Clerkship Chances Forum

[mpalmer1770]

Hi all appreciate any insight into where I am competitive or if I should be applying currently or waiting till the plan opens up. Clerkship office/professors at my school giving me mixed info.

Grades/Rank: Rank 1 at a t20,
Extracurriculars: Law Review Executive Board (Articles Editor), National Moot Court Team
Politics: Not fed soc.
Background: Highschool drop out due to working full time and worked my way through community college and undergrad.
LORs: have profesors who will write strong letters of recs but none are super clued into current judges and the landscape.

Thanks for any insights.

[Anonymous User]

Number 1 at a T20s always got a great shot at clerkships. especially local ones. I'm a little confused what is going on though because if you are the top student at your T20 surely you're getting institutional support and advice about where to apply?

[Anonymous User]

Not OP, but I’m pretty sure not all T20s are equally prepared to support clerk candidates, especially if OP hasn’t had the opportunity to get to know the more connected profs.

[Anonymous User]

Not OP, but I’m pretty sure not all T20s are equally prepared to support clerk candidates, especially if OP hasn’t had the opportunity to get to know the more connected profs.

Also, this post made me look, and UNC and Georgia are T20s now?? OP, if you’re at those schools and not a traditional T20, you are in fact at a T50. From those schools, you should have a great shot at the local districts and circuit, but you will likely have difficulty outside that geographic area, even as valedictorian.

[Anonymous User]

At a traditional T20 think UT, Vand, WashU, USC. Clerkship office is supportive but sending mixed messages.

[Syncretism]

Without giving too much away: I go to your school, and I can tell you that you're going to be fine. I've seen your resume; I know from direct personal experience that you interview well and are likeable (which does, in fact, matter to judges); and I know you'll have institutional support (and, if you have any interest in clerking in your current city, direct personal support that greatly improves your chances).

I'm glad I'm a year ahead of you and already have my (I'm told layup) interview lined up, because I would not really want to be competing against you for these positions, and I can count the number of people I'd say that about on one hand.

More substantively: if you see a position you want, that is not following the federal hiring plan, apply. For positions that DO follow the federal hiring plan, make sure you have your applications ready to go out the moment the plan opens. As a 2L, you're at a slight disadvantage because some judges (especially those I think you're likely to want to clerk for) either prefer work experience or will fill some of their 2026 spots before the plan opens with 3Ls/post-grads, but there are still plenty of judges to apply to.

In some cases, especially for judges you REALLY want to clerk for, getting your recommenders to reach out directly can help. And I cannot stress enough that if you are interested/willing in clerking near school, there are people here with not only insider knowledge but direct lines to federal judges who can get you interviews, even for judges who have not even posted a position yet. That said, you may have trouble with extremely competitive districts like D.D.C. for example because, well, anyone who isn't from HYS or has a celeb recommender can have issues there. But if you really want a clerkship, I would think the odds of you getting it is very high. The clerkship office would tell you to apply widely, and if you aren't picky about location or judge, I'd be very surprised if you didn't walk away with an Article III clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

At a traditional T20 think UT, Vand, WashU, USC. Clerkship office is supportive but sending mixed messages.

There's so much variance even between the listed schools. Assuming that the other clerkship credentials are there and the recs are supportive:

The Grand Chancellor from Texas can land a great clerkship anywhere. With the right connections, and/or page-poppers like EIC of Law Review, #1 at Texas has a great shot at feeder clerkships.

#1 at Vandy or WashU should get you in the game with many circuit judges. But it'll depend so much on luck and other factors, especially recs & calls.

#1 at USC should guarantee a CA9 clerkship (with 0% odds at the super grade-picky ones like Fletcher) + a NDCA/CDCA clerkship should you want one (but unlikely to land the super competitive ones like Chhabria).

Frankly, I'm surprised your clerkship office is not being more helpful here. They should have a record of where previous valedictorians went.