Page 1 of 1
Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 4:59 pm
by Anonymous User
Apologies if this has already been addressed. If it has, mods feel free to lock/delete this post and point me in the right direction.
But, to the extent it's possible, how do people prepare for their clerkships?
I took legal writing as a 1L, but have done almost zero bluebooking/research since.
How can I make sure I'm up to speed for next fall?
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 5:22 pm
by Anonymous User
You really can't. You were hired because your judge thought you had the capacity to catch up quickly and provide some value. The first two months will be a hellish adjustment regardless of your preparation.
If you absolutely must, you could skim Bluebook, read the federal clerkship manual which is available with a google search, skim the FRCP and FRE, read some of the Judge's major cases, and so on.
But either way, you will catch up.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 6:41 pm
by Wild Card
Read opinions to get a sense of structure and style.
Ask the current clerks what they would have done, obviously.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 1:01 am
by Anonymous User
I tried to prepare by doing a little of much of what's been mentioned here. The only thing I would recommend in retrospect is to read the local rules, and maybe some of your judge's opinions. Everything else you will be familiar enough with from civ pro and legal writing - which is to say, probably not very familiar at all, but you will dive into the specific issues as they come up anyway. The local rules will be entirely new to you and can save you a lot of time, i.e., a party brings evidentiary motions that are improper because those objections should have been in their main briefs. Boom, a whole order you don't have to write.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:06 pm
by johndonne
You'll be writing a lot as a clerk. I recommend reading some of the standard legal writing books (Garner and Guberman come to mind) and internalizing the main themes.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 1:11 pm
by Anonymous User
Thank you everyone!
johndonne wrote: ↑Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:06 pm
You'll be writing a lot as a clerk. I recommend reading some of the standard legal writing books (Garner and Guberman come to mind) and internalizing the main themes.
I did a quick google search. Are you referencing the books: Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Advocates and Point Taken: How to Write Like the World’s Greatest Judges?
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 2:00 pm
by johndonne
Yes. Also Legal Writing in Plain English.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:38 pm
by Robot
Another vote for Guberman
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:57 pm
by Anonymous User
Is this a COA or D.Ct clerkship?
COA - Focus on standards of review.
D.Ct. - take pretrial, trial, criminal procedure, evidence, discovery classes. Ideally you would have practiced 2 years before, but taking the right litigation classes could help prepare. Also, you may want to look into being a law clerk for firms during the school year and get a summer associateship.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:36 pm
by nixy
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:57 pm
Is this a COA or D.Ct clerkship?
COA - Focus on standards of review.
D.Ct. - take pretrial, trial, criminal procedure, evidence, discovery classes. Ideally you would have practiced 2 years before, but taking the right litigation classes could help prepare. Also, you may want to look into being a law clerk for firms during the school year and get a summer associateship.
if their clerkship is next fall, the ship has sailed on a lot of this.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 10:19 pm
by Anonymous User
nixy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:36 pm
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Wed Dec 22, 2021 7:57 pm
Is this a COA or D.Ct clerkship?
COA - Focus on standards of review.
D.Ct. - take pretrial, trial, criminal procedure, evidence, discovery classes. Ideally you would have practiced 2 years before, but taking the right litigation classes could help prepare. Also, you may want to look into being a law clerk for firms during the school year and get a summer associateship.
if their clerkship is next fall, the ship has sailed on a lot of this.
Unfortunately, Nixy is right. However, I have a couple of bar prep books that I think might be helpful?
But for others who read this thread, great advice! Thanks!
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:04 am
by Anonymous User
The one issue with reading the legal writing books is your judge may have a different style than what Guberman and others recommend. So it can't hurt to read them, but make sure to read your judge's opinions too and see where they depart.
For general writing advice, reading books like the Elements of Style can be just as helpful as the legal writing books, as much of the stuff on proper grammar will apply across judges with different styles.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:18 am
by Quichelorraine
Ditto on giving the local rules a once-over (don't know them, but know they exist) and reading your judge's recent opinions. If you can, pull the actual PDF copies of the opinions from something like Courtlistener. It feels very different reading them in PDF than it does in Westlaw, and the PDF version is the world you'll be inhabiting.
Something else to consider, especially if you're in district court: find a relatively straightforward case or two your judge worked on (i.e., nothing of high political salience/not an MDL/etc.) and pull the docket on PACER. Get used to how things look and what these random little entries mean. PACER semi-literacy, both in terms of how the system works and also being able to "read" a case from docket entries, is an undervalued skill.
(Pulling a docket or two will be free, as there's no way you'll go over the $15 or whatever limit where you actually get charged. You can also go on Courtlistener, but those dockets won't be complete unless someone before you has pulled them.)
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:18 pm
by Anonymous User
Maybe this is not helpful, but here are the ways I screwed up most frequently in my first few months at district court:
1. Not reading the entire docket and assuming the motion papers would cover what I needed to know
2. Applying the wrong level of deference or presumption in favor of one party depending on the procedural posture, or more frequently, muddling it
3. Being too cursory about factual findings (in some places) and belaboring it (in others)
4. Obsessing about the "perfect" disposition rather than the fastest, simplest, least-obviously-incorrect disposition
5. When dealing with a rule or statute, skipping over the plain meaning of the text and focusing entirely on the precedent the parties provide, which may be considered less of an error in a non-textualist chambers
6. Failing to be adequately deferential to the state courts' interpretation of something, even when only tangentially relevant.
7. Forgetting the Local Rules existed.
8. Entirely missing a BRUTALLY OBVIOUS and CRITICALLY IMPORTANT piece of evidence or legal assertion that my Judge caught immediately.
I'm sure a lot of folks will say these were obvious mistakes that they'd never make, and perhaps they were. If nothing else, it should make you feel better- I considered myself "very prepared" for my clerkship and did all the prep suggested below, and still was making "stupid mistakes." It just happens. We all hope for a way to work hard enough that embarrassment can be avoided, but embarrassment is part of the process.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 5:16 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:18 pm
Maybe this is not helpful, but here are the ways I screwed up most frequently in my first few months at district court:
1. Not reading the entire docket and assuming the motion papers would cover what I needed to know
2. Applying the wrong level of deference or presumption in favor of one party depending on the procedural posture, or more frequently, muddling it
3. Being too cursory about factual findings (in some places) and belaboring it (in others)
4. Obsessing about the "perfect" disposition rather than the fastest, simplest, least-obviously-incorrect disposition
5. When dealing with a rule or statute, skipping over the plain meaning of the text and focusing entirely on the precedent the parties provide, which may be considered less of an error in a non-textualist chambers
6. Failing to be adequately deferential to the state courts' interpretation of something, even when only tangentially relevant.
7. Forgetting the Local Rules existed.
8. Entirely missing a BRUTALLY OBVIOUS and CRITICALLY IMPORTANT piece of evidence or legal assertion that my Judge caught immediately.
I'm sure a lot of folks will say these were obvious mistakes that they'd never make, and perhaps they were. If nothing else, it should make you feel better- I considered myself "very prepared" for my clerkship and did all the prep suggested below, and still was making "stupid mistakes." It just happens. We all hope for a way to work hard enough that embarrassment can be avoided, but embarrassment is part of the process.
Echo x10 on #5. Quote from my judge: "I don't care what some court said about the statute, I want to know what the statute says."
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:13 pm
by Anonymous User
I'd recommend a pre-clerkship SA if you can land one. They're hard but not impossible to find. Getting a third summer of "practice" experience was really helpful for me as a K-JD, and I did significantly more substantive work than I did as a 1L or 2L. Plus the cash is nice.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:47 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:13 pm
I'd recommend a pre-clerkship SA if you can land one. They're hard but not impossible to find. Getting a third summer of "practice" experience was really helpful for me as a K-JD, and I did significantly more substantive work than I did as a 1L or 2L. Plus the cash is nice.
Where would you find those?
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 1:51 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:47 pm
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:13 pm
I'd recommend a pre-clerkship SA if you can land one. They're hard but not impossible to find. Getting a third summer of "practice" experience was really helpful for me as a K-JD, and I did significantly more substantive work than I did as a 1L or 2L. Plus the cash is nice.
Where would you find those?
I know that Kellogg, S&C, Bartlit, and Susman have or had them. The one I did wasn't publicly listed or a real "program," I just inquired at a boutique I liked (and had a connection to a partner at, which surely helped) and was told to send in a resume. There's also a pre-clerkship summer gig at the SG's office that I imagine would be pretty sweet though insanely competitive.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 11:08 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:18 pm
Maybe this is not helpful, but here are the ways I screwed up most frequently in my first few months at district court:
1. Not reading the entire docket and assuming the motion papers would cover what I needed to know
2. Applying the wrong level of deference or presumption in favor of one party depending on the procedural posture, or more frequently, muddling it
3. Being too cursory about factual findings (in some places) and belaboring it (in others)
4. Obsessing about the "perfect" disposition rather than the fastest, simplest, least-obviously-incorrect disposition
5. When dealing with a rule or statute, skipping over the plain meaning of the text and focusing entirely on the precedent the parties provide, which may be considered less of an error in a non-textualist chambers
6. Failing to be adequately deferential to the state courts' interpretation of something, even when only tangentially relevant.
7. Forgetting the Local Rules existed.
8. Entirely missing a BRUTALLY OBVIOUS and CRITICALLY IMPORTANT piece of evidence or legal assertion that my Judge caught immediately.
I'm sure a lot of folks will say these were obvious mistakes that they'd never make, and perhaps they were. If nothing else, it should make you feel better- I considered myself "very prepared" for my clerkship and did all the prep suggested below, and still was making "stupid mistakes." It just happens. We all hope for a way to work hard enough that embarrassment can be avoided, but embarrassment is part of the process.
As a former dist. ct. clerk and current COA clerk, this is very good advice.
Re: Preparing for Clerkship
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 8:21 pm
by Anonymous User
I think the best thing you can do is talk to 3 to 5 former clerks. Great questions to ask them:
1. What are the judge's pet peeves? What could I do that would make the judge write me off as a bad clerk?
2. What does the judge particularly like in a clerk, socially or in terms of work product?
3. What are important opinions to read before I start that represent the judge's writing style, areas she especially cares about, or that she is especially proud of?
4. Are there ongoing legal or relational issues on the court that I should be aware of? Are there other judges on the court that the judge thinks of especially highly?
5. Chambers norms: What is the dress code? What are normal work hours? Is the judge in chambers every day? Is it okay to leave during the day to run an errand? What are expectations around the holidays?
6. If you're moving to a new city to clerk, you can also ask for advice about housing, restaurants, gyms, etc.
Other things you can do:
- If you're on a court of appeals, take a look at the court's en banc issues for the previous and upcoming year. These seem to have an outsized presence in judges' minds.
- Be familiar with what is happening in the Supreme Court. Those cases seemed to intersect surprisingly often with my cases, and parties don't always spot those connections.