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When firms say they give class credit for clerkships, how seriously should I take that?

I'm especially interested in anyone's experience working for a large (~500+), hierarchical firm after two clerkships. Are you really treated like a 3rd year in terms of work experience/level of responsibility? Or are you just a first year who gets paid more?

The idea of skipping some grunt work and being a midlevel pretty soon after you get there sounds great, but I'm wondering if it's too good to be true.

Class credit is generally sort of true, but you don't really get credit for the full time. Most of this is because you just don't have experience with the mechanics of litigation. For example, a third-year who has been at the firm 2+ years who has second-chaired several depositions may very well take depositions on a busy case. An incoming double-clerk will not get to take depositions right away because that person won't have any experience writing deposition outlines or second-chairing depositions.

OP-

So, what about after you've been back at the firm for a bit? So, are 4th years treated differently/given different work if they were at the firm for all 3+ years than if they clerked for two of those years?

Anonymous User wrote:OP-

So, what about after you've been back at the firm for a bit? So, are 4th years treated differently/given different work if they were at the firm for all 3+ years than if they clerked for two of those years?

At that point it just becomes kind of dependent on the team, your ability, experience, whether partner trusts you, etc. I know fourth-years who clerked who run their own cases, and I know fifth years who didn't clerk who don't.