Does anyone have any insight into post-clerkship firm placement in major markets coming out of a clerkship in the Eastern District of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)? For example, would top big law firms in Chicago look favorably on this clerkship, or does it not really move the needle?
Even through LinkedIn and firm bio searches I'm not finding too much since it's a smaller court. So any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Eastern District of Wisconsin? Forum
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Re: Eastern District of Wisconsin?
It’s a federal clerkship. That’s always respected. Some are respected more, and pretty much all clerkships that aren’t in the biggest cities carry the most weight locally, where the judge tends to have connections/be known, but to a large extent a clerkship is a clerkship. It’s a great credential but I don’t think there are necessarily typical outcomes determined by a which district you clerk in. I clerked in a small court and my judge’s clerks are all over the place doing lots of different things, largely determined by the qualifications they had that got them the clerkship to begin with. I’m in a job that I couldn’t have got without doing the clerkship, but it doesn’t matter that it was in that particular district (I work across the country from it) rather than that I did it at all.
Which is a long-winded way of saying that I’m not certain there’s an answer that’s going to be helpful to you. Also, whether you’re a good candidate for top biglaw firms in Chicago is still going to depend on your qualifications outside of the clerkship. If you were a marginal candidate before, having a clerkship helps but won’t transform you radically. If your judge has connections that they’re willing to work for you, and you’re willing/able to spend the year networking, those things can make a big difference, but they’re more about the relationships you build, rather than having the clerkship line on your resume.
Which is a long-winded way of saying that I’m not certain there’s an answer that’s going to be helpful to you. Also, whether you’re a good candidate for top biglaw firms in Chicago is still going to depend on your qualifications outside of the clerkship. If you were a marginal candidate before, having a clerkship helps but won’t transform you radically. If your judge has connections that they’re willing to work for you, and you’re willing/able to spend the year networking, those things can make a big difference, but they’re more about the relationships you build, rather than having the clerkship line on your resume.
