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I know this isn't exactly the right place to be asking this question but I figure it's the best place to ask to get a knowledgable response. It's never occurred to me that there's a possibility that I won't be working at a law firm in bankruptcy for the rest of my life following my clerkship until today. What are common exit options open to bankruptcy attorneys?

What are the exit options for a bk clerk coming from the SDTX in the McAllen/Brownsville area. T50 school, Top 20% grades, big law SA. Would exiting to a big law restructuring group in Houston be a likely outcome?

Anonymous User wrote:What are the exit options for a bk clerk coming from the SDTX in the McAllen/Brownsville area. T50 school, Top 20% grades, big law SA. Would exiting to a big law restructuring group in Houston be a likely outcome?

You have solid stats so that would help. Problem is you would get little c. 11 experience, and probably zero large c. 11 experience, as those cases are all before the Houston judges.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:What are the exit options for a bk clerk coming from the SDTX in the McAllen/Brownsville area. T50 school, Top 20% grades, big law SA. Would exiting to a big law restructuring group in Houston be a likely outcome?

You have solid stats so that would help. Problem is you would get little c. 11 experience, and probably zero large c. 11 experience, as those cases are all before the Houston judges.

Jones and Isgur are the only SDTX bankruptcy judges that get any decent sized chapter 11s per a SDTX order, so it will be difficult to go to Biglaw. Look at where your judge's former clerks have gone.

For anyone currently clerking, is anyone getting responses from firms yet? With filings down so much, I'm starting to apply to general lit too but I get the feeling general lit could care less about a BK clerkship.

Anonymous User wrote:For anyone currently clerking, is anyone getting responses from firms yet? With filings down so much, I'm starting to apply to general lit too but I get the feeling general lit could care less about a BK clerkship.

Non-SDNY/D.Del BK clerk here. I have had a few interviews over the last few months, but nothing has panned out yet. As for general lit, I have yet to receive big law interest. However, midsized firms have seemed interested in the BK clerkship.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:For anyone currently clerking, is anyone getting responses from firms yet? With filings down so much, I'm starting to apply to general lit too but I get the feeling general lit could care less about a BK clerkship.

Non-SDNY/D.Del BK clerk here. I have had a few interviews over the last few months, but nothing has panned out yet. As for general lit, I have yet to receive big law interest. However, midsized firms have seemed interested in the BK clerkship.

OP here: Non-SDNY/Del. as well. Were the interviews you've had for big law BK?

Also, how everyone been going about applying? I've been cold emailing BK partners or emailing people I know who have passed my resume on. I have a list of midsize firms in my target market that practice corporate BK but I haven't started applying to them yet except for 2 that kind of happened on accident. So far I've had one big law interview but that firm decided they needed to hire someone to start immediately and I have one midsize interview coming up.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:For anyone currently clerking, is anyone getting responses from firms yet? With filings down so much, I'm starting to apply to general lit too but I get the feeling general lit could care less about a BK clerkship.

Non-SDNY/D.Del BK clerk here. I have had a few interviews over the last few months, but nothing has panned out yet. As for general lit, I have yet to receive big law interest. However, midsized firms have seemed interested in the BK clerkship.

OP here: Non-SDNY/Del. as well. Were the interviews you've had for big law BK?

Also, how everyone been going about applying? I've been cold emailing BK partners or emailing people I know who have passed my resume on. I have a list of midsize firms in my target market that practice corporate BK but I haven't started applying to them yet except for 2 that kind of happened on accident. So far I've had one big law interview but that firm decided they needed to hire someone to start immediately and I have one midsize interview coming up.

My interviews have all been with big law restructuring groups and obtained by applying to openings on the firm's website. I have not reached out to partners directly.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:For anyone currently clerking, is anyone getting responses from firms yet? With filings down so much, I'm starting to apply to general lit too but I get the feeling general lit could care less about a BK clerkship.

Non-SDNY/D.Del BK clerk here. I have had a few interviews over the last few months, but nothing has panned out yet. As for general lit, I have yet to receive big law interest. However, midsized firms have seemed interested in the BK clerkship.

OP here: Non-SDNY/Del. as well. Were the interviews you've had for big law BK?

Also, how everyone been going about applying? I've been cold emailing BK partners or emailing people I know who have passed my resume on. I have a list of midsize firms in my target market that practice corporate BK but I haven't started applying to them yet except for 2 that kind of happened on accident. So far I've had one big law interview but that firm decided they needed to hire someone to start immediately and I have one midsize interview coming up.

My interviews have all been with big law restructuring groups and obtained by applying to openings on the firm's website. I have not reached out to partners directly.

Nice. I haven't seen any openings specifically for BK work on firm websites yet. Thanks for the feedback. Good luck.

Has there been any movement for bk clerks in the NY market?

Anonymous User wrote:For anyone currently clerking, is anyone getting responses from firms yet? With filings down so much, I'm starting to apply to general lit too but I get the feeling general lit could care less about a BK clerkship.

Is this true? I work in restructuring and it's as busy as ever. I think the restructuring world expects an even bigger crop of retail filings this year as well.

midwestrocks wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:For anyone currently clerking, is anyone getting responses from firms yet? With filings down so much, I'm starting to apply to general lit too but I get the feeling general lit could care less about a BK clerkship.

Is this true? I work in restructuring and it's as busy as ever. I think the restructuring world expects an even bigger crop of retail filings this year as well.

I have heard about the retail filings but I can speak from experience in my court--our filings are way down.

It would be interesting to see aggregate, $500m plus chapter 11 filings last year. SDTex was not a major jurisdiction until two years ago, so that would reduce the relative workload for Delaware, but not bk firms.

ghostoftraynor wrote:It would be interesting to see aggregate, $500m plus chapter 11 filings last year. SDTex was not a major jurisdiction until two years ago, so that would reduce the relative workload for Delaware, but not bk firms.

Our court's website shows filing statistics. You can sort it by division, chapter, and other info but not by dollar amount. These are our chapter 11 business case filings for the past 7 years:

2011- 183
2012- 146
2013- 104
2014- 75
2015- 121
2016- 146
2017- 82

I'm not in SDNY/Del. but I would think the filing trends would be similar across the board.

Is a SDNY bk clerkship equivalent to a DE bk clerkship or is one slightly better than the other?

Is SDTex expecting more oil and gas bankruptcies this year or mainly just retail?

Anonymous User wrote:Is a SDNY bk clerkship equivalent to a DE bk clerkship or is one slightly better than the other?

Is SDTex expecting more oil and gas bankruptcies this year or mainly just retail?

They are viewed pretty much the same. I'm sure there will be some O&G filings in SD Tex but definitely slowing. Retail will be hot, but remains to be seen if Texas will start getting retail filings.

midwestrocks wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Is a SDNY bk clerkship equivalent to a DE bk clerkship or is one slightly better than the other?

Is SDTex expecting more oil and gas bankruptcies this year or mainly just retail?

They are viewed pretty much the same. I'm sure there will be some O&G filings in SD Tex but definitely slowing. Retail will be hot, but remains to be seen if Texas will start getting retail filings.

It'll be interesting to see if the bipartisan bill forcing corporate BKs into home markets gains any traction.

TEIAM wrote:

midwestrocks wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Is a SDNY bk clerkship equivalent to a DE bk clerkship or is one slightly better than the other?

Is SDTex expecting more oil and gas bankruptcies this year or mainly just retail?

They are viewed pretty much the same. I'm sure there will be some O&G filings in SD Tex but definitely slowing. Retail will be hot, but remains to be seen if Texas will start getting retail filings.

It'll be interesting to see if the bipartisan bill forcing corporate BKs into home markets gains any traction.

What is a "home market"? State of incorporation? Corporate headquarters? Do we now get to do a "nerve center test"?

TheJanitor6203 wrote:

TEIAM wrote:

midwestrocks wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Is a SDNY bk clerkship equivalent to a DE bk clerkship or is one slightly better than the other?

Is SDTex expecting more oil and gas bankruptcies this year or mainly just retail?

They are viewed pretty much the same. I'm sure there will be some O&G filings in SD Tex but definitely slowing. Retail will be hot, but remains to be seen if Texas will start getting retail filings.

It'll be interesting to see if the bipartisan bill forcing corporate BKs into home markets gains any traction.

What is a "home market"? State of incorporation? Corporate headquarters? Do we now get to do a "nerve center test"?

Unclear what it exactly means, but the article said it would be the market where the company has its principal assets or principal place of business.

ETA: it would also prevent the joining of a subsidiary's BK.

It's a great idea. Triple transaction costs trying to explain billion dollar deals to bk judges in Wyoming, Kansas etc. who ran a solo shop doing c. 11's for Irma's Family Restaurant on Main Street. All under the guise of protecting trade creditors who ride through 99% of cases anyway.

midwestrocks wrote:It's a great idea. Triple transaction costs trying to explain billion dollar deals to bk judges in Wyoming, Kansas etc. who ran a solo shop doing c. 11's for Irma's Family Restaurant on Main Street. All under the guise of protecting trade creditors who ride through 99% of cases anyway.

!!!! This is everything. Smh Warren.

TEIAM wrote:

TheJanitor6203 wrote:

TEIAM wrote:

midwestrocks wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Is a SDNY bk clerkship equivalent to a DE bk clerkship or is one slightly better than the other?

Is SDTex expecting more oil and gas bankruptcies this year or mainly just retail?

They are viewed pretty much the same. I'm sure there will be some O&G filings in SD Tex but definitely slowing. Retail will be hot, but remains to be seen if Texas will start getting retail filings.

It'll be interesting to see if the bipartisan bill forcing corporate BKs into home markets gains any traction.

What is a "home market"? State of incorporation? Corporate headquarters? Do we now get to do a "nerve center test"?

Unclear what it exactly means, but the article said it would be the market where the company has its principal assets or principal place of business.

ETA: it would also prevent the joining of a subsidiary's BK.

Also read 2 articles saying the same. Venue would just be where principal place of business, assets or where substantial business is done, eliminating the "incorporation" "loophole."

Current SDNY/DE clerk here. The hiring season is just starting. I heard a rumor that a DE clerk got a job at Jones Day, but other than that there's been no hiring for this cycle as far as I know. Not much interviewing either. It's strange because there are a LOT of job postings for junior bankruptcy associates in NY right now. That said, just about everyone I can think of who clerked in SDNY/DE came out of it with a biglaw job, and given that the restructuring field is pretty busy right now, I see no reason why that wouldn't be the case this year as well.

To those of you interviewing for bankruptcy clerkships, good luck!

Anonymous User wrote:Current SDNY/DE clerk here. The hiring season is just starting. I heard a rumor that a DE clerk got a job at Jones Day, but other than that there's been no hiring for this cycle as far as I know. Not much interviewing either. It's strange because there are a LOT of job postings for junior bankruptcy associates in NY right now. That said, just about everyone I can think of who clerked in SDNY/DE came out of it with a biglaw job, and given that the restructuring field is pretty busy right now, I see no reason why that wouldn't be the case this year as well.

To those of you interviewing for bankruptcy clerkships, good luck!

sdny/de clerk as well. You should pm me.

Any movement on the hiring front?

I'm dropping out of the big law hunt so there's an open spot for one of y'all. I realized the other day that I don't actually want to bill 2200+ hours a year. There's quality work to be done, money to be made, and a life to be had while working for a mid market firm.