Is Clerking Still a Good Deal? If so, when? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Topic pretty much says it all-- wanted to get thoughts as to whether clerking straight after law school, with the exception of SCOTUS clerking, is really a good deal anymore?

BigLaw salary moves, inflation, clerking salaries, and the stagnation of clerkship bonuses seem to have eroded much of the value proposition that came with clerking-- that it would be a career-long opportunity boost with minimal cost. At present, the cost seems to be way too high. It looks like its a much better idea to clerk as a transition from BL to gov, or another role, particularly for graduates w/ previous work experience.

Would love to get opinions either way.

[Anonymous User]

Topic pretty much says it all-- wanted to get thoughts as to whether clerking straight after law school, with the exception of SCOTUS clerking, is really a good deal anymore?

BigLaw salary moves, inflation, clerking salaries, and the stagnation of clerkship bonuses seem to have eroded much of the value proposition that came with clerking-- that it would be a career-long opportunity boost with minimal cost. At present, the cost seems to be way too high. It looks like its a much better idea to clerk as a transition from BL to gov, or another role, particularly for graduates w/ previous work experience.

Would love to get opinions either way.

None of the future benefits have eroded, you just lose more money on the front end.

[nixy]

As a purely financial proposition, clerking probably never makes sense in the short term. Whether and when to do it depends on a ton of personal preferences about finances and career goals and life. For example, clerking to transition from biglaw to government can work really well, but depending on your circumstances it might require moving cities a couple of times, especially since you can’t necessarily guarantee a government position coming open on your timeline. That can be tough financially and if you have a family. Some people would rather go law school —> lower paid clerking —> highly paid than deal with the paycut in the middle (as well as missing out on only the lowest paid year at a firm). Other people would rather come into biglaw with a year of clerking in the hope of avoiding some of the worst of junior scut work. Yet others would like to use a clerkship as a break from a couple of years of biglaw. Some people would like to change firms and hope that getting a judge on their side first will help them do that. And whether it’s worth it at all depends on your long term goals and how much they’re served by clerking (or whether you’d rather just maximize salary).

Basically I think straight from law school is still defensible and after a couple/few years of work is also defensible. It depends entirely on personal circumstances.

[talons2250]

It's definitely still a good deal for anyone interested in litigation. For prestigious PI and government jobs, it's basically a requirement. And if you're going into BigLaw and you clerk in what would otherwise be the junior associate years, you avoid the miserable grunt work of being a law firm minion. There are few other opportunities for newly minted lawyers to work directly with very experienced and accomplished senior practitioners at the level of an Article III judge. Most junior associates at firms aren't writing briefs directly with senior partners or working closely with them.

[Anonymous User]

Yes, because clerking is still essentially a prerequisite, or at least a major boost, for the top lit jobs.

[Anonymous User]

I am genuinely not trying to be rude, but to answer your question: I think anyone who approaches the question of clerking from your perspective probably will not find clerking to be as valuable as they would like it to be. Clerks take on a lot of risk (will my judge be good? will I pass up a great job offer?) and usually cannot definitively prove that their clerkship was "worth it." But most clerks are willing to take the risk for the potential of a high upside down the road (which definitely does still exist).

Frankly, many clerks view clerking as a goal in of itself. It's a great job where you learn a ton, and many people simply enjoy it. Clerks who feel that way are slightly less worried about next steps, because they weren't viewing the clerkship purely as a means to an end.

So purely from the question you've asked, which poses clerking as a "deal," I think you would probably benefit from jumping straight into the field and seeing if you still want to clerk once you've gained some context.

[Anonymous User]

[youtube][/youtube]Agreed with others.

Would I have made more money over the first five years of my career if I didn’t clerk twice? Sure.

Do I now get different opportunities at my firm because I’m better at being a lawyer for that experience? Also yes.

All of the benefits of clerking are still there as long as you aren’t solely focused on making as much money as you can straight out of law school.

Also, clerking is really fun and you will probably develop close relationships with your judge and/or co-clerk. I loved it. Not every day was paradise but I genuinely liked going into work almost always.

[Anonymous User]

I think think the best time to clerk is two years or more after a super selective firm. Most judges want are looking for that experience now.

Of course, it's always a good time to clerk for a COA judge, if you can swing that right out of LS.

[Anonymous User]

If I could do it all over again, I would have started at a firm and used the clerkship(s) as an out after a few years approaching burnout. In my opinion, you'll appreciate the substance and hours more after being a cog in the biglaw machine. As far as value, you'll also have a higher salary the longer you're bared so you can make 120+ after two years in big law instead of 70-90 first year out.

In bottom line numbers, no the "deal" isn't worth it, you give up tons of cash, but viewed as a second shot at biglaw-- I think it can be worth it for your soul/career longevity.

Plus, you can bake in a few cush biglaw months getting off cases before you clerk and then a few cush months getting back on cases when you restart biglaw. You can also take some serious time off between clerking, which you will never get to do at a firm.

[Anonymous User]

Is clerking ever "worth it" for transactional oriented students? Lets say I'm at an HYS with FedSoc connections, so a decent chance at COA. My brain tells me that its not worth it, but my gut tells me to pursue the COA gold star if its available

[talons2250]

If you are 100% dead set on transactional, then it's not worth it. Not only will the clerkship not be relevant to your eventual work, but it'll also be a significant paycut and all your peers will be accruing relevant experience while your off doing an irrelevant (albeit fancy) job.

[Anonymous User]

If I could do it all over again, I would have started at a firm and used the clerkship(s) as an out after a few years approaching burnout. In my opinion, you'll appreciate the substance and hours more after being a cog in the biglaw machine. As far as value, you'll also have a higher salary the longer you're bared so you can make 120+ after two years in big law instead of 70-90 first year out.

In bottom line numbers, no the "deal" isn't worth it, you give up tons of cash, but viewed as a second shot at biglaw-- I think it can be worth it for your soul/career longevity.

Plus, you can bake in a few cush biglaw months getting off cases before you clerk and then a few cush months getting back on cases when you restart biglaw. You can also take some serious time off between clerking, which you will never get to do at a firm.

In general, clerking is probably more worth it the more you’re interested in practicing in an environment besides NY BL general commercial lit. Boutiques, government, PI orgs, white-collar, appellate all highly value clerkships.

[Wild Card]

Is clerking ever "worth it" for transactional oriented students? Lets say I'm at an HYS with FedSoc connections, so a decent chance at COA. My brain tells me that its not worth it, but my gut tells me to pursue the COA gold star if its available

Some of the very best M&A attorneys clerked. That, or maybe it's just a Wachtell thing.