Magistrates? Forum

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Danger Zone

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Magistrates?

Post by Danger Zone » Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:11 am

I'm sure this has been discussed before, but how are magistrate clerkships looked at by employers? Particularly curious about firms and USAO. Is it a big step down from Art III judges, but better than not clerking for a fed judge at all? And in what ways will the clerking experience be different? Thanks in advance.

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legalese_retard

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by legalese_retard » Mon Apr 21, 2014 9:20 am

Danger Zone wrote:I'm sure this has been discussed before, but how are magistrate clerkships looked at by employers? Particularly curious about firms and USAO. Is it a big step down from Art III judges, but better than not clerking for a fed judge at all? And in what ways will the clerking experience be different? Thanks in advance.
Firms will view mag clerkships with some favor, but it won't be a huge bump. In other words, if your credentials without the mag clerkship won't make you competitive for the firm you are applying for, then you probably don't have a shot at that firm even with the mag clerkship. The same applies with the USAO position if you are applying through their honors program. If you are trying to apply for USAO positions directly, the mag clerkship won't help, as they are looking for people with actual trial experience.

The mag clerkship experience will depend on the district and the practice of the district court judges. Typically mag clerks will work on habeas petitions, social security cases, 1983 cases and discovery matters. You may get to work on a dispositive motion like a motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment, but that will depend on the district court judge's preference. In that case, you will write the report and recommendation for the district court. You may even get to work on a jury or bench trial, but that will depend on if the parties consent to mag court. In major cities, the mag clerks will get to work on substantial discovery issues. Firms like this kind of experience because understanding discovery is a big part of litigation practice.

If you don't have a job lined up, I highly recommend a mag clerkship.

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A. Nony Mouse

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:38 am

FWIW, I've been told that a benefit of clerking for a magistrate is that you have a lot of contact with attorneys, more so perhaps than other court levels, which can be useful for making connections. I've also seen magistrate clerks go on to district court clerkships, if that's an interest.

Danger Zone

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by Danger Zone » Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:42 am

How much does the analysis change if you (fingers crossed) already have a firm job lined up post grad? Long term, I really would like to end up in the USAO, and I've been told that having a federal judge vouch for you is a requirement in my state. Is it worth giving up a year of pay and experience at the firm? I suppose if it could get me a district court, then the answer is obviously yes, but I'm still hesitant to apply.

Danger Zone

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by Danger Zone » Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:12 am

Thanks Nony, I'll keep that in mind.

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objctnyrhnr

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by objctnyrhnr » Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:46 am

Danger Zone wrote:How much does the analysis change if you (fingers crossed) already have a firm job lined up post grad? Long term, I really would like to end up in the USAO, and I've been told that having a federal judge vouch for you is a requirement in my state. Is it worth giving up a year of pay and experience at the firm? I suppose if it could get me a district court, then the answer is obviously yes, but I'm still hesitant to apply.
How much of a pre-req is it to have had a district court clerkship, prior to becoming an AUSA? Like what % of AUSA's do you think have done them? Assume non-flyover district (for both the clerkship and the AUSA position), but not one of the "uber-competitve" ones?

Danger Zone

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by Danger Zone » Mon Apr 21, 2014 12:56 pm

No idea. I recently interviewed with an office for a position during the semester, and my interviewer told me that if I ever wanted to work as an AUSA in this state, I needed a federal judge as a reference.

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by objctnyrhnr » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:02 pm

Danger Zone wrote:No idea. I recently interviewed with an office for a position during the semester, and my interviewer told me that if I ever wanted to work as an AUSA in this state, I needed a federal judge as a reference.
any desire to share the state? if not, big/desirable state, or more of a flyover state with relatively few electoral votes?

Danger Zone

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by Danger Zone » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:26 pm

PM'd. I assume most people here know where I am but I still am not comfortable sharing.

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:27 pm

Where I work, the recent hires all either have federal clerkships (mostly district court though one was a career clerk for a magistrate in the district for I think 5 years), state clerkships, significant state prosecutor experience, connections to the USA, or some combination of these things. (A couple were PDs before starting here.) I should probably note that the state clerkship people all had other experience or connections. This is in criminal - we don't have a lot of civil, but the most recent hire came out of biglaw (no clerkships, 6-7 years litigation in biglaw).

But different districts hire differently. (This is a semi-flyover but very high volume district.) We like experienced state prosecutors, some districts won't hire them. My impression is that a federal clerkship is highly desired.

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aspire2esquire

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Re: Magistrates?

Post by aspire2esquire » Thu Apr 26, 2018 12:33 pm

A. Nony Mouse wrote:FWIW, I've been told that a benefit of clerking for a magistrate is that you have a lot of contact with attorneys, more so perhaps than other court levels, which can be useful for making connections. I've also seen magistrate clerks go on to district court clerkships, if that's an interest.
Would you do a federal magistrate or in-house externship? I am interested in litigation and would receive the same amount of credit either way.

Also saw this thread: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=228540

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