Law Clerk Hiring Plan Forum

[Anonymous User]

Thoughts or insights on whether the law clerk hiring plan will be renewed? Specifically, will the class of 2022 gain OSCAR access before February 2021?

[Anonymous User]

As of now, our clerkship office has said that there is no plan to offer OSCAR access any earlier than February 2021 to the c/o 2022. The hiring plan itself broke down pretty quickly this summer (partly due to judges doing their own thing, partly due to COVID). There was a flurry of activity in the 5 or so days after apps were released (mostly from district courts). Beyond that, judges moved at their own pace. There were several "on-plan" judges who pushed 2021 hiring into the Fall in the hopes of being able to resume in-person interviews, and depending on the public health situation into Winter/Spring, we can probably expect to see it impact 2022 hiring as well.

If you just want to get on OSCAR to see who is hiring for 2022, borrow someone else's login and see what postings are up (and to see if any judges are accepting off-plan applications via email or postal mail).

[Anonymous User]

As of now, our clerkship office has said that there is no plan to offer OSCAR access any earlier than February 2021 to the c/o 2022. The hiring plan itself broke down pretty quickly this summer (partly due to judges doing their own thing, partly due to COVID). There was a flurry of activity in the 5 or so days after apps were released (mostly from district courts). Beyond that, judges moved at their own pace. There were several "on-plan" judges who pushed 2021 hiring into the Fall in the hopes of being able to resume in-person interviews, and depending on the public health situation into Winter/Spring, we can probably expect to see it impact 2022 hiring as well.

If you just want to get on OSCAR to see who is hiring for 2022, borrow someone else's login and see what postings are up (and to see if any judges are accepting off-plan applications via email or postal mail).

I'm curious if this was at a regional school and if so in which region. I'm not saying it's wrong but it's pretty different from what seemed to happen on the 2021 thread and in my and my friends' experience (appellate moving fast and generally before district).

[Anonymous User]

As of now, our clerkship office has said that there is no plan to offer OSCAR access any earlier than February 2021 to the c/o 2022. The hiring plan itself broke down pretty quickly this summer (partly due to judges doing their own thing, partly due to COVID). There was a flurry of activity in the 5 or so days after apps were released (mostly from district courts). Beyond that, judges moved at their own pace. There were several "on-plan" judges who pushed 2021 hiring into the Fall in the hopes of being able to resume in-person interviews, and depending on the public health situation into Winter/Spring, we can probably expect to see it impact 2022 hiring as well.

If you just want to get on OSCAR to see who is hiring for 2022, borrow someone else's login and see what postings are up (and to see if any judges are accepting off-plan applications via email or postal mail).

I'm curious if this was at a regional school and if so in which region. I'm not saying it's wrong but it's pretty different from what seemed to happen on the 2021 thread and in my and my friends' experience (appellate moving fast and generally before district).

Yes, I'm at a regional T20, and I was mostly talking about district court hiring (appellate judges have always done things at their own pace). I also heard similar stories from people at lower T14s. There was a steady stream of hiring throughout early 2020, then a flurry of activity after apps were released, and then it slowed down again. Several COA judges who usually hire in the summer pushed hiring (for both 2021 and 2022) to August/September, including my COA judge on the East Coast.