Clerkship Offer Before SA Forum

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Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 07, 2021 4:13 pm

What’s the best way to handle this? Firm is V40, and I’m nervous I wouldn’t get an offer if I told them, especially when the main needs are in corporate.

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 07, 2021 6:52 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 4:13 pm
What’s the best way to handle this? Firm is V40, and I’m nervous I wouldn’t get an offer if I told them, especially when the main needs are in corporate.
what year is the clerkship?

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 07, 2021 7:01 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 6:52 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Fri May 07, 2021 4:13 pm
What’s the best way to handle this? Firm is V40, and I’m nervous I wouldn’t get an offer if I told them, especially when the main needs are in corporate.
what year is the clerkship?
Rising 3L, and it’s 2022-23.

namefromplace

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by namefromplace » Sat May 08, 2021 11:35 am

If it's a V40 you'll get an offer unless you prove yourself to be woefully incompetent by other means. You don't have to tell your SA firm yet, but I think it's helpful to do so. If most of the needs are in corporate, saying that you have a clerkship offer is a good way to distinguish yourself among the other litigation hopefuls at your firm. I had a clerkship offer before I started working at my SA and I think that it was helpful in networking, especially with other attorneys at the firm who had clerked. A V40 firm should be happy to keep your offer open while you're clerking--it's likely the need for litigation will be a lot higher by the time you would return to the firm than it is now.

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Sat May 08, 2021 11:58 am

namefromplace wrote:
Sat May 08, 2021 11:35 am
If it's a V40 you'll get an offer unless you prove yourself to be woefully incompetent by other means. You don't have to tell your SA firm yet, but I think it's helpful to do so. If most of the needs are in corporate, saying that you have a clerkship offer is a good way to distinguish yourself among the other litigation hopefuls at your firm. I had a clerkship offer before I started working at my SA and I think that it was helpful in networking, especially with other attorneys at the firm who had clerked. A V40 firm should be happy to keep your offer open while you're clerking--it's likely the need for litigation will be a lot higher by the time you would return to the firm than it is now.
Thanks! Who would you tell?

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Anonymous User
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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Sat May 08, 2021 3:21 pm

I accepted a D. Ct. clerkship during a 2L SA (V50). My firm was receptive to me interviewing and my offer letter even included a clerkship bonus. They might try to lock you down so you'll come back after the clerkship, especially if it will make you more marketable.

No-offering someone for having a clerkship seems like a great way scare off any decent candidates in future years. Also a great way to piss off a judge. Word travels when firms do shitty things.

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Sat May 08, 2021 3:27 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat May 08, 2021 3:21 pm
I accepted a D. Ct. clerkship during a 2L SA (V50). My firm was receptive to me interviewing and my offer letter even included a clerkship bonus. They might try to lock you down so you'll come back after the clerkship, especially if it will make you more marketable.

No-offering someone for having a clerkship seems like a great way scare off any decent candidates in future years. Also a great way to piss off a judge. Word travels when firms do shitty things.
OP here. That makes me feel better. Who did you tell, and when did you tell them?

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Sat May 08, 2021 4:30 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat May 08, 2021 3:27 pm
Anonymous User wrote:
Sat May 08, 2021 3:21 pm
I accepted a D. Ct. clerkship during a 2L SA (V50). My firm was receptive to me interviewing and my offer letter even included a clerkship bonus. They might try to lock you down so you'll come back after the clerkship, especially if it will make you more marketable.

No-offering someone for having a clerkship seems like a great way scare off any decent candidates in future years. Also a great way to piss off a judge. Word travels when firms do shitty things.
OP here. That makes me feel better. Who did you tell, and when did you tell them?
I told a trusted partner who was writing me an LOR (I was a 1L SA in the same office so I asked him during the intervening year). I told the recruiting person when I needed a day off to interview. At the end of the summer I also ran it by the hiring/managing partners, just to make sure that my offer would be held open during the clerkship (judge's policy is we can't accept offers until the end of the clerkship -- but this varies between chambers). I'm sure I also told other people just because these things come up in conversation -- I didn't broadcast it but I also didn't make any effort to hide it.

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by Anonymous User » Sat May 08, 2021 6:13 pm

My 2L summer was at a DC firm and probably half of the summer class had a clerkship lined up by the end, it was just expected and not a big deal that we all had to interview, etc. over the summer. The scale was probably somewhat unique to DC but biglaw firms anywhere should be used to it.

namefromplace

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Re: Clerkship Offer Before SA

Post by namefromplace » Sun May 09, 2021 1:04 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Sat May 08, 2021 11:58 am
namefromplace wrote:
Sat May 08, 2021 11:35 am
If it's a V40 you'll get an offer unless you prove yourself to be woefully incompetent by other means. You don't have to tell your SA firm yet, but I think it's helpful to do so. If most of the needs are in corporate, saying that you have a clerkship offer is a good way to distinguish yourself among the other litigation hopefuls at your firm. I had a clerkship offer before I started working at my SA and I think that it was helpful in networking, especially with other attorneys at the firm who had clerked. A V40 firm should be happy to keep your offer open while you're clerking--it's likely the need for litigation will be a lot higher by the time you would return to the firm than it is now.
Thanks! Who would you tell?
I emailed my recruiting contact (a non-lawyer in talent management who was organizing the SA program for my office) a couple weeks after I accepted the clerkship offer. The email basically just said that I had a personal update that I wanted the firm to be aware of that I would be clerking the year after my graduation. I also mentioned it to a couple of mentor attorneys that I discussed career plans with. After I received the offer from my firm I checked with my judge what his policy was on accepting offers from firms and I sent an email to the same recruiting contact asking if I could keep the offer open. They said that would be fine and sent me a modified offer letter. I went through the same basic process with no pushback after I accepted another clerkship a few months later. Firm was V40, but one with a bit more of an emphasis on lit than most.

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