State court clerk/state supreme court clerk work prospects Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi, we all know that a federal clerkship helps secure a place in BigLaw. Just wondering whether clerking for a state court judge can have the same effect? Will the answer be the same if the judge serves in the supreme court of the state? Any idea?

[nixy]

It will depend on the court, the judge, what market you’re targeting, and your qualifications outside of the clerkship. SSCs are usually most useful if you’re targeting a job in that state (not that they have no signaling value in other regions, but the strongest connections will be in-state usually). How connected the judge/justice is and how willing they are to go to bat for you is important and will vary (though most judges are well connected locally). And clerkships rarely transform people into entirely new candidates - if you didn’t have traditional biglaw qualifications before the clerkship, the simple fact of the clerkship may not open a lot more doors. However, I do know a few people who did state clerkships (some not even SSC) who were able to use the year to network really effectively and ultimately got biglaw jobs out of the connections they made. (They joined the local bar associations and an Inn of Court and had coffee with anyone who’d meet with them then stayed in touch with them, that kind of thing.) I think quite a few of the SSC clerks in my state had biglaw lined up already when they clerked, though.

[Anonymous User]

I think these people were well-qualified to begin with.

To speak of the New York Court of Appeals, I can think of a clerk who graduated cum laude, worked at Covington (NY) for two years, clerked NYSCOA then D.Conn., and now is at Kirkland (NY). Is that movement up or movement down?

Another, who graduated law review, was at Paul Weiss for three years, then clerked at the NDNY and then the NYSCOA - now at Kasowitz. Is that movement up or down?

[Anonymous User]

SSC clerks in my state are probably roughly equivalent to federal district court clerks for hiring within the state, but it will depend on what state you’re clerking in and whether you’re applying for jobs in that state. It may also depend on the individual judge—most of the justices in my state are well-connected among the biglaw bar in the state, but a couple are less so and came from e.g. rural solo practice backgrounds. State intermediate and district courts, aside from like Delaware Chancery, may be good learning experiences but are generally less likely to be major credentials for biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously because I have experience with state supreme court hiring. Speaking only to out-of-state placement in large law firms, state supreme court clerkships fall into three tiers.

Tier 1: California Supreme Court, Delaware Supreme Court, Delaware Court of Chancery. Destination clerkships for out-of-staters. About the same as federal court of appeals clerkships, and ultra-portable. Also in this tier: clerkships for "feeder" justices from other states like Thomas Lee (Utah Supreme Court).

Tier 2: New York Court of Appeals, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,Texas Supreme Court. Quality clerkships with national reputations. As valuable as standard federal district court clerkships, sometimes more so, but with greater pull inside the state than outside. Also (possibly) in this tier: the Alaska Supreme Court, which idiosyncratically hires loads of T-14ers.

Tier 3: The rest. Respectable, with some courts (and some justices) enjoying better reputations than others. Substantially more valuable inside the state than outside. When outside the state, substantially more valuable in the nearby region. Colorado Supreme Court clerks do better in Utah than Georgia, for example.

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously because I have experience with state supreme court hiring. Speaking only to out-of-state placement in large law firms, state supreme court clerkships fall into three tiers.

Tier 1: California Supreme Court, Delaware Supreme Court, Delaware Court of Chancery. Destination clerkships for out-of-staters. About the same as federal court of appeals clerkships, and ultra-portable. Also in this tier: clerkships for "feeder" justices from other states like Thomas Lee (Utah Supreme Court).

Tier 2: New York Court of Appeals, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,Texas Supreme Court. Quality clerkships with national reputations. As valuable as standard federal district court clerkships, sometimes more so, but with greater pull inside the state than outside. Also (possibly) in this tier: the Alaska Supreme Court, which idiosyncratically hires loads of T-14ers.

Tier 3: The rest. Respectable, with some courts (and some justices) enjoying better reputations than others. Substantially more valuable inside the state than outside. When outside the state, substantially more valuable in the nearby region. Colorado Supreme Court clerks do better in Utah than Georgia, for example.

Is Lee the only feeder justice who’s not on CA? I feel like the only comparable ones in national rep are Liu, Kruger, and Cuellar, but I could be forgetting someone. I think all the conservatives got elevated by Trump except Lee, as no Utah CA10 seat opened for him.

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously because I have experience with state supreme court hiring. Speaking only to out-of-state placement in large law firms, state supreme court clerkships fall into three tiers.

Tier 1: California Supreme Court, Delaware Supreme Court, Delaware Court of Chancery. Destination clerkships for out-of-staters. About the same as federal court of appeals clerkships, and ultra-portable. Also in this tier: clerkships for "feeder" justices from other states like Thomas Lee (Utah Supreme Court).

Tier 2: New York Court of Appeals, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,Texas Supreme Court. Quality clerkships with national reputations. As valuable as standard federal district court clerkships, sometimes more so, but with greater pull inside the state than outside. Also (possibly) in this tier: the Alaska Supreme Court, which idiosyncratically hires loads of T-14ers.

Tier 3: The rest. Respectable, with some courts (and some justices) enjoying better reputations than others. Substantially more valuable inside the state than outside. When outside the state, substantially more valuable in the nearby region. Colorado Supreme Court clerks do better in Utah than Georgia, for example.

Different anon but also have SSC hiring/screening experience. I agree with this scheme with one amendment. I would place the New Jersey Supreme Court in Tier 2. Last I checked, half the court hires lots of T-14s with COA-level creds. The court also has a national reputation because of how many of its decisions have influenced areas of the law (see, e.g., Mt. Laurel decisions; their eyewitness ID opinion a few years ago).

[HowAppealing]

My understanding when I was applying to clerkships was that the Alaska Supreme Court was pretty prestigious as well and might have a place in Tier 2.

[Anonymous User]

Posting anonymously because I have experience with state supreme court hiring. Speaking only to out-of-state placement in large law firms, state supreme court clerkships fall into three tiers.

Tier 1: California Supreme Court, Delaware Supreme Court, Delaware Court of Chancery. Destination clerkships for out-of-staters. About the same as federal court of appeals clerkships, and ultra-portable. Also in this tier: clerkships for "feeder" justices from other states like Thomas Lee (Utah Supreme Court).

Tier 2: New York Court of Appeals, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court,Texas Supreme Court. Quality clerkships with national reputations. As valuable as standard federal district court clerkships, sometimes more so, but with greater pull inside the state than outside. Also (possibly) in this tier: the Alaska Supreme Court, which idiosyncratically hires loads of T-14ers.

Tier 3: The rest. Respectable, with some courts (and some justices) enjoying better reputations than others. Substantially more valuable inside the state than outside. When outside the state, substantially more valuable in the nearby region. Colorado Supreme Court clerks do better in Utah than Georgia, for example.

Different anon but also have SSC hiring/screening experience. I agree with this scheme with one amendment. I would place the New Jersey Supreme Court in Tier 2. Last I checked, half the court hires lots of T-14s with COA-level creds. The court also has a national reputation because of how many of its decisions have influenced areas of the law (see, e.g., Mt. Laurel decisions; their eyewitness ID opinion a few years ago).

I'll accept that as a friendly amendment. NJ Supreme Court has a great reputation, especially in the Northeast.