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2L at H right at a "4.0" (4 Ps, 4 DS, rest H), no LR, article editor on a secondary journal and a more ambiguous role on another one, and some other student org leadership. No strong political signalers on resume, no particularly strong recs, and no all-star recommenders. I'm guessing feeders are off the table given the sheer number of Ps, but is there anything else I'm out of the running for (i.e. 2d Cir. NYC, D.C. Cir., etc.)? Ideally would want to clerk for a D.C./2d cir. non-feeder in addition to a D.Ct. in my secondary market.

I don't understand the point of the question. Your credentials are strong enough that you should apply everywhere you'd like to work. You don't lose anything by sending an app to very picky judges for whom your qualifications are a stretch. Since you have limited geographical preferences it's not like you're looking at an endless abyss of applications here; just blanket the D.C. & 2d Circuits and District Courts in your target market.

Nothing's off the table. Just apply as broadly as you are comfortable with (don't apply if you wouldn't take the clerkship).

SCOTUS itself is a long shot with 4 P's. Pretty much everything else is very much in play and you should even be applying to feeders if the location/judge are appealing otherwise.

Your grades aren't an obstacle so much as your lack of strong recommenders. It is hard to get any specific clerkship without a connection. You'll get something though.

hdivschool wrote:Your grades aren't an obstacle so much as your lack of strong recommenders. It is hard to get any specific clerkship without a connection. You'll get something though.

That's what I was worried about. I have some solid connections, but they are not anywhere where my grades + school were insufficient to get me out of the pile in the first place (i.e. my hometown). I was mainly asking where my grades will hold me back; I do realize I will need someone to champion me for the more competitive courts. Hoping to make a connection like that this semester with a rockstar. Also am fine applying for 2023 so I'm hoping that'll give me enough time to find more recommenders in the likely event I don't get a CoA in 2021 (hoping to lock down hometown for 2022 soon but will open apply to CoAs if it doesn't work out)

As someone who graduated from the same school with similar grades and did d. ct. and COA clerkships in the Acela corridor, I'd echo that CA2 non-feeder is certainly possible enough to be worth applying (I can't speak to CADC), but would add that if you have a specific geographic preference for DC/NY, you could consider also applying to nearby CA4/CA3 judges in e.g. Baltimore/Newark. Some of those judges are quite competitive, but given the limited number of COA judges in NY for example, it's always helpful to be able to apply to as many judges as you would be willing/happy to clerk for, just to increase your chances. Anecdotally, I have seen HLS grads with worse grades than you clerk on CADC/CA2 in NYC, but as far as I know most were on HLR.

o0o0o0o wrote:As someone who graduated from the same school with similar grades and did d. ct. and COA clerkships in the Acela corridor, I'd echo that CA2 non-feeder is certainly possible enough to be worth applying (I can't speak to CADC), but would add that if you have a specific geographic preference for DC/NY, you could consider also applying to nearby CA4/CA3 judges in e.g. Baltimore/Newark. Some of those judges are quite competitive, but given the limited number of COA judges in NY for example, it's always helpful to be able to apply to as many judges as you would be willing/happy to clerk for, just to increase your chances. Anecdotally, I have seen HLS grads with worse grades than you clerk on CADC/CA2 in NYC, but as far as I know most were on HLR.

That’s great to hear. I definitely intend on applying somewhat broadly. Was even thinking places like Billings (C.J. Thomas) or my hometown COA (think 5th/11th). Also not married to 2d Cir. NYC or anything, just figure it’d be nice if I want to shoot for a selective boutique afterwards. Would probably prefer boston 1st Cir. (Lynch or Barron seem uber competitive though) to most 2d even. DC is special to me in desirability bc of all the admin cases however, not just because of the preftige. So much so that I would consider clerking a third time there if I could somehow snag it, perhaps as a transition out of biglaw into bigfed or something else

I graduated HLS with similar grades (3.96) and no HLR and got a clerkship in my home circuit. I also got two CADC interviews, but no offer from either (I applied somewhat selectively on CADC). But I knew at least one person with worse grades (but HLR) and a few people with similar grades that landed on CADC. So it's certainly worth applying.