Boost for publication? Forum

(Seek and share information about clerkship applications, clerkship hiring timelines, and post-clerkship employment opportunities)
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about clerkship applications and clerkship hiring. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
Anonymous User
Posts: 428520
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Boost for publication?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Dec 29, 2016 10:23 am

Alum applicant currently practicing and applying for district court clerkships. Does anyone know how much of a boost (if any) a publication would provide to an application? There's a topic that I think I can write a decent piece on, but not sure if it would be the extra effort if it's something that doesn't move the needle. FWIW, I've also published a piece while in law school.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428520
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Boost for publication?

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:08 pm

It's going to be entirely judge-dependent. For judges who care, I'd say it'd give you a small-to-medium boost (depending on the judge, the topic of the publication, and the placement of the publication). But if you haven't ever written a law review article, it's an enormous effort. On a per-hour basis, it's probably one of the most negligible things that you could do to help your application.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428520
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Boost for publication?

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Dec 30, 2016 9:03 am

Anonymous User wrote:It's going to be entirely judge-dependent. For judges who care, I'd say it'd give you a small-to-medium boost (depending on the judge, the topic of the publication, and the placement of the publication). But if you haven't ever written a law review article, it's an enormous effort. On a per-hour basis, it's probably one of the most negligible things that you could do to help your application.
Makes sense, thanks for the response.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428520
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Boost for publication?

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:36 pm

My judge (DJ) could not care less. It would be a complete waste of time if you were to apply here.

User avatar
mjb447

Silver
Posts: 1419
Joined: Fri Jul 26, 2013 4:36 am

Re: Boost for publication?

Post by mjb447 » Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote:On a per-hour basis, it's probably one of the most negligible things that you could do to help your application.
Basically agree with this, and I think it's particularly true if you already published a piece in law school. Your resume already signals 'published author' somewhere - the difference between zero and one publication is bigger than the difference between one and two (at least in my experience).

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428520
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: Boost for publication?

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jan 09, 2017 11:48 am

OP here. Thanks for the helpful responses! It's a topic of personal interest, so I'll probably write on my own time, but won't sweat it for upcoming applications.

User avatar
HillandHollow

Bronze
Posts: 190
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2017 2:43 pm

Re: Boost for publication?

Post by HillandHollow » Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:41 pm

Would it change anyone's calculus if the applicant was not on any journal in law school?

User avatar
Lincoln

Silver
Posts: 1208
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:27 pm

Re: Boost for publication?

Post by Lincoln » Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:54 pm

In my chambers, a publication might be a tie-breaker with another good candidate who did not publish anything. A second publication would barely get noticed.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Judicial Clerkships”