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I will be clerking shortly in one of the major California districts (NDCA/CDCA). I graduated top 5% from CCNMVP, no LR. What kind of opportunities will generally be available post-clerkship? I assume getting normal biglaw will be trivial, but how about Susman Godfrey, Keker, W&C, Kellogg?

Will I be competitive for DOJ honors? I assume I have a very good shot at landing a COA in either CA9 or elsewhere, would that be a good move for trying to land one of the above positions?

Thanks for any thoughts/advice.

Anonymous User wrote:I will be clerking shortly in one of the major California districts (NDCA/CDCA). I graduated top 5% from CCNMVP, no LR. What kind of opportunities will generally be available post-clerkship? I assume getting normal biglaw will be trivial, but how about Susman Godfrey, Keker, W&C, Kellogg?

Will I be competitive for DOJ honors? I assume I have a very good shot at landing a COA in either CA9 or elsewhere, would that be a good move for trying to land one of the above positions?

Thanks for any thoughts/advice.

You'd have a shot at all four law firms you identify. I'm not saying you'd be hired at all—or even any—of the four, but you at least have the threshold credentials. It's worth noting that Kellogg has more of preference for COA clerks than the other three firms, so a COA clerkship would help you there.

As for DOJ honors, my observation is that the students who get DOJ honors are not the top-grades, clerkship types. Rather, they're the students who focused on working for—and making connections in—the federal government during law school. If you didn't do that, you're going to be at a pretty big disadvantage. But I'm not an expert on how to get DOJ honors; I'm just sharing an observation.