Clerkship $$$ Forum

[Anonymous User]

This may be a stupid question (hence why I am posting anon), but how much do clerkships pay? Does it differ based on the different places? Is it a stipend? Do you do it for free?

[A. Nony Mouse]

It's paid. http://www.uscourts.gov/Careers/Compens ... Rates.aspx

(This may be more helpful: --LinkRemoved--)

[patrickd139]

For Art. III clerks, I believe you start at JSP-11 Step 1 for most recent grads, and it increases based on post-law school legal experience, etc.

[forza]

It's like $57,000, breh. Unless you live somewhere like NY, where they bump it up (not enough) for cost-of-living.

[theaccidentalclerk]

Do keep in mind that if you come in as an alum, the pay goes up pretty dramatically. With two years of experience, you'll be JSP-13, which pays (roughly) between $75k (in the boonies) and $92k (in the most expensive cities).

[Anonymous User]

Do they pay for relocation fee as well? I have a clerkship starting soon but I have not asked if there is a relocation compensation yet.

[A. Nony Mouse]

No.

[Anonymous User]

Houston and NY on the same pay scale...that's just absurd.

[patrickd139]

Houston and NY on the same pay scale...that's just absurd.

Why? It's not actually THAT much cheaper. I'm guessing you've never lived in one of the two?

Basically, it's a cost if living equalizer, not a quality of life equalizer.

[cim_can]

Houston and NY on the same pay scale...that's just absurd.

I have been told that Houston gets a bump because of the volume of cases.

[Anonymous User]

Houston locality pay > DC! Really?

try renting an apartment in DC- it's more like NYC.

Crazy

[DreamShake]

Houston and NY on the same pay scale...that's just absurd.

Why? It's not actually THAT much cheaper. I'm guessing you've never lived in one of the two?

Basically, it's a cost if living equalizer, not a quality of life equalizer.

I've lived in both, though certainly one longer than the other. The differences in cost of living are stark. First, you have to consider that a given clerk salary in NY is automatically ~7% less than it is in Houston because of state taxes. Then take another ~3% for city taxes. From that discounted salary you can start figuring out actual cost of living differences. Food, rent, and insurance are all higher in NY. Rent in particular is out of sight--for the price of an East Village studio, you could service the mortgage on a 4,000 square foot house in Sugar Land or a 3,000 sq ft house in Meyerland. $1k will get you a really, really nice apartment in Houston. Only transportation costs tend to be higher in Houston, but not nearly enough to account for the other disparities in cost. Maybe you could argue education costs are higher if you think you'd want to send your kid to private school in Houston but not NY, but I don't think many clerks have kids.

Frankly, if you think Houston isn't "THAT" much cheaper, you have no idea what you're talking about.


The notion that Houston gets more because of its volume of cases makes some sense...it would explain similar pay in Dallas as well.

[Citizen Genet]

I've lived in both, though certainly one longer than the other. The differences in cost of living are stark. First, you have to consider that a given clerk salary in NY is automatically ~7% less than it is in Houston because of state taxes. Then take another ~3% for city taxes. From that discounted salary you can start figuring out actual cost of living differences. Food, rent, and insurance are all higher in NY.

JSP 11, Step 1 Clerk Salary Comparison

Houston: $64,724
State Income Tax: 0%
City Income Tax: 0%
After Local Taxes Salary: $64,724

New York: $64,729
State Income Tax: Top Rate of 6.45% (Total Tax: $3,858.02)
City Income Tax: Top Rate of 3.648% (Total Tax: $2,243.32)
After Local Taxes Salary: $58,627.66

From taxes alone, you're looking at more than 10% salary increase going from New York to Houston. (And you won't be making enough to deduct state income tax from your federal income tax. You'll still likely take the standard deduction.)

And like DreamShake says, the cost of living is the real hit. You're going to be paying, depending on the borough, about two to three times more per square foot in New York than you will in Houston. That means a single bedroom in Houston that's running $800/month is going to cost you about $2,400 in Manhattan. I'm sure you can figure out that over 12 months, that difference becomes huge (about a $20,000 difference).

[ClerkAdvisor]

Houston and NY on the same pay scale...that's just absurd.

I have been told that Houston gets a bump because of the volume of cases.

No, this is certainly not correct. First, the JSP pay scale is the same as the General Schedule pay scale (e.g., JSP-11 = GS-11). And the General Schedule pay scale has the exact same locality pay tables as the JSP pay scale. Second, circuit clerks are paid on the same scale/locality pay as district clerks and, therefore, it would not make sense to pay 5th Circuit clerks stationed in Houston more than other 5th Circuit clerks, if pay was based on case volume.

[Nickg415]

I have heard that starting pay increases (start on a higher grade) if you are coming from a law firm. Any truth to this?

[nevdash]

I have heard that starting pay increases (start on a higher grade) if you are coming from a law firm. Any truth to this?

You start on a higher grade if you had prior legal work experience. It doesn't matter if it's from a firm or not.

[ClerkAdvisor]

I have heard that starting pay increases (start on a higher grade) if you are coming from a law firm. Any truth to this?

See https://oscar.symplicity.com/drupal/con ... y-benefits. Straight out of law school: JSP-11. One year of work experience post-JD: JSP-12. Two years of work experience post-JD: (maybe) JSP-13. For the work experience, you must have an actual year of working (i.e., if you started at a firm on Sept. 1, 2013 and then starting clerking for the 2014-15 term, then you won't be eligible for JSP-12 until Sept. 1, 2014; thus if you started on Aug. 1, 2014, you would be a JSP-11 until Sept. 1, 2014).

[Anonymous User]

I know that second year clerks get a pay bump. If one stays on for a third year would there be an additional bump (assuming bar passage)? The pay scale from Oscar would seem to indicate that, but I have been told the opposite.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I know that second year clerks get a pay bump. If one stays on for a third year would there be an additional bump (assuming bar passage)? The pay scale from Oscar would seem to indicate that, but I have been told the opposite.

I think it's at your judge's discretion (but am not certain).

[Anonymous User]

I had heard at one point that former government employment could impact one's JSP grade, but I haven't found any official source that would verify (or disprove) that rumor. (I was a GS-13 before coming to law school.) Anyone heard anything about this?

[A. Nony Mouse]

I had heard at one point that former government employment could impact one's JSP grade, but I haven't found any official source that would verify (or disprove) that rumor. (I was a GS-13 before coming to law school.) Anyone heard anything about this?

For clerkships, it's only work done after law school graduation. Previous federal experience doesn't count. (At least, that's what I was told.)