What is the benefit of a second COA clerkship? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Also interested in this. First clerkship is for a circuit judge in a flyover area. Second COA clerkship would be 2/9. The second COA is in an area I would like to eventually practice. Assuming I go biglaw after my second COA clerkship, is it worth it?

I don't think so.

Why not?

[A. Nony Mouse]

I agree with rpupkin - it's not really going to get you anything that you won't have already. The only marginal benefit would be time to network locally, maybe, but you can apply for the market you want while clerking elsewhere. If you're going biglaw another COA is unlikely to add much to your candidacy and may make it look like you don't actually want to practice.

I tend to think that unless the second clerkship is going to position you for SCOTUS or something, it's not worth doing more than one clerkship at the same kind of court. (And frankly if you were competitive for SCOTUS you'd probably have landed the "better" COA to start with.) There are certainly circumstances under which someone might do this, but I don't think it's something to set out to do.

If you want to because you love clerking and you just want the experience, that's something else entirely - go for it. But it's not going to really change your career path.

[rpupkin]

What Nony said. Here are some additional thoughts:

The COA 2/9 thing is basically flame. Overall, "prestige" in COA clerkships--to the extent it exists at all--is tied to the judge, not to the circuit. That's why I roll my eyes when I see the words "flyover COA clerkship." For example, a "flyover" COA clerkship with Gorsuch or Sutton carries more weight in appellate circles than a clerkship with the typical COA 2/9 judge.

Also, the local effect isn't as strong in appellate practice. It's different than trial-level litigation. If, for example, you want to work at a firm that does trial lit in SF, it's a significant plus to have clerked for a N.D. Cal. judge. But if you want to do appellate work in SF, having clerked in the Ninth Circuit doesn't provide the same kind of benefit.

Finally, if your goal is big law, there's is such a thing as clerking too much. Two clerkships are fine if those clerkships are at different levels--one district court, one COA. And it's of course fine to have three clerkships if one of them is SCOTUS. But if you're clerking for two different judges at the same level, it starts to look like you'd rather clerk than practice law--and law firms are wary of those candidates. This isn't a huge concern so long as you keep the total time period of your two clerkships to around two years, but it's something to keep in mind.

[Anonymous User]

Same question here. I already have a clerkship set up for the year after graduation on 1st/3rd/4th/5th/6th/8th/10th/11th with a non-feeder judge, and I heard back from a non-feeder judge on 2nd/9th (who I had applied to this same cycle) and am considering trying to do it after the clerkship I already have (especially because I want to work in the circuit where this second judge is). Should I do this? Pros seem prestige (since 2nd/9th more prestigious than where I am clerking right after graduation) and being in market where I want to be. Cons are not doing DCt, which I was interested in doing- if I do two CoA, I wouldn't want to also do DCt because three years of clerkships is too many. What should I do?

[mjb447]

Same question here. I already have a clerkship set up for the year after graduation on 1st/3rd/4th/5th/6th/8th/10th/11th with a non-feeder judge, and I heard back from a non-feeder judge on 2nd/9th (who I had applied to this same cycle) and am considering trying to do it after the clerkship I already have (especially because I want to work in the circuit where this second judge is). Should I do this? Pros seem prestige (since 2nd/9th more prestigious than where I am clerking right after graduation) and being in market where I want to be. Cons are not doing DCt, which I was interested in doing- if I do two CoA, I wouldn't want to also do DCt because three years of clerkships is too many. What should I do?

If it were me, I think I'd try for a d. ct. in home market for second clerkship if that's achievable. Probably similar or better "local market" bump plus more practical skills and more variety.

[gchatbrah]

Same question here. I already have a clerkship set up for the year after graduation on 1st/3rd/4th/5th/6th/8th/10th/11th with a non-feeder judge, and I heard back from a non-feeder judge on 2nd/9th (who I had applied to this same cycle) and am considering trying to do it after the clerkship I already have (especially because I want to work in the circuit where this second judge is). Should I do this? Pros seem prestige (since 2nd/9th more prestigious than where I am clerking right after graduation) and being in market where I want to be. Cons are not doing DCt, which I was interested in doing- if I do two CoA, I wouldn't want to also do DCt because three years of clerkships is too many. What should I do?

If it were me, I think I'd try for a d. ct. in home market for second clerkship if that's achievable. Probably similar or better "local market" bump plus more practical skills and more variety.

Basically an auto-offer at Covington LA if one employs this strategy.

User has been warned to stop trolling about Covington LA.

[Anonymous User]

I did two D. Ct. clerkships in two different states. I would say that it would open up an additional market you might not have had a chance in otherwise but if you have a good big law offer in hand, take it. If you take a look at the post-clerkship thread for 2016-17, it has not been the home-run in typically is this year so I wouldn't risk it if you already have an offer (I'm still looking for a job with a month left in my clerkship). Otherwise you can't beat the quality of life and you do get a solid salary bump your second year.