E.D. Tex.? Forum
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E.D. Tex.?
How IP-dominated is the Eastern District of Texas? In other words, does E.D. Tex's rep for patent cases only apply to Judge Gilstrap or does it extend to the entire district? I don't have a STEM background and am interested in non-IP general lit. How appropriate would it be for me to go for a clerkship with a judge other than Gilstrap in the Eastern District?
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Re: E.D. Tex.?
Gilstrap carries the heaviest patent docket. I think you'd be fine aiming for other EDTX judges if you're not interested in IP.
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Re: E.D. Tex.?
How are Eastern District clerks viewed by Texas firms compared the those from the other three districts? Is there a substantial difference in prestige or portability within Texas?
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Re: E.D. Tex.?
Is Gilstrap taking clerks? I have been advised the opposite - that most ED Tex judges want IP-centric clerks (if possible). Of course, post-TC Heartland, it's hard to know what will happen, so maybe they are looking to branch out.
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Re: E.D. Tex.?
BumpAnonymous User wrote:How are Eastern District clerks viewed by Texas firms compared the those from the other three districts? Is there a substantial difference in prestige or portability within Texas?
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Re: E.D. Tex.?
Former TX fed clerk and current associate here: there's no formal difference in portability so long as the firm regularly appears in that district. Except for a judge that has a national reputation, most dj/mag clerkships carry the most weight with firms in the same district where the judge sits because those firms regularly appear before that judge and you'd obviously bring some inside knowledge there. If it's a mid-sized west Texas firm that never appears in EDTX then its impact is less besides general prestige.
As far as which district is more "prestigious" than the others, I never got the sense that one was considered more elite than the rest and if so, it's splitting hairs. NDTX has the reputation of having the fastest docket - as close to a rocket docket as you'll get in Texas. SDTX probably has a larger docket (I haven't checked) with a good mix of civil/criminal in Houston and then "flipped" dockets along the border with more criminal than civil cases, but it is generally considered slower. The same reputation (maybe a slower docket than the SDTX) holds for WDTX and EDTX has the patent docket and some pretty interesting criminal cases, but anecdotally doesn't seem to catch complex civil cases.
As far as which district is more "prestigious" than the others, I never got the sense that one was considered more elite than the rest and if so, it's splitting hairs. NDTX has the reputation of having the fastest docket - as close to a rocket docket as you'll get in Texas. SDTX probably has a larger docket (I haven't checked) with a good mix of civil/criminal in Houston and then "flipped" dockets along the border with more criminal than civil cases, but it is generally considered slower. The same reputation (maybe a slower docket than the SDTX) holds for WDTX and EDTX has the patent docket and some pretty interesting criminal cases, but anecdotally doesn't seem to catch complex civil cases.
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