DE Chancery Court- What are my chances? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I was recently no-offered at my V65 NYC market biglaw summer assoicate firm (citing "bad fit" as the reason). I want to clerk for a judge, in this order of preference: 1) DE Court of Chancery; 2) Bankruptcy Judge; 3) Article III Judge. The reason for this is that I want to work in a biglaw transactional practice.

I'm top 8% at a T2 school in the NYC market. Full scholarship (zero debt), Law review, published note, several government internships, and some other accolades.

What are my chances for these types of clerkships? Any advice specific to my situation would be appreciated.

[jimmythecatdied6]

DE Chancery Court is as competitive (if not more competitive) as federal district court hiring. I am not sure what T2 refers to, but assuming it refers to law schools outside of the T50, your chances are slim. I would target bankruptcy judges. Good luck.

[Mhens]

The Delaware Chancery Court deadline for 2016-2017 (assuming that is when you want to clerk) was a while ago - April I think. There are several federal bankruptcy judges posted on OSCAR right now, some of which are located in DE.

[emciosn]

I have heard from reliable sources that Chancery hiring is extremely competitive. Being from a T2 may take you out of the running. I would say, though, (from first-hand knowledge) that you are competitive for bankruptcy clerkships (even perhaps SDNY/DE) IF you have something on your resume that shows you have an interest in bankruptcy. Bankruptcy Judges are interested in candidates with a "demonstrated interest" in bankruptcy. If you don't have that, good grades probably won't help you. Keep in mind that your experience will vary depending on the jurisdiction in which your bankruptcy judge sits.

SDNY and DE far and away have the most corporate activity. A few other jurisdictions have maybe a little here and there. Most jurisdictions have almost none (unless you get lucky and a large corporate case randomly files there--happens fairly frequently but obviously impossible to predict). Clerking in SDNY or DE is the only way to guarantee significant corporate experience during your clerkship.