I'm currently clerking in a rural state court for three judges on a one-year term (ending in August). I've been job hunting on-and-off since December, and have gotten a handful of callbacks. I am very interested in one position, but have the impression that the job might not be willing to wait until August. That said, my judges are personable and mentorship-minded, so I think they might be supportive of an early departure. I just don't want to disrespect them by asking to leave six months into my term. My hope is to find some balance between how far the clerkship and new job are willing to stretch.
How flexible are judges in the terms of their clerkships? I understand this is dependent on the judge, etc., but just wanted to hear some others' experiences on the topic. I've not been offered the job yet, anyhow, so it is speculative at this point.
Leaving Clerkship Early for Job? Forum
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Anonymous User
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Re: Leaving Clerkship Early for Job?
I've been a permanent clerk for many years. The earliest any of my judge's term clerks ever left was one month early. That's a short enough period of time that either an incoming clerk was able to start earlier or the amount of work that piled up in the gap wasn't too excessive. If a clerk left much earlier than that, then s/he would (1) put incoming clerk(s) in the awkward position of suddenly being asked to accommodate a drastic change in plans by starting a new job, likely in a new city, much earlier than anticipated; (2) force the judge to make do without needed help for an excessive amount of time; and/or (3) require the judge to make an unexpected short-term hiring decision and then train a new clerk, which takes an awful lot of time and effort. Even a very accommodating judge wouldn't be too pleased with someone who caused this type of havoc in their workplace.
If you know something about the clerk who is going to be replacing you, that might be helpful information, but overall I really don't think you should try pushing it to more than a month early.
If you know something about the clerk who is going to be replacing you, that might be helpful information, but overall I really don't think you should try pushing it to more than a month early.
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nixy
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Re: Leaving Clerkship Early for Job?
I agree with the above, but also think it's complicated by the fact that you have three people to please, not just one. That said, if you're clerking for 3 judges at once, you're doing a lot less work per judge than clerking only for one judge, so maybe it's a wash.
In any case, I think you can broach it with them, but unless there's something unusual about this particular location/clerkship, they may not be thrilled. The best solution will be if the next clerk is able/willing to show up early, but if they're on the standard graduate --> take the bar --> clerk schedule, they're likely not available till after the bar.
In any case, I think you can broach it with them, but unless there's something unusual about this particular location/clerkship, they may not be thrilled. The best solution will be if the next clerk is able/willing to show up early, but if they're on the standard graduate --> take the bar --> clerk schedule, they're likely not available till after the bar.
