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How much is prior clerkship experience valued?

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 1:38 pm
by Anonymous User
All else being relatively equal, how much does prior clerkship experience help secure subsequent clerkships? If a candidate is lacking in some areas like grades or school, can it help make up for it? I’m particularly interested in same level clerkship experience (I.e. applying for a second district court clerkship).

Re: How much is prior clerkship experience valued?

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:04 pm
by objctnyrhnr
Anonymous User wrote:All else being relatively equal, how much does prior clerkship experience help secure subsequent clerkships? If a candidate is lacking in some areas like grades or school, can it help make up for it? I’m particularly interested in same level clerkship experience (I.e. applying for a second district court clerkship).
It’ll help a good amount, id say from experience hiring a new clerk while clerking at d court level.

Re: How much is prior clerkship experience valued?

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:22 pm
by mjb447
It can vary judge-to-judge like everything else, but I'd say on average it helps quite a bit. Nearly everything in the application and interview process is a proxy for answering the questions "how well will this person be able to do the work of chambers, and how [un]pleasant will it be to work with them?" Having done it before goes a long way toward answering those questions, especially if you have a former judge willing to be a reference.