Chances at Feeder Judges Forum

[Anonymous User]

Disclaimer: I know clerkships with feeder judges, not to mention clerkships with SCOTUS judges, are extremely hard for any law student to get--It's only happened to a handful of people from my school. My question is whether I should apply at all.

Top 40 law school
Rank: 1/2/3
Law Review Exec Board
Moot Court
Internships: SSC, Federal District Court
COA clerkship lined up for 2016.

I'd also like to know to what extent my COA clerkship in 2016 will help me get a clerkship with a feeder judge. I know the typical path is to clerk for a district court judge, and then a feeder judge. I'm just not sure whether it's better or worse in a feeder judge's mind to have already done a COA clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

The typical path is not going to a district court first. People with feeder level credentials tend to get those clerkships coming straight out of law school. I think your chances would honestly be quite slim unless you happen to have a professor going to bat for you with a very close relationship with one of those judges. Even if that were the case, the added value for you would be minimal, as SCOTUS would remain a major longshot.

[Anonymous User]

With my feeder judge, the prior CoA clerkship would likely hurt you. My judge views clerkships as a scarce good and doesn't think there's much point in doing two clerks hips at the same level. My judge is not on the DC Circuit though, and I could see a DC Circuit clerkship following a non-DC Circuit clerkship since the docket is very different on the DC Circuit.

[Anonymous User]

Whether it is worth applying seems like sort of a strange question. The number of legit feeders is like, what, 25? Feels like it wouldn't be that hard to send out 25 applications if it is something you really want to pursue. Not accusing you of being lazy or anything (obviously you are not), but if you want to clerk for a feeder, I say let it fly. Your credentials are hard to predict because you went to a school that doesn't typically send people to that level, but you have a CoA, you were very top of class, exec board. It's not a well-traveled path, but maybe you'll catch someone's eye. Maybe your judge has a relationship with a feeder you don't know about and will really go to bat for you, etc.

I guess the larger question is if you really want to clerk for another CoA judge (presumably) to raise your already miniscule SCOTUS ambitions (not directed at you in particular, everyone's SCOTUS ambitions are miniscule) by a miniscule amount. If the thread where the SCOTUS clerk took questions, I think he addressed this question and, as I recall, his basic advice was not to structure your entire life around getting a SCOTUS clerkship.

[ndirish2010]

OP is likely already out of the running for SCOTUS. I think the only reason to do another circuit clerkship would be if it were on the DC Circuit.

[Jchance]

Assuming you can get a feeder CoA clerkship next, have you considered the answer to the question of what happens when you don't land SCOTUS clerkship? Feeder doesn't guarantee SCOTUS, and doing 2 CoA clerkships might be a career setback, just my 2 cents.