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[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

Assuming that your situation is not your fault and unfixable, I'd be out of there like a bat outta hell. If you can get a decent job, take it.

[lavarman84]

No need to apologize. That sounds like hell. I don't really have any helpful insight, but I'll just say that you need to do what's best for your mental and physical health. I don't believe you'll be cast out of the legal profession. I'm very sorry this is happening to you. You're not being a complainer. You're not mentally weak or stupid. Your judge sounds like he or she is being abusive.

[Anonymous User]

There are unfortunately some judges out there who treat their clerks terribly, and federal district clerkships are stressful at the best of times. I’d say begin looking for jobs, it’s not worth it. I’d also report your judge to your law school’s clerkship office and maybe work with people there on how to handle the situation. (In the mean time, try to cut back on the coffee and fast food.)

[nixy]

That all sounds terrible, I'm sorry you're dealing with that. Just some random thoughts:

- do you think the situation would improve once you're no longer short staffed? which isn't to say that it's okay for you to keep suffering like this for a few more months (it's not), but it's maybe something to consider in making plans. Frankly I doubt they'd be any better with another person around to abuse, but just wondering.

- is there anyone else in chambers/the courthouse you could talk to about ways to handle this with your judge? (I realize this may not be the case if you're remote/mostly remote and haven't met people, or just depending on the relationship between the judge and the rest of chambers, but it might be possible to get some tips from others)

Re: your specific questions - no, I don't think it's career suicide, I think you should and can get out as soon as possible. Life is too short to deal with this, and people who would hold it against you can go suck it. You had the qualifications to get the clerkship, I'm sure you'll have the qualifications to get another job.

That said, I don't think working with a recruiter at this point would be of much use. I don't think they're very interested in working with people coming out of clerkships, and I don't think they'd be much use for small/mid-sized firms. I get wanting to use one when you don't have any time to job search b/c of your workload, so maybe it's worth trying, but I don't think it's the best path.