Leaving Clerkship Early Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons. How unprecedented is it for a clerk to leave a month or two early to start a job?

Obviously it's not ideal, but if someone offers me an early start, I would be willing to take it if it means wrapping up in July rather than August. Should I even bother, or will it be so insulting to my judge that it's not worth investigating?

For context, I am on 2/9/DC and there are four clerks including me.

[crazywafflez]

I haven't seen this scenario, but I'm sure it happens. I think leaving a couple weeks early probs wouldn't burn any bridges (say you end August 1, leaving July 15 after talking to the judge about it a couple months before probs ain't gonna be a big deal). I'd avoid leaving 2 months early though for a firm gig.

[nixy]

I’d be really surprised if a firm hiring a 2/9/DC clerk (or really any COA clerk) would want you to leave early and wouldn’t be prepared to work around the end of your clerkship.

In terms of negotiating the end date, a lot of it depends on when your successor clerk is available and if they might want to start a little early - I think if you can arrange for there not to be a gap, most judges would be fine with it.

But really I don’t think this will be an issue from firms’ points of view, where they only want you if you leave early. On the other hand, if you’re dying to get out of the clerkship, I think your best bet is trying to coordinate with your successor.

[lavarman84]

A month early seems doable, particularly if you are going to a job that would plausibly want you ASAP. You can just coordinate with a successor to try and minimize your judge's time without a clerk. If it's you wanting to leave early just to be done with the clerkship, it's slightly more risky. But it's your life, and you have to do what's best for you.

[Anonymous User]

I am clerking on one of those circuits right now, and I would be SHOCKED if my judge let a clerk leave early for something that wasn’t like a SCOTUS clerkship

[Anonymous User]

Senior litigator here. Don't ever do this.

The analysis here is extraordinarily simple. On the plus side of leaving a month early, you will gain one additional month of salary, and make life marginally more convenient for the HR department of some law firm because they can knock out your paperwork four weeks earlier instead of having to wait. It will not make one goddamned difference to the partners, who will barely notice the difference in dates if they notice it at all. They don't care. The decision was made, the offer was accepted, they have more important things on their mind after those facts occurred. Start in August. Start in September. Who cares. Not them.

That's on the plus side of the column.

On the negative side of the column: You are potentially burning a bridge for the rest of your legal career with a federal and/or appellate judge. If the judge is gracious and polite and tells you that leaving a month early is perfectly fine, that is no guarantee that the judge internally is telling himself or herself how incredibly rude and annoying your request was to the judge's management of chambers and general schedule. A handshake agreement was in place from their perspective, and you are choosing to dishonor it. Whether or not a judge openly expresses irritation about this, I cannot imagine why any young law grad would ever want to take this risk, absent a nomination by the President of the United States to become an interim director of the FBI or something.

The marginal benefit of leaving early is negligible and possibly even non-existent. The potential downside is large. The math on this is easy.

[Anonymous User]

duplicate post.

[jotarokujo]

Senior litigator here. Don't ever do this.

The analysis here is extraordinarily simple. On the plus side of leaving a month early, you will gain one additional month of salary, and make life marginally more convenient for the HR department of some law firm because they can knock out your paperwork four weeks earlier instead of having to wait. It will not make one goddamned difference to the partners, who will barely notice the difference in dates if they notice it at all. They don't care. The decision was made, the offer was accepted, they have more important things on their mind after those facts occurred. Start in August. Start in September. Who cares. Not them.

That's on the plus side of the column.

On the negative side of the column: You are potentially burning a bridge for the rest of your legal career with a federal and/or appellate judge. If the judge is gracious and polite and tells you that leaving a month early is perfectly fine, that is no guarantee that the judge internally is telling himself or herself how incredibly rude and annoying your request was to the judge's management of chambers and general schedule. A handshake agreement was in place from their perspective, and you are choosing to dishonor it. Whether or not a judge openly expresses irritation about this, I cannot imagine why any young law grad would ever want to take this risk, absent a nomination by the President of the United States to become an interim director of the FBI or something.

The marginal benefit of leaving early is negligible and possibly even non-existent. The potential downside is large. The math on this is easy.

tend to side with this. OP, what is exactly is the upside to leaving early? maybe you have some pretty compelling reasons that would make it worth it, but if the reason is just "i don't like the clerkship/city much and want to start at a firm earlier for salary reasons", it's probably not worth

[Anonymous User]

I did this when I finished all of my opinions more than a month before the end of the term. It really depends on your judge and whether you have outstanding opinions to finish. It is not considered rude or unusual, at least from the people I've talked to. If you're on the DC Circuit, it is particularly likely that you will be done before the end of the term.

[Anonymous User]

The senior litigator response is, to put it lightly, absurd.

If it’s that the job needs you to start early, no harm in asking.

If it’s that you want out because your judge is awful, you need to assess if you have other recommenders who would vouch for you, whether you have a quick explanation for why your judge isn’t a reference that your feel comfortable giving, and how long you want to stay at your next job. People do leave clerkships early, they get jobs, and the world continues turning. As you already have your next job lined up the risk is, especially if you want to stay for a few years, reduced.

[jotarokujo]

The senior litigator response is, to put it lightly, absurd.

If it’s that the job needs you to start early, no harm in asking.

If it’s that you want out because your judge is awful, you need to assess if you have other recommenders who would vouch for you, whether you have a quick explanation for why your judge isn’t a reference that your feel comfortable giving, and how long you want to stay at your next job. People do leave clerkships early, they get jobs, and the world continues turning. As you already have your next job lined up the risk is, especially if you want to stay for a few years, reduced.

i think senior litigator exaggerates the negative, but the positive also seems to be small without some facts. a firm would not care that a person is starting earlier here (not that the OP ever suggested otherwise)

[nixy]

The senior litigator response is, to put it lightly, absurd.

If it’s that the job needs you to start early, no harm in asking.

If it’s that you want out because your judge is awful, you need to assess if you have other recommenders who would vouch for you, whether you have a quick explanation for why your judge isn’t a reference that your feel comfortable giving, and how long you want to stay at your next job. People do leave clerkships early, they get jobs, and the world continues turning. As you already have your next job lined up the risk is, especially if you want to stay for a few years, reduced.

i think senior litigator exaggerates the negative, but the positive also seems to be small without some facts. a firm would not care that a person is starting earlier here (not that the OP ever suggested otherwise)

Yeah, this is the thing, most employers who value hiring clerks and thus are hiring someone coming off a clerkship just aren’t going to demand that that person leave the clerkship early. They also won’t really know exactly when your clerkship is going to end so it’s not like they’re going to investigate deeply into whatever date you say it ends, but I just don’t think they’ll push back on “I’m available after X which is when my clerkship ends.” Especially because most (though not all) clerks line up their post-clerkship job some months before the job would start.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah, for another clerk on one of those circuits, I agree with the people who say the negatives outweigh the positives outside of special circumstances. If you've landed your absolute dream job and for some reason they are not able to give you a later start date, then okay, maybe it's worth asking, especially if one if the new class of clerks is willing to start early. You risk pissing off the judge, but maybe your dream job is worth potentially burning that bridge. Fair enough.

On the flip side, if you want out early because your chambers is an awful, toxic work environment, maybe that's worth it for your mental health. If the judge is that bad, something like this probably will burn the bridge, but you might decide that bridge isn't worth having anyway. Also fair and reasonable; no one should have to deal with a toxic environment.

But if the job is able to accommodate your start date (and most will) and your clerkship is fine (even if you're bored/want more money/whatever else might cause you to want to leave early), I would not risk the relationship with your judge.

ETA: Also, how likey this is to piss off your judge might depend on your exact schedule. If you've finished off your opinions and there's no new calenders, that's one thing (I still wouldn't risk it outside of special circumstances, but it's more likely to go over okay). But my clerkship had a calendar the week before we left. You better bet my judge would've been pissed if one of us bailed on that.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. I'm hearing a group of very risk-averse people and a group that says it's fine to broach if you have a particularly good reason. So sounds like the conclusion is that the reason had better be awfully good before considering it.

Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Just remember that very good reason includes your happiness!

[lavarman84]

OP here. I'm hearing a group of very risk-averse people and a group that says it's fine to broach if you have a particularly good reason. So sounds like the conclusion is that the reason had better be awfully good before considering it.

Thanks!

Yes. You also should get a feel for your judge (if you don't already have one) during your time clerking for him/her, which will inform this decision. Some judges wouldn't take leaving early well. Others wouldn't give you a hard time if you have a halfway decent reason.

[nixy]

Just remember that very good reason includes your happiness!

I mean, if you’re talking actual mental health, sure. No one should stay in a job that actually causes mental health problems any longer than they absolutely have to. But I don’t think “happiness” is quite strong enough to justify leaving a month early, honestly - you can be less than happy (bored/disinterested/annoyed) for an additional month without coming to harm. (Happiness is a great reason to take/decline a job in the first place, but not a great reason to leave a month early in the absence of any other compelling circumstance.)

I agree that it will depend a lot on the judge and if you have a judge who seems amenable, it’s definitely worth asking about. But I also don’t see a lot of circumstances where it’s going to be absolutely necessary to leave early. It’s not quite the same as other lateral positions, where an employer hires because they have an immediate need and want you to start as soon as possible.

[Anonymous User]

Just remember that very good reason includes your happiness!

Wait, what? We're talking about one month. There are lots of legal jobs that you as a lawyer are not going to be "happy" being stuck with. Happy or not, causing a potential problem on your resume or burning a bridge with someone who can be an excellent reference for many years is extremely unlikely to be worth the trade off of exiting a job a month earlier.

If you're unhappy, plan your exit strategy. I'm not advocating, "Be unhappy." I'm advocating to be smart.

[msk1111]

Just remember that very good reason includes your happiness!

Wait, what? We're talking about one month. There are lots of legal jobs that you as a lawyer are not going to be "happy" being stuck with. Happy or not, causing a potential problem on your resume or burning a bridge with someone who can be an excellent reference for many years is extremely unlikely to be worth the trade off of exiting a job a month earlier.

If you're unhappy, plan your exit strategy. I'm not advocating, "Be unhappy." I'm advocating to be smart.

Why do you want to leave a month early? I am currently clerking on one of the circuits you named and I know that my judge would not let a clerk leave early and would probably be annoyed if someone asked.