Calling Litigators that did not clerk Forum

[Anonymous User]

First year at V20 in the lit group. I've gotten a decent mix of work, but I have done maybe 50% doc review.

My peers in the lit group have done about the same, BUT my concern is that as I get more senior I'll have to focus much more on discovery matters (i.e., managing doc review) instead of substantive writing assignments. I have noticed a seeming disparity in the type of work midlevels get, based on whether they clerked or not.

Is this a real concern/should I apply for clerkships now or in the near future?

Relevant info in case I do try to clerk:

-T14, top 40% or so (grades might prohibit me from clerking anyway)
-Married and want to stay in the same city as my partner
-Secondary city

[QContinuum]

-T14, top 40% or so (grades might prohibit me from clerking anyway)

Your grades won't prohibit you from clerking, although you probably won't be clerking in SDNY or 2/9/DC. But you should be able to find a federal district court somewhere in the country willing to take you.

-Married and want to stay in the same city as my partner
-Secondary city

If you aren't in NYC, D.C., or CA, you should be able to secure a district court clerkship. I don't think, say, there's a particularly high supply of tippy-top T14 students seeking district court clerkships in Georgia or North Carolina.

[BlackAndOrange84]

-T14, top 40% or so (grades might prohibit me from clerking anyway)

If you aren't in NYC, D.C., or CA, you should be able to secure a district court clerkship. I don't think, say, there's a particularly high supply of tippy-top T14 students seeking district court clerkships in Georgia or North Carolina.

Yes, but there is a healthy supply of top students from state schools and strong regional schools and the district court judges in states like that often have some loyalty to those schools. Not saying OP isn't competitive, but just above median at a T14 (and presumably not HYS) isn't a guarantee, particularly if you're limiting the breadth of your search to effectively a handful of district court judges. That said, the work experience will look good and be helpful.

Also OP, I've heard mixed things about whether people who clerked or didn't clerk get treated differently (sometimes yes, sometimes no). It may depend on your firm and the partners your working with.

[Anonymous User]

First year at V20 in the lit group. I've gotten a decent mix of work, but I have done maybe 50% doc review.

My peers in the lit group have done about the same, BUT my concern is that as I get more senior I'll have to focus much more on discovery matters (i.e., managing doc review) instead of substantive writing assignments. I have noticed a seeming disparity in the type of work midlevels get, based on whether they clerked or not.

Is this a real concern/should I apply for clerkships now or in the near future?

Relevant info in case I do try to clerk:

-T14, top 40% or so (grades might prohibit me from clerking anyway)
-Married and want to stay in the same city as my partner
-Secondary city

I haven't had this experience or noticed it at my firm. It might be more prevalent in firms where the expectation is that litigators clerk with those who choose not to being the exception rather than the rule.

[gregfootball2001]

It's definitely going to be firm-dependent. That being said, I can see how it happens - you've been there, you've been doing discovery, you know how it works, you can easily run a team. So that's what the partner asks you to do. The clerk is (supposedly) good at writing, they don't know the discovery people, the discovery platform, and just won't be as quick. They don't get asked to run a discovery team, they write a motion or three. Then, each associate gets more and more experience, and the paths diverge. If that's the way your firm works, OP, you may want to consider (i) lateraling, (ii) clerking, (iii) trying to get staffed on low-discovery matters so you get more substantive work.