Circuit Clerkship Chance Me Forum

[VertibleHamSandwich]

Hey everyone. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on my chances on getting a circuit clerkship for 2022 (also I know there's a typo in my screen name, it's an inside joke with a friend).

Stats and info:
(1) State school (inside T30)
(2) Currently just outside top 5% (one more spot and I'll be inside that), I should graduate order of the coif if nothing goes horribly wrong this semester
(3) Exec board position on Law Rev.
(4) Published law rev. article
(5) Won several moot court competitions and competing on a national team
(6) Clerking at fed. district court from 2020-22
(7) Currently an RA for two profs. and TA'd my 2L year
(8) CALI awards for a few classes
(9) Geographically mobile to the extreme

I know how competitive these slots are and I'm wondering if there are any judges out there willing to look outside the T14 if you're not ranked 1-2 in your class. Thanks for the help!

[VertibleHamSandwich]

Forgot to add that I'm a non-traditional student with 8 years of professional work experience (mostly federal gov.).

[stoopkid13]

Clerking for a circuit judge is definitely possible with your stats and experience. But I question the value of clerking three years, especially if you are going to be 13 years out of college.

[nixy]

Eh, I don’t think it will make a difference. Two years district court + 1 year COA isn’t the same as 3 different clerkships, and there are plenty of people who switch careers and start law school around 30ish. If anyone’s going to have a problem with the OP’s age (they shouldn’t), one year won’t help.

[lavarman84]

It's possible, but it won't be easy. You'll stand a much better chance if you have some connections to use. I don't know if the professors you RA'd for or your judge have any connections, but if they do, work them. It'll also get easier once you have a LOR from your D. Ct. judge (especially if it's glowing).

However, the challenge for you is that a lot of circuit judges either don't look outside the t14 or, if they do, only look at schools in their region. So it may take a lot of applications and a lot of trying (chasing down when judges off of OSCAR are hiring, for example). You just have to apply widely to maximize your chances.

But I also don't the identity of your school, so it's possible that it's more attainable than I'm assuming (if your school has had a good number of people clerk on circuit courts in recent years).

[VertibleHamSandwich]

I appreciate the answers, thanks everyone!