Clerkships and Law firm offers

[eli250]

If you have an offer at a lawfirm and then accept a clerkship, how does this usually affect the offer?  Are they generally kept open; do most people accept an offer before starting the clerkship?  Has anyone heard of a firm giving an offer, and then rescinding after they accepted a clerkship.  I'm curious if firms are hesitant to pay the clerkship bonus to someone they may have given an offer to just to make sure their NALP form looked good.

[jacy85]

When I was an SA, the firm really encouraged clerkships.  I had considered doing one, but wasn't sure about it.  When I got my offer, they just told me to let them know as soon as I did whether I would be clerking or joining the firm the fall after graduation.  There was no pressure; the only reason they wanted to know was so they could interview some 3Ls if more people ended up clerking than expected and the practice area they were going into really needed help sooner than 2 years down the road.

Really, the more firm bio's that say, "clerked for judge so-and-so" the more "connected" the firm looks, IMO, and makes it more attractive to clients.

[Lenny]

The answer to your question tends to depend on what kind of clerkship it is.  Firms tend to be very solicitous of people that have a federal clerkship or a state supreme court clerkship in a state in which the firm does a lot of work.  But, if you are going to work for a firm located in DC or Atlanta or something, a clerkship in the trial court for some county in Idaho isn't as attractive, so the firm may be a little less accomodating.

Assuming yours is a "qualifying" clerkship, every large firm I've ever heard of will want you to clerk and will keep your offer open.  Whether and when you can accept the offer will depend on the judge - some judges don't allow their clerks to accept offers until right at the end of the clerkship, others allow clerks to accept firm offers immediately and then will just recuse themselves from any cases involving that firm.

As a side note, if you believe you got an offer from a firm just so they could make their NALP form look good, its probably in your best interest to see what else is out there.