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Can anyone who has finished a volunteer (unpaid) federal district court clerkship (or know someone who has) give some insight on hiring after the clerkship?

Specifically, what are the biglaw prospects, did you receive a clerkship bonus, etc.

I know there are tons of threads discussing the merits of this type of clerkship, how you should present it on your resume, etc. For this thread, I'm really only interested in discussing the post-clerkship job prospects and hiring process for this type of clerkship.

Thanks!

Our volunteer clerk just left for a fairly niche, but well-paying boutique. He struck out at big law, but he didn't have big law credentials to begin with and came from an out-of-state honors program that firms in our district hadn't heard of (it wasn't clear he was coming from an honors program because it was called a "something-something fellowship"). He had interviews at a few different boutiques and a DJ before getting his offer. This was coming from a competitive district (i.e. CD Cal, ND Cal, SDNY). I'm not sure if they applied for big law, but other volunteer clerks have gone onto market or slightly below-market boutiques.

Anonymous User wrote:Our volunteer clerk just left for a fairly niche, but well-paying boutique. He struck out at big law, but he didn't have big law credentials to begin with and came from an out-of-state honors program that firms in our district hadn't heard of (it wasn't clear he was coming from an honors program because it was called a "something-something fellowship"). He had interviews at a few different boutiques and a DJ before getting his offer. This was coming from a competitive district (i.e. CD Cal, ND Cal, SDNY). I'm not sure if they applied for big law, but other volunteer clerks have gone onto market or slightly below-market boutiques.

Not OP, so sorry for asking the questions OP wanted to stay clear of: did your chambers require him to list "volunteer law clerk" or equivalent, or was he allowed to put "law clerk" on his resume?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Our volunteer clerk just left for a fairly niche, but well-paying boutique. He struck out at big law, but he didn't have big law credentials to begin with and came from an out-of-state honors program that firms in our district hadn't heard of (it wasn't clear he was coming from an honors program because it was called a "something-something fellowship"). He had interviews at a few different boutiques and a DJ before getting his offer. This was coming from a competitive district (i.e. CD Cal, ND Cal, SDNY). I'm not sure if they applied for big law, but other volunteer clerks have gone onto market or slightly below-market boutiques.

Not OP, so sorry for asking the questions OP wanted to stay clear of: did your chambers require him to list "volunteer law clerk" or equivalent, or was he allowed to put "law clerk" on his resume?

I'm not sure. He was pretty upfront about being a volunteer law clerk at the recruiting events we attended together but I don't know what he put on his resume.

Bump. Anyone have more info?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 05, 2021 11:47 pm

Bump. Anyone have more info?

Our chambers utilizes a volunteer law clerk. From my perspective, exit prospects are very dependent on the judge. Specifically, the type of work they assign to volunteer clerks, the method of assignment, the prestige of the district/judge, the judge's connections, and whether the judge will allow you to put "law clerk" on your resume with no strings attached (there is apparently some judicial conference guidance on this, but I know of multiple judges who disregard it and allow their volunteers to list whatever they want, so long as the volunteer is working true clerkship hours and maintaining a full workload).

In sum, if you get the same experience as a paid clerk, and your judge allows you to hold yourself out as a clerk, you should have good exit opportunities.

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