Another clerkship to fill gap year in between two clerkships? Forum

[legalnovice]

I'm currently in a district court clerkship ending this fall. Before this, I worked at a V50 firm in nyc as a transactional associate for one year - I summered at the same firm too. Grades coming out of CCNP law school are fine - above median, maybe top 30%, but nothing to brag about.

I recently accepted an offer to clerk for a circuit judge for the 2021-2022 term. My goal after my second clerkship is to head back to biglaw to do litigation, preferably a mix of both trial and appellate work (if that's even possible). My old firm has not gotten back to me yet on whether I can come back this year after my first clerkship. I also haven't gotten any bites from other firms aside from a few interviews and screeners.

I'm kind of concerned that I won't be able to get a biglaw gig after my first clerkship. I have looked at fellowships somewhat but am also afraid that if I go that route, I may look too academic/PI oriented which would then hurt my biglaw chances moving forward. An option I was thinking of was whether clerking for a different judge in a personally desirable location for me (think Houston/Dallas/Austin) would be a good alternative to filling that gap year. Would clerking for another district court judge for my gap year help/be neutral when I apply for biglaw after my appellate clerkship? Or would it be bad for my prospects and it should be biglaw or bust this year? I was also thinking of extending my current clerkship for one more year but I'm hesitant to do so, given that I'm not in a major city right now and would like to experience something different after my stint here.

[lavarman84]

I'm currently in a district court clerkship ending this fall. Before this, I worked at a V50 firm in nyc as a transactional associate for one year - I summered at the same firm too. Grades coming out of CCNP law school are fine - above median, maybe top 30%, but nothing to brag about.

I recently accepted an offer to clerk for a circuit judge for the 2021-2022 term. My goal after my second clerkship is to head back to biglaw to do litigation, preferably a mix of both trial and appellate work (if that's even possible). My old firm has not gotten back to me yet on whether I can come back this year after my first clerkship. I also haven't gotten any bites from other firms aside from a few interviews and screeners.

I'm kind of concerned that I won't be able to get a biglaw gig after my first clerkship. I have looked at fellowships somewhat but am also afraid that if I go that route, I may look too academic/PI oriented which would then hurt my biglaw chances moving forward. An option I was thinking of was whether clerking for a different judge in a personally desirable location for me (think Houston/Dallas/Austin) would be a good alternative to filling that gap year. Would clerking for another district court judge for my gap year help/be neutral when I apply for biglaw after my appellate clerkship? Or would it be bad for my prospects and it should be biglaw or bust this year? I was also thinking of extending my current clerkship for one more year but I'm hesitant to do so, given that I'm not in a major city right now and would like to experience something different after my stint here.

Do you have a bead on a clerkship in one of those locations? It's pretty late in the game for 2020-21, and those aren't exactly easy clerkships to land. My personal view is that it would be better to do a year in biglaw, but if you see yourself working in Texas, a D. Ct. clerkship there could have value. It would offset the skepticism that three clerkships might bring (because you'd have a reason why). However, if you have no interest in working in Texas, it's not as helpful (and it might be better to just extend your current clerkship; it won't look as odd on the resume).

Ultimately, with your credentials, I think you'll end up being fine after the circuit clerkship either ways. It's also early to give up on biglaw imo (but I can see why you don't want to keep waiting on applying to D. Ct. clerkships).

[legalnovice]

Thanks for the response! Yes, I think I may have an in with at least two district judges in those cities who are still open for 2020-2021 - but as you surmised I would need to act fast and confirm my interest if that is the route I want to take. Ultimately though, I really do wanna go back to biglaw this year despite the fact that I’ll leave again for the COA clerkship. If you think it’s too early for me to start freaking out, then I would probably go that route and forego another district court clerkship in Texas.

I’ve started sending an updated resume to some of the firms I’ve been talking to and telling them about my second clerkship. Do you think this is a good move, and if so, should I just go ahead and resubmit my apps to the firms I’ve applied to? Before I was offered the COA clerkship, I probably applied to 10-15 firms with utter silence following my emails.

[clerk594]

Thanks for the response! Yes, I think I may have an in with at least two district judges in those cities who are still open for 2020-2021 - but as you surmised I would need to act fast and confirm my interest if that is the route I want to take. Ultimately though, I really do wanna go back to biglaw this year despite the fact that I’ll leave again for the COA clerkship. If you think it’s too early for me to start freaking out, then I would probably go that route and forego another district court clerkship in Texas.

I’ve started sending an updated resume to some of the firms I’ve been talking to and telling them about my second clerkship. Do you think this is a good move, and if so, should I just go ahead and resubmit my apps to the firms I’ve applied to? Before I was offered the COA clerkship, I probably applied to 10-15 firms with utter silence following my emails.

Was in a similar position as you, and would recommend sending updates about your COA acceptance. Is it on CA5?

[lavarman84]

Thanks for the response! Yes, I think I may have an in with at least two district judges in those cities who are still open for 2020-2021 - but as you surmised I would need to act fast and confirm my interest if that is the route I want to take. Ultimately though, I really do wanna go back to biglaw this year despite the fact that I’ll leave again for the COA clerkship. If you think it’s too early for me to start freaking out, then I would probably go that route and forego another district court clerkship in Texas.

I’ve started sending an updated resume to some of the firms I’ve been talking to and telling them about my second clerkship. Do you think this is a good move, and if so, should I just go ahead and resubmit my apps to the firms I’ve applied to? Before I was offered the COA clerkship, I probably applied to 10-15 firms with utter silence following my emails.

Yeah, I wish I could give you a good answer here, but I'm not a great biglaw resource. I decided to go government after my clerkships.

[Anonymous User]

Was in a similar position as you, and would recommend sending updates about your COA acceptance. Is it on CA5?

CA10 actually - but the city/state is near enough Texas that I’m hoping it will show I want to be in TX/around that region. My current district clerkship is also in TX. I’ll definitely send the firms updates...especially now that my old firm has indicated they won’t be taking me back for needs reasons (always thought I had a good relationship with them...).