Stats: Current 3L at HLS. Top quarter-ish grades (2 DS, 12 H, 7 P; got an H in Fed Courts to whatever extent it matters); no LR but on Ed Board of a secondary journal; other typical stuff (RA, Ames, an SA, etc.) Pretty good recommendations, I'd imagine. Clerking for a district court judge in a moderately competitive district in 2013-2014.
Questions:
(1) How competitive am I for COA positions for 2014? Primarily interested in clerking on the 9th Circuit, but also plan on applying to specific judges in other circuits who look like good bosses.
(2) If I do decide to apply for a 2014 COA clerkship, when should I apply? (My main concern here is that I think I can produce a much better writing sample if i wait until, say, April to apply, but I am worried this will hurt me in the hiring process).
(3) In your opinion, would I be better served by going to my firm for a few years then trying to get an appellate clerkship down the road? My firm is super-supportive of people who clerk and I'm sure they would be happy to let me clerk for 2 years, and would probably (although not certainly) let me clerk for a year down the road and come back (assuming that I am not on track to get pushed out - although if I was, that might be a good time to bide my time at a second clerkship).
Second Clerkship Q's? Forum
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