First not Elie.

If you are interested in a career in tax, I highly recommend a clerkship at the U.S. Tax Court. It is viewed highly by employers and is a good way to receive a broad-based background in tax.

and FYI, I actually did start reading the article, but after the jump I saw that there were no comments, and made a mad dash for the post comment button

-frist

Judicial clerkships are for losers. Far too many judges are just plain stupid, so the idea that you'll learn something useful no longer applies. Anyway, far too many judges are girls, and who wants to work for a chick, even one in black robes.

I can personally vouch that just about every friend of mine who was either (1) no-offered or (2) expected to be no-offered has been amassing countless clerkship applications since August. These are people from a T10 school with impeccable grades who got shafted in the overhiring blunder committed by some highly reputable firms. To all of you out there - it is going to be a mothereffing shit storm. Don't waste your time unless you have connections or a stellar profile.

Echoing #3, bankruptcy clerkships are also worth looking into in this economy.

What is a "feeder judge"?

I agree with the ATL tipster. Note this language:

"people who aren't in the top 5 or so students at schools outside the top 50, etc."

That is top five STUDENTS, not top five percent.

SMELLY WEASEL?

Jake Emeritus, how do you feel about top law students clerking in stead of accepting lucrative offers at preeminent peer law firms?

Good resource for clerkship applicants:

http://lawschoolclerkship.blogspot.com/

No chance in hell.

Retired partner here: When I was in law school, there weren't all that many federal district judges or appellate judges, so clerkships were very hard to get. In my state, there were three law schools at the time, and one federal judge in each of three districts. They would simply call the deans of the three schools and ask them to set up an interview with the person who was first in the third-year class. Sometimes they would drop down to the second spot. This is how clerks were selected in the old days around here.

Something worth looking into is how this will affect local law student that rely on state level clerkships, e.g., in NY & NJ, Seton Hall, BLS, Cardozo, RU. I know of several people at my T10 who are dipping much lower for clerkships, looking for some way to pass the time during their deferral. Lower tier local students might suffer a huge blow this season.

Term clerks are limited to a total of 4 years clerking. I might max out my term to stay out of the job market as long as possible. My judge is not hiring, is not listed on OSCAR, and is not in a particularly desirable locale, and yet we have had resumes and reference letters trickling in all summer.

What about http://www.lawclerkaddict.com/

the tipster is still a douche.

Lat

I am perplexed by your use of the term "flyover country." Is that your term for women because you do not want to land on one?

I had unspeakable grades at graduation. The kind that rule out even a state court clerkship. But in the last 3 years, I've managed to run enough newsworthy cases that my app got noticed, I got a call, and I just scored a federal COA clerkship. No one called in any favors. Key is, I went public service out of law school, where you control your destiny. It would have been impossible to distinguish myself in this process from the hundreds of identical BigLaw refugees had I gone private. At this point in the cycle, only the most remarkable law students stand a chance. There are too many interesting and accomplished alumni apps to compete with. If you want to clerk however, get some real public sector work experience and apply in 2-3 years.

Couple of thoughts:

(1) Don't discount federal magistrate judges either, or state judges in the jurisdiction you want to practice in. I know many people who clerked for these types of judges and have moved on to great firms (albeit, mostly mid law and higher end litigation boutiques).

(2) Clerkships will be incredibly hard to get, but don't listen to the assclown cited in this article. While you should be realistic about your possibility to actually get hired when applying for a clerkship, don't feel bad because arrogant asshole has to shift through a ton of resumes. That's his problem, not yours.

In other words, if you think there is even a remote chance that you will get hired, then apply. It never hurts.

I graduated recently from a Tier 2 (50-100) school ranked as one of the top 5 STUDENTS in my class...any chances on a clerkship?

-22

See if there are any current judes from your law school. If there are, apply to them for a clerkship.

Post 12,

That "resource" hasn't been relevant since LCA set up shop. If you arent' clued in to that by now. . .

Good luck on your applications anyway.

19,

Perhaps you're just being sarcastic, but "flyover country" is a derisive term used for those parts of the country that one only intends to see "when flying over."

For some, that means anywhere but New York and LA.

But there is a point that District Court judges or even Appellate court in rural parts of rural states often handle Clerkships differently because they know that "elite" students would turn their noses up at living in such places.

I just finished summer school in time for regular school!

Who wants a Fresca?

23 - there will be plenty if he went to cardozo

I am just outside the top 20% at a Top 25 law school. Any shot?

Definitely work all the connections you have if you want a clerkship. I clerked at the appellate level several years ago, and was naively amazed that almost all of the other clerks had some prior connection to their judge - from an older brother who clerked for the same judge, to a father who worked with the judge years ago, and so on. Talk to relatives, professors, past colleagues, and do not be shy about asking for help.

Dist. Court Clerk in a flyover. We got 900 alum applicants so far. I am fearing the onslaught of law school applicants now that it is so easy to apply everywhere via Oscar.

What does the average district court clerkship pay annually? What about BK court and clerking for a district court magistrate? Thanks.

What does the average district court clerkship pay annually? What about BK court and clerking for a district court magistrate? Thanks.

Even if I don't land a clerkship, I can drink and fish on my UBS account, no prob.

U.S. Virgin Islands, here I come, one way or another. Can anyone direct me to the cleanest Taco Bell down there?

31/32 pay is the same for district/BK/magistrate. It's all based on the GSA tables with geographic adjustments. Typical 3L would start as a GS-11, i.e., roughly $55-60k.

On the topic of "flyover country":

Currently clerking for a magistrate judge in flyover country, which is also my home state.

Positives:
It's a job, my court let's magistrates hear full civil cases, and my judge is great. Plus I am off work by 5:15 every day.

Negatives:
Will I ever get back to NYC, doubt it. But at least I'm not going bankrupt . . . this year. However, I'm still stuck in flyover country.

My judge told me he had 200 applications for this position, and that was in February 2009 (it was an odd hiring time, with the opening created by a clerk that left early). He never considered hiring anyone who did not have some kind of local connection, so all of the T10's who think a no-offer or deferral from an NYC firm entitles them to some lowly flyover country clerkship should probably save their time.

District court judges in flyover country generally see their clerkships as a chance to "educate the local bar", and they look to hire clerks who are mildly committed to remaining in flyover country.

Court of Appeals clerkships are a different story, and of course they will consider the "better than the rest of us" NYC refugees. But if you're not COA material (most of you aren’t; I'm not), I recommend looking to district courts in which you can demonstrate some kind of personal connection.

28--

Probably with a magistrate.

29 is correct.

A circuit court clerk who is an alumni of my law school (T50) decided that he would hire at least one of his clerks from the school.

A number of the top people in the class interviewed, (including myself, but I was not optimistic when I looked at the interview list and saw there were at least 5 people ranked above me applying). But it caused a minor burst of gunner rage when a girl (who's dad just happens to know the judge) who was ranked ranked outside the top 10% got the job.

32, Burger King is a monarchy without a judiciary and doesn't have courts.

Top 10% at Fordham but not on law review. I put in minimal effort in clerkship applications. Tell me I had no shot anyway so I can enjoy my Labor Day weekend.

Coke on a Friday, bitches!

Skadden Secure

ps: I am better than all of you.

"Clerkships will be incredibly hard to get, but don't listen to the assclown cited in this article. While you should be realistic about your possibility to actually get hired when applying for a clerkship, don't feel bad because arrogant asshole has to shift through a ton of resumes. That's his problem, not yours."

100% correct. I reviewed hundreds of clerkship applicants during my term, and I didn't blame anyone for wanting my job, even if I didn't think they were close to qualified. Any clerk so lazy that she has a problem with going through the applications shouldn't have been hired in the first place (it only takes 5 seconds to look at lawschool school and grades and put in the reject pile).

I advise students to look at state court options. If your resume isn't prestigious, then you aren't in a position to complain about not getting a prestigious job.

On a positive note, although there will be tons of 3rd year law student applications this year, I would expect that experienced applicants should have fallen off a cliff. No associate with a current job should apply for a clerkship that doesn't start for a year. All that does is tell the firm the associate won't be around long enough for the economy to turn around. If the associate gets the clerkship, the firm will probably include that associate in the next round of layoffs, leaving the poor soul with no income until the clerkship starts. Recently laid off associates probably won't want to wait a year to start (although with the length of time it is taking to find other jobs, maybe this isn't a bad option for them).

I was magna cum laude at at a TTT. Graduated over a year ago. Passed the bar about a year ago. Been solo ever since.

Is it possible for me to get a clerkship of some kind?

I was laid off by a V7, but it has since plummeted to the V17. Do I stand a chance in clerkship interviews, or did I just get Lathamed again?

41. When I left my firm to clerk, I did not say a single word about landing a clerkship or leaving until I gave exactly two weeks notice. You can keep these sorts of things quiet.

41. When I left my firm to clerk, I did not say a single word about landing a clerkship or leaving until I gave exactly two weeks notice. You can keep these sorts of things quiet.

So if I'm a Marshall Scholar, former Marine, Harvard MBA, law review, and have a 3.47 from Chicago, am I "obviously unqualfiied" for your TTT clerkship just b/c i have below a 3.5? [these aren't my specific credentials, but they're analogous].

Any judge who instructs his clerks to look at only grades is an idiot, and I wouldn't want to clerk for him/her anyway. Fortunately, I already have a feeder COA clerkship, so to the TTT district judge clerk quoted here who indirectly called me "obviously unqualified" : YOUR LOSS!

So if I'm a Marshall Scholar, former Marine, Harvard MBA, law review, and have a 3.47 from Chicago, am I "obviously unqualfiied" for your TTT clerkship just b/c i have below a 3.5? [these aren't my specific credentials, but they're analogous].

Any judge who instructs his clerks to look at only grades is an idiot, and I wouldn't want to clerk for him/her anyway. Fortunately, I already have a feeder COA clerkship, so to the TTT district judge clerk quoted here who indirectly called me "obviously unqualified" : YOUR LOSS!

So if I'm a Marshall Scholar, former Marine, Harvard MBA, law review, and have a 3.47 from Chicago, am I "obviously unqualfiied" for your TTT clerkship just b/c i have below a 3.5? [these aren't my specific credentials, but they're analogous].

Any judge who instructs his clerks to look at only grades is an idiot, and I wouldn't want to clerk for him/her anyway. Fortunately, I already have a feeder COA clerkship, so to the TTT district judge clerk quoted here who indirectly called me "obviously unqualified" : YOUR LOSS!

41. When I left my firm to clerk, I did not say a single word about landing a clerkship or leaving until I gave exactly two weeks notice. You can keep these sorts of things quiet.

43 -- Which firm?

41 - What idiot associate would land a clerkship and tell his/her firm about it in advance? I've been interviewing all summer and do not intend to tell my firm until next May, when I'll be quitting and taking a 3-month vacation before starting a 2-year clerkship. The firm can suck it, and I have no intention of coming back.

I work in Texas. Do I have a chance?

The problem with clerking is that the current clerks are myopic and are only interested in adding to their own prestige by passing along resumes and applications from 3Ls at their own school or alumni. This does not serve any useful purpose. Someone who graduates with a 3.5 with no extracurriculars from HYS is not any more qualified than someone who graduates with a 3.5 with extracurriculars from a top 50 school. In fact, the opposite is true.

Clerks do not place any importance or value on publishing. Most judges prefer or require law review membership. Big deal if you're on law review. What you've done on the journal is more important than having your name on the masthead. It's that simple.

I am a federal clerk. I didn't have a 3.5, but I sure as hell had a boatload of material, including private practice, that demonstrated that I can work hard and produce cogent legal analysis. THAT is what is lost in the clerkship hiring process. Right now, it's all about school and rank, school and rank. Quite frankly, it's disgusting.

44 - My judge required clerks to inform their employer once a clerkship was accepted, and I doubt she was alone.

41

46, 47, and 48: Is your resume so powerful that you felt the need to post it 3 times?

Applying is a waste of time. The judge will use the OSCAR program to narrow the search to "Harvard" (or Yale, Stanford, etc.) and "top 1% class rank." Anything else you've done in life is irrelevant.

53 -- TITCR. i am a former clerk as well. it's not rocket science but can be hard work. i'll sacrifice the dork who spotted 2 more issues on the Torts exam for the dude w/ a 3.49 who has a record of hard work but couldn't type as fast.

judges should give their clerks specific, detailed criteria to look for in applications.

Laid off Latham asscoiates are having awesome success in landing clerkships. I know at least 5 who already landed district clerkships. Judges love Latham -- it's a well respected firm among judges.

When hiring, do judges look at grades and law school or do they simply look at law school and disqualify someone that did well from a T-50 school just because she graduated from a T-50 school?

I can suck myself off while giving 2 handjobs. Do I have a shot?

The fact that many judges care about relatively minor differences in GPA based largely on subjective grading by fickle professors makes me doubt the judicial system.

Seriously, any judge that cares about the difference between an A and an A- on a torts exam and an A and a B+ on a property exam is an idiot.

To give an idea of how tough times are, I'm a top 5%er at CCN, and I was told district court clerkships outside of "offbeat" locations were "longshots".

So, fingers crossed for South Dakota.

1/4 of the University of Chicago Law Review's board have federal clerkships already. Some have had them for over two months. The unfairness is that people on Law Review seem to get special treatment, even compared to people with better grades that either chose not to do Law Review or had one bad grade their first year that torpedoed their ability to grade on.

53-"extracurriculars" go back to high school. Otherwise you are 100% correct, Anyone who practices law and understands that our fate is sometimes in the hands of people who are right out of law school, heve never set foot in a court room, and otherwise no nothing about the law except for what their professors (who themselves probably never practiced), are also disgusted.

this article is proof positive that many lawyers are huge d-bags, especially clerks. 75% of the comments and "tipsters" are full of bs. Oh top 1%, LR, Ivy, and no clerkship??? OMG, we are all doomed!!! riiight

For all you interviewees: be prepared to interview with some super douche clerks. This is their one chance to weld even a tiny bit of power.

-Current clerk who is also applying up the ladder.

This is stupid. If you are applying to clerk because you want to clerk that is the right reason. If you are trying to ride out the bad economy then you should apply to a federal/state/local gov't job or small firm or public interest place. At one of those you will make essentially the same amount of money as a clerkship and have a permanent position and not a one year position.

No firm is going to think clerking for the Iowa Supreme Court is more prestigious than a district attorney office. In fact, many employers will prefer the latter.

1. Lawclerkaddict.com is far, far more useful than the outdated Clerkship Notification Blog. Take notice, Elie and current applicants.

2. I'm a 3L who got an early (aka "off-plan") COA clerkship this summer. Contrary to what the UVA Law Blog implies, there was nothing nefarious about the process that led to that result. Professors were and remain the gatekeepers to elite clerkships, and the hiring plan really cannot change that. To the extent that 3Ls aren't able to get faculty members to make calls for them or send out early letters, that's between the students and the professors. Anytime there's a rule like the hiring plan, there will always be incentives to jump it, and those who can (i.e., those with the credentials to do so), will.

67,

What you call credentials, everyone else calls cheating.

HTH

Why would anyone leave a good firm in order to clerk for a judge? Makes no sense if you ask me. Clerking provides some insights into the real courtroom and how decisions are made, but you pick that up quickly if you're appearing in court as counsel for one of the parties.

clerking is a waste of time unless you want to do appellate law, academia, or need to ride out the economy.

53 here.

"Extracurriculars" = judicial externship, editor position on journals, meaningful participation in student organization related to law (or a clinic). This is not unreasonable to want to see in a federal judicial law clerk.

I am a career clerk, and each year I see the same clowns from the same schools coming into clerkships with other judges in my district. They are all from the same schools, and they're all usually recent graduates who have just taken the bar or have delayed taking the bar until after their clerkship has ended. In the end, the HYS clerk wound up in the same spot as the non-HYS clerk, but his/her journey was probably much less circuitous.

In terms of grades, when I screen intern applications, I'm looking for a complete package and ability to write, not school and GPA. Law school exams are subjective and no indicator of good lawyering. Good writing is much more important. I look at a transcript for maybe 1 second, a resume for a couple minutes, and focus my attention on a writing sample.

However, I suspect that most clerks focus on the cover page of the OSCAR application, which contains your name, address, school, class rank, and then delete if they don't see top 5% from their preferred pedigree. It is EGREGIOUS. Most judges did not go to HYS, and most HYS clerks are not really interested in clerking. They are simply perpetuating the pedigree so that they can be bolstered by bonuses at law firms, which also care more about prestige for the first couple years of an associate's life. It is recruiting gold for a law firm to say it hired a top 10 graduate, even if that person had a 2.5 GPA and barely passed. No one will know. All that the public will see is that the firm hired the top 10 graduate. When the associate does not produce after a couple years, s/he will be let go, and no one cares. All that is remembered is that the firm hired the top 10 graduate in the first place.

71 FTW! Great post.

Competition will be brutal but the important thing is not to get shutout. Try for non-traditional clerk openings like volunteer clerk to the Justice of the Peace in West Wagonwheel, Wyoming. Fill resume space and pass it off as your last opportunity to do something different.

53 here again. I should also point out that I have observed this pedigree-driven nonsense in both private practice and as a clerk. While connections certainly play a large part in how someone lands a position (this is, of course, how it works across the board in most professions), it baffles my mind that an applicant with actual experience (firm/public interest, clerking, etc.) who attended a less prestigious institution is somehow placed in the queue behind an applicant with NO experience other than an ability to perform well on a timed examination in a controlled environment and the moniker of "J.D. candidate" at [insert law school name here].

"Update: As reported by U.S. News & World Report (via the ABA Journal), some law schools are better than others at sending their graduates into clerkships. The top two: (1) Yale and (2) University of North Dakota.'

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/article_iii_clerks

http://www.abajournal.com/news/yale_north_dakota_top_u.s._news_ranking_of_judicial_clerk_feeder_law_school/

Thanks Lat for updating the post to link to:

http://www.lawclerkaddict.com/

I am just inside the top 25% at a top 30 school and I nailed a district clerkship for the 2010 season (and not in a completely horrible place either).

I attribute this, however, to the high quality of my writing sample and extracurriculars: I am on the Moot Court Board, I have a managerial position on the Law Review, and I booked both 1L legal writing classes.

I only sent out fifteen applications, and I got this clerkship out of my first interview.

It is hard to get a clerkship when you aren't at the top of your class, but if you have other credentials and a good interviewing personality, you still have a shot.

Good luck!

69,

-To work at a "better" firm.
-Beef up credentials in case a recession hits.
-If you want to practice at the partner level at Appellate/SCOTUS practices, administrative law practice.
-Good clerkship bonsuses (espeically from a top notch district court or appellate court).
-Not worry about billing 2400 hours/year for a year or two.

There are other ways to get these things, but a top notch clerkship that is probably out of reach of 3Ls, will provide all of these.

Do not go to Latham. They think nothing of butchering their first year class. It completely ruins your career.

ITT:

TTT grads whine about their lack of credentials.

If you haven't already sent out a lot of apps to early-moving judges, you're behind the ball.

The OSCAR system has ruined the clerkship application process. The effort it takes to spam every judge in the country is negligible. And the only way for judges to handle the onslaught is to filter by things like school, rank, or gpa. In the process excellent applicants are overlooked.

62 - I have a hard time believing that, at least based on what I know about those who have clerkships already. So long as you apply broadly, I can't imagine why you wouldn't land at least an interview for a decent clerkship somewhere.

Just FYI with the current local and state budget crises a lot of jurisdictions are going without clerks. I know that Fairfax County (i.e. the largest court system and possibly wealthiest county in Virginia) considered laying off the current clerks. Don't know if next years budget included them.

My clerkship bonus (offered for doing a clerkship during 09-10) was 50% of what my firm usually offers (in recent years). Is this a going trend?

70-

I'd have to disagree. I learned more about legal writing during my state appellate court clerkship than any of my classmates who went directly to BigLaw and -- so they said -- spent their first two years of practice reviewing documents and abstracting depositions. It's put me far ahead of the curve and continues to show real dividends in my litigation practice years later.

If you think there's no practical benefit to being a clerk, you either had a lousy judge or you've never clerked.

77 - top 25% = law review for your school?

The ship be sinking...

86:

The problem with your post is that you're trying to speak common sense, which the vast majority of people who comment on this blog don't have.

As was once said in a Miller High Life commericial "common sense wasn't on the guest list."

87-Some schools actually take excellent writers on law review, other than those lucky enough to garner the professor's favor 1L year.

I'm so sad I just want to clerk and nobody's going to hire meeeeeeeeeeeeeee

89-

Excellent point. I should've known better. Let me run my post through the ATL Translator:

[beedlebeepboopbeedlebeedlebeep]

"BIGLAW IS GREAT PREEMINENT PEER SOTOMAYOR ACCREDITED PE'S A 1L SHART!!"

Much better.

-86

90 "Some schools actually take excellent writers on law review, other than those lucky enough to garner the professor's favor 1L year."

Sure, based on the evaluations of 2nd year law students, the recognized experts in the field of "excellent writers." This is why almost everything turned out by student run journals is crap. Pretentious d-bags are selected by other pretentious d-bags because they write like pretentious d-bags. It's the circle of pretentious d-bag life.

58, out of the HUNDREDS of laid off Latham associates, only 5 have landed federal clerkships? The remaining 99% really got Lathamed.

If top-5%, T-14 students are having trouble getting clerkships in federal district courts in flyover country, it's probably because those judges just don't want them and already hired in-state kids.

I clerk for a federal magistrate in a highly competitive district, and we are getting a ton of applications from laid-off attorneys. True, the job doesn't start for a year, but it's not like firm jobs will reappear en mass in a year, either. It looks like most of the judges in my district have already hired for 2010 as well, so I suspect that student applicants will have a harder time landing a position as compared to last year.

Current clerks are digging in for an extra year.

clerks apparently have tons of time to post their thoughts on the internet--count me in.

The Irony is not Lost.

Nobody apply to state court judges. Focus on federal clerkships. Who wants to pay postage anyway? And seriously, no one respects state court clerkships. That's like worse than unemployment. Don't even waste your time.

- state court hopeful

"Pretentious d-bags are selected by other pretentious d-bags because they write like pretentious d-bags. It's the circle of pretentious d-bag life."

93, the same argument goes for professors grading exams. All of it is arbitrary.

Is there still such a thing as a clerkship bonus? (Other than just having a job?)

first!!!

STATE GENERAL JURISDICTION TRIAL COURTS!

im a 3L. i have shit grades (bottom 10%) in worst legal job market in decades (albeit from a T50). sent out 120 apps (some state appellate judges included). true i have a bunch of internships and recommendations (but who doesn't?)

got tons of responses asking me to schedule interviews in the fall. even got an interview for next week.

doesn't pay much and if you have private loans you may be in trouble. but with public loans and IBR your fine.

i highly recommend for those depressed indebted out there. ..esp if you can live in a jurisdiction relatively far away from any law school.

85 - what vault range? Does anyone else know what clerks starting at firms this fall are getting as far as clerkship bonuses? I assume the standard rates (50k for 1 yr, ~75k for two) may no longer apply?

103 - In what state? And how bad is the pay? Also, how did you know if they were hiring? Or did you simply send off applications to them without knowing? Also, what kind of exit strategies do you think you'll have?

Your "tipster" is a fear-mongering douchebag. I bet he's not even a law clerk; he's probably a nerdy 3L trying to scare competition. That's one thing I hate about this blog- a bunch of gunners trying to freak out other people anonymously.

A judge I clerked for in a highly competitive district gets about 400 applications per opening. This year, judges in his district might get 1,000+ applications, but I highly doubt judges in the middle of nowhere will get thousands.

This self-important dbag needs to get over himself and his lame clerkship. He's trying to use the shitty economy to make his clerkship more prestegious than it is.

Your "tipster" is a fear-mongering douchebag. I bet he's not even a law clerk; he's probably a nerdy 3L trying to scare competition. That's one thing I hate about this blog- a bunch of gunners trying to freak out other people anonymously.

A judge I clerked for in a highly competitive district gets about 400 applications per opening. This year, judges in his district might get 1,000+ applications, but I highly doubt judges in the middle of nowhere will get thousands.

This self-important dbag needs to get over himself and his lame clerkship. He's trying to use the shitty economy to make his clerkship more prestigious than it is.

Furthermore, most judges aren't as wrapped up in prestigious school/class rank as this gunner law student. You'll notice most federal judges didn't attend HYS. I'm sure they're not going to leave the selection process up to their current clerks' own filtering system. If they did, I'm sure they'd be pissed if their clerk only pulled applications of the top 5% from the top-10 schools without looking past the cover page of OSCAR and deleted everyone else.

Most people on here have no idea what they're talking about, and proffer wild generalizations as fact with little or no information and experience to back it up.

If there was an award for "blog with the douchiest commenters" ATL would win by a landslide.

Just wanted to echo the current and former clerks who suggest that the process isn't quite as onerous as the ATL/XOXO crowd makes it out to be. I clerked for a top district court (SDNY, CDCA, NDCA, DDC) and am starting a clerkship at a well-regarded, non-flyover COA (USCA 2, 9, DC). Both of my judges hire HYSCCN with some regularity, but have also been willing to hire from "lesser ranked" law schools where the applicant has distinguished herself or himself via publications, work experiences, recommendations, etc. One of my judges was HYSCCN and the other was not, and that hasn't seemed to matter, either. I think that judges are looking for motivated, hardworking applicants who are extremely good writers and are collegial. Some care a lot about L. Rev., class rank, and grades. However, others view those three things as proxies for legal reasoning and writing ability -- and are perfectly willing to accept other indicators of the same.

Though I'm HYS myself, I'm glad to see judges hiring qualified law clerks from a wide range of law schools. Clerking is an incredible opportunity, and I think it's an opportunity that should be available to as many qualified graduates from the continuum of the nation's law schools as possible.

103 here answering 105

1)state of MD

2) based on last years rates pay is about 38k for Gen. jurisdiction trial courts (a little raise when you pass the bar no raise if you dont so it can be a little more depending on when you pass the bar) appellate court clerkships for Md dont require bar and pay about 44k

3) my school keeps a list of even state judges it knows are finished hiring for 2010 term or retiring. I sent to all app judges (except 1) who were not on the list as well as trial judges not on the list in most of the counties. A few judges i already found out had hired for next year and hadn't been on the list. most were not reviewing apps till later-and a few have asked me to call for interviews-one very soon.

4) Hopefully you can pass the bar while your clerking-which allows you to apply to way more places. i want crim law so hopefully i make some contacts with the states attorney who will be before my judge all the time and is in the same building and hopefully they will have an opening. backup plan is staying on for another year (one of the responses I got was from a judge who wasn't hiring until his current clerk could find work)

Flawed methodology from US News, again. Hardly a surprise.

Factoring federal clerkships into the overall US News rankings of law schools could be valuable -- as could consideration of state high court clerks and longer-term data on graduates' career outcomes, including rates of law firm partnership, appointments to the federal and state bar, proportion of in-house counsel at major corporations, etc. But relying on self-reported data from schools is a flawed methodology. As always with US News rankings, the lack of basic research rigor is laughable. And mystifying.

For example, did the magazine survey the federal judges themselves about the law schools from which their clerks graduated? Did they audit the self-reported data in ANY way? At the very least, they could have flagged questionable data, contacted the schools to verify placements, and -- if necessary -- called the judges who supposedly hired those clerks to confirm the placements.

This is not the first time US News has published unverified data in its rankings of law schools, data that turned out to be incorrect. Generally, the errant data was easily recognizable and correctable -- had anyone at US News bothered to scrutinize and confirm the data before publication. The fact that US News won't correct errors in its rankings makes all of this more irritating. The lack of responsibility in this matter is tantamount to disdain for the entities the magazine ranks and the readers they purport to serve.

US News has turned itself into purveyors of rankings. It needs to do a better job of assuring the quality of assessment it is selling the general public.

I really want to go to law school and I am finally ready to start. This Fall would be my second term, but I am so afraid of having to take out big loans to pay for it I am not sure if I should even go but I don't want to quit either

Tax Court is excellent for those who are interested in tax law. However, the Court has grown highly competitive.

Don't let the douchebags on here, autoadmit, or any other site dissuade you from applying to clerkships because you aren't from a T-10 or in the top 1% of your class from a lesser school.

Yes several judges are notorious "prestige whores," but there are judges out there who look beyond the grades and class rank. Some judges only look at applicants with real legal experience and don't even bother looking at 3Ls; other judges pay more focus on writing samples and the interests of their applicants. My judge loves hiking and typically interviews applicants with intense activity-based interests. Even though top stats are important, a judge will also want someone with similar interests to shoot the shit with.

A judge in the same district as mine used hire clerks from HYS and top 5%ers from the rest of the T14. She finally decided to "take a risk" and hired the number 1 student from the local T-50. That clerk did the best work that the judge ever experienced. Plus, the HYS second clerk was so incompetent and inefficient, that she gave the complex cases to the T-50 clerk (even if it was supposed to go to the HYS clerk). She now recruits from the T-50 and will occasionally interview from the T-14.

If you want a CoA clerkship this year and you're a 3L, you better have some damn good grades. But if you do, you still have a good shot, even in this economy. According to Law Clerk Addict and various things I'm hearing, schools on the edge of the T-14 like Georgetown and UT have already placed multiple CoA clerks (who I assume are mostly all at the top of their class, law review, etc.) pre-plan.

Point being, if you have killer grades and other stats, don't be too nervous about the fact that you're not at HYS.

Could you please post some advice on how to get top Canadian clerkships as well? Canadian law students and lawyers read this blog a lot and it would be very helpful, since many of us with biglaw jobs in the US are now deferred.

As a former King & Spalding associate, I can honestly say this firm was the worst place I have ever worked at -- not just worst law firm, but worst workplace period. I thank God every day that I no longer work there or have to list them as my employer. The firm is grossly mismanaged, compounding repeated terrible decision-making with a dog eat dog culture (a bunch of independent contractors sharing space to reduce overhead) that makes the firm's touted "no jerk" policy look pathetic and ridiculous. I have painted my description of King & Spalding with a broad stroke because although there are some good people at the firm, these few individuals are, unfortunately, not in positions of authority, so they are unable to control the wretched decisions made at the top. I would NEVER recommend this firm to any client, much less anyone looking to begin their career here.

I'm clerking for a federal district judge in NY, and I have to say ... it's going to be a tough year for 3Ls. There are lots of stellar alumni applications out there, and plenty of hiring was done over the summer. Thankfully, many judges have also been holding spots to hire through the plan. But if you don't land one this cycle, don't feel bad about yourself -- just try again in the spring or next summer when you'll have all the advantages of being in the "alum" pool (even though you'll still be a 3L at the time)!

One thing I wanted to warn everyone about: DO NOT SAY YOU ARE CLASS OF 2009 ON OSCAR if you are actually Class of 2010. Every single application I've gotten from a 3L who claims to be "Class of 2009" in order to evade the plan and trick OSCAR into sending their application in sooner to the judges -- they are going straight to the trash. Dishonesty, even on a website, is the fastest way to lose a judge's interest.

I clerked for a COA in the urban midwest in the mid-1990s; T35. You best apply to all of the clerkships you can, but I can say that ANY judge will ask you "why you want to clerk for me," and "why you want to be in [city,state, circuit]." So, those who have been laid off from their firms with absolutely no connection to the area have a very slim chance, in my opinion. Also, in my experience, generic recommendation letters from professors don't help. You need professors to really know you; they need to go above and beyond a written recommendation for you. For instance, I would ask the prof not only to write a long, detailed (4-5 pgs) recommendation letter, but also to CALL chambers after you have secured an interview. These types of "personal touches" can make an applicant stand out (I'm presuming that the professor is not a douchebag). Also, if you have practiced a bit, in addition to a prof's recommendation, you may also want to include recommendations from partners, or those who know you from your local bar service activities (shows commitment to the community). Otherwise, you're just stats on paper, particularly if you are a law school student or a recent grad, and you have an expected (or rather typical or undistinguished) academic record. Other than that, I would apply to fellows programs or similar types of public interest programs. Good luck!

Don't kid yourself - US District Court clerkships in "fly-over country" (are you in the entertainment industry now?) were ALWAYS hard to get.

Does anyone have any idea of how many OSCAR applications district judges in TX received today?

speaking as a current clerk reviewing applications now: I just find the people that have whatever qualifications my judge demands. I'd like to pretend I have great discretion to look at people who I think are special but from lower-ranked schools, but I don't.

Our chambers has a medium sized stack of apps, despite the fact that OSCAR makes clear that he has no openings.

If you are still receiving electronic apps, OSCAR isn't clear. The most annoying judges are the ones who put some obscure post buried on the "chambers information" page about being done, but never change the position to "filled". If it's still listed as available, I'm fucking sending you an application. Deal with it.

USN&WR also lists Notre Dame as being in "Notre Dame, Indiana." Do they also thnk Northwestern is in "Northwestern, Illinois"?

Got 10:03am call from 9th Cir Justice, then 10:30am call from another. That's early for them -- 7am and 730am.

Um, 124...I went to undergrad at Notre Dame and their mailing address is in fact "Notre Dame, IN." There were a few jokes when I was there about the school not wanting to be associated with South Bend and therefore getting its own zip code, but, USA Today's mistakes (for now) are confined to just one ND. Not much else I have to say except...Michigan sucks and go Irish

126 here...apologies, US News, not USA Today

Law Clerks get paid on the JS scale, not the GS scale. But the first year of a clerkship does pay between 50k and 60k depending on your locality and cost of living adjustment.