Clerks Taking Questions Forum

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lolwat

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lolwat » Sat Dec 23, 2017 2:46 pm

A. Nony Mouse wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:What do you do with a recommender who asks you to write the recommendation letter yourself? Should I find another recommender?
There’s no reason you have to - this is totally fine, although admittedly sort of a pain. It usually means the recommender is really busy and/or wants to make sure to include all the details that will help you that they may not know. If you don’t think you can then by all means find another recommender, but there aren’t any issues with the practice.
It's a pain because you probably don't know how to write recommendation letters, but if you do, it's also a blessing because you can write a strong recommendation letter for yourself.
I'm about to start a D.Ct clerkship after clerking for 2.5 years in state court. After this clerkship I'd like to move to a city in a neighboring state. Would it make sense to apply for a clerkships located in that city? I'm worried any benefits from getting a local clerkship would be outweighed by having too many years of clerking on my resume at that point.
A D.Ct. clerkship is pretty transferable across the country, so doing another "local clerkship" in the neighboring state probably isn't going to help that much more than what you've already had--which is 3.5 years' worth of clerkships. Unless there's some relevant information I don't know about from your post, I wouldn't do another clerkship.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Dec 23, 2017 11:55 pm

I'm about to start a D.Ct clerkship after clerking for 2.5 years in state court. After this clerkship I'd like to move to a city in a neighboring state. Would it make sense to apply for a clerkships located in that city? I'm worried any benefits from getting a local clerkship would be outweighed by having too many years of clerking on my resume at that point.
A D.Ct. clerkship is pretty transferable across the country, so doing another "local clerkship" in the neighboring state probably isn't going to help that much more than what you've already had--which is 3.5 years' worth of clerkships. Unless there's some relevant information I don't know about from your post, I wouldn't do another clerkship.
Op here. Clerkship is in a flyover state. I don't have any real connections to the target city/state, and it's supposed to be a tough market to get into.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Dec 24, 2017 1:40 am

Anonymous User wrote:
I'm about to start a D.Ct clerkship after clerking for 2.5 years in state court. After this clerkship I'd like to move to a city in a neighboring state. Would it make sense to apply for a clerkships located in that city? I'm worried any benefits from getting a local clerkship would be outweighed by having too many years of clerking on my resume at that point.
A D.Ct. clerkship is pretty transferable across the country, so doing another "local clerkship" in the neighboring state probably isn't going to help that much more than what you've already had--which is 3.5 years' worth of clerkships. Unless there's some relevant information I don't know about from your post, I wouldn't do another clerkship.
Op here. Clerkship is in a flyover state. I don't have any real connections to the target city/state, and it's supposed to be a tough market to get into.
I wouldn't do another clerkship. I think you should just try to get your resume into the inbox of all the law offices and government positions (to the extent you'd work in gov't) in your target state. I think clerking in your target city may help you land a job there, but clerking for 4.5 years overall may hinder your chances at being employed by many firms basically everywhere else

lolwat

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lolwat » Sun Dec 24, 2017 9:36 am

Anonymous User wrote:
I'm about to start a D.Ct clerkship after clerking for 2.5 years in state court. After this clerkship I'd like to move to a city in a neighboring state. Would it make sense to apply for a clerkships located in that city? I'm worried any benefits from getting a local clerkship would be outweighed by having too many years of clerking on my resume at that point.
A D.Ct. clerkship is pretty transferable across the country, so doing another "local clerkship" in the neighboring state probably isn't going to help that much more than what you've already had--which is 3.5 years' worth of clerkships. Unless there's some relevant information I don't know about from your post, I wouldn't do another clerkship.
Op here. Clerkship is in a flyover state. I don't have any real connections to the target city/state, and it's supposed to be a tough market to get into.
The additional information helps but I wouldn't change my advice.

I would have advised clerking in the target city/state if you had not already clerked for so many years, but at this point, I think it's too late.

You're going to be in a bit of a tough spot though if your target market is not easy to get into especially with no ties. I had a few interviews in those kinds of markets (e.g., Denver, Miami, etc.) back in the day but those were few and far between. It might be just a matter of spamming every good firm, government job, etc., in that market and seeing if you can get anything... and slowly work your way up if your first employment there isn't what you were looking for. But I think you need to get out into actually litigating (or whatever you're planning to do) ASAP.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sun Dec 24, 2017 12:47 pm

Committed to restructuring and have a bankruptcy clerkship lined up. Any advantages to having a second bankruptcy clerkship?

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FascinatedWanderer

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by FascinatedWanderer » Sun Dec 24, 2017 5:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Committed to restructuring and have a bankruptcy clerkship lined up. Any advantages to having a second bankruptcy clerkship?
No. Unless maybe the second one is SDNY or DDel. and your current one isn’t.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by BulletTooth » Mon Dec 25, 2017 1:54 am

butlerraider1 wrote:Hey everybody, I'm a first year associate at a NYC firm. When is the best time to apply if I'm looking for a 2019-2020 clerkship? Now?
Yes, currently reviewing 2019-20 apps right now.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 25, 2017 3:16 pm

.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:54 pm

About to start applying for clerkships. Right now, my writing sample is a brief that I wrote for a class. The brief came from a closed universe, the class was given 5 cases and could only use those 5 cases. We were told to treat them all as binding law (even though they were not). is this a potential issue or should I just explain the situation in my cover letter and it'll be NBD?

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lavarman84

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lavarman84 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 8:57 pm

Anonymous User wrote:About to start applying for clerkships. Right now, my writing sample is a brief that I wrote for a class. The brief came from a closed universe, the class was given 5 cases and could only use those 5 cases. We were told to treat them all as binding law (even though they were not). is this a potential issue or should I just explain the situation in my cover letter and it'll be NBD?
Yea, just include it in your explanation on your cover page of the brief.

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mjb447

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by mjb447 » Mon Jan 01, 2018 10:02 pm

Anonymous User wrote:About to start applying for clerkships. Right now, my writing sample is a brief that I wrote for a class. The brief came from a closed universe, the class was given 5 cases and could only use those 5 cases. We were told to treat them all as binding law (even though they were not). is this a potential issue or should I just explain the situation in my cover letter and it'll be NBD?
Not a big problem in and of itself, as long as five cases on the topic are enough to show off your analytical skills. (I also generally prefer a writing sample that's objective, as it's closer to a lot of chambers work than an argumentative piece, but I don't know what kind of 'brief' you did, that preference probably varies, and you may not have a lot to choose from.)

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jan 04, 2018 4:37 pm

I accepted an offer for 2018-19. Do I need to reach out to chambers at some point or does chambers reach out for paperwork/background/fingerprint, etc. as the beginning date nears?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by FascinatedWanderer » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:01 pm

Chambers will reach out.

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lolwat

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lolwat » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:07 pm

lavarman84 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:About to start applying for clerkships. Right now, my writing sample is a brief that I wrote for a class. The brief came from a closed universe, the class was given 5 cases and could only use those 5 cases. We were told to treat them all as binding law (even though they were not). is this a potential issue or should I just explain the situation in my cover letter and it'll be NBD?
Yea, just include it in your explanation on your cover page of the brief.
Yeah. I wouldn't put it in the cover LETTER, but rather the cover page for your writing sample that briefly describes the writing sample to put it in context.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:32 pm

I'm applying to federal judges in the NYC area. Any insight into what applicants should consider when applying to a judge sitting in a satellite courthouse i.e. white plains, central islip? Commute, types of cases, relationships with judges and other clerks? pros and cons?

Thanks.

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mjb447

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by mjb447 » Thu Jan 04, 2018 5:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I accepted an offer for 2018-19. Do I need to reach out to chambers at some point or does chambers reach out for paperwork/background/fingerprint, etc. as the beginning date nears?
Chambers and/or an HR person will get in contact with you. You can reach out if an actual need arises (e.g., once you start to look for an apartment and you need a definite start date or a letter confirming that you have a job), but if you're scheduled for the usual August or September start you're not on anyone's radar yet.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:39 pm

FascinatedWanderer wrote:Chambers will reach out.
mjb447 wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I accepted an offer for 2018-19. Do I need to reach out to chambers at some point or does chambers reach out for paperwork/background/fingerprint, etc. as the beginning date nears?
Chambers and/or an HR person will get in contact with you. You can reach out if an actual need arises (e.g., once you start to look for an apartment and you need a definite start date or a letter confirming that you have a job), but if you're scheduled for the usual August or September start you're not on anyone's radar yet.
Thank you, both!

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:55 pm

Quick question:

Did an externship with a state solicitor general office, where I worked on several briefs and drafted a portion of a cert petition. My portion of the petition was obviously edited and refined but the final filed petition was mostly my writing. I have a D.Ct. lined up and am now looking to apply to CoA, and am in the position to throw at least some applications to feeders (and have good faculty relationships there).

On my resume, for the externship, should I put more detailed information (about the case or anything) or should it just be a generic "assisted in research and drafting of appellate briefs and cert petitions"-type language. There are some things for my work that are definitely still confidential but the office is fine with me using a research memo I produced in advance of the petition for a writing sample, so assume no issues with confidentiality, etc.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by lolwat » Mon Jan 08, 2018 11:32 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Quick question:

Did an externship with a state solicitor general office, where I worked on several briefs and drafted a portion of a cert petition. My portion of the petition was obviously edited and refined but the final filed petition was mostly my writing. I have a D.Ct. lined up and am now looking to apply to CoA, and am in the position to throw at least some applications to feeders (and have good faculty relationships there).

On my resume, for the externship, should I put more detailed information (about the case or anything) or should it just be a generic "assisted in research and drafting of appellate briefs and cert petitions"-type language. There are some things for my work that are definitely still confidential but the office is fine with me using a research memo I produced in advance of the petition for a writing sample, so assume no issues with confidentiality, etc.
i'd keep it generic... i'd only consider identifying a particular case if it's a especially interesting one that people will know about

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 20, 2018 12:01 pm

About to start applying, 2L with ~3.66 GPA at CCN, secondary journal (not going to do Board), will have a fairly well-known prof as a recommender and making calls (did RA work for him and did well in his classes, among other things). Other recommenders should be good, but not as strong (seminar professor, and a 1L professor). Also have a named full-tuition scholarship, for whatever that might be worth. Lots of BLL classes on transcript (Evidence, Admin, Corps, Antitrust, etc.), but waiting on 3L to take Fed Courts. Nothing published yet, but still working on my Note so that's a possibility.

I'm getting conflicted advice on how broadly to apply/how competitive I am. Targeting D. Ct. only, and my original judge list was pretty long and fairly geographically diverse. I have strong ties near CDCA, but not really anywhere else. I have a few friends with clerkships lined up who seem fairly confident that I could get away with just targeting my preferred districts: CDCA, SDNY, EDNY, EDPA, EDVA, DCO (I like the idea of clerking in Denver, and possibly moving there one day, but no ties), and taking advantage of my recommenders' connections in a few other districts like NDIL.

I keep thinking that is too narrow, but as soon as I start expanding the list to places like DMD, SDCA, DVT, and a long list of other places I would be fine spending a year in, the list gets pretty long. My clerkship office seems to think that a list of ~60 judges is a good start, whereas my list was more like 150. Am I competitive enough to narrow that to my preferred districts (which I've narrowed to ~60 judges), or should I be sticking with my instinct to apply broadly?
Last edited by Anonymous User on Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

objctnyrhnr

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by objctnyrhnr » Sat Jan 20, 2018 12:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote:About to start applying, 2L with ~3.66 GPA at CCN, secondary journal (not going to do Board), will have a fairly well-known prof as a recommender and making calls (did RA work for him and did well in his classes, among other things). Other recommenders should be good, but not as strong (seminar professor, and a 1L professor). Also have a named full-tuition scholarship, for whatever that might be worth. Lots of BLL classes on transcript (Evidence, Admin, Corps, Antitrust, etc.), but waiting on 3L to take Fed Courts. Nothing published yet, but still working on my Note so that's a possibility.

I'm getting conflicted advice on how broadly to apply/how competitive I am. Targeting D. Ct. only, and my original judge list was pretty long and fairly geographically diverse. I have strong ties near CDCA, but not really anywhere else. I have a few friends with clerkships lined up who seem fairly confident that I could get away with just targeting my preferred districts: CDCA, SDNY, EDNY, EDPA, EDVA, DCO (I like the idea of clerking in Denver, and possibly moving there one day, but no ties), and taking advantage of my recommenders' connections in a few other districts like NDIL.

I keep thinking that is too narrow, but as soon as I start expanding the list to places like DMD, SDCA, DVT, and a long list of other places I would be fine spending a year in, the list gets pretty long. My clerkship office seems to think that a list of ~60 judges is a good start, whereas my list was more like 150. Am I competitive enough to narrow that to my preferred districts (which is ~60 judges), or should I be sticking with my instinct to apply broadly?
I would stick with the long list. Even for the most qualified applicants, these jobs aren’t easy to get. Don’t apply anywhere you wouldn’t live, but yeah I wouldn’t prematurely narrow the list and effectively count the chickens before they hatch. If you get invited to interview, before deciding whether to take it, you can do an independent assessment based on how you’re feelin at the time about the specific district and your overall chances. As somebody who took point on the search for my replacement, I can tell you that a ton of applicants looked like you on paper...and as I was saying earlier, that doesn’t mean you’re not a strong candidate...it just means many people are strong candidates and they can’t all get interviews.

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mjb447

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by mjb447 » Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:27 pm

objctnyrhnr wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:About to start applying, 2L with ~3.66 GPA at CCN, secondary journal (not going to do Board), will have a fairly well-known prof as a recommender and making calls (did RA work for him and did well in his classes, among other things). Other recommenders should be good, but not as strong (seminar professor, and a 1L professor). Also have a named full-tuition scholarship, for whatever that might be worth. Lots of BLL classes on transcript (Evidence, Admin, Corps, Antitrust, etc.), but waiting on 3L to take Fed Courts. Nothing published yet, but still working on my Note so that's a possibility.

I'm getting conflicted advice on how broadly to apply/how competitive I am. Targeting D. Ct. only, and my original judge list was pretty long and fairly geographically diverse. I have strong ties near CDCA, but not really anywhere else. I have a few friends with clerkships lined up who seem fairly confident that I could get away with just targeting my preferred districts: CDCA, SDNY, EDNY, EDPA, EDVA, DCO (I like the idea of clerking in Denver, and possibly moving there one day, but no ties), and taking advantage of my recommenders' connections in a few other districts like NDIL.

I keep thinking that is too narrow, but as soon as I start expanding the list to places like DMD, SDCA, DVT, and a long list of other places I would be fine spending a year in, the list gets pretty long. My clerkship office seems to think that a list of ~60 judges is a good start, whereas my list was more like 150. Am I competitive enough to narrow that to my preferred districts (which is ~60 judges), or should I be sticking with my instinct to apply broadly?
I would stick with the long list. Even for the most qualified applicants, these jobs aren’t easy to get. Don’t apply anywhere you wouldn’t live, but yeah I wouldn’t prematurely narrow the list and effectively count the chickens before they hatch. If you get invited to interview, before deciding whether to take it, you can do an independent assessment based on how you’re feelin at the time about the specific district and your overall chances. As somebody who took point on the search for my replacement, I can tell you that a ton of applicants looked like you on paper...and as I was saying earlier, that doesn’t mean you’re not a strong candidate...it just means many people are strong candidates and they can’t all get interviews.
Agree with this. Your credentials are pretty standard among clerkship applicants, so in most chambers you'd be in the broad middle group of people who are competitive but not necessarily at the top of the list (at least aside from places where your prof has pull). If you start applying broadly and end up having lots of options in your preferred districts, that's great, but I'd apply to other places too if you're also interested in clerking elsewhere.

(Also, 60 doesn't seem like that many judges even for your preferred districts. I feel like SDNY+CDCA alone might have that many judges - obviously, you may not apply to every judge in every district, but you've listed those and five others.)

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:45 pm

Anonymous User wrote:About to start applying, 2L with ~3.66 GPA at CCN, secondary journal (not going to do Board), will have a fairly well-known prof as a recommender and making calls (did RA work for him and did well in his classes, among other things). Other recommenders should be good, but not as strong (seminar professor, and a 1L professor). Also have a named full-tuition scholarship, for whatever that might be worth. Lots of BLL classes on transcript (Evidence, Admin, Corps, Antitrust, etc.), but waiting on 3L to take Fed Courts. Nothing published yet, but still working on my Note so that's a possibility.

I'm getting conflicted advice on how broadly to apply/how competitive I am. Targeting D. Ct. only, and my original judge list was pretty long and fairly geographically diverse. I have strong ties near CDCA, but not really anywhere else. I have a few friends with clerkships lined up who seem fairly confident that I could get away with just targeting my preferred districts: CDCA, SDNY, EDNY, EDPA, EDVA, DCO (I like the idea of clerking in Denver, and possibly moving there one day, but no ties), and taking advantage of my recommenders' connections in a few other districts like NDIL.

I keep thinking that is too narrow, but as soon as I start expanding the list to places like DMD, SDCA, DVT, and a long list of other places I would be fine spending a year in, the list gets pretty long. My clerkship office seems to think that a list of ~60 judges is a good start, whereas my list was more like 150. Am I competitive enough to narrow that to my preferred districts (which is ~60 judges), or should I be sticking with my instinct to apply broadly?
Your grades/school certainly make you competitive for most (but not all) CDCA judges. But the thing is, as the other posters said, there will probably be roughly 3-4 dozen other applications with at least those same grades chambers will be considering. I'd stick to the broader list for now and see how it goes.

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 20, 2018 6:01 pm

So here's a piggybacking question because I'm at the weird CCN where GPAs are lol, but otherwise similarly interested clerking-wise to earlier anon. If I think I'm in the bottom half of the top 10%, is that basically the same for purposes of D. Ct clerkships chances? Is narrowing to just NDCA/CDCA way too optimistic?

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Re: Clerks Taking Questions

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Jan 20, 2018 6:25 pm

What do you need at HYS to be competitive for 2/9 district and circuit court clerkships?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
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