2L at CCN. Please don't quote.
(1) My first semester, I received a B in contracts and a B in criminal law and was thus slightly below median. What does this put me out of the running for, clerkship wise? (Subsequently, I've had two 4.0 semesters, made Law Review, worked in the litigation group of a V30 as a 1L summer associate (and have an offer from a top firm for next summer), and was a teaching assistant for a doctrinal course. I'm now safely in the top 10% and will be pushing hard to improve my rank over the next three semesters.)
(2) Also, I'm just starting to look at clerkship stuff now. Am I far behind in terms of obtaining a clerkship for my first year out of law school?
What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades? Forum
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about clerkship applications and clerkship hiring. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about clerkship applications and clerkship hiring. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 431700
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
-
cheaptilts
- Posts: 593
- Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:29 pm
Re: What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades?
Have you made an appointment to talk to your clerkship counselor at CCN? If not, I would start there. You're undoubtedly going to receive myriad answers from people on this forum, but your clerkship counselor literally has access to more data specific to your school, position, and even class year that it's probably best to talk to them first before losing/gaining confidence based on anectdata from anonymous individuals on the internet
Last edited by cheaptilts on Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 431700
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades?
Nope, haven't made a one-on-one appointment yet. I'll do that.
-
cheaptilts
- Posts: 593
- Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 11:29 pm
Re: What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades?
Good, you should. For the record, you're still in a fairly decent spot for 17-18 at the district level only, if you're not concerned with that probably not being SDNY/EDNY/NDIll/D.DC. The question you have re: whether there are openings for 2017-18 could be answered by simply searching for those positions on OSCAR, though. YOur clerkship counselor can tell you more. And your GPA right now is strong enough that your Bs won't matter much.
Last edited by cheaptilts on Fri Jan 15, 2016 10:55 pm, edited 3 times in total.
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 431700
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades?
Thanks for the info cheaptilts!
Want to continue reading?
Register now to search topics and post comments!
Absolutely FREE!
Already a member? Login
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 431700
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades?
For what it's worth, you might as well just say C/N, since U Chicago has such specific grades that "B" in classes and 4.0 (which is literally impossible at U of C) makes it clear you're not at U of C. But best of luck in any case!
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 431700
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades?
sorry if this derails your threat but just wondering how you improved your grades so drastically? What did you do differently?
-
Anonymous User
- Posts: 431700
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: What am I out of the running for due to 1L grades?
I had a total of two "B" band grades in LS and ended up with clerkships on SDNY/NDCAL/DDC and 2/9/DC. This is not to say that keeping your "B" band grades to two is necessary or sufficient--just saying you probably haven't ruled anything out.
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that clerkship hiring is very idiosyncratic. There are precious few statistics out there, so you will be tempted (and invited) to take advice as generalizable when it probably isn't. No one you talk to has clerked / been hired for a clerkship more than a handful of times, nor have they seen more than two or three cycles of hiring by two or three judges.
Having said that . . .
My advice is to have multiple very good recommenders, with AT LEAST one recommender who is specifically EAGER to make phone calls for you. Don't just mindlessly sign up to do research for a big star, though; such people often have an army of RAs whose names they can scarcely recall. Work for someone you like so that you will enjoy it and they will enjoy you. If you can RA for a prof whose class you took and aced, that's even better. You will not always be able to tell in advance who is a good recommender. Some famous and esteemed professors are so bloody awkward that it physically pains them to talk on the phone with judges (or anyone). Some people aren't awkward but just aren't very enthusiastic about anyone. Talk to alums and 2Ls and 3Ls you trust about their experience with their recommenders.
Taking a class and acing it is great, but the LOR from such an experience can be thin--how is the prof supposed to say anything about you other than "she wrote a great exam"? Judges want to know if you are a good employee and (often but not always) a pleasant person. If your excellent and esteemed recommenders can attest to that for you based on actual experience, such as "[Student] was available at all hours for the entire spring getting me excellent research and drafts faster than I would have believed possible," then you are golden.
I suggest doing such RA gigs for multiple professors (I did)--you can't be sure how many will work out.
The first thing you need to keep in mind is that clerkship hiring is very idiosyncratic. There are precious few statistics out there, so you will be tempted (and invited) to take advice as generalizable when it probably isn't. No one you talk to has clerked / been hired for a clerkship more than a handful of times, nor have they seen more than two or three cycles of hiring by two or three judges.
Having said that . . .
My advice is to have multiple very good recommenders, with AT LEAST one recommender who is specifically EAGER to make phone calls for you. Don't just mindlessly sign up to do research for a big star, though; such people often have an army of RAs whose names they can scarcely recall. Work for someone you like so that you will enjoy it and they will enjoy you. If you can RA for a prof whose class you took and aced, that's even better. You will not always be able to tell in advance who is a good recommender. Some famous and esteemed professors are so bloody awkward that it physically pains them to talk on the phone with judges (or anyone). Some people aren't awkward but just aren't very enthusiastic about anyone. Talk to alums and 2Ls and 3Ls you trust about their experience with their recommenders.
Taking a class and acing it is great, but the LOR from such an experience can be thin--how is the prof supposed to say anything about you other than "she wrote a great exam"? Judges want to know if you are a good employee and (often but not always) a pleasant person. If your excellent and esteemed recommenders can attest to that for you based on actual experience, such as "[Student] was available at all hours for the entire spring getting me excellent research and drafts faster than I would have believed possible," then you are golden.
I suggest doing such RA gigs for multiple professors (I did)--you can't be sure how many will work out.
