Top Law Schools

Looking for some insight. Landed a postgrad SSC gig (think NY/TX/CA). How often to people make the jump to 2d/5th/9th and everything in between? Would working a year do anything to improve my chances?

Also interested in hearing answers to this

This will depend on your current qualifications, and who you're clerking for and who they know. If you have the qualifications for a fed COA already, great! you're set! If (like many of us) you don't, doing the SSC will help, most of all if your justice knows federal COA judges and can help promote you. I'll note that I know people who did SSC --> COA, but most (though not all) did a DCt clerkship in between. So it's possible, it's just going to depend a lot on personal circumstances. (I should add that none of them went to 2d/5th/9th, but they weren't in those parts of the country. The people I know who've done this have done it within the same circuit.)

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:45 pm

Looking for some insight. Landed a postgrad SSC gig (think NY/TX/CA). How often to people make the jump to 2d/5th/9th and everything in between? Would working a year do anything to improve my chances?

My COA judge routinely hired from the SSC. I imagine the same is true with many former state court judges who move over to the federal bench.

It's like any other double clerking situation; landing the first one is a nice soft that boosts you for applying for the second. It won't make the difference for an otherwise uncompetitive applicant. FWIW, clerks going SCOCA -> 9th Cir, SCOTX -> 5th Cir, and NY COA -> 2nd Cir aren't rare, but that's mainly because the hiring standards are roughly similar.

There are certainly circumstances where your SSC boss may be a super recommender or being on the SSC puts you in the right place at the right time to hear about a vacancy that hasn't been posted publicly, but obviously neither are something to bank on, and neither help if you want to apply before you're in your clerkship year.

texanslimjim wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 28, 2020 4:58 pm

clerks going SCOCA -> 9th Cir, SCOTX -> 5th Cir, and NY COA -> 2nd Cir aren't rare, but that's mainly because the hiring standards are roughly similar.

Not sure about the other states, but this is not true for NY/CA2. Garcia and Wilson are the only current NY COA judges hiring clerks who could plausibly get a federal appellate clerkship, and CA2 is still substantially more selective. Not saying it never happens, but it's not common.

Source: clerked on CA2, never even considered hiring a former NY COA clerk.

I went from a flyover SSC to a major metro area CoA on the coast. Happy to answer any questions to the extent it's helpful.

With respect to Texas specifically, SCOTX to 5th Circuit seems to happen fairly regularly, especially if you are in the FedSoc pipeline. Unsurprisingly, Willett seems particularly partial to former SCOTX clerks.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:46 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:45 pm

Looking for some insight. Landed a postgrad SSC gig (think NY/TX/CA). How often to people make the jump to 2d/5th/9th and everything in between? Would working a year do anything to improve my chances?

My COA judge routinely hired from the SSC. I imagine the same is true with many former state court judges who move over to the federal bench.

Credited. On the other hand, Cal Supreme clerkships are probably more difficult to get than the vast majority of CA9 clerkships.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 30, 2020 3:21 pm

With respect to Texas specifically, SCOTX to 5th Circuit seems to happen fairly regularly, especially if you are in the FedSoc pipeline. Unsurprisingly, Willett seems particularly partial to former SCOTX clerks.

I believe Willett usually hires those clerks beforehand and then places them directly in SCOTX chambers if they cannot clerk directly after law school for him, so it's not quite what you are describing.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 30, 2020 2:09 am

texanslimjim wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 28, 2020 4:58 pm

clerks going SCOCA -> 9th Cir, SCOTX -> 5th Cir, and NY COA -> 2nd Cir aren't rare, but that's mainly because the hiring standards are roughly similar.

Not sure about the other states, but this is not true for NY/CA2. Garcia and Wilson are the only current NY COA judges hiring clerks who could plausibly get a federal appellate clerkship, and CA2 is still substantially more selective. Not saying it never happens, but it's not common.

Source: clerked on CA2, never even considered hiring a former NY COA clerk.

It's not common because each year's class of clerks for a specific SSC is not very large. Most clerks are not interested in double clerking, and that goes for SSC clerks, too. There's nothing inconsistent with what I said and a CA2 clerk's anecdote that he never saw a competitive app from someone with a NY COA clerkship.

I would say SCOTX -> 5th Cir is probably more common than the other two, and SCOTX does not send a clerk to the 5th Circuit every class. If you broaden it to include all Art. III clerkships, it's easier to say it's a regular thing rather than merely "not rare," my original words.

On this point... any sense of how this works with 1st Cir.? Particularly from Rhode Island SC, Maine SJC, Mass. SJC?

LinkedIn tells me that some of the state justices (for example, Chief Justice Suttell in RI) have placed some clerks in CoA. Not sure how rare that is. Would love any thoughts.

texanslimjim wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 31, 2020 10:50 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 30, 2020 2:09 am

texanslimjim wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 28, 2020 4:58 pm

clerks going SCOCA -> 9th Cir, SCOTX -> 5th Cir, and NY COA -> 2nd Cir aren't rare, but that's mainly because the hiring standards are roughly similar.

Not sure about the other states, but this is not true for NY/CA2. Garcia and Wilson are the only current NY COA judges hiring clerks who could plausibly get a federal appellate clerkship, and CA2 is still substantially more selective. Not saying it never happens, but it's not common.

Source: clerked on CA2, never even considered hiring a former NY COA clerk.

It's not common because each year's class of clerks for a specific SSC is not very large. Most clerks are not interested in double clerking, and that goes for SSC clerks, too. There's nothing inconsistent with what I said and a CA2 clerk's anecdote that he never saw a competitive app from someone with a NY COA clerkship.

I would say SCOTX -> 5th Cir is probably more common than the other two, and SCOTX does not send a clerk to the 5th Circuit every class. If you broaden it to include all Art. III clerkships, it's easier to say it's a regular thing rather than merely "not rare," my original words.

No, as I stated it's rare because NY COA clerks generally have lower paper qualifications than needed to clerk on CA2. Not going to argue the point further -- I've hired for CA2 and went to a NY law school that sends plenty of clerks to both courts, and it doesn't seem you've done either. Readers can choose to believe who they want to believe, taking into account of course that I'm anon for obvious reasons.

Again, I have no insight into the other two states/circuits you mentioned, it's quite possible you're totally right for them. And to OP's actual question, if you're talking about NY and have plausible paper credentials for CA2, I'd have to think most chambers would consider NY COA experience a plus factor.