District of New Jersey Judges Forum

[Anonymous User]

Wondering if anyone has insight onto District of NJ. Where they hire from, and info on specific judges, esp. new Biden appointees.

[ughbugchugplug]

Wondering if anyone has insight onto District of NJ. Where they hire from, and info on specific judges, esp. new Biden appointees.

Former DNJ clerk here. I’d say a mix - my fellow clerks were typically (1) good grades from rutgers or seton hall, (2) people from big firms in NJ, (3) NJ state/fed gov people, or (4) big law. I think NJ Supreme Court clerkships carry big weight for many DNJ judges in choosing who to hire as well.

[Anonymous User]

Does Penn place well with Newark judges

[Anonymous User]

So take what I am saying with a grain of salt because this is just anecdotal based on my personal observations and conversations with the NYU clerkship office. That being said, I initially thought that DNJ would be the backup for people who did not get EDNY/SDNY and there would be a lot of NYU students there, but it seems like that is not really the case and they are fairly ties sensitive. Same goes with the Third Circuit judges in NJ and also the NJ Supreme Court.

An alternative reading of this though is that NYU students are just like NYC or bust with their clerkships and many will not even venture to NJ. Would not be surprised if that is the correct interpretation to be honest.

With this all being said as far as grades though it seems like DNJ is a bit less grade sensitive in SDNY/EDNY. I would say the median SDNY/EDNY clerk from NYU is top 10% whereas the median DNJ clerk from NYU is top 25%.

[ughbugchugplug]

Does Penn place well with Newark judges

I’d assume an applicant with an elite school as their background will be a plausible candidate, but I can’t think of any judges who specifically like Penn the best or anything.

[ughbugchugplug]

So take what I am saying with a grain of salt because this is just anecdotal based on my personal observations and conversations with the NYU clerkship office. That being said, I initially thought that DNJ would be the backup for people who did not get EDNY/SDNY and there would be a lot of NYU students there, but it seems like that is not really the case and they are fairly ties sensitive. Same goes with the Third Circuit judges in NJ and also the NJ Supreme Court.

An alternative reading of this though is that NYU students are just like NYC or bust with their clerkships and many will not even venture to NJ. Would not be surprised if that is the correct interpretation to be honest.

With this all being said as far as grades though it seems like DNJ is a bit less grade sensitive in SDNY/EDNY. I would say the median SDNY/EDNY clerk from NYU is top 10% whereas the median DNJ clerk from NYU is top 25%.

My judge had an NYU clerk for my year, the year that hired me, and the year we hired, but YMMV. I think it’s less school dependent than whether someone is qualified, and NYU students tend to have the qualifications. Also, I’d say most DNJ judges prefer work experience so that’s a confounding variable for trying to predict getting the job based on your school

[Anonymous User]

With Judge Greenaway now retiring in mid-June, worth keeping an eye on some of these judges.