State Appellate or Federal Forum

[DaisyGnome]

Hey everyone.

I am a second-year student at a school currently tied for 77 in the nation. I have a 3.6 GPA. This coronavirus madness has stripped me of the opportunity to further improve my GPA before applying for clerkships as my school has gone mandatory pass/fail. My school does not rank its students, either.

With my GPA, do I have a shot at federal clerkships coming from my school? I would love a clerkship in the court of appeals for my state. What are my chance of getting in with the court of appeals?

[nixy]

It's kind of impossible to say without knowing what rank a 3.6 is. Unless that means you're in the top ~10 students, you probably don't have a great shot at a federal clerkship, but I would talk to the career office at your school to find out where previous grads have clerked and what their stats have been. Target alumni of your school or local judges with a preference for local grads, if there are any (for instance I went to law school in a market with two schools - one of the local judges always hired one grad from each school and one grad from their alma mater every year).

Re: state appellate, you'll probably have a better shot, but it will again depend on your rank, and also the state (some states are much more competitive than others). Also, is the court of appeals the highest court? (and if so that probably gives away your state.) An intermediate state court of appeals can be a good stepping stone to a state supreme court or federal district court clerkship.

Something else to consider is whether applying as an alum would help you - you may be able to improve your GPA (maybe not much, statistically, but it's a possibility) and some judges really favor candidates with work experience).

But in any case, your school should have at least some resources for this, and they're the first place to start.

[DaisyGnome]

That's the main problem. My school does not rank. So, I could well fall within the top 10%, could be 15%, who knows.

I have reached out to career services for more information.

No, the Court of Appeals is not the state's highest court. I am looking at Illinois.

[nixy]

Thanks for the update. I think you probably have a decent shot at the state COA, again depending on your school’s history with them.

[decimalsanddollars]

Agreed that you have a much better shot at state COA, especially in Illinois, than federal right out. If you're willing to do both, I would consider doing a state COA clerkship first and then apply to federal clerkships for the next year---you'll know more about your place in the class, and many judges prefer candidates with experience (including and often especially prior clerkship).

[Anonymous User]

Agreed that you have a much better shot at state COA, especially in Illinois, than federal right out. If you're willing to do both, I would consider doing a state COA clerkship first and then apply to federal clerkships for the next year---you'll know more about your place in the class, and many judges prefer candidates with experience (including and often especially prior clerkship).

I can confirm this. I clerked for a DJ who hired exclusively clerks with experience, which almost always meant a prior clerkship. The judge put a lot more stock into relevant experience than grades and pedigree. This is certainly the exception to the norm, but my judge and several others (where I clerked and elsewhere) would often rather hire someone with a state COA clerkship over someone fresh out of law school.