Advice on improving my clerkship package Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anon for obvious reasons. Please do not quote. I clerked for a fed district judge right out of law school. I loved the experience; after much reflection, I decided I would like to return to clerking after a few years practicing for a couple of firms (non big law). I hated private practice and will never return to it. I’d like to clerk for as long as possible before hopefully obtaining a career clerkship or staff attorney position.

To that end, I’m about to begin a year long clerkship for a magistrate judge in a fairly competitive district. I might continue clerking for this judge after a year, but I also might want to clerk in other parts of the country, and maybe go back to the district level or even appellate if I was competitive.

So how do I approach clerkship apps with no intention of ever practicing again. I was up front about it in my most recent clerkship interview and it went well actually. Would voicing my goal of a career clerkship go over well in a cover letter? (looking for those involved in the hiring process to chime in here). Finally, I have no publications, would working towards a publication materially enhance my resume? I graduated near top 10% from UT/Vandy/UCLA. But I transferred from a ttt, and I’m not sure whether that taints my resume to a degree. Should I even list the 1l school on my resume? I’ve been listing it because I did very well and I’m proud of my performance but I’m open to other views on the matter.

Sorry for the relatively scatter brained nature of this post. Thanks for any help in improving my odds at continuing to secure clerkships.

[Anonymous User]

Bump

[LBJ's Hair]

I mean, I think you're approaching it the right way. You can't change your grades or your law school, so a publication is definitely a plus. But frankly I have no idea how judges hire for career clerkships--imagine some might want people who have had substantial work experience, while others might be more interested in someone who can grow into the role? It's not like there are hundreds of these positions being filled every year, so imagine hiring is pretty idiosyncratic.

[AUSAorBust]

Anon for obvious reasons. Please do not quote. I clerked for a fed district judge right out of law school. I loved the experience; after much reflection, I decided I would like to return to clerking after a few years practicing for a couple of firms (non big law). I hated private practice and will never return to it. I’d like to clerk for as long as possible before hopefully obtaining a career clerkship or staff attorney position.

To that end, I’m about to begin a year long clerkship for a magistrate judge in a fairly competitive district. I might continue clerking for this judge after a year, but I also might want to clerk in other parts of the country, and maybe go back to the district level or even appellate if I was competitive.

So how do I approach clerkship apps with no intention of ever practicing again. I was up front about it in my most recent clerkship interview and it went well actually. Would voicing my goal of a career clerkship go over well in a cover letter? (looking for those involved in the hiring process to chime in here). Finally, I have no publications, would working towards a publication materially enhance my resume? I graduated near top 10% from UT/Vandy/UCLA. But I transferred from a ttt, and I’m not sure whether that taints my resume to a degree. Should I even list the 1l school on my resume? I’ve been listing it because I did very well and I’m proud of my performance but I’m open to other views on the matter.

Sorry for the relatively scatter brained nature of this post. Thanks for any help in improving my odds at continuing to secure clerkships.

If I were you, I would reach out early to judges awaiting confirmation (maybe not yet, but at some point during your magistrate clerkship), in addition to normal applications. Those judges are more likely to be in the market for a career clerk and more likely to value your previous federal experience. As far as timing goes, I would definitely reach out by the time they are reported out of the judiciary committee. I'll leave it to others to chime in as to whether it's appropriate to reach out before then.

I would be very upfront in your cover letter, at least with the new judges, about your desire for a career position, but note that you would be willing to accept a term position--some judges may only be willing to hire you as a term position, but might consider you for a career slot after the year. Emphasize your experience and make sure you list both of your judges in your cover letter as references and provide their phone numbers (assuming they agree). If your judges are behind you, I could see a new judge being very interested in your application.