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Negotiating a clerkship bonus for unusual term?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 7:12 pm
by Anonymous User
Currently clerking on a fed. dist. ct. but have an unusual term (1 yr, 9 mo). Headed to a V20 firm after the clerkship. Firm follows market.

My understanding is that a single year clerkship gets you 50k and two years gets you 70k. Considering I'm somewhere in the middle, do you think I can/should negotiate for something above 50k if that's what my firm offers me?

Bonus question: Do you think there is room to negotiate where I enter on the salary track, in terms of years credited?

Many thanks.

Re: Negotiating a clerkship bonus for unusual term?

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 7:18 pm
by rpupkin
Anonymous User wrote:Currently clerking on a fed. dist. ct. but have an unusual term (1 yr, 9 mo). Headed to a V20 firm after the clerkship. Firm follows market.

My understanding is that a single year clerkship gets you 50k and two years gets you 70k. Considering I'm somewhere in the middle, do you think I can/should negotiate for something above 50k if that's what my firm offers me?
I don't think it's standard to get 70K for two years. Many firms will give you 70K if you do two different clerkships (e.g., one district court, one COA), but not for two years with the same judge.

But this kind of thing is negotiable. There's nothing wrong with asking for $70K for your 21-month clerkship. I wouldn't count on it working out for you, though.