Top Law Schools

I've had around 10 interviews so far and all have been dings. A few went terribly, but I feel like I did well enough in most to be competitive... am I just getting unlucky or am I not connecting well enough with the judges? I'm starting to think this might just be a waste of time.

Have you done a mock with your school's clerkship office? Are you preparing adequately, doing research on the judge, etc.?

I definitely look up information on each judge beforehand, but honestly most of the interviews I've had were fairly casual and there wasn't really an opportunity to show off how much I prepared for the interview. But maybe that's the problem, maybe I should interject some tidbits about an opinion I read of theirs etc.?

I thought about reaching out to the judge's former clerks to gain perspective on the Judge and maybe have a talking point to bring up during the interview?

I reached out to former clerks and found it helpful. I also found doing a mock with the clerkship office to be helpful.

Also, the point of research isn't to show off how much you prepared, it's about connecting with the judge. Definitely don't force it. But if you can steer conversation to areas of mutual interest, great.

Anonymous User wrote:I definitely look up information on each judge beforehand, but honestly most of the interviews I've had were fairly casual and there wasn't really an opportunity to show off how much I prepared for the interview. But maybe that's the problem, maybe I should interject some tidbits about an opinion I read of theirs etc.?

I thought about reaching out to the judge's former clerks to gain perspective on the Judge and maybe have a talking point to bring up during the interview?

Don't do this. Many judges are evaluating your personality. They want to know if they'd enjoy working with you. They don't need you to prove to them that you're prepared for the interview. They need you to prove to them that they'd enjoy being around with you for a year or two, and you'd fit in well in chambers.

You'll be able to tell if a judge wants to know if you're prepared or if you can do the job. If they're not touching either topic in the interview, it's not what they're evaluating.

What made the terrible ones go terribly?

I'd do a mock interview if you haven't just to make sure you've got solid answers to the usual questions and a decent conversational style. Checking in with former clerks is a good idea. The process is also pretty random and you don't know who else you're up against, so some people just end up doing a large number (although I'm not sure most people have many terrible ones).

(Reading up on a judge's background and opinions in advance is also a good idea; a lot of the time it may not come up organically, but you'll want to be prepared in case it does.)