Post-Clerkship Hiring Grade Selectivity Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi,

I'm beginning to compile a list of firms I plan on applying to for Fall 2021 after my federal clerkship ends. To that end, I'm hoping to get information on which firms are more grade selective and which are not.

I'm clerking in a competitive District (think SDNY, EDNY, CDCA, NDCA), but my gpa was median at a school ranked in the 20-30 range (to respond to the inevitable comments: I got my clerkship through sheer luck and a niche common interest with my judge).

I know many firms have different GPA cutoffs for judicial clerks from different tiered schools (they'll take anyone from HYS, and top 1/3 from the rest of the t14), and I know some firms are notorious for their cutoffs across the board (Gibson Dunn, for example).

I'm just looking to have a general sense of which firms are less GPA selective, and which firms I should focus on given my stats.

Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

I would imagine you'd have a lot of interest from firms that practice in those courts (maybe not V10 or V20, but definitely some solid firms further down the Vault list). Those clerkships are extremely valuable - congrats!

[estefanchanning]

Are you focused on a particular State or locale? That would help narrow down the list of potential firms, especially boutique firms.

[Anonymous User]

Are you focused on a particular State or locale? That would help narrow down the list of potential firms, especially boutique firms.

OP here. Strong preference on settling in CA (LA > SF, but considering both).

[Anonymous User]

OP bump

[Joachim2017]

All but the top few firms are in the mix for you. You can probably rule out elite boutiques like Susman or Kellgog Hansen, which see plenty of interest from clerks from even those districts but only hire the very best; and from Big Law like WLRK which is just uber selective and grade-conscious firms like GDC; the rest are probably in play and you should not be afraid to simply apply and show interest.

[Anonymous User]

I was median at T6, I am now clerking in a selective district, and I have gotten no interest from biglaw (V100).

Apply broadly. There is no point in making a list.

[Anonymous User]

Also interested. What are the T6 grade cutoffs at firms known for them? I haven’t see a compiled list anywhere. I’ll be a double clerk, district and COA, with above median but below 1/3. District is flyover

[Anonymous User]

Median at T-14, clerked for an unextraordinary district. Received offers from firms I thought as grade selective (GDC, Kirkland, etc.) this cycle.

Just bringing this perspective in to highlight that it’s a complete crapshoot.

[Anonymous User]

Also interested. What are the T6 grade cutoffs at firms known for them? I haven’t see a compiled list anywhere. I’ll be a double clerk, district and COA, with above median but below 1/3. District is flyover

There is no compiled list and there will probably never be one for a few reasons. A school's career services office can make this kind of list for OCI, because it sees several hundred candidates go through the process every year. Clerkship hiring is much more context-specific and career services people don't have the same contact with or visibility into the process. The numbers of candidates going through the process are also just lower, and whether those candidates succeed turns on more variables (how good is the clerkship? did a candidate have work experience before clerking? does a candidate happen to know someone at a firm who gets them past the screener stage where GPA cutoffs are more important? etc).

Like the anon above you said, there's also no point in making a list because your applications aren't limited coming off a clerkship. OCI generally requires bidding and prioritizing limited bids. There's no reason to ration post-clerkship apps; just apply broadly to whatever firms you're interested in.

FWIW, for my current grade-snobby boutique, I am personally below the quasi-official grade cutoff of roughly top 1/3 for T6 but got in the door anyway based on some of the variables mentioned above. I see post-clerkship candidates below our normal cutoffs get through all the time for similar reasons.

[Anonymous User]

Also interested. What are the T6 grade cutoffs at firms known for them? I haven’t see a compiled list anywhere. I’ll be a double clerk, district and COA, with above median but below 1/3. District is flyover

There is no compiled list and there will probably never be one for a few reasons. A school's career services office can make this kind of list for OCI, because it sees several hundred candidates go through the process every year. Clerkship hiring is much more context-specific and career services people don't have the same contact with or visibility into the process. The numbers of candidates going through the process are also just lower, and whether those candidates succeed turns on more variables (how good is the clerkship? did a candidate have work experience before clerking? does a candidate happen to know someone at a firm who gets them past the screener stage where GPA cutoffs are more important? etc).

Like the anon above you said, there's also no point in making a list because your applications aren't limited coming off a clerkship. OCI generally requires bidding and prioritizing limited bids. There's no reason to ration post-clerkship apps; just apply broadly to whatever firms you're interested in.

FWIW, for my current grade-snobby boutique, I am personally below the quasi-official grade cutoff of roughly top 1/3 for T6 but got in the door anyway based on some of the variables mentioned above. I see post-clerkship candidates below our normal cutoffs get through all the time for similar reasons.

Thanks. Sometimes I hear "cutoffs" and worry because I didn't hit cum laude/honors, but I'm definitely above median.

[Anonymous User]

Median at T-14, clerked for an unextraordinary district. Received offers from firms I thought as grade selective (GDC, Kirkland, etc.) this cycle.

Just bringing this perspective in to highlight that it’s a complete crapshoot.

Completely agree with this. I got callbacks and offers that I shouldn't have gotten based on my grades and then I got radio silence from firms I thought I was competitive for.

[Anonymous User]

I'm an associate at one of the "elite" litigation boutiques and, based on what I've seen, I think a clerkship can make up for grades in post-clerkship hiring. There were definitely some people we interviewed and/or hired post-clerkship that, based on grades, would not have had a shot during OCI (and these people weren't diverse).