Clerkship Bonus for a Lateral Attorney? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hello,

Hoping someone has a definitive answer from a firm website or from personal experience, but will an attorney who worked for 3+ years for the government, then clerks for an Art. III judge, receive a "clerkship bonus" when joining a firm? I read a post from another thread that stated "a friend was treated like a lateral and didn't receive a clerkship bonus after taking this untraditional approach," but I'm hoping this is the minority position. Any insight from other folks? When I review various firm's websites, it seems to simply indicate those coming directly from an Art. III clerkship will receive a bonus, without distinguishing between experienced laterals and entry level attorneys. I understand I should qualify for "class credit," but I was looking forward to that clerkship and signing bonus having been a "public servant" for a while.

I have a feeling that the answer is simply: it depends on the firm and you'll have to negotiate.

[BlackAndOrange84]

Yeah, there's an element of negotiation in the terms of clerkship hiring, but my impression is that "market" would be for you to get a clerkship bonus. I think things get trickier as you get more senior (in terms of maybe giving up class years, clerkship bonus) but I don't think you're that far out yet. I'd be surprised if you didn't get the bonus—I've known plenty of people who went back to biglaw (having been associates for 1-4 years) after clerking for a year or two and who got the market clerkship bonus ($50k for one, $70k for two years).

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, there's an element of negotiation in the terms of clerkship hiring, but my impression is that "market" would be for you to get a clerkship bonus. I think things get trickier as you get more senior (in terms of maybe giving up class years, clerkship bonus) but I don't think you're that far out yet. I'd be surprised if you didn't get the bonus—I've known plenty of people who went back to biglaw (having been associates for 1-4 years) after clerking for a year or two and who got the market clerkship bonus ($50k for one, $70k for two years).

Has anyone heard of laterals managing to negotiate 70k if their clerkships were non-consecutive (e.g., clerk out of LS, two years in biglaw, clerk again, back to biglaw with 70k bonus?). This would be a bit unfair, given that you're essentially getting paid twice for the first clerkship, but wondering if it's something I could plausibly ask for.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, there's an element of negotiation in the terms of clerkship hiring, but my impression is that "market" would be for you to get a clerkship bonus. I think things get trickier as you get more senior (in terms of maybe giving up class years, clerkship bonus) but I don't think you're that far out yet. I'd be surprised if you didn't get the bonus—I've known plenty of people who went back to biglaw (having been associates for 1-4 years) after clerking for a year or two and who got the market clerkship bonus ($50k for one, $70k for two years).

Has anyone heard of laterals managing to negotiate 70k if their clerkships were non-consecutive (e.g., clerk out of LS, two years in biglaw, clerk again, back to biglaw with 70k bonus?). This would be a bit unfair, given that you're essentially getting paid twice for the first clerkship, but wondering if it's something I could plausibly ask for.

Same firm? Unlikely but possible.
Different firms? Probably.

[BlackAndOrange84]

Yeah, there's an element of negotiation in the terms of clerkship hiring, but my impression is that "market" would be for you to get a clerkship bonus. I think things get trickier as you get more senior (in terms of maybe giving up class years, clerkship bonus) but I don't think you're that far out yet. I'd be surprised if you didn't get the bonus—I've known plenty of people who went back to biglaw (having been associates for 1-4 years) after clerking for a year or two and who got the market clerkship bonus ($50k for one, $70k for two years).

Has anyone heard of laterals managing to negotiate 70k if their clerkships were non-consecutive (e.g., clerk out of LS, two years in biglaw, clerk again, back to biglaw with 70k bonus?). This would be a bit unfair, given that you're essentially getting paid twice for the first clerkship, but wondering if it's something I could plausibly ask for.

I know someone who managed to do this, so, yes, possible. But with different firms.