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Was wondering about this. Interested in child advocacy under child welfare laws (also possibly interested in being a clinical law prof way down the line).

Interested in experience, not prestige. Would a clerkship be useful? Would a state supreme court clerkship be more useful than a fed clerkship? FWIW I'm ~5% + LR at CCN, good recs.

Anonymous User wrote:Was wondering about this. Interested in child advocacy under child welfare laws (also possibly interested in being a clinical law prof way down the line).

Interested in experience, not prestige. Would a clerkship be useful? Would a state supreme court clerkship be more useful than a fed clerkship? FWIW I'm ~5% + LR at CCN, good recs.

I think it depends a lot on where you intend to practice. I'm currently in the appellate division in NJ, but before that I was clerking for a family court judge. In NJ, it is essentially a requirement to clerk in family court prior to getting a job at A Family Law Firm here. I can tell you that my experience clerking in family court was invaluable (and in my opinion, even more so than my appellate experience). In trial court, the family clerks write all of the opinions, many of which are lengthy and involve complex family law issues. This varies by county of course, but we also handled every type of docket including child welfare and all types of matrimonial matters. The family clerks also get certified in mediation and mediate many of the cases. I can't speak for any other states, but if you have any interest in practicing in NJ I would highly recommend it. The pay is low, but its worth it in the long run.

I can't speak too directly to whether a clerkship would be helpful, but since family law is state law, a state clerkship would probably make more sense, unless you're aiming for an employer who values prestige in a vacuum.

Yeah, if you're set on family law and not that interested in prestige, a federal clerkship makes very little sense.

But a fed clerkship would be helpful for any future academia pursuits (although, maybe less if just clinical type prof)

Yeah, if you want to be a clinical prof, it's pretty much all about experience.