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Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:33 pm
by Anonymous User
I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!

Re: Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:47 pm
by mjb447
I took Fed Courts pass/fail and I don't think it hurt me much. A small number of judges might care, but I suspect most won't, particularly if you're applying after working for a few years. (Getting a B in a single class also isn't as significant a few years out, but I think more judges have a GPA cutoff that you could risk falling below with a bad grade than have a "take Fed Courts for a letter grade" requirement.)

Re: Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 3:58 pm
by rpupkin
Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?
The sorts of judges who care about your Fed Courts grade are generally not going to hire a student who is just somewhat above median anyway. So I think pass/fail is fine in your case. (If you had, say, top 5% grades and were shooting for competitive COA judges, then I'd recommend taking the class for a grade.)

Re: Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:06 pm
by quiver
rpupkin wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?
The sorts of judges who care about your Fed Courts grade are generally not going to hire a student who is just somewhat above median anyway. So I think pass/fail is fine in your case. (If you had, say, top 5% grades and were shooting for competitive COA judges, then I'd recommend taking the class for a grade.)
Agreed. Also, if you want to clerk after 2 years at a firm, you should be looking/applying now.

Re: Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:54 pm
by Person1111
Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!
Why do you randomly capitalize words?

Re: Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:07 pm
by zhenders
hlsperson1111 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!
Why do you randomly capitalize words?
She/he has a great deal of respect for nouns obviously

Re: Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail?

Posted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 5:07 pm
by rpupkin
hlsperson1111 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!
Why do you randomly capitalize words?
OP is intending to target German-born judges.