Why do judges hire clerks without work experience? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am just wondering if someone has any insight on why this might be? I would think clerks with post-LS work experience at a firm or something would be way better clerks?

[Anonymous User]

Well a lot of judges do prefer work experience, maybe even most for district courts. But for judges who don't, there are a variety of reasons. Some judges like to mentor clerks for their first experience in law, like Jerry Smith. And some think having experienced clerks creates a weird dynamic where they're like quasi-judges, like Gregg Costa. But the biggest reasons are probably (1) just that most people who apply are students and (2) that the top students all clerk immediately because they can and a lot of judges would rather have the "smartest" inexperienced clerks than "less smart" experienced clerks.

[nixy]

I don't think it's quite true that *all* top students clerk immediately; certainly feeders tend to hire straight out and hire the top students, but there are more top students than feeder clerkships, and some top-but-not-feeder students might delay a year to clerk in their preferred location. But it often easier logistically to clerk then go to a firm, rather than start working and then potentially upend your life for a year, so probably preferable for more students, so certainly the larger pool for judges anyway.

But I also don't think post-LS legal experience definitely makes a "way" better clerk, either. You're going to cover a much wider range of practice areas as a clerk than you'd get to know in a year or two at a firm, and the work you do may not prepare you much more than law school already has (doc review and propagating/responding to discovery requests aren't that pertinent, and while that's obviously not all a lit associate does, you're still doing largely bottom of the totem pole work). I don't think it makes you a *worse* clerk, but I don't think it's necessary to be a good clerk.

[Anonymous User]

Because you don't need work experience to be a good clerk (especially at the federal COA level). In fact, one of my judges specifically and strongly preferred students right out of law school so as to get them before poorer habits formed during work experience given how varied it can be. Depends on the judge's philosophy, but -- and again especially at COA level -- work experience really isn't necessary or even particularly valuable for what an appellate clerk will be doing.

[Wild Card]

Yes, biglaw teaches you what it feels like to work 60-100 hours a week. The physical and mental pain.

[Anonymous User]

I don't think it's quite true that *all* top students clerk immediately; certainly feeders tend to hire straight out and hire the top students, but there are more top students than feeder clerkships, and some top-but-not-feeder students might delay a year to clerk in their preferred location. But it often easier logistically to clerk then go to a firm, rather than start working and then potentially upend your life for a year, so probably preferable for more students, so certainly the larger pool for judges anyway.

But I also don't think post-LS legal experience definitely makes a "way" better clerk, either. You're going to cover a much wider range of practice areas as a clerk than you'd get to know in a year or two at a firm, and the work you do may not prepare you much more than law school already has (doc review and propagating/responding to discovery requests aren't that pertinent, and while that's obviously not all a lit associate does, you're still doing largely bottom of the totem pole work). I don't think it makes you a *worse* clerk, but I don't think it's necessary to be a good clerk.

Not saying I agree, but I've heard judges argue that biglaw attorneys make worse clerks because they can't remember black-letter law and because they are less hardworking, impressionable, and eager to please. I doubt that's actually true, but that sentiment does exist in some chambers.

[nixy]

Yeah, that's fair. I think that's more about perception than reality, but I don't doubt that there are judges who feel that way. I do think that it's a job it would be a bit weird to do with a lot of practice experience, except in those cases where the judge and attorney/clerk know each other already, which does happen sometimes.