Magistrate Clerkship to District Clerkship? Forum
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Magistrate Clerkship to District Clerkship?
Does a magistrate clerkship make landing a district court clerkship easier? If so, how much? Also, is all of this dependent on geography? Any general advice is welcomed.
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Re: Magistrate Clerkship to District Clerkship?
It helps you a very great deal to land interviews, but district judges still have very high standards in terms of grades and/or work experience.
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Re: Magistrate Clerkship to District Clerkship?
Does it help? IME, yes.
Does it limit you to the district or division that your MJ works in? Not necessarily. Divisional or district ties might increase your chances with some judges but other judges will care more about the kind of work you're doing during your clerkship. That is, your substantive experience is not geographically bound, though I suppose familiarity with the circuit could be a feather on the scale. For instance, a new(er) appointee with limited criminal experience might specifically be looking to hire a clerk with considerable crim experience at the MJ level. Similarly, a new(er) appointee who spent all of his/her time as an AUSA prosecuting criminal offenses might be more keen on hiring a former MJ clerk who spent their time writing R&Rs for civil matters. Other judges will just care more about hiring a clerk with work experience in the judiciary. In any event, MJs do really important work, the clerkship will be a great experience if you land with a good judge, and you learn a lot about the nuts-and-bolts of pre-trial and post-conviction work that DJ clerks often don't touch. Doing both a MJ clerkship *and* DJ clerkship will undoubtedly make you a more well-rounded, technically proficient litigator.
(I'll also add my two cents on the issue of grades: if you get an interview, your grades are likely sufficient. So, if you don't get an offer, it probably isn't due to your grades.)
Does it limit you to the district or division that your MJ works in? Not necessarily. Divisional or district ties might increase your chances with some judges but other judges will care more about the kind of work you're doing during your clerkship. That is, your substantive experience is not geographically bound, though I suppose familiarity with the circuit could be a feather on the scale. For instance, a new(er) appointee with limited criminal experience might specifically be looking to hire a clerk with considerable crim experience at the MJ level. Similarly, a new(er) appointee who spent all of his/her time as an AUSA prosecuting criminal offenses might be more keen on hiring a former MJ clerk who spent their time writing R&Rs for civil matters. Other judges will just care more about hiring a clerk with work experience in the judiciary. In any event, MJs do really important work, the clerkship will be a great experience if you land with a good judge, and you learn a lot about the nuts-and-bolts of pre-trial and post-conviction work that DJ clerks often don't touch. Doing both a MJ clerkship *and* DJ clerkship will undoubtedly make you a more well-rounded, technically proficient litigator.
(I'll also add my two cents on the issue of grades: if you get an interview, your grades are likely sufficient. So, if you don't get an offer, it probably isn't due to your grades.)
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Re: Magistrate Clerkship to District Clerkship?
OP here. Thanks for all of the responses.
So I've applied to district/magistrate judges for terms that begin in both 2022 and 2023. In the event that I get a magistrate clerkship for 2022, how do I go about changing my application for the 2023 district judges I've applied to? Do I update my application and change my cover letter/resume to say that I'm going to clerk for a magistrate judge for 2022?
So I've applied to district/magistrate judges for terms that begin in both 2022 and 2023. In the event that I get a magistrate clerkship for 2022, how do I go about changing my application for the 2023 district judges I've applied to? Do I update my application and change my cover letter/resume to say that I'm going to clerk for a magistrate judge for 2022?
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