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Hi all,

Last night I was offered an interview to interview for a position on 2/9 for 2020. II'm pretty surprised as it's a judge I'd applied to ages ago for 2019, and I'd more or less forgotten about the app (I sent the app via paper). The problem is I'm already clerking in a district court in 2019 and will be long-distance with my SO of 3 years that year. I've never done long-distance before and I'm already nervous about that year. Two years seems unbearably long. He isn't a lawyer and doesn't quite understand why clerking even matters.

I talked to him about it and he was surprisingly supportive/accepting of me interviewing, provided I'm willing/able to move to the same market as him afterwards (I am). But I'm still sort of anxious about the entire thing. I doubt I'll be willing to get another interview for an equivalent position in circuits closer to me (I'm actually sort of shocked that I got this interview). Would it be insane to turn down the interview? All of my classmates would likely think I'm crazy, and I don't want to regret it later.

(For the record - I know an interview is no guarantee of an offer! But I also know you're not supposed to interview with any judge you wouldn't accept, so...)

No one will be able to answer this for you, obviously. And, as you sort of already acknowledged, why not interview first? Of course, you'd have to turn down an offer if you decided against it and burn that bridge but it's not really a bridge anyways.

At any rate, my gf moved with me for my first clerkship and it was pretty terrible. We knew we were moving again for the second and ended up breaking up. Not sure if it was "because of it," but it was certainly a massive part. That's a different scenario but a data point for you. FWIW, I don't regret it for a second. These clerkships have meant everything to me professionally and dream jobs are within my grasp. I know for an absolute fact they would not be had I not taken them.

Agree with the above poster that this is an issue that only you can decide.

For a reference, I got engaged to my fiancee and then moved away for a year. It has not been easy (my current clerkship is pretty hard hours) but it has been doable. And we are actually becoming stronger because of it. But I'll emphasize, it has not been easy. And the fact that we were already engaged, meaning that we really believe in this and are planning on never giving up on it, makes a difference. If I was in a relationship with someone and not engaged, maybe the calculus would be different. But again, that's dependent on how you are your SO are together.

Anonymous User wrote:No one will be able to answer this for you, obviously. And, as you sort of already acknowledged, why not interview first? Of course, you'd have to turn down an offer if you decided against it and burn that bridge but it's not really a bridge anyways.

At any rate, my gf moved with me for my first clerkship and it was pretty terrible. We knew we were moving again for the second and ended up breaking up. Not sure if it was "because of it," but it was certainly a massive part. That's a different scenario but a data point for you. FWIW, I don't regret it for a second. These clerkships have meant everything to me professionally and dream jobs are within my grasp. I know for an absolute fact they would not be had I not taken them.

I have done one federal clerkship, and my gf at the time and I broke up. She did not move with me, and I was only a couple hours away. Still, I do not regret the decision to go for it. I am confident I would have regretted it if I hadn’t.

Take the interview and if you get an offer then you can assess.

Edit: this was a mis-post, my bad! Plz ignore.

What are you hoping to get out of a second clerkship? I know a 2/9 CoA clerkship is a big deal, but you're already doing a DJ clerkship, and for many career purposes, the marginal benefit fo a second clerkship is pretty modest.