Chances at a D. Ct/COA Clerkship? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi. I'm considering applying for a D. Ct. clerkship and a COA clerkship, and wanted to get a sense of what my odds are, particularly for the more competitive districts (2/9/DC). I'm a bit of a non-traditional applicant; I'm two years into practice at a big firm, but I'm hoping to use the clerkship to switch practices/switch to AUSA. Here are my stats:

MVPD
Top 25% (cum laude)
One strong recommender who is willing to make calls; two okay ones
Three RA positions during school
Editorial position in secondary journal; no moot court experience
Good work experience

Obviously, the best way to figure out my odds are to submit applications. But I'd nevertheless be interested in getting some input. Thanks.

[Necho2]

I think you're competitive at the D. Ct. level and your best bet is probably CD Cal- tons of judges with varying degrees of grade-consciousness, and I know plenty prefer work experience (check the relevant threads for some details, mostly the CDCA one and the best/worst judges to clerk for). If you get that, again applying super-broadly to the 9th Circuit (every senior judge and every place you'd be willing to work) is more feasible, but wouldn't say you're a shoe-in at all. With less confidence I'd say you might have a shot at the D. Ct. level in 2/DC, but would refer you to the appropriate thread for a better handicap of your odds. Again, volume and lack of geographic preference help you out at ton here- so to the degree you're willing to apply more broadly, I think it may help quite a bit.

[Anonymous User]

You should be competitive for district courts, maybe for circuit courts. You may not be for the tippy top tier (SDNY, DDC) but even then it's worth a shot. Apply more broadly than you think you need to (not particular for you, TITCR for every question about clerkship app strategy). Since you want to switch to AUSA clerking in a district you'd be interested in AUSAing in would be ideal.

Also, imo 2/9/DC is a nearly-useless category for district courts. If you're just using it to describe your geographic preferences, that's great and it's fine, but just to be clear there is no prestige bump for district courts from being in a certain circuit. D Nev isn't more prestigious than D Minn because it's in 9 not 8. The rough competitiveness tiers are:

SDNY, DDC
NDCA, NDIL, EDVA, EDNY
All other major cities plus D NJ, D Conn, and D Del
Anywhere else (still with differences due to size of cities, e.g. ND > MD/SD Ala)

And within the tiers obviously different judges are more or less competitive. For a while ED Ky may have had the most competitive district judge in the country (Thapar pre-elevation).

[Anonymous User]

I think you're competitive at the D. Ct. level and your best bet is probably CD Cal- tons of judges with varying degrees of grade-consciousness, and I know plenty prefer work experience (check the relevant threads for some details, mostly the CDCA one and the best/worst judges to clerk for). If you get that, again applying super-broadly to the 9th Circuit (every senior judge and every place you'd be willing to work) is more feasible, but wouldn't say you're a shoe-in at all. With less confidence I'd say you might have a shot at the D. Ct. level in 2/DC, but would refer you to the appropriate thread for a better handicap of your odds. Again, volume and lack of geographic preference help you out at ton here- so to the degree you're willing to apply more broadly, I think it may help quite a bit.

Hi. This is OP here. Thanks for the feedback, and especially the helpful resources. I'll check those out.

[Anonymous User]

You should be competitive for district courts, maybe for circuit courts. You may not be for the tippy top tier (SDNY, DDC) but even then it's worth a shot. Apply more broadly than you think you need to (not particular for you, TITCR for every question about clerkship app strategy). Since you want to switch to AUSA clerking in a district you'd be interested in AUSAing in would be ideal.

Also, imo 2/9/DC is a nearly-useless category for district courts. If you're just using it to describe your geographic preferences, that's great and it's fine, but just to be clear there is no prestige bump for district courts from being in a certain circuit. D Nev isn't more prestigious than D Minn because it's in 9 not 8. The rough competitiveness tiers are:

SDNY, DDC
NDCA, NDIL, EDVA, EDNY
All other major cities plus D NJ, D Conn, and D Del
Anywhere else (still with differences due to size of cities, e.g. ND > MD/SD Ala)

And within the tiers obviously different judges are more or less competitive. For a while ED Ky may have had the most competitive district judge in the country (Thapar pre-elevation).

I see. I'm hoping the work experience will help me with the more competitive districts. But I see your point re: applying broadly. Regarding the 2/9/DC breakdown, I'm really aiming for SDNY/EDNY/NDCA/CDCA, in that order, and any COA in those circuits. But to be frank, I'm not sure if I'm competitive with my stats. I appreciate the tip.

[Anonymous User]

With your credentials, you would need another couple of years in biglaw to get a whiff from the non-competitive SDNY or EDNY judges. (Yes, there are less-grades-conscious/school-conscious judges in both districts, but they usually look for particular types of people/backgrounds/demographics/etc. with more work experience. I’m thinking like a Broderick or a Donnelly.). In neither of my district or circuit chambers would you have been interviewed. You might have much more luck in COA honestly, if you are truly interested in applying anywhere and to seniors, than in SDNY/EDNY.

[lavarman84]

If you're interested in being an AUSA, it seems like a D. Ct. clerkship in a district in which you want to work is the best option for you. But it doesn't hurt to do both. I will just say that I clerked on a COA outside of the 2/9/DC, and you wouldn't have gotten out of the pile in our chambers with your current application. With a D. Ct. clerkship, you probably end up on the Judge's desk. From there, it's a question of whether your resume appeals to his/her idiosyncrasies.

[Anonymous User]

If you're interested in being an AUSA, it seems like a D. Ct. clerkship in a district in which you want to work is the best option for you. But it doesn't hurt to do both. I will just say that I clerked on a COA outside of the 2/9/DC, and you wouldn't have gotten out of the pile in our chambers with your current application. With a D. Ct. clerkship, you probably end up on the Judge's desk. From there, it's a question of whether your resume appeals to his/her idiosyncrasies.

Thank you and everyone else for the helpful advice. Happy new years.

[Anonymous User]

If you're interested in being an AUSA, it seems like a D. Ct. clerkship in a district in which you want to work is the best option for you. But it doesn't hurt to do both. I will just say that I clerked on a COA outside of the 2/9/DC, and you wouldn't have gotten out of the pile in our chambers with your current application. With a D. Ct. clerkship, you probably end up on the Judge's desk. From there, it's a question of whether your resume appeals to his/her idiosyncrasies.

Thank you and everyone else for the helpful advice. Happy new years.