Chance me for COA Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm looking to get insight on what my chances are for a circuit clerkship. My stats are:

Top 20% at T8
Secondary journal
1.5 years of WE at a firm in DC
good letters of rec; profs willing to make calls
district court clerkship lined up for 2021 (think EDNY/SDNY/DDC).

Ideally, I'd be aiming for 2d cir, but I'll take what I can get.

[moxcoal]

You'll get something somewhere. Even competitive for the circuits you're interested in, but far from guaranteed.

[Anonymous User]

Assuming T-8 is UVA or Penn, I'd be fairly surprised if you picked up CA2 with those stats. I guess it's possible if your DJ has strong connections with one of the CA2 judges, and especially if it is a less competitive one like Pooler, Wesley, Bianco, etc. However, I think that you might have a good shot at CA3 and CA4 judges (aside from the obvious few: Scirica, Motz, Wilkinson, etc.).

[Anonymous User]

My intuition is also that you'll likely get something somewhere, but probably not CA2. That's both because the odds of almost any strong applicant ending up in any given circuit are pretty low, clerkships are unpredictable for everyone, and because CA2 is very competitive, especially for the prime-age judges in Manhattan.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, everyone. Regarding 2d judges that are considered "less competitive," are there any other judges, besides the ones mentioned by the first anon, that I should be considering? I'm trying to stay in the area to be close with a significant other. But maybe I should just be happy with my D. Ct. clerkship, seeing how competitive 2d cir seems to be.

[Anonymous User]

Katzmann is obviously a mega-feeder, and Calabresi, Cabranes, Lohier, Livingston, and probably soon Park and Sullivan are semi-feeders.

Beyond that, Carney, Chin, Menashi, and Raggi are ideological and somewhat less competitive, but still NYC (or New Haven/YLS-focused, for Carney) and fairly young.

I've heard nothing about how competitive Bianco or Nardini are. Probably comparable to Carney, etc., but that could be wrong.

Hall is the most obvious comparator to Pooler and Wesley, as he sits in the middle of nowhere. Some of the older judges are less competitive now but well-regarded--Kearse and Leval used to be feedery.

Obviously if the goal is to be close to NYC you should minimally be applying to 1 and 3 in addition to 2. Some of them are also very competitive--Chagares, Bibas, Hardiman, Scirica, Barron, Lynch, Kayatta--but it's more shots if nothing else.

[Anonymous User]

Katzmann is obviously a mega-feeder, and Calabresi, Cabranes, Lohier, Livingston, and probably soon Park and Sullivan are semi-feeders.

Beyond that, Carney, Chin, Menashi, and Raggi are ideological and somewhat less competitive, but still NYC (or New Haven/YLS-focused, for Carney) and fairly young.

I've heard nothing about how competitive Bianco or Nardini are. Probably comparable to Carney, etc., but that could be wrong.

Hall is the most obvious comparator to Pooler and Wesley, as he sits in the middle of nowhere. Some of the older judges are less competitive now but well-regarded--Kearse and Leval used to be feedery.

Obviously if the goal is to be close to NYC you should minimally be applying to 1 and 3 in addition to 2. Some of them are also very competitive--Chagares, Bibas, Hardiman, Scirica, Barron, Lynch, Kayatta--but it's more shots if nothing else.

Thanks anon. This is really helpful. Re: 2d cir, I guess its going to be up to luck at this point. But I appreciate the advice, especially your suggestion for me to apply in nearby circuits.

[Anonymous User]

Katzmann is obviously a mega-feeder, and Calabresi, Cabranes, Lohier, Livingston, and probably soon Park and Sullivan are semi-feeders.

Beyond that, Carney, Chin, Menashi, and Raggi are ideological and somewhat less competitive, but still NYC (or New Haven/YLS-focused, for Carney) and fairly young.

I've heard nothing about how competitive Bianco or Nardini are. Probably comparable to Carney, etc., but that could be wrong.

Hall is the most obvious comparator to Pooler and Wesley, as he sits in the middle of nowhere. Some of the older judges are less competitive now but well-regarded--Kearse and Leval used to be feedery.

Obviously if the goal is to be close to NYC you should minimally be applying to 1 and 3 in addition to 2. Some of them are also very competitive--Chagares, Bibas, Hardiman, Scirica, Barron, Lynch, Kayatta--but it's more shots if nothing else.

Thanks anon. This is really helpful. Re: 2d cir, I guess its going to be up to luck at this point. But I appreciate the advice, especially your suggestion for me to apply in nearby circuits.

[Anonymous User]

Katzmann is obviously a mega-feeder, and Calabresi, Cabranes, Lohier, Livingston, and probably soon Park and Sullivan are semi-feeders.

Beyond that, Carney, Chin, Menashi, and Raggi are ideological and somewhat less competitive, but still NYC (or New Haven/YLS-focused, for Carney) and fairly young.

Why do you think Park and Sullivan are more likely to start feeding than Menashi/Bianco/Nardini? Mix of NYC location and being less ideological? Not disagreeing or anything--just curious what the reasoning is.

[Anonymous User]

Katzmann is obviously a mega-feeder, and Calabresi, Cabranes, Lohier, Livingston, and probably soon Park and Sullivan are semi-feeders.

Beyond that, Carney, Chin, Menashi, and Raggi are ideological and somewhat less competitive, but still NYC (or New Haven/YLS-focused, for Carney) and fairly young.

Why do you think Park and Sullivan are more likely to start feeding than Menashi/Bianco/Nardini? Mix of NYC location and being less ideological? Not disagreeing or anything--just curious what the reasoning is.

Sullivan fed from SDNY pre-elevation, Park was a name partner at the biggest conservative SCOTUS feeder law firm. I wouldn't be surprised if Menashi feeds too eventually. Nardini and Bianco don't have traditional feeder backgrounds and aren't in Manhattan so less likely but any conservative on CA2 has to have some feeder potential.