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Hey all,

Do you know of any situations where someone has successfully negotiated for a big law clerkship bonus a few years after s/he clerks? For example, assume person A clerks, subsequently works in government for 3 years, and then decides to join a big law firm for the first time (and has never received a clerkship bonus before). Do we know if s/he's in a position to ask for a bonus when s/he tries to lateral, or is the $50k or $70k clerkship bonus waived forever the second s/he decides to join the government after the clerkship?

Curious about how this works and whether it has been done. Thanks for any info you might be able to share.

So at the outset it’s worth mentioning that this is a very difficult path. I did it but it took a long time. I landed market in accordance with my class year, but my read was there was no shot at a clerkship bonus from my firm. By taking this path, you put yourself in a bit of a beggars can’t be choosers scenario because here you’re asking a firm to hire you as a lateral against others who have biglaw experience and therefore people who would presumably already have received clerking bonus. If you get an offer from a market firm, assuming you’re not simultaneously weighing multiple offers from this position, you should let this issue sit and accept the offer and be grateful.

The only potential exception that comes to mind might be say quinn. If offered there, I think this is something you could consider.

Happy to answer follow ups cause as I mentioned, this was my path.