COA Judges for Non-T14 Students Forum

[Anonymous User]

Please share any COA judges who regularly hire outside the T14!

(I'm considering whether to apply nationally, and if I do, I'd like to target positions where I actually have a chance. I already have a district court position lined up, so I'm just interested in COA judges.)

[Anonymous User]

In my experience, I'd start with the COA judges in the state where your law school is or where you're from (if that's a different state). I could be wrong, but I don't think there are many COA judges who are equally willing to hire from any school nationwide - just because a Tennessee judge hires regularly from Vanderbilt, it doesn't mean they'll regularly hire from BU or UT. When they do consider students from non-T14 schools, it's probably because that school has some time to the judge or the student has some tie to the region where the judge sits (the regional tie matters more for some judges than others).

I think it's better to find judges whose backgrounds interest you and then look into who their former clerks are. If you've summered at a firm and plan to go back, are there any judges who worked with that firm? If you're PI-focused, look for judges with PD/legal aid/even AUSA-related experiences. If your sole reason for applying to a judge is "I hear you hire students that aren't from the top schools," I think it'll be very difficult to get your resume selected from the many other top students at non-T14 schools who will also be applying.

That being said, there's no doubt that you should apply to as many judges as you're willing to work for - unless you're top of your class at HYS, I don't think anyone can count on getting a COA clerkship even with strong local ties.

[The Lsat Airbender]

positions where I actually have a chance

"Not at a T14, has a district clerkship" isn't really sufficient to gauge this. If you're top 1% at a T20, you can apply to most feeders if you want. If you're top-10% at Baylor or something then your options are going to be more regionally-limited, etc.

Almost no judges have a strict "T14 only" rule. Judges who mainly hire from the T14 do so by virtue of being so competitive that they can cherry-pick top students from top schools.

[Anonymous User]

Joel Carson on CA10 basically refuses to hire from the T14. He's a fantastic dude, although I can understand that the prospect of a year in Roswell might not thrill most law students.

[Anonymous User]

Joel Carson on CA10 basically refuses to hire from the T14. He's a fantastic dude, although I can understand that the prospect of a year in Roswell might not thrill most law students.

Seconding this. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about him/clerking for him. And while Roswell might not be the best place to live for a year, it could be worse—Judge Baldock in Roswell only hires on two-year terms.

After stalking some judges, I saw that Judge Manion (CA7) and Judge Callahan (CA9) have a number of clerks outside the T14. However, they seem to require their clerks to have significant work experience.

[Anonymous User]

Joel Carson on CA10 basically refuses to hire from the T14. He's a fantastic dude, although I can understand that the prospect of a year in Roswell might not thrill most law students.

Is he hiring? I thought his OSCAR post went down.

[Anonymous User]

Please share any COA judges who regularly hire outside the T14!

(I'm considering whether to apply nationally, and if I do, I'd like to target positions where I actually have a chance. I already have a district court position lined up, so I'm just interested in COA judges.)

FWIW plenty of FedSoc judges, including some feeders, hire tippy top conservatives from George Mason, Notre Dame, and sometimes BYU.

[Anonymous User]

Joel Carson on CA10 basically refuses to hire from the T14. He's a fantastic dude, although I can understand that the prospect of a year in Roswell might not thrill most law students.

Seconding this. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about him/clerking for him. And while Roswell might not be the best place to live for a year, it could be worse—Judge Baldock in Roswell only hires on two-year terms.

After stalking some judges, I saw that Judge Manion (CA7) and Judge Callahan (CA9) have a number of clerks outside the T14. However, they seem to require their clerks to have significant work experience.

Thirding this re: Judge Carson. Oscar shows him as still hiring for 2023.

[Anonymous User]

Lots of the CA3 judges hire outside of the T14, with an emphasis on the local powerhouses (Villanova, Temple, Seton Hall/Rutgers, etc.). Fuentes hires from Buffalo on the regular.