Clerkship Opportunites

[thorc954]

I hate to post one of these topics.  Anyway:
No journal, top 20 school, top 15%.  SA job 2L year (Am Law 100), respectable legal employment 1L year.  No connections.  My only real desire is to do something federal (not feasible to clerk without availability of clerkship bonus).  Realize even district courts are probably a stretch considering no journal, but just wondering if that was still a shot and if I could possibly sneak in to a COA job somewhere.  Location is flexible, but prefer some place warm.   

Thanks for any help/advice.  I wouldnt even ask, but I just begun exploring this option recently. 

[vaplaugh]

Are you a 3L?

[thorc954]

no, 2L day student about to start the SA

[vaplaugh]

First of all, congrats on the SA gig.  If location is flexible, you probably have a shot at USDC.  Do you get a bonus for magistrate judges and special courts (Bankruptcy, Claims, Tax, etc.)?  If so, no doubt you have a shot.  Although, I'm guessing there's no bonus for magistrate...

Does your CSO provide useful advice, or do they just say "apply and see?"

[thorc954]

Thank you.  I am pretty sure the bonus is just for district and COA, but thats kinda all Id be interested in anyway, except maybe court of federal claims or tax court.  I guess I need to go by the CDO.  I didnt realize until this week that it was coming up kind of soon, so I really need to do some research and go to the CDO.  I think they are somewhat helpful, or at least usually, so Ill give them a shot.  Thanks for all your advice.  Unless i am in a serious relationship by the time I graduate, or at least by the time of interviews, im pretty flexible with locale. 

I appreciate your assistance, I guess I need to do some research on locations and check some more with the school.

[vaplaugh]

Well, I am a 1L, so take my advice with a grain of salt - probably totally useless. haha.

I haven't talked with my CSO a lot about clerking, but I did a lot of research prior to choosing a school.  Talked with a lot of schools about class rankings, got lists of former clerks, checked out those tracking websites.  I've been wanting to do it for a while; federal, state, whatever.  I'm sure your CSO keeps of list of former clerks/judges that have hired from your school.

The big thing I'm still unsure of, though, is how many judges stray from the Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan (requiring no applications before September).  Do you have any idea about this?

If you decide to apply to some Claims judges, send me a PM.  I had some connection to that court, and I could offer some comments on a few of the judges.

It's also not too late to get a school-year externship with a federal judge for your 3L year if there are some in your area.  It would appear on your resume for clerkship applications, so that might add a bump.  Less important if your 1L summer was with a judge...

[jacy85]

The big thing I'm still unsure of, though, is how many judges stray from the Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan (requiring no applications before September).  Do you have any idea about this?

It varies by circuit and from year to year as well.  The trend seems generally for more judges to sign up for OSCAR and the federal time line.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to narrow down where you'd be willing to go to clerk, and call each and every judge's chambers to ask if they will be hiring for clerks for the year after you graduate, whether they follow the federal plan, and if not, when the judge will be accepting applications.

If you're at a T1 school, try to find out if there's a clerkship committee.  My school has one w/ a couple of professors spear heading the program as well as a few student organizers.  That made the whole process a lot smoother, as we occasionally got emails over the summer when they found out some judges were hiring early (not that it was a substitute for individual research)

[vaplaugh]

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to narrow down where you'd be willing to go to clerk, and call each and every judge's chambers to ask if they will be hiring for clerks for the year after you graduate, whether they follow the federal plan, and if not, when the judge will be accepting applications.

Thanks!  And sorry to hijack your thread, Thorc, but when is a good time to start calling judges to check?  I'm guessing late fall or early spring of 2L year?

[jacy85]

I'd say mid-spring of 2L, since a few judges may start review applications as early as late May and early June.

[Lenny]

I have never heard of a judge that adheres to the NALP timeline religiously, or that considers only OSCAR applications.  Such judges may exist, but they would be rare.  A lot of judges say they do, but if the right application comes along, especially if it is accompanied by the right recommendation or phone call, most judges will fudge a little bit.