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I interviewed with the SDNY judge (senior judge) and have an upcoming interview with the DDC judge (active judge). Neither are feeders nor especially prestigious. I'm not interested in either DC or NY and have no plans of ever living in either city. I will move back to California after my clerkships. I'm solely interviewing with these judges because my recommenders are connected with them. I'm not interested in admin or securities work.

Which should I go with if I get both offers?

I always wonder if I was this annoying when I applied

I think SDNY has a more interesting and diverse docket, and I prefer New York as a city. But both are immensely prestigious.

I'd also agree with SDNY (particularly if you're not interested in admin law), but note that the work load, type of cases, number of cases, etc., varies tremendously between senior judges.

They have the option of opting out of certain types of cases, which can be very nice (e.g., pro se cases). But the work load does vary depending on the judge -- I've known some clerks for SDNY senior judges who have a very relaxing year and have long stretches of time with little work to do, and some clerks for senior judges who work as much or more than a clerk for an active status judge. Some senior judges love trials and have a lot; some hate them.

There is also one SDNY senior judge that should be avoided (if you look around these boards, you'll figure it out).

It's easier to live in DC on a clerk's salary and enjoy yourself than NYC. I agree that overall SDNY has a more diverse docket, but you're more likely to work on something once-in-a-lifetime kind of cool at DDC. Also, I don't think DDC gets nearly as much admin work as the DC Circuit, because so much of the DC Circuit's admin docket is direct review from the agency (FERC, NLRB, EPA to name a few). I will add, I think that like the DC Circuit, the caseload in DDC is relatively low on a per-judge basis, so you may be likely to have a more laid-back year (though hard to say given your SDNY potential judge is senior). Either way, though, you can't really go wrong—these are great clerkships if you get them.

Anonymous User wrote:I think SDNY has a more interesting and diverse docket, and I prefer New York as a city. But both are immensely prestigious.

I think that bolded part is the best answer for OP. They're both about the best district clerkships you can get, so no need to sweat over which one to take as far as prestige, job prospects, etc. I'd suggest just going with the city you'd prefer to live in for a year.

SDNY averages way, way more brutal hours. I did clerkships in the buildings that house both the DDC clerks and the SDNY clerks and the latter were far, far more overworked, on average. It depends on the judge, obviously, but for many judges, including some of the senior ones, you won’t have all that much time to enjoy NYC. I’d vote DDC because only one or two of the judges is truly an unreasonable boss.

Anonymous User wrote:SDNY averages way, way more brutal hours. I did clerkships in the buildings that house both the DDC clerks and the SDNY clerks and the latter were far, far more overworked, on average. It depends on the judge, obviously, but for many judges, including some of the senior ones, you won’t have all that much time to enjoy NYC. I’d vote DDC because only one or two of the judges is truly an unreasonable boss.

who?

OP here. Went with SDNY. Thanks for the help.