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It seems like all the alumni clerks (i.e., clerks who had at least some firm experience before clerking) in my district go back to the firms they started at. Is this because of how difficult it is to switch firms after a clerkship, even for alumni clerks?

I doubt it has to do with not having the option to go elsewhere. I'm currently an SDNY clerk, and I'm going back to the firm I worked for for over a year after the term ends (albeit to a different practice area). I interviewed at a couple other firms, and I probably could have gotten an offer (one of the firms essentially told me I had an offer and I should just interview to pick the practice area). But I ended up just feeling that the right move was to go with the devil I knew. I realized I spend a ton of time and research picking the firm, had made connections, and knew that they liked me. Why start fresh? I imagine a lot of people feel similarly.

That said, I do not feel that clerking as an alumni will help you move up the vault rankings, if that's what you're looking to do. I got the impression that the super prestigious firms were not interested in people who had worked at other firms. Not sure why.

OP here.

I am definitely not interested in Vault rankings at all--just interested in moving to a new area for family reasons. My original firm does not have offices in the two locations I am considering.

Anonymous User wrote:It seems like all the alumni clerks (i.e., clerks who had at least some firm experience before clerking) in my district go back to the firms they started at. Is this because of how difficult it is to switch firms after a clerkship, even for alumni clerks?

I will be clerking after spending some time at a firm (keeping things vague intentionally). My impression from talking to many folks in my market is that a clerkship is a great time to pivot and try to go to another firm. I imagine that a number of factors are involved, including the 'prestige' of your clerkship and whether the clerkship is in the same region as the firms you are looking to transition to, but everything I have heard indicates that it is easier to switch firms out of a clerkship than it is to lateral at some other time.