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I just graduated and eventually want to apply to clerkships. I do not want to clerk until 2021 at least, probably even 2022 (mostly financial reasons). I will be going to a V10 in NYC in August. This may be a simple question, but when do I reach out to professors for letters of recommendation? On oscar, only 4 D.C. clerkships for 2022 are open and only 7 circuit ones, so it seems too early to apply for 2022.

Do I reach out now while my professors are more recent and have them write letters? Or do I wait until it I start applying, whenever that is?

My school has essentially no information for post-practice applying...

JuliusCaesar wrote:I just graduated and eventually want to apply to clerkships. I do not want to clerk until 2021 at least, probably even 2022 (mostly financial reasons). I will be going to a V10 in NYC in August. This may be a simple question, but when do I reach out to professors for letters of recommendation? On oscar, only 4 D.C. clerkships for 2022 are open and only 7 circuit ones, so it seems too early to apply for 2022.

Do I reach out now while my professors are more recent and have them write letters? Or do I wait until it I start applying, whenever that is?

My school has essentially no information for post-practice applying...

I think that's a great idea - at a minimum, you could certainly reach out to your probable recommenders and ask them how they'd like to handle it - drafting the stub of a letter now, or waiting until you actually apply, and giving them the option. My sense is that if they have written you a letter before, they'll adapt the extant letter for clerkships. And some profs will have no desire to lift a finger until you're actually applying (and let's be honest, they may have little desire even after you do, too!). But at a minimum, not a bad ideal to signal future interest and gauge their response to your solicitation as to how they want to proceed.

JuliusCaesar wrote:I just graduated and eventually want to apply to clerkships. I do not want to clerk until 2021 at least, probably even 2022 (mostly financial reasons). I will be going to a V10 in NYC in August. This may be a simple question, but when do I reach out to professors for letters of recommendation? On oscar, only 4 D.C. clerkships for 2022 are open and only 7 circuit ones, so it seems too early to apply for 2022.

Do I reach out now while my professors are more recent and have them write letters? Or do I wait until it I start applying, whenever that is?

My school has essentially no information for post-practice applying...

I’m more concerned about your timeline. OSCAR may not be listing a lot of 2022 positions, but judges are certainly starting to fill them in this current rush. 2021 spots will almost certainly be gone by next year.