Etiquette on putting future clerkships in LinkedIn Forum

[Dipper]

What's the etiquette on putting future clerkships on LinkedIn? I've seen it done in the biography section or tagline on people's profiles. Is the general consensus that this is excessive self-promotion or reasonable LinkedIn activity?

[runinthefront]

I see no reason to put future clerkships/summer associate positions/law firm positions on LinkedIn. I think it's self-promotion, but I understand if other opinions differ from my own.

That being said, you should put them on your resume if/when you're applying for something else.

[Anonymous User]

Similar question: should you put it on your work website bio page?

[rpupkin]

I'd say:

Resume: Yes.
Firm Bio: No.
Linkedin: Not sure, but lean no.

[mjb447]

I agree with the emerging consensus. A resume gives you a lot of control over who knows about the clerkship, and you're listing it for the specific purpose of applying for another job, so I understand it more than having the clerkship listed on LinkedIn or a firm bio. (Note also that some courts have policies about what you're allowed to say about a clerkship on social networking sites like LinkedIn - usually not a lot if they've bothered to draft a policy. I think it's rare that someone actually gets into trouble for violating one of these policies, but why take the risk, at least until after the clerkship?)

[jphiggo]

I agree with the above that including it on a resume for prospective employers is okay, because those employers should be made aware of both your potential unavailability for a period of time, and your additional experience that you will also acquire. However, the clerkship hasn't happened. In addition to the possibility that something you post might run afoul of a policy you don't know of yet and reflect poorly on your judge or his/her opinion of you, there are potentially unforeseeable reasons why the clerkship won't ever happen. Until you start the clerkship I think you should leave it off any public bio, social media account, etc.

[clerk1251]

I agree with everything said, and I'd also add that even when you start your clerkship - you should not list who your clerkship is with on LinkedIn. Instead you should just list that you are a law clerk at the United States District Court/United States Court of Appeals.

[CurvedSurface]

I agree with everything said, and I'd also add that even when you start your clerkship - you should not list who your clerkship is with on LinkedIn. Instead you should just list that you are a law clerk at the United States District Court/United States Court of Appeals.

Why?

[Barrred]

I agree with everything said, and I'd also add that even when you start your clerkship - you should not list who your clerkship is with on LinkedIn. Instead you should just list that you are a law clerk at the United States District Court/United States Court of Appeals.

Why?

Its common practice not to list the judge you work for on LinkedIn until after your clerkship ends because (a) you don't want civil parties trying to research you/potentially approach you about cases that you might be working on/find out where you like to go to lunch with other clerks and follow you there in hopes you talk about their case, and (b) you definitely don't want criminal defendants knowing who might be working on their case (even if you don't work on criminal stuff for your judge, the defendant doesn't know that).

Both of those scenarios are probably very unlikely to occur, but I was told a story about a criminal defendant who went after a law clerk because he realized it was easier to find out where a clerk lives than the judge. Apparently the defendant approached the clerk on her way to work one day and tried to intimidate her.

[Anonymous User]

I agree with everything said, and I'd also add that even when you start your clerkship - you should not list who your clerkship is with on LinkedIn. Instead you should just list that you are a law clerk at the United States District Court/United States Court of Appeals.

Why?

[. . .] you definitely don't want criminal defendants knowing who might be working on their case (even if you don't work on criminal stuff for your judge, the defendant doesn't know that).

Both of those scenarios are probably very unlikely to occur, but I was told a story about a criminal defendant who went after a law clerk because he realized it was easier to find out where a clerk lives than the judge. Apparently the defendant approached the clerk on her way to work one day and tried to intimidate her.

Never thought about this before. Does this mean that that a SSC clerk shouldn't even list the court on his/her LinkedIn profile? What if the court doesn't always sit en banc, so a criminal defendant couldn't infer that every judge will be presiding over his/her case?

[Anonymous User]

I agree with everything said, and I'd also add that even when you start your clerkship - you should not list who your clerkship is with on LinkedIn. Instead you should just list that you are a law clerk at the United States District Court/United States Court of Appeals.

Why?

Its common practice not to list the judge you work for on LinkedIn until after your clerkship ends because (a) you don't want civil parties trying to research you/potentially approach you about cases that you might be working on/find out where you like to go to lunch with other clerks and follow you there in hopes you talk about their case, and (b) you definitely don't want criminal defendants knowing who might be working on their case (even if you don't work on criminal stuff for your judge, the defendant doesn't know that).

Both of those scenarios are probably very unlikely to occur, but I was told a story about a criminal defendant who went after a law clerk because he realized it was easier to find out where a clerk lives than the judge. Apparently the defendant approached the clerk on her way to work one day and tried to intimidate her.

I agree with all of this. I'd also say it's good to maintain a distance, for the sake of the court system's appearance of integrity, between one's personal online presence and one's job. Speaking as someone who's written on a lot of topics for a lot of outlets, it makes sense for me to keep mum about the judge/court I work for, just to maintain the appropriate norm of propriety.

[mjb447]

I agree with everything said, and I'd also add that even when you start your clerkship - you should not list who your clerkship is with on LinkedIn. Instead you should just list that you are a law clerk at the United States District Court/United States Court of Appeals.

Why?

[. . .] you definitely don't want criminal defendants knowing who might be working on their case (even if you don't work on criminal stuff for your judge, the defendant doesn't know that).

Both of those scenarios are probably very unlikely to occur, but I was told a story about a criminal defendant who went after a law clerk because he realized it was easier to find out where a clerk lives than the judge. Apparently the defendant approached the clerk on her way to work one day and tried to intimidate her.

Never thought about this before. Does this mean that that a SSC clerk shouldn't even list the court on his/her LinkedIn profile? What if the court doesn't always sit en banc, so a criminal defendant couldn't infer that every judge will be presiding over his/her case?

There's no way to be completely safe from crazy litigants. They think the guy who blew up John Vance did it because Judge Vance was on the court (but not the panel) who refused to expunge the bomber's conviction.

[clerk1251]

I agree with everything said, and I'd also add that even when you start your clerkship - you should not list who your clerkship is with on LinkedIn. Instead you should just list that you are a law clerk at the United States District Court/United States Court of Appeals.

Why?

[. . .] you definitely don't want criminal defendants knowing who might be working on their case (even if you don't work on criminal stuff for your judge, the defendant doesn't know that).

Both of those scenarios are probably very unlikely to occur, but I was told a story about a criminal defendant who went after a law clerk because he realized it was easier to find out where a clerk lives than the judge. Apparently the defendant approached the clerk on her way to work one day and tried to intimidate her.

Never thought about this before. Does this mean that that a SSC clerk shouldn't even list the court on his/her LinkedIn profile? What if the court doesn't always sit en banc, so a criminal defendant couldn't infer that every judge will be presiding over his/her case?

There's no way to be completely safe from crazy litigants. They think the guy who blew up John Vance did it because Judge Vance was on the court (but not the panel) who refused to expunge the bomber's conviction.

Everything that's been said here is exactly right. There really is no edge you get by listing this information on social media or linkedin. Sure, someone might see it and get jealous or think it's cool. But any firm you are interested in would see it on your resume. Any professional contact, co-worker, or even just a friend would be able to see this information on your firm's bio when you go to a firm after.

It's best to distance yourself for appearances sake, as well as your safety. LinkedIn has employer options that simply read "US District Court" or "US Court of Appeals." You can just select one of these and you even get a nice court logo - to keep it looking official. There's no reason you have to go into any further detail than that.

On top of all this - I believe the law clerk handbook has a number of social media restrictions on what you are allowed to post and even what you are allowed to "like."

[mjb447]

Everything that's been said here is exactly right. There really is no edge you get by listing this information on social media or linkedin. Sure, someone might see it and get jealous or think it's cool. But any firm you are interested in would see it on your resume. Any professional contact, co-worker, or even just a friend would be able to see this information on your firm's bio when you go to a firm after.

It's best to distance yourself for appearances sake, as well as your safety. LinkedIn has employer options that simply read "US District Court" or "US Court of Appeals." You can just select one of these and you even get a nice court logo - to keep it looking official. There's no reason you have to go into any further detail than that.

On top of all this - I believe the law clerk handbook has a number of social media restrictions on what you are allowed to post and even what you are allowed to "like."

https://oscar.uscourts.gov/assets/Maint ... s_2011.pdf at 15 to 17

[Barrred]

It's best to distance yourself for appearances sake, as well as your safety. LinkedIn has employer options that simply read "US District Court" or "US Court of Appeals." You can just select one of these and you even get a nice court logo - to keep it looking official. There's no reason you have to go into any further detail than that.

Agreed. But I don't see a problem listing "U.S. District Court for the X District of X," or "U.S. Court of Appeals for the Xth Circuit," as your listed location will give this away anyway (unless you clerk in the D.C. area, I guess).