Chances of Getting Clerkship Starting in a 2-6 Months? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Long story short, my DC V50 firm over-hired first years for my group and I was asked to look for jobs elsewhere ASAP. I've always wanted to clerk so I am taking this in stride, and I am excited about potentially clerking. That said, I would need to land something relatively soon or risk going broke, so I'm trying to understand how viable of an option this is for me.

What are the odds I'm able to land a clerkship in or around DC that starts in the next 1-6 months? Stats wise I graduated top 15% at a T25, was on law review and moot court, published my note, was a previous intern for a superior court judge, and have good recommenders. Genuinely have no knowledge about this sort of thing, and my school's clerkship office is all on vacation right now so they aren't helping. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

In or around DC is going to be very hard because those jobs are competitive. Possible, but still hard elsewhere. On Oscar there are some postings that start in 2022, but they are spread out. Also keep an eye out on recent nominees although they tend to hire more experienced clerks, but you never know. Could maybe try Virginia and Maryland Supreme Courts and the DC Court of Appeals although I'm not that familiar with their hiring practices.

[nixy]

It’s also going to be hard just because most judges hire at least a year out, so getting something to start in 2-6 months is going to be a stretch, especially with geographic limitations.

Can you approach your school about the possibility of some kind of short-term post grad funding? If you can put money together it would be much easier to sell yourself as an extra free clerk, which could give you some time to apply for other jobs/clerkships.

(Also: Lathaming has started??? Are you the only one from your firm in this position or did they cut others? That seems like a big deal.)

[Anonymous User]

Nearly 0 around DC, where judges tend to be hired out 1-3 years in advance and be very competitive. You need to apply to immediate start vacancies—which mostly happen due to new confirmations or unexpected clerk pregnancies—nationwide, and even then you most likely will not land one. I would apply but plan to get a job at a firm or maybe a fellowship at your law school.

[Anonymous User]

ANON because this was a school-sensitive email:

Judge Charles Haight, S.D.N.Y., who sits by designation in New Haven, CT, has a sudden opening for an August 2022 clerkship position (one-year)

[Anonymous User]

ANON because this was a school-sensitive email:

Judge Charles Haight, S.D.N.Y., who sits by designation in New Haven, CT, has a sudden opening for an August 2022 clerkship position (one-year)

[Anonymous User]

ANON because this was a school-sensitive email:

Judge Charles Haight, S.D.N.Y., who sits by designation in New Haven, CT, has a sudden opening for an August 2022 clerkship position (one-year)

This is insane, he's 94 lmao

[Anonymous User]

OP here

Helpful information, thank you everyone! I figured it would be difficult to land a clerkship at this time, especially in a market like DC, but I'll give it my best shot. I am definitely interested in clerkships elsewhere (willing to move to PA, NJ, NY, CA, and CO for example) but I'm stuck in my lease until late March. I have also been applying to other jobs in case this doesn't work out. That said, aside from clerkships, there aren't a lot of open positions in my practice area for first years, so clerkships may genuinely be my best bet.

In terms of applications, any advice on how to politely get my professors to hurry up and write their recommendations? I suspect they may not even be regularly checking their email during this time of the year and they haven't responded to me yet.

(Re: the comment on Lathaming - I'd rather not get into specifics re: my firm until I safely land elsewhere. Sorry!)

[Anonymous User]

If you mean a federal clerkship, it will be impossible to get one that starts in 2 months in the DDC. You should go on OSCAR and set the term start date for 2022 and apply to every one still open across the country, and even then, it is quite unlikely.

[Anonymous User]

OP, do you mean a clerkship with the DC local courts? That might be more possible than a federal clerkship in DC - especially if you have already interned on the superior court in law school. Your best bet might be to hit up any contacts you have there (maybe folks who were clerks while you were an intern?) and see if they've heard of any late openings. My guess is that they're all probably already full - looks like the judges on the DC Court of Appeals are hiring for 2023 at the earliest: http://www.dccourts.gov/court-of-appeal ... clerkships.

Also, Biden nominated Ana Reyes to D.D.C and she had her hearing yesterday - maybe ask your school about getting in touch with her? Or you could be really bold and just email her at her Williams & Connolly email now with your materials (I'd definitely ask someone with more experience in the process before doing this though). Ditto for other recently confirmed judges (Morrison in NY, Huie and de Alba in CA), but you'd have to be willing to move out of DC.

It sucks that you're in this situation - I can't imagine the stress of scrambling to try to find something else on such short notice. If you don't want to name & shame the law firm here, maybe pass it on to Above the Law or something so people know this is starting to happen.

[Anonymous User]

You can also try to apply to magistrates/district court judges on OSCAR and ask if you could work fully remote in your cover letter or something. Wouldn’t hurt to ask. In my courthouse there are multiple clerks who are fully remote in other states. And depending how desperate the judge is to fill the position they might be down for a remote clerk.

[Anonymous User]

Really sorry to hear about your situation, OP. Would be interested to know what firm / practice group...

In the DC area, there are often openings at the Tax Courts and Court of Federal Claims that are more often open and less competitive than regular fed clerkships. As others have pointed out, absent a very lucky break, the likelihood of getting something in DC last-minute is quite low; I clerked on CADC and they're hired out at least 2 years across the circuit, and even more than that amongst the more competitive DDC judges. DC COA is pretty competitive and similar. EDVa might be somewhat better, but still rough odds. Have you also considered an agency job in your practice group of interest or a job in DC govt? Some are hiring pretty aggressively right now, and might be willing to consider you outside of a classic honors type role. I also wouldn't count out lateral firm hiring if you look broadly.