Top Law Schools

I am trying to select classes for next semester and I am wondering if judges may look unfavorably on my application because I have not taken Fedcourts, Advanced Admin, or Evidence yet (I plan to take them 3L). I have generally taken black letter law classes, but my schedule just hasn't worked out to take these classes yet.

I believe there are people on the “clerks taking questions” page who said their judges cared about Fed Courts or Admin. Some obviously don’t though because the norm at some schools is not to take Fed Courts until 3L and I hadn’t taken any and did very well on the clerkship market.

So long as you're taking doctrinals, you're fine. What many judges don't like to see is someone who's taken no doctrinals; others care less.

Worst case scenario: You get asked why you haven't taken Fed Courts yet and you say that you plan to take this year.

Check the postings for anything specific on classes. Depending on where you are applying, some judges may express a desire for applicants that have an interest/familiarity with certain areas of law (ex. I have seen judges in C.D. CA., E.D. VA., and E.D. Tex. state that they want to see applicants who have taken IP/patent-centric courses).

I didn't take Fed Courts or Admin in law school, and I'm clerking at a COA. During my offer call, the judge just made me promise to flip through a Fed Courts supplement before starting my clerkship. I never got asked about it during any of my district or COA interviews.

My judge would scrutinize people's transcripts and look down on them for classes taken with the word "policy" or "and" in the title (e.g., "Basketweaving and the Law").

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Nov 23, 2020 8:03 pm

My judge would scrutinize people's transcripts and look down on them for classes taken with the word "policy" or "and" in the title (e.g., "Basketweaving and the Law").

Yeah, this is all going to vary by judge. I can tell you my judges didn't do that, but obviously some out there might.

Agree with posters above. My judge (COA) wanted to see mostly doctrinal classes, and wanted you to take Fed Courts before you graduated, but didn't care if you waited until 3L to do it. (S/he hired me during 2L and just made me promise to take Fed Courts at some point.)

I clerked for a DJ for two years who never once asked me about any classes I took. I did not take fed courts or admin and it was never a problem. To be fair, by the luck of the draw, I didn't get any difficult admin cases and the fed courts issues I encountered were all pretty routine. I will say, however, that not knowing evidence would have made the job much harder.