YSH 1L Summer Advice Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am a YSH 1L who wants a federal clerkship. I know that it's too early to start thinking about most things clerkship related, but I do have a question about whether there are any 1L summer opportunities (1L summer associateships, PI orgs, judicial internships, government roles etc.) that might meaningfully move the needle in the clerkship application process? For context, I am liberal, LGBTQ+, and URM. I totally understand if the answer is no, or if the answer is yes but it shouldn't affect my thinking, but I just thought I'd check here.

[Anonymous User]

I am a YSH 1L who wants a federal clerkship. I know that it's too early to start thinking about most things clerkship related, but I do have a question about whether there are any 1L summer opportunities (1L summer associateships, PI orgs, judicial internships, government roles etc.) that might meaningfully move the needle in the clerkship application process? For context, I am liberal, LGBTQ+, and URM. I totally understand if the answer is no, or if the answer is yes but it shouldn't affect my thinking, but I just thought I'd check here.

Having not gone to YSH but having spent time with YSH students doing the clerkship blitz, I suspect this is the kind of question that you should ask a well-connected professor in an offhand sort of way, in that it will show some ambition and invite an investment.

But no. Maybe being an RA for a well-connected professor, but because of the connections, not because it'll be meaningful on the resume.

[Anonymous User]

There are some judges that like to hire their interns as clerks but far more judges categorically will never hire an intern as a clerk.

[Anonymous User]

From reviewing Yale clerkship apps, it seems OLC is one of the more prestigious internships you can get (or so Yale professors claim). If you ever want to work in the federal govt, having a fed govt 1L summer seems to generally be the move, with SDNY being pretty popular. Anything that helps you get a fancy boutique firm your 2L summer, i.e., another fancy firm for 1L summer. Prestige builds, unfortunately, as you must know by now

[Anonymous User]

I went to YSH and am on the other side of reviewing clerkship applications. I think the general advice for 1L summer is true: it doesn't really matter for much, and you should use it to figure out what you want to do after law school. I don't recall ever seeing a 1L position that jumped off the page, or really came up in interviews at all besides showing a demonstrated interest in what the applicant says they'd like to do after clerking.

As other posters have alluded to, there is a tiny slice of ""prestigious"" summer positions at DOJ which might be helpful on the margins for getting a job your 2L summer, i.e., working at Civil/Criminal Appellate if you think you want to be an appellate lawyer, or Fed Programs if you think you want to be an admin specialist. It might also be (extremely marginally) helpful to work in the USAO for the district you're most interested in for a rec letter, but as a 1L intern, I'm not sure how meaningful the letter will be.

All that's to say: I think it is a mistake to optimize what you do this summer for clerkship applications. When I was in law school, working for a judge was not a very popular option, I think because you can do that during the term if you really want the experience, it's generally less helpful in narrowing down what you want to do as a career, and most judges categorically do not hire former interns.

[Anonymous User]

If I redid 1L at YSH, I would have told myself to apply to intern for Patty Shwartz on CA3. She routinely hires interns as her clerks I am told.

[namefromplace]

1L summer can be useful in demonstrating ties and building connections. If you're in New Haven but want to clerk in CA9, for example, an externship with a government organization in California could be helpful. Some judges like to see applicants with some kind of interest in public interest work, so externing for a public interest organization could be helpful on that front. And if you get an SA job at a fancy firm, that can impress some judges and result in helpful connections.

I'll throw in another plug for externing for a federal judge. Even if the judge doesn't hire you or write you a letter of recommendation, if they're well-connected, their name could draw attention to your application; working with their clerks can give you better insight on the clerkship application process. Plus, getting a sense of how a judge works, what is expected of clerks, and some of the personalities on different courts can be a huge boon in interviewing and knowing who to apply to and how to go about doing so.

Whatever you end up doing, see if there are profs you can RA for part-time so you can lock down a recommender.

TL;DR: Your 1L summer helps on the margins, but clerkships are often won at the margins.

[Wild Card]

Letters of recommendation are very important for clerkships, and it doesn't hurt to start building those relationships as early as possible through RAing.

Interning for a federal judge is a great option, as interns are heavily counted on. But the work could be hands off or hands on, such as drafting an opinion from start to finish. You'll have to ask around.

Diversity summer positions are also a great idea, to show prospective employers that you're really a part of the hustle, and to make good pocket change.

[Anonymous User]

It really doesn’t matter. Top clerkship applicants often have a certain set of 1L experiences (law firms, DOJ Civil or Criminal Appellate, USAO SDNY, impact lit) but that’s more correlation than causation, with the lurking variable being interest in lit gunner activities.

[Anonymous User]

As an LGBTQ+ URM at YSH, you should have a very good chance at landing a federal clerkship if your grades are decent. That, plus getting some good letters of reference, will be far more important than what specifically you do in 1L summer.