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Has anyone here taken a year between clerkships? I may have a great opportunity for a clerkship I would really love, but I will have to take a year gap between clerkships. Will it be hard to land a good firm job for just that year? WIll I be able to get decent experience if I am only at a firm for a single year? Are there other options besides a firm for that time? How does the clerkship bonus work if I am going to leave after only a year?

Any info here would be great!

You might consider applying for fellowships, or a third clerkship if you're up for it--like SSC if you have COA and D Ct.

InvisiblePineapple wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 27, 2021 3:52 pm

You might consider applying for fellowships, or a third clerkship if you're up for it--like SSC if you have COA and D Ct.

I am thinking that a fellowship could be a good experience, but I bet those are super tough to get (at least seeing the fellows that we hire at my T6). I suppose I could be competitive for one of those positions, but I am hesitant to bank on it.SSC could also be interesting, but I have heard that three clerkships can make employers start to question your desire to work.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 27, 2021 4:09 pm

InvisiblePineapple wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 27, 2021 3:52 pm

You might consider applying for fellowships, or a third clerkship if you're up for it--like SSC if you have COA and D Ct.

I am thinking that a fellowship could be a good experience, but I bet those are super tough to get (at least seeing the fellows that we hire at my T6). I suppose I could be competitive for one of those positions, but I am hesitant to bank on it.SSC could also be interesting, but I have heard that three clerkships can make employers start to question your desire to work.

I'm not sure if you're referring to like the Bigelow as a fellowship, but if you were, I imagine InvisiblePineapple was referring to public interest fellowships like the Skadden, not academic ones (which require, like, a research program and pubs and a SCOTUS clerkship and stuff). Will your 2L firm not take you back between your clerkships? That's what most people do. Your position isn't much different from e.g. a class of '21 grad with a 22-23 clerkship, which is very common.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 27, 2021 4:23 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 27, 2021 4:09 pm

InvisiblePineapple wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 27, 2021 3:52 pm

You might consider applying for fellowships, or a third clerkship if you're up for it--like SSC if you have COA and D Ct.

I am thinking that a fellowship could be a good experience, but I bet those are super tough to get (at least seeing the fellows that we hire at my T6). I suppose I could be competitive for one of those positions, but I am hesitant to bank on it.SSC could also be interesting, but I have heard that three clerkships can make employers start to question your desire to work.

I'm not sure if you're referring to like the Bigelow as a fellowship, but if you were, I imagine InvisiblePineapple was referring to public interest fellowships like the Skadden, not academic ones (which require, like, a research program and pubs and a SCOTUS clerkship and stuff). Will your 2L firm not take you back between your clerkships? That's what most people do. Your position isn't much different from e.g. a class of '21 grad with a 22-23 clerkship, which is very common.

I was thinking more so a Bigelow, but I totally get these are super tough to land. I suspect my firm will take me back, but I am a bit worried I will end up not getting much substantive work if they know I am going to leave after a year. Especially, as they will know I have a chance to lateral coming out of my second (potential) clerkship.

At my firm (lit boutique that hires almost exclusively clerks), it would be very hard to get an offer to come for a gap year between two clerkships. We only interview people in that situation if they have truly stellar credentials, and even then, they would have to convince us during the interview that they’re very likely to return after their second clerkship.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:15 pm

At my firm (lit boutique that hires almost exclusively clerks), it would be very hard to get an offer to come for a gap year between two clerkships. We only interview people in that situation if they have truly stellar credentials, and even then, they would have to convince us during the interview that they’re very likely to return after their second clerkship.

Do you know how the clerkship bonus structure would work in a situation like this?

I was in your spot last year and it was hard to find a firm that would take me on for the gap year. Then COVID happened and all hiring froze. I ended up taking a clerkship with a district judge in the same district I was at and things turned out well. I actually reached out to firms early this year for a possible post-clerkship position after I finish up my COA clerkship in the fall of 2022. I interviewed with 3 places and got offers in all of them. Having three clerkships did come up in my interviews but I truthfully explained what happened to me and how I had a gap year in between my terms which made it hard for me to get job and it got all the more worse when COVID hit. I was offered to come in with my class year (as a 4th year -- I spent one year at a firm before doing my first clerkship). Granted, I think firms were most likely willing to talk to me so early on because they were also doing OCI with an eye towards people summering this year and then starting when I also finish up next year. But judging from my experience, I think a third clerkship in between your D.Ct. and COA clerkships won't hurt.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:15 pm

At my firm (lit boutique that hires almost exclusively clerks), it would be very hard to get an offer to come for a gap year between two clerkships. We only interview people in that situation if they have truly stellar credentials, and even then, they would have to convince us during the interview that they’re very likely to return after their second clerkship.

if i'm in this situation and getting interviews with lit boutiques, do you think they would have not offered the interview if they really didn't want to deal with the gap year?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 01, 2021 10:15 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 01, 2021 7:15 pm

At my firm (lit boutique that hires almost exclusively clerks), it would be very hard to get an offer to come for a gap year between two clerkships. We only interview people in that situation if they have truly stellar credentials, and even then, they would have to convince us during the interview that they’re very likely to return after their second clerkship.

if i'm in this situation and getting interviews with lit boutiques, do you think they would have not offered the interview if they really didn't want to deal with the gap year?

Hard to say. I assume they wouldn’t interview you if there were no circumstances under which they would consider an offer. But I think it’s likely it will come up in the interview, and I would be prepared to really sell that your plan is to come back to the same place after your second clerkship. Firms aren’t going to want to invest a year in you (and pay a clerkship bonus to boot) if they think you’re likely to look around again after the second clerkship.

Related but slightly different scenario here: late-hired 2021 COA clerk, want to do D. Ct. too but most of the judges I'm interested in are full until 2023. Already have a fantastic job lined up at a firm I love. They're very supportive of clerkships in general, but is there any reason to think most firms would rescind a return offer if someone accepted clerkships for nonconsecutive terms and wanted to come back in between and then again after the second one?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 04, 2021 1:06 am

Related but slightly different scenario here: late-hired 2021 COA clerk, want to do D. Ct. too but most of the judges I'm interested in are full until 2023. Already have a fantastic job lined up at a firm I love. They're very supportive of clerkships in general, but is there any reason to think most firms would rescind a return offer if someone accepted clerkships for nonconsecutive terms and wanted to come back in between and then again after the second one?

My second judge made me tell my firm about the gap year, and the firm was “cool” about it. People seemed mildly annoyed, but I personally preferred it this way to hiding it.

Depending on how big the firm is, I get the impression it’s not worth it to them to revoke an offer over clerking. They’d rather have you bill for them than risk upsetting a judge or your school’s recruiting pipeline.

It’s also kinda a free look. If they hate you, you’re already leaving. If they like you, they have a shot at getting you back with trial and appellate experience under your belt. They really don’t have a lot of incentive to revoke your offer.

Likewise, it’s a free look for you. You get to try out the firm without all of the existential dread of “what will happen to me if I mess up this assignment?” You already know what will happen. You’re clerking again.

If you’re stressed about it, I know people who didn’t tell their firms about their upcoming clerkships and just gave two months notice, or whatever. People leave all the time, it’s not like the firm is going to call every other firm and blackball you.