Clerking for Transfers Forum

[Anonymous User]

If this should go in the transfer thread feel free to move it. I'm curious if anyone has experience with clerking following a transfer.

Basically I'm in the situation where I transferred to a t10 got ok grades fall semester (top 1/3). On journal, obviously not super competitive for top things but also have the hurdle of not knowing professors at my new school after OCI madness.

Just wondering if anyone was in a similar position and what their experience was.

[Anonymous User]

I'm also curious about this. I am a transfer to a lower t14 from a lower ranked school. struck out at oci and got top 1% after fall semester. am interested in clerking. I have no idea how competitive I am because there seems to be a dearth of information out there specifically aimed at transfers. Any thoughts would be appreciated. (also thoughts regarding 3l oci...). on secondary journal.

[quiver]

Basically I'm in the situation where I transferred to a t10 got ok grades fall semester (top 1/3). On journal, obviously not super competitive for top things but also have the hurdle of not knowing professors at my new school after OCI madness.

Just wondering if anyone was in a similar position and what their experience was.

I think the advice is pretty universal for all potential clerkship applicants: get great grades, put together a great application (including WS), get at least decent recommendations, and get professors to make calls. There's really no transfer vs. non-transfer difference in terms of the applicants point of view. In terms of how transfers are evaluated on the receiving end, my guess is that there's a tiny bit more randomness. However, from my experience, transfers generally do about at well as their stats at the new school indicate they will (despite the fact that 1L grades are from another school). I really only have anecdotal evidence on this point but I'm basically saying that top 33% at a t10 will have the same opportunities for clerking, regardless of whether that person was a transfer or not.

I am a transfer to a lower t14 from a lower ranked school. struck out at oci and got top 1% after fall semester. am interested in clerking. I have no idea how competitive I am because there seems to be a dearth of information out there specifically aimed at transfers.

There was a poster on here named Treyduece who transferred to GULC, hit top 1%, and clerked for a COA. PM him if he's still around. If you keep up your grades and make connections with professors you have an excellent shot at an AIII clerkship.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. (also thoughts regarding 3l oci...)

PM me for info on this point.

[Anonymous User]

Get to know a professor who will advocate for you. I transferred from one T14 to another, got decent (but not like insanely good) grades, and ended up with both a district court and appellate court clerkship. It was all thanks to a professor at the new school.

[Anonymous User]

Get to know a professor who will advocate for you. I transferred from one T14 to another, got decent (but not like insanely good) grades, and ended up with both a district court and appellate court clerkship. It was all thanks to a professor at the new school.

This is the way to go about it. I ended up with a district court clerkship as a T14 transfer, around top 10% after 2L. I was fortunate enough to have a professor who went to bat for me. I do think you'll have to move a little higher than top 1/3 to have a good chance, but you don't need a 4.0.

[clerker]

Get to know a professor who will advocate for you. I transferred from one T14 to another, got decent (but not like insanely good) grades, and ended up with both a district court and appellate court clerkship. It was all thanks to a professor at the new school.

Absolutely true. If you are making a large leap (T50 to T6 or something like that) there will be concerns that you're not as capable as other T6 students with similar grades. If a professor swoops in and says "I have worked with Anonymous extensively and can unequivocally say that she is among the brightest and most talented students at this school" that should put to rest most concerns about your ability.

As someone who reviewed many transfer-to-T14 applications, I can say that not all professor recommendations included lines like these. So if you do it, it'll give you a leg up.

[Anonymous User]

Seems like a lot of judges are hiring earlier and earlier. As a transfer, should we apply soon even though we don't have more than 1 semester of grades at our new school or do we need to wait until the second semester comes in and then pull the trigger?