Taking Fed Courts Pass/Fail? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!

[mjb447]

I took Fed Courts pass/fail and I don't think it hurt me much. A small number of judges might care, but I suspect most won't, particularly if you're applying after working for a few years. (Getting a B in a single class also isn't as significant a few years out, but I think more judges have a GPA cutoff that you could risk falling below with a bad grade than have a "take Fed Courts for a letter grade" requirement.)

[rpupkin]

I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

The sorts of judges who care about your Fed Courts grade are generally not going to hire a student who is just somewhat above median anyway. So I think pass/fail is fine in your case. (If you had, say, top 5% grades and were shooting for competitive COA judges, then I'd recommend taking the class for a grade.)

[quiver]

I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

The sorts of judges who care about your Fed Courts grade are generally not going to hire a student who is just somewhat above median anyway. So I think pass/fail is fine in your case. (If you had, say, top 5% grades and were shooting for competitive COA judges, then I'd recommend taking the class for a grade.)

Agreed. Also, if you want to clerk after 2 years at a firm, you should be looking/applying now.

[Person1111]

I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!

Why do you randomly capitalize words?

[zhenders]

I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!

Why do you randomly capitalize words?

She/he has a great deal of respect for nouns obviously

[rpupkin]

I'm currently a 3L in my last semester and taking Fed Courts. T6, above Median, heading to a V10. I'm not sure if I will Clerk, but if I do, it will likely be after a couple years of working.

I have an option to take Fed Courts Pass/Fail this semester. If I do that, would it hurt my chances once I start applying to clerkships? I'm a little checked out and wonder if the Pass is better than getting a B or vice versa. What do you all think?

Thanks!

Why do you randomly capitalize words?

OP is intending to target German-born judges.