Clerkship -> Finance? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am currently at a big decision point, and I’ve exhausted a lot of other resources. I know that people here may have some insight to fill any gaps in my thinking.

I finished 1L this year at HYS. I came into law school planning on going back into private equity (3y experience before school), but my grades were much better than I anticipated and have opened up opportunities I never expected to think about. I currently have an interview lined up with a COA feeder judge, and I think the experience (and possibility of clerking for SCOTUS) would be very enriching and fulfilling for me. It’s for a year out of school, and I’d want to take a top NY corporate offer for the summer and intervening year if I pursue that path. After clerking, however, I would want to pivot back into PE as quickly as possible (directly or collect a bonus at a firm for a year or two).

On the flip side, I have an offer for the summer (with the goal of full-time conversion) at a private equity fund in the midwest (not a notable group). It aligns well with my long-term goals and there is upward mobility.

I’m wondering whether some time doing something I find very interesting (clerking) and networking in those circles would actually have long-term value in the finance world (for fundraising, deal sourcing, diligence, etc.) or would be time wasted when I could jump right into the career path I ultimately hope to pursue. Part of me feels like I’m wasting a great opportunity by not pursuing unique things in front of me, but I’m also getting older and don’t want to be 30+ before finally getting around to my “real career.”

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[Anonymous User]

What exactly is the point of clerking for your PE resume? How would it help improve your skill sets? I wouldn't do it just for the intellectual curiosity, since you'd be giving up a lot of money, but only if it advances your career. For folks going into litigation, it's a no brainer because it's such a boost. I do not know enough about PE to know if it would give you a boost there. If you could find someone who did a clerkship before PE, you should definitely ask them whether it was a benefit to their career. But honestly, if you try and search and DON'T find anyone who has done it before, that's also a pretty clear indication that it's not a meaningful boost.

[Anonymous User]

What exactly is the point of clerking for your PE resume? How would it help improve your skill sets? I wouldn't do it just for the intellectual curiosity, since you'd be giving up a lot of money, but only if it advances your career. For folks going into litigation, it's a no brainer because it's such a boost. I do not know enough about PE to know if it would give you a boost there. If you could find someone who did a clerkship before PE, you should definitely ask them whether it was a benefit to their career. But honestly, if you try and search and DON'T find anyone who has done it before, that's also a pretty clear indication that it's not a meaningful boost.

There might be some judges where it would make sense still purely for the clerk network. For example, Judge Silberman (who recently passed away) had multiple former clerks who were major business executives or the General Counsel for major corporations. I doubt it would’ve hurt a PE career to be able to easily access people like that.

[Anonymous User]

I think it's a hard call. I think if you can be a SCOTUS clerk, then it's absolutely worth it. It provides you with some great skills that can help you stand out in your next profession and a lot of people outside law will find a lot of value in you having clerked at SCOTUS. But getting a SCOTUS clerkship would require you working pretty hard for the next few years, maintaining your grades, and (more importantly) doing the sort of public law work (summers, courses, clerkships) that would help your application stand out with a Justice. I don't think any of the Justices are very keen on someone whose resume clearly signals that they're not interested in staying in the law.

My advice is to try and get the SCOTUS clerkship (especially if your feeder-judge interview is with a top-tier judge) and then pivot after you get the SCOTUS clerkship. After all, you seem young and this could pay off down the road even after you move back into PE (if only because you'll stand out compared to the dime-a-dozen Harvard Business School PE guys). But that's a 5-year game plan and maybe life is too hard to predict. But you're very young if you're not even 30 yet, so you can take some chances and do things you find fun/interesting.

[lavarman84]

If you don't even want to practice law, there's zero point in clerking, and there's zero point in taking a clerkship away from somebody else. Seems like you want a gold star just to have it. If you think you may practice law, that's a different story.

[Anonymous User]

If you don't even want to practice law, there's zero point in clerking, and there's zero point in taking a clerkship away from somebody else. Seems like you want a gold star just to have it. If you think you may practice law, that's a different story.

This is the standard advice but I actually think OP could be an exception, particularly if OP is a conservative and has feeder options. At that point, you actually have a pretty good shot at SCOTUS with the current court. And some of the feeder judge networks are worth it just for the contacts. It’s also a year of government service and maybe that’s something OP wants to do.

[Anonymous User]

Clerkship networks are just a good thing to have - even if you aren't returning to law, especially given the quality of network at top feeders or scotus

I'd just commit. Who knows how you will feel about your goals in 2 years, and it's going through the necessary steps now on the possibility these are things you actually want to do in 2 years.

[Anonymous User]

The issue with chasing SCOTUS clerkship is that you might need two clerkships before the SCOTUS one (although you might not). I'd take the interview and once/if you get the job and the judge starts pushing you to SCOTUS you can share your concerns. You seem in a good position and I don't think clerking for like a single year after law school before going back to PE is a big deal. If this is a three-year clerking experience one of which is SCOTUS you may also have so many good offers and big signing bonuses that you might not want to go back to PE, which is worth considering.

My sort of hot take on these things is to be honest about it upfront in interviews and professors and then see where the cards land even if it somewhat hurts your chances. Last thing you want is to be hired by a judge who is hoping to push you to SCOTUS and then be a conservative legal academic and tell him actually you want to go back to PE. I suspect that some people in here will disagree with me and say you should not do that, but I digress.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, the #1 at HLS from last year went straight into PE (and the #1 from HLS pretty much has as good of a shot at SCOTUS as anyone, the last few in recent memory have all gone on to SCOTUS). If you truly know what you want, nothing wrong with going to PE. That being said, if you’re having doubts, probably means you don’t know what you want, and there’s also nothing wrong with grabbing gold stars if that’s what you want to do. Note that people in finance don’t really care about clerking (some people in finance I’ve talked to think clerking is like doing a summer internship or being an assistant), but of course in law SCOTUS is “the” gold star of all gold stars.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, the #1 at HLS from last year went straight into PE (and the #1 from HLS pretty much has as good of a shot at SCOTUS as anyone, the last few in recent memory have all gone on to SCOTUS). If you truly know what you want, nothing wrong with going to PE. That being said, if you’re having doubts, probably means you don’t know what you want, and there’s also nothing wrong with grabbing gold stars if that’s what you want to do. Note that people in finance don’t really care about clerking (some people in finance I’ve talked to think clerking is like doing a summer internship or being an assistant), but of course in law SCOTUS is “the” gold star of all gold stars.

Maybe I'm just a moron and this isn't really the point but I swear the person who won Fay last year went to DOJ Honors?

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, the #1 at HLS from last year went straight into PE (and the #1 from HLS pretty much has as good of a shot at SCOTUS as anyone, the last few in recent memory have all gone on to SCOTUS). If you truly know what you want, nothing wrong with going to PE. That being said, if you’re having doubts, probably means you don’t know what you want, and there’s also nothing wrong with grabbing gold stars if that’s what you want to do. Note that people in finance don’t really care about clerking (some people in finance I’ve talked to think clerking is like doing a summer internship or being an assistant), but of course in law SCOTUS is “the” gold star of all gold stars.

Maybe I'm just a moron and this isn't really the point but I swear the person who won Fay last year went to DOJ Honors?

Also pretty sure the person before that is clerking for Roberts next year.

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, the #1 at HLS from last year went straight into PE (and the #1 from HLS pretty much has as good of a shot at SCOTUS as anyone, the last few in recent memory have all gone on to SCOTUS). If you truly know what you want, nothing wrong with going to PE. That being said, if you’re having doubts, probably means you don’t know what you want, and there’s also nothing wrong with grabbing gold stars if that’s what you want to do. Note that people in finance don’t really care about clerking (some people in finance I’ve talked to think clerking is like doing a summer internship or being an assistant), but of course in law SCOTUS is “the” gold star of all gold stars.

Maybe I'm just a moron and this isn't really the point but I swear the person who won Fay last year went to DOJ Honors?

Also pretty sure the person before that is clerking for Roberts next year.

I'm talking c/o '22, summa/Fay winner is working in PE right now.