's heavy diversity focus became known, conventional wisdom was that Noah Purcell would end up on CA9. He still might; it's not too surprising that he hasn't been picked for a trial judge spot bc I believe he has no trial experience. But Tiffany Cartwright looks a lot like an ideal Biden nominee to me.
Cartwright, and then Purcell, are tremendously more qualified and likely to be picked than King.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:56 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:52 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:41 am
Before Biden's heavy diversity focus became known, conventional wisdom was that Noah Purcell would end up on CA9. He still might; it's not too surprising that he hasn't been picked for a trial judge spot bc I believe he has no trial experience. But Tiffany Cartwright looks a lot like an ideal Biden nominee to me.
Cartwright, and then Purcell, are tremendously more qualified and likely to be picked than King.
This is a lot of speculation for a vacancy that doesn’t exist yet. Hopefully Gould surprises us all, but if he didn’t go senior in the last two years, I’m not expecting anything different in the next two.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:49 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:56 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:52 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:41 am
Before Biden's heavy diversity focus became known, conventional wisdom was that Noah Purcell would end up on CA9. He still might; it's not too surprising that he hasn't been picked for a trial judge spot bc I believe he has no trial experience. But Tiffany Cartwright looks a lot like an ideal Biden nominee to me.
Cartwright, and then Purcell, are tremendously more qualified and likely to be picked than King.
This is a lot of speculation for a vacancy that doesn’t exist yet. Hopefully Gould surprises us all, but if he didn’t go senior in the last two years, I’m not expecting anything different in the next two.
[duplcate]
Last edited by Anonymous User on Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 31, 2023 2:49 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 7:56 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 6:52 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Mon Jan 30, 2023 12:41 am
Before Biden's heavy diversity focus became known, conventional wisdom was that Noah Purcell would end up on CA9. He still might; it's not too surprising that he hasn't been picked for a trial judge spot bc I believe he has no trial experience. But Tiffany Cartwright looks a lot like an ideal Biden nominee to me.
Cartwright, and then Purcell, are tremendously more qualified and likely to be picked than King.
This is a lot of speculation for a vacancy that doesn’t exist yet. Hopefully Gould surprises us all, but if he didn’t go senior in the last two years, I’m not expecting anything different in the next two.
Whoever and whenever there will be a nominee, it will assuredly not be King. Let's just give that a rest.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:46 pm

Lol what a weird axe to grind

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 31, 2023 11:55 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Jan 31, 2023 6:46 pm
Lol what a weird axe to grind
Yeah seriously - sounds like someone didn't get a clerkship with that judge and still isn't over it

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Feb 17, 2023 3:31 pm

Anyone know anything about Judge Sung? Is she actually waiting for May to interview, or is it likely to be rolling?

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:22 pm

Any word on Rawlinson? I know she usually hires pretty late, but is it this late?

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Feb 21, 2023 4:27 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:22 pm
Any word on Rawlinson? I know she usually hires pretty late, but is it this late?
This is late even for her. I wouldn't put a walk-off retirement (e.g., no senior status) past her, so maybe she's considering doing that this year and isn't going to hire clerks. She has always marched to the beat of her own drum in every way.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:17 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 21, 2023 4:27 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:22 pm
Any word on Rawlinson? I know she usually hires pretty late, but is it this late?
This is late even for her. I wouldn't put a walk-off retirement (e.g., no senior status) past her, so maybe she's considering doing that this year and isn't going to hire clerks. She has always marched to the beat of her own drum in every way.
Interesting. I'm in a strange position--unfortunately just lost the job I had lined up for 2023-24. Would it be worth emailing chambers to see if they might accept my application given that it seems she hasn't filled yet?

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:22 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:17 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 21, 2023 4:27 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:22 pm
Any word on Rawlinson? I know she usually hires pretty late, but is it this late?
This is late even for her. I wouldn't put a walk-off retirement (e.g., no senior status) past her, so maybe she's considering doing that this year and isn't going to hire clerks. She has always marched to the beat of her own drum in every way.
Interesting. I'm in a strange position--unfortunately just lost the job I had lined up for 2023-24. Would it be worth emailing chambers to see if they might accept my application given that it seems she hasn't filled yet?
Unfortunately I just checked OSCAR and she has filled for this term.

If you're not picky on location, blast out applications to newly confirmed judges. The Senate should be churning them out intermittently all year. Sometimes new judges hire their first class based off their network alone and don't truly open things up for applications, but if they do open, it's generally the least competitive way to get a federal clerkship since only a small number of hirable candidates will be available to start on such short notice.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 08, 2023 8:08 am

Anyone know anything about Trina Thompson (N.D. Cal.)?

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...


Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Mar 08, 2023 12:22 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Mar 08, 2023 8:08 am
Anyone know anything about Trina Thompson (N.D. Cal.)?
I heard very vague not great things. Sorry I don't have much more than that!

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:53 pm

Anyone have any thoughts on Milan Smith as a boss? I feel like he has been a judge for a while so I'm surprised at the lack of information on his chambers in this thread.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Apr 02, 2023 10:10 pm

Any interesting info about Bumatay?

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 04, 2023 4:23 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sun Apr 02, 2023 10:10 pm
Any interesting info about Bumatay?
The Bumatay clerks I’ve known all seem to love him as a person. They’re always busy with en bancs, but it sounds like a pleasant clerkship.

He attracts Fed Soc types, and a big part of the job appears to be working on originalist dissents. If that’s your thing, not many judges can match his success in persuading SCOTUS to overturn Ninth Circuit decisions. But moderates and progressives probably wouldn’t love the experience.

Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.

Register now, it's still FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:53 pm

Any intel on Hurwitz?

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Apr 05, 2023 1:06 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Wed Apr 05, 2023 12:53 pm
Any intel on Hurwitz?
Good friend worked for him. He is a great boss and person to work for. Takes serious interest in his clerks and good working hours. No reason not to apply IMO.

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:17 pm

Anyone know what's up with Wardlaw's hiring? She posted a 2024-2025 spot that she filled within about a week, but her 2025-2026 spot has been sitting around for 3 weeks now

Anonymous User
Posts: 427959
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Let's Talk 9th Circuit!

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Apr 14, 2023 12:44 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Thu Apr 13, 2023 11:17 pm
Anyone know what's up with Wardlaw's hiring? She posted a 2024-2025 spot that she filled within about a week, but her 2025-2026 spot has been sitting around for 3 weeks now
It's possible she's just collecting 3L and alumni applications for that seat now and intends to also collect apps from people applying on Plan before interviewing. But no way to know.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Judicial Clerkships”