Applying to an older judge Forum

[JackOfAllTrades]

Hi, this may be a strange question, but there are obviously a lot of very old judges on the federal bench.

My question is this: what happens if you apply to one of them and are chosen, and then the judge passes away, either before you are to begin your term or midway through your term?

Are you then in limbo? If the judge dies before you begin the term, is it even something you can put on a resume?

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous User]

usually judges have back-ups prepared for their clerks. same for judges that decide to retire or that receive another appointment
I've heard of students who lined up clerkships and whose judges passed away with no arrangements made, though. I think this is pretty rare. And when it does happen they are able to bounce back and get a clerkship for the following year with the credibility of already having received the first offer

[Anonymous User]

When a judge retires the law clerks get 3 months of salary funding, plus an additional 4 months of funding if the circuit approves it. Again, this rarely happens, but I've heard of it. I've heard of other judges in the district taking the law clerks and using them to them with (usually reassigned) cases for the rest of the term.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I've heard of other judges in the district taking the law clerks and using them to them with (usually reassigned) cases for the rest of the term.

This is what I've usually heard, that other judges in the courthouse will find space/work for the clerks, though I think it's always arranged fairly informally (not like it's going to be in an offer letter or something). Wrt to retirement, one of the ways you can tell if a judge/justice is planning to retire is if they stop hiring term clerks.

[Anonymous User]

This (more or less) happened to me- my judge ended up having to retire for health reasons a few months before my term was to start. The chief judge of the district passed my and my would-be coclerk's resume around the court, and my (would-be) judge called around for me (independently of me). A judge in the same district who had not hired interviewed me and hired me. (Another offered me an interview shortly after, and my would-be coclerk ended up with a third).

If my (would be) judge had passed away, I'd have had a harder time. I know someone who was supposed to clerk for a judge who passed away before during his 3L year (and he had summered with government). He landed on his feet at a plaintiff's firm and got a clerkship 2 years out, but there wasn't much special suction for him.

My understanding is that it is quite different if it happens while you're in your term- contrary to what others have said, I've heard your year's funding is locked in once you're in, and you just get reassigned to another judge with the cases.

[Anonymous User]

I'll provide a different anecdote. My judge passed away a few months before I was to begin clerking. I knew he was getting on in age, but by interviewing and hiring me, I assumed he was well enough to continue. Shortly before he passed away, I was notified of the health issue and asked to look for other options. While his JA offered to contact a couple of other judges for me, the district did not seem to be prepared to handle an issue like mine.

I've heard of others from my school where this happened and the chief judge was able to assist in placement elsewhere in the district, but in my case, the judge did not seem interested in calling others on my behalf. (And I can hardly blame him; he was rightly more concerned with his own health and end-of-life care). So, it's very judge/district specific.

It sucked to be in that position, especially from a school like mine that doesn't place clerks too often. I played around with different ways of putting it on my resume and cover letter but it never felt quite right. Even working it into an interview was difficult, though I eventually finessed that awkward conversation. So, yeah, it was definitely a limbo situation for me, where I had very little assistance and couldn't really benefit from the fact that I had already been hired by one judge. Fortunately I've rebounded to a firm and have another clerkship lined up, so I'm happy about that!

[Anonymous User]

I clerked on the ninth circuit when one of the judges died. The current clerks were promised 6 months employment and their resumes were passed around to see if anyone had space for them for the rest of the year. The incoming clerks weren't promised anything, but their resumes were passed around. It was a super-selective judge, so all the clerks had great resumes and iirc they all landed in other chambers. My guess is that it wouldn't go as well for a U Oregon law grad that was lucky enough to snag the clerkship through the local angle.

[Anonymous User]

Anecdotes:

A senior judge in my district left the bench ASAP after a replacement was confirmed and assumed office. The retiring judge struck a deal with the incoming judge to hire clerks because one was a career clerk and the other was only a few months in.

My friend had a circuit clerkship lined up with a judge who very unexpectedly left the bench and did nothing to help my friend. It was almost a year before friend was poised to begin, so take that as you may.

[sundance95]

I clerked on the ninth circuit when one of the judges died. The current clerks were promised 6 months employment and their resumes were passed around to see if anyone had space for them for the rest of the year. The incoming clerks weren't promised anything, but their resumes were passed around. It was a super-selective judge, so all the clerks had great resumes and iirc they all landed in other chambers. My guess is that it wouldn't go as well for a U Oregon law grad that was lucky enough to snag the clerkship through the local angle.

QF O'scanlainn

[JackOfAllTrades]

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful replies!