Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship? Forum

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fingaztwisting

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Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship?

Post by fingaztwisting » Thu Sep 30, 2021 9:23 am

I'm a 3L who secured a 2022-2023 D.Ct. clerkship and am thinking about trying my luck for a 2023-2024 circuit clerkship. I had two questions:
1) Should i begin applying now and throughout the year to try and get a 2023-2024 circuit clerkship, or wait until I begin my D.Ct. clerkship which would be fall of 2022?
2) I was also wondering the value of a circuit clerkship for federal government work down the line? I plan to work in Big Law for a couple years after clerking, but does getting a circuit clerkship help, for say, an AUSA or DOJ position? Or would it make more sense to just get another year practicing under my belt instead?

Thanks!

j01

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Re: Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship?

Post by j01 » Thu Sep 30, 2021 12:53 pm

Unless you're top 10% HYS, you absolutely must start applying now to cover your bases. A number of judges are already hiring for 2023, and we mere mortals outside of 10% HYS are unlikely to get more than 1 or 2 interviews with circuit judges.

And it's highly valuable- more valuable to main justice or one of the specialty branches, perhaps, but it would help you get AUSA too.

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Re: Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Sep 30, 2021 2:29 pm

Some judges are already full for 2023-24. I received my '23-24 COA offer within the last couple weeks. Send paper ASAP, especially with your D. Ct. clerkship boosting your application compared to current 2Ls.


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Re: Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Sep 30, 2021 8:24 pm

I’ll echo everything said in here, but I think that it’s not too late for a lot of 2023 slots for COA judges that aren’t the super competitive ones that hire early. There are a lot of wannabe feeders and Fed Soc folks that are hiring really early, but I’ve had a few that I’ve applied to inform me that they won’t consider any applications until later this year/next year.

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Re: Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 05, 2021 1:00 am

j01 wrote:
Thu Sep 30, 2021 12:53 pm
Unless you're top 10% HYS, you absolutely must start applying now to cover your bases. A number of judges are already hiring for 2023, and we mere mortals outside of 10% HYS are unlikely to get more than 1 or 2 interviews with circuit judges.

And it's highly valuable- more valuable to main justice or one of the specialty branches, perhaps, but it would help you get AUSA too.
I would say start now, regardless. For one thing, it is quite uncommon for circuit judges to hire less than one year out. If you're starting the clerkship in ~August, then you'll have already missed the last significant burst of hiring for 2023 appellate in June 2022. I've heard of only a small number of judges, like Frank Hull (11th Cir.), who consistently hire less than 12 months in advance. Beyond that, you've only got the last minute, one-off hires to replace clerks who drop out for whatever reason and newly confirmed judges, which could slow way down after Jan. 2023.

Second, I might recalibrate the expectations from the earlier poster. If my experience is any indication, it's possible to be comfortably within the top 10% at my old school (H) and not get any COA interviews. Applied selectively to circuit judges but not terribly narrow (50+ one year, 25+ another year).

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Re: Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:13 pm

I'm the quoted poster, so let me rephrase. I came from a non-HYS school, and it is unusual for even the best students (5%) to get more than 1-2 circuit interviews. I'm not surprised to hear that it's tough out there for even the HYS students, but it is *really* challenging for non-HYS, so I always advise that anyone from peer schools apply as early as possible and to every sitting judge that is accepting applications.

I don't mean to sidetrack, but you're right that my comment was (sadly) unduly optimistic.

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Re: Should I apply for 2023-2024 circuit clerkships now or when I begin my 2022-2023 clerkship?

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Oct 05, 2021 7:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Tue Oct 05, 2021 6:13 pm
I'm the quoted poster, so let me rephrase. I came from a non-HYS school, and it is unusual for even the best students (5%) to get more than 1-2 circuit interviews. I'm not surprised to hear that it's tough out there for even the HYS students, but it is *really* challenging for non-HYS, so I always advise that anyone from peer schools apply as early as possible and to every sitting judge that is accepting applications.

I don't mean to sidetrack, but you're right that my comment was (sadly) unduly optimistic.
Should also add that for non-HYS, even getting four or five COA interviews isn’t any guarantee of a spot (from personal experience, lol.)

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