Anonymous User wrote:I find this thread interesting. But all these "Can I get a scotus clerkship with (obviously mediocre credentials)?" questions are getting a little old. I suspect OP is being generous in not shooting them down, but before you ask, consider this: if you were a Justice, would you hire somebody who 1) got beaten by only 50 people in their class (but I'm top 10% at Harvard!) or 2) bombed a year of law school or 3) had a rough admissions cycle or etc.? Probs not. You'd choose from one of 100 superstars without those flaws. So unless you're close to the rubric he laid out earlier or have some other specific question I'd sit back and enjoy the academic exercise that this is for most of us.
This is OP. Thank you for this considerate response. I am trying to answer all questions that I can because this is probably a once-in-this-board's-lifetime event and I don't want anyone to feel like they're missing out. But I laid down the guidelines above for a reason.
I'm not going to sit here and tell you non-magna HYS grads don't get it. In fact, I know of one lower t14 that was not even top 15% that got it once. That clerk had a spectacular set of other factors going in his/her favor. There are outliers by nature. If you're barely top 10% but you go clerk for a CADC judge that calls up a Justice and says: "Look, this clerk of mine is simply brilliant," you're going to get the job, or at least an interview. But in the main run of cases, if you're not top 5% of HYS, top few people at t14, or #1 outside t14, you're not going to get a close look. OTHER THINGS can get you a close look. If a Senator calls on your behalf... someone's going to pay attention. But if I start making that reservation for everyone then I have to ask a series of kind of abstruse and specific questions, right? The answer to any one of which would be highly personally identifying.
So just assume that it's a strong presumption against you if you aren't within the grade bands I outlined above, but if you have factors like these:
- Nationally known faculty recommenders (think McConnell, Tribe, Calabresi, Yoo, Karlan, etc.)
- Politically significant recommenders (high-ups in Congress, leaders of FedSoc/ACS, judiciary committee people especially)
- A long publication history of good publications in good placements ("have you read my piece in the Harvard Law Review?")
- A feeder clerkship or two very prestigious clerkships with VERY strong recommendations (think phone call here, minimum)
- An incredibly compelling life story (think literal war hero or former venture capitalist)
Then you can probably get in the door anyway.
But look, if you think making SCOTUS the traditional way is hard (top 5%, top couple people, #1), making it the unusual way is -- harder. There are transfer students who get it. There are nontrad students who get it. But what do you think these people had to have going for them to top, say, a Sears Prize winner who DIDN'T get it? (Sears Prize winners do not always get SCOTUS clerkships.)