NJ Supreme Court Clerkships Forum
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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."
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NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
I applied for clerkships with all of the justices of the NJ Supreme Court, last week. I know, beginning today, applicants will start getting interview invites. I wondered if any current applicants had received an invite yet or if any past applicants can speak to how quickly the process moves. Thanks in advance.
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
I clerked for one of the NJ justices. The process moves very quickly, although some of the chambers will move faster than others. When we did hiring, we started calling applicants in for interviews on the first day possible (so, based on what you said, equivalent to today) and we were done hiring before the end of the week. We did have to schedule in waves so not receiving a call on the first day did not mean there was no chance, but overall it’s a lightning-fast turnaround compared to other types of clerkships.
I’ll try to answer other questions if you have any. Good luck!
I’ll try to answer other questions if you have any. Good luck!
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
Hi Anon. Thanks! Any way that I can message you? I have some questions, but I assume they’d be better answered off a public board.Anonymous User wrote:I clerked for one of the NJ justices. The process moves very quickly, although some of the chambers will move faster than others. When we did hiring, we started calling applicants in for interviews on the first day possible (so, based on what you said, equivalent to today) and we were done hiring before the end of the week. We did have to schedule in waves so not receiving a call on the first day did not mean there was no chance, but overall it’s a lightning-fast turnaround compared to other types of clerkships.
I’ll try to answer other questions if you have any. Good luck!
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
Unfortunately I understand that the PM feature has been disabled. Maybe you can put your questions generally? Otherwise if you leave an email I’ll try to follow up tonight.moreperfect wrote:Hi Anon. Thanks! Any way that I can message you? I have some questions, but I assume they’d be better answered off a public board.Anonymous User wrote:I clerked for one of the NJ justices. The process moves very quickly, although some of the chambers will move faster than others. When we did hiring, we started calling applicants in for interviews on the first day possible (so, based on what you said, equivalent to today) and we were done hiring before the end of the week. We did have to schedule in waves so not receiving a call on the first day did not mean there was no chance, but overall it’s a lightning-fast turnaround compared to other types of clerkships.
I’ll try to answer other questions if you have any. Good luck!
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
OK -Anonymous User wrote:Unfortunately I understand that the PM feature has been disabled. Maybe you can put your questions generally? Otherwise if you leave an email I’ll try to follow up tonight.moreperfect wrote:Hi Anon. Thanks! Any way that I can message you? I have some questions, but I assume they’d be better answered off a public board.Anonymous User wrote:I clerked for one of the NJ justices. The process moves very quickly, although some of the chambers will move faster than others. When we did hiring, we started calling applicants in for interviews on the first day possible (so, based on what you said, equivalent to today) and we were done hiring before the end of the week. We did have to schedule in waves so not receiving a call on the first day did not mean there was no chance, but overall it’s a lightning-fast turnaround compared to other types of clerkships.
I’ll try to answer other questions if you have any. Good luck!
1. Can you say which chambers moved quicker than others?
2. In the application review process, how much did each part of the application weigh?
3. Do you know if justices had GPA cut-offs or were all applications considered?
4. Was there a bias toward NJ schools or were out-of-state (T-30) schools also considered?
5. If I don’t hear back by Wednesday, would you suggest I start applying elsewhere?
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
moreperfect wrote:OK -Anonymous User wrote:Unfortunately I understand that the PM feature has been disabled. Maybe you can put your questions generally? Otherwise if you leave an email I’ll try to follow up tonight.moreperfect wrote:Hi Anon. Thanks! Any way that I can message you? I have some questions, but I assume they’d be better answered off a public board.Anonymous User wrote:I clerked for one of the NJ justices. The process moves very quickly, although some of the chambers will move faster than others. When we did hiring, we started calling applicants in for interviews on the first day possible (so, based on what you said, equivalent to today) and we were done hiring before the end of the week. We did have to schedule in waves so not receiving a call on the first day did not mean there was no chance, but overall it’s a lightning-fast turnaround compared to other types of clerkships.
I’ll try to answer other questions if you have any. Good luck!
1. Can you say which chambers moved quicker than others?
It’s hard to comment on this but I can generally say I know at least three of the seven justices were interviewing in that first few days last year. I’d be surprised if any chambers went more than a week without contacting some applicants.
2. In the application review process, how much did each part of the application weigh?
We didn’t have a formula, but we looked closely at grades, resumes, and writing samples. The strongest applicants have a way of standing out but there’s no one factor that’s weighed most heavily, at least in the chambers I was in.
3. Do you know if justices had GPA cut-offs or were all applications considered?
We did not use a hard GPA cutoff but the interview spots were competitive, so stellar grades were pretty necessary to stand a chance.
4. Was there a bias toward NJ schools or were out-of-state (T-30) schools also considered?
We required a clear NJ connection, but certainly looked at applicants studying out of state. Certain justices hire from those schools more than others but I can’t give a specific breakdown.
5. If I don’t hear back by Wednesday, would you suggest I start applying elsewhere?
Yes. If you get a relatively late call in for an interview, it won’t hurt to have started applying elsewhere.
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
Two follow up questions:
1. Will big law pay the $50k market bonus for clerking at this court?
2. Are some of the Justices considered more prestigious to clerk for than the others? Heard any particularly good/bad things about any of them?
Thanks!
1. Will big law pay the $50k market bonus for clerking at this court?
2. Are some of the Justices considered more prestigious to clerk for than the others? Heard any particularly good/bad things about any of them?
Thanks!
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
Above anon again.
The clerkship bonus situation will vary by firm. Some firms hold out that their clerkship policy covers state clerks (usually only for a state’s highest court). Other firms leave this vague but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t possibly negotiate. I have also seen smaller NJ firms offer more modest bonuses, which makes sense since they also don’t pay biglaw salaries.
I think it’s fair to say that clerking for the Chief Justice is slightly more prestigious, although it would be splitting hairs to try to argue it makes a difference once you get into practice. Otherwise, something to consider is that each justice keeps his/her own chambers — I would not work in Camden for even a year, so I did not apply to Justice Fernandez-Vina. That’s not to say his clerks are less prestigious (they’re generally more local to South Jersey, though — ditto for J. Solomon).
The clerkship bonus situation will vary by firm. Some firms hold out that their clerkship policy covers state clerks (usually only for a state’s highest court). Other firms leave this vague but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t possibly negotiate. I have also seen smaller NJ firms offer more modest bonuses, which makes sense since they also don’t pay biglaw salaries.
I think it’s fair to say that clerking for the Chief Justice is slightly more prestigious, although it would be splitting hairs to try to argue it makes a difference once you get into practice. Otherwise, something to consider is that each justice keeps his/her own chambers — I would not work in Camden for even a year, so I did not apply to Justice Fernandez-Vina. That’s not to say his clerks are less prestigious (they’re generally more local to South Jersey, though — ditto for J. Solomon).
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
Do you know how long most justices take to get back to candidates? I had an interview yesterday and I'm still waiting to hear. I know some justices give offers on the spot (which didn't happen for me), so I'm hoping that I still have a chance even a day or two later?
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
I was told by the end of the week at the latest (and probably before then). But if you didn't hear instantaneously I don't think that necessarily means you're out.
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Re: NJ Supreme Court Clerkships
LaVecchia and Albin are done. Anyone know about Rabner?
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