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Chances at a clerkship - Below Median at lower T-14
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:16 am
by Anonymous User
Current 2L at lower T-14 (not GULC, but think of the ones ranked closer to it) I was interested in clerking for a judge before I started law school, but after my 1L first semester grades came back, I found myself below median with a GPA around 3.1~3.2
I've been working to bring up my grades, but I don't think my GPA will raise above a 3.3~ by the time applications open in the summer.
The question is: do I have realistic chances at clerking? I'm open geographically, and I'm focused on litigation, having worked for fed agencies in the summer and the fall. I'm TAing for a professor (the one class I somehow did great in during first semester) that's willing to write a LOR for me, and I'm close to a couple other professors who are willing to vouch for me. Planning to do a judicial externship in the spring semester as well. I'll continue focusing on bringing my grades up, but is there anything I can do to bring up the chances for a clerkship? I haven't heard of someone with ok grades getting a clerkship from my law school, but I'm sure people wouldn't want to share they didn't do that great either.
I have a SA lined up, so it's not the end of the world if I don't get a clerkship, but part of me is concerned that I might not be able to clerk later either. I've heard a couple of stories of people who practiced in biglaw who went to clerk after a couple of years. Is this a good path?
Re: Chances at a clerkship - Below Median at lower T-14
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:51 am
by Anonymous User
if you apply literally everywhere you might get some bites, but better path is probably to do BigLaw for a few and be more selective in your applications. district court judges in particular appreciate work experience
Re: Chances at a clerkship - Below Median at lower T-14
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 10:08 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:16 am
Current 2L at lower T-14 (not GULC, but think of the ones ranked closer to it) I was interested in clerking for a judge before I started law school, but after my 1L first semester grades came back, I found myself below median with a GPA around 3.1~3.2
I've been working to bring up my grades, but I don't think my GPA will raise above a 3.3~ by the time applications open in the summer.
The question is: do I have realistic chances at clerking? I'm open geographically, and I'm focused on litigation, having worked for fed agencies in the summer and the fall. I'm TAing for a professor (the one class I somehow did great in during first semester) that's willing to write a LOR for me, and I'm close to a couple other professors who are willing to vouch for me. Planning to do a judicial externship in the spring semester as well. I'll continue focusing on bringing my grades up, but is there anything I can do to bring up the chances for a clerkship? I haven't heard of someone with ok grades getting a clerkship from my law school, but I'm sure people wouldn't want to share they didn't do that great either.
I have a SA lined up, so it's not the end of the world if I don't get a clerkship, but part of me is concerned that I might not be able to clerk later either. I've heard a couple of stories of people who practiced in biglaw who went to clerk after a couple of years. Is this a good path?
Try to kill it in your judicial externship. You never know what it will lead to (I know a good number of judges who have hired excellent interns). Even if not a clerkship with that judge, a very strong LOR from that judge or from her law clerk could help flag your application. As I'm sure you've heard, clerkship hiring is incredibly idiosyncratic. Many judges focus exclusively on grades and school. But there are a good number who make hiring decisions based not exclusively on those metrics.
Re: Chances at a clerkship - Below Median at lower T-14
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 11:16 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 1:16 am
Current 2L at lower T-14 (not GULC, but think of the ones ranked closer to it) I was interested in clerking for a judge before I started law school, but after my 1L first semester grades came back, I found myself below median with a GPA around 3.1~3.2
I've been working to bring up my grades, but I don't think my GPA will raise above a 3.3~ by the time applications open in the summer.
The question is: do I have realistic chances at clerking? I'm open geographically, and I'm focused on litigation, having worked for fed agencies in the summer and the fall. I'm TAing for a professor (the one class I somehow did great in during first semester) that's willing to write a LOR for me, and I'm close to a couple other professors who are willing to vouch for me. Planning to do a judicial externship in the spring semester as well. I'll continue focusing on bringing my grades up, but is there anything I can do to bring up the chances for a clerkship? I haven't heard of someone with ok grades getting a clerkship from my law school, but I'm sure people wouldn't want to share they didn't do that great either.
I have a SA lined up, so it's not the end of the world if I don't get a clerkship, but part of me is concerned that I might not be able to clerk later either. I've heard a couple of stories of people who practiced in biglaw who went to clerk after a couple of years. Is this a good path?
Depending on the district-- you should consider magistrate judges. Some mags do a lot of the same things district court judges do except trials. And if there are district court judges in the courthouse -- you can just sit in on those trials. But you should do more research because my understanding is that the mag clerkship experience varies depending on what/how much is actually referred.
Re: Chances at a clerkship - Below Median at lower T-14
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 10:18 pm
by Anonymous User
Odds are very long for federal unless you can bring your grades up, but you might be competitive for state appellate clerkships (though maybe not SSCs) if you come from a less popular state, and those can be great experiences too
Re: Chances at a clerkship - Below Median at lower T-14
Posted: Sun Nov 14, 2021 11:58 am
by crazywafflez
Hustle, apply broadly and have profs make calls for you. What state are you from? If a less populous state you may have an advantage. I'd also look at state ones as well. I agree with the above posters that working for a year or two may behoove you as well. Don't count on one, but it isn't totally out of the picture. I also agree though to slay it in an externship- also, depending on the judge, they may treat your externship like a mini clerk (mine did and let me work on real things- however, my friend did not and basically did nothing).