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The Ms. and I are planning to tie the knot near the end of an upcoming clerkship.its about a year and a half from now and would require about a week of absence since the wedding is happening far from where I’ll be clerking. Is this something I should be mentioning to the judge now? I think the court takes a recess at some point and I’d like to try to coordinate with that.

Couldn't hurt to give a heads up, but I'd say six moths off is probably more appropriate.

I took a 2 week trip in the middle of my 2 year clerkship to go to Europe, was no biggie.

If I were in your shoes, I would notify the judge now. No judge will care about being informed sooner rather than later, but the inverse isn't necessarily true. Anecdotally, one judge I clerked for would not have cared if I told him the day of that I wasn't coming in. The other would have wanted to know well in advance. You simply can't go wrong by bringing it up now.

Seconded on telling the judge now, or at least figuring out the judge's policy. One of the judges for whom I worked wouldn't have minded; the other would've minded a great deal, to the point where it might have been a major issue. This meshes with what I've heard from other folks anecdotally.

The positioning "at the end of" your upcoming clerkship arguably makes it even more essential that you know your judge's position now. Near the end of your clerkship, whether it's trial or appellate, you might be racing against the clock to move stuff out the door. It's not a great time to skip town for a week.

Thanks for the replies. I’ll probably reach out soon. Would it change your thinking if I said it was SSC? I’m pretty sure I could set it up so the absence would occur over recess.

ughbugchugplug wrote:Thanks for the replies. I’ll probably reach out soon. Would it change your thinking if I said it was SSC? I’m pretty sure I could set it up so the absence would occur over recess.

That makes things easier than a district court, but I agree with the previous poster that towards the end of a clerkship, especially an appellate one, there's often a rush to get out opinions that are hanging or prepare bench memos for the first sitting after your departure (not true with all judges). It sounds like you guys haven't picked a specific date yet, so bring it up to your justice and coordinate with her. The advance notice will be appreciated, and you'll be able to plan things with the peace of mind that everything is kosher with your boss.

On second thought, the other posters are right. Sooner is better.