Page 1 of 1

Competitive Magistrate Clerkships?

Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2015 11:42 pm
by Anonymous User
In addition to 50+ D.Cts., I'm applying to magistrate judges in a couple of competitive cities (Brooklyn, DC, etc.). My stats:

Top 5% at T1 Virginia school (think WM, W&L, GM, etc.)
Law Review, low-level editor position, not published
No moot court.
Two summers interning for the Army JAG Corps.
Softs: Army officer
Recs are great, writing sample is okay.

What are the chances? I know magistrate judges are less prestigious, but I'm wondering if it's realistic to shoot for magistrates in such hyper-competitive markets.

Re: Competitive Magistrate Clerkships?

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2015 12:53 pm
by jkech
You are probably competitive for some and not others. In super competitive markets like SDNY/DDC magistrate judges seriously receive just as many applications as district judges. Some hire from HYS that's it because they can and they do get apps from good students from there. Others hire from local schools (but the same is true of some district judges in very competitive districts). Not that it's really a "local" school but Fordham does fairly well in SDNY even though its flooded with apps from NYU and Columbia, not to mention H and Y (S not so much).