First

Do non-COA judges, especially bankruptcy, tend to not call on day 1?

I got a call from a DC area code, but there was only heavy breathing on the other side. Didn't say a word. I think it was Clarence Thomas.

PE is prank calling dozens of anxious 3Ls today.

Latham NY laid off more than half the first year class only four months after they started.

Latham LA laid off a third of the first year class only four months after they started.

Latham DC laid off 25% of the first year class only 4 months after they started.

These cuts were unnecessary. The fact that the partners voted for them shows the firm is run by cut throat assholes who don't care about anyone's career.

crickets...

I just got a call from Souter. He said he needs a clerk to help him go grocery shopping in NH. Fingers crossed.

I'm a top 10% 3L at NYLS and have an interesting situation I was hoping I could get some advice on from the ATL crowd. I sent out about eight hundred (800) applications to all levels of the judiciary at the state and federal levels. Obviously, I'd prefer a federal circuit clerkship. The problem is, I've heard that you have to accept the first clerkship you're offered. Is that true? If so, should I screen my calls for the next few days? I would hate to get a district clerkship offer and then have to inform the second circuit I won't be available. Thank you in advance.

Lots of real time updates are being made here:

http://www.lawclerkaddict.com

#9,

Are you serious?

11-- Yeah, I'm not sure what to do. Any thoughts?

-- 9.

6 -- why weren't they necessary? Do they increase shareholder return? Then they are the right thing to do. The obligation of partner's isn't to care about anyone's career. It is to care about the profits of their fellow partners. Didn't you take corporations? Or do you think businesses are eleomosynary institutions rather than profit-making machines?

6, I understand your frustration, and I think it is in a lot of ways legitimate given how law firms recruit--summer associate positions, where partners ostensibly treat you like a peer, wine and dine you, etc. It creates unrealistic expectations and, in my humble opinion, false appearances of respect and comraderie.

But law is a business like any other, which is by definition cutthroat. Business is business. One day you will stomp on a weaker opponent to put food on the table for your family. You don't have to be nasty about it (and from what I read Latham actually gave severance that was above market/norms), but it is business.

Unless you are an equity partner yourself, partners are the enemy (wherever you are), and the sooner you realize that and use that realization to your advantage (eyes/ears open, mouth shut, don't volunteer for anything, etc.) you'll be better off.

--Non-Latham gov't attorney (former associate at other firms).

I am 1 out of 90. Yippee!!!

9, my advice is to seek professional help.

16, I've already had my resume and materials looked over by NYLS Career Services and they're very professional. I'm not sure it makes sense to pay an outside professional to do the same work.

-- 9.

Right now I'm 0 for 300.

13

Please shut the fuck up. It's unethical to coax people into turning down other offers to accept yours just to lay them off without cause four months after they start. A lot of biglaw firms don't layoff first years for precisely this reason.

I disagree with your shareholder theory regarding large firms. See paragraph one.

Also, this is going to be horrible for Latham in the long run. Everyone currently working there is miserable and they're going to leave once other opportunities become availabe. Latham is either going to have to turn down work because of this, reducing their future profits, or they're going to have to hire a lot of untrained or poorly credentialed people to take their place. I wonder if clients will want to pay Latham rates for their work.

Also, other than Latham, there is not a single V20 firm that has massacred a first year class. Most of the V100 have not massacred first years. You really think the partners at Latham know better than the partners at most other firms? Remember, these are the same people who continued bulking up the ranks even as work was drying up in late 2007.

Elie,

You're a fat fuck. Why don't you do an article on the number of judges that do not follow the plan? Around 75% of clerks were hired before September 8. Also, you could talk about how inept the clerkship offices are at law schools. They hold recommendation letters and applications until the plan dates when it is absolutely clear and apparent that the vast majority of judges do not follow the plan. It would be far more insightful than most of the shit you spew on this site.

Is it OK to put a District Court judge on hold if a Circuit Judge calls?

Someone keeps calling me and asking if I do greek. The voice is kind of lispy. Is this something I should be worried about?

re #6 - Those Latham 1st years must have been pretty bad to have been laid off so quickly. Best to stop reminding everyone - you are devaluing your brand.

22, as long as there is no ATM action involved, you'll be fine.

Could ATL do a thread on applying for clerkships after working for a few years, as opposed to after 3L year? Tips, tricks, timeline, process, salary, chances of obtaining a prestigious clerkship, sharing of experiences?

I'm a 3L and got an interview call on Wednesday. Should I report the judge for violating the plan? Would that hurt my chances of getting hired?

23

stfu. half the first years weren't bad, and if they were, why did latham hire them? the partners are just greedy fools who don't know how to manage a firm.

An hour and 18 minutes in, I'm 0 ~315

Agreed 20

Just as a heads up, I'm currently a clerk with the d.ct. (and not "flyover," as retarded as that notion sounds), and none of the clerks in my courthouse are reporting that any of the judges here have made calls yet (though a few made some last week to alums). So the whole "if you don't get a call in the first hour, life is over" notion should be discarded.

For what it's worth, I didn't get my call to interview with this particular judge last year until mid-afternoon.

19 -- you're wrong. It is not unethical. It is looking out for the best interests of the business -- attracting talent when you need it, letting it go when you don't. And there is an oversupply of lawyers out there, so I don't think Latham will have any trouble staffing up again when it needs to. 90% of biglaw work can be done by anyone who graduates from a T1 law school.

The silence...it's deafening

19 -

On a day when Americans pause to give special rememberence to the more than 3000 fellow citizens who perished eight years ago at the hands of blood-thirsty terrorists, I am troubled by your reference to "massacred first years." While it is unfortunate that you lost your job, you are still alive. Try to keep things in perspective.

9. Sarcasm, noun: a mode of satirical wit depending for its effect on bitter, caustic, and often ironic language that is usually directed against an individual.

Ask 16 to spell out the individual if necessary.

If you're going to brandish the word "eleemosynary," spell it right.

#30,

So you think I should get my phone out of the toilet?

30,

Thanks for some at least legitimate-sounding information. Wish I'd applied to judges in your courthouse.

14 - Amen!
I also have to add: Get over it 6. The sooner you do, the sooner you will realize that your life has not come to an end. This economy is seperating the rock stars from the douchettes. So fucking man up.

agree with 20. maybe let lat handle that one, so it'll actually be of use?

This is totally racist, but I read Elie's post in the voice of Tyler Perry's Madea

I am at the University of North Dakota and 25% of my classmates got called this morning.

9 --

As a former clerk, I don't think it would be wise to reject an offer for a clerkship in the hope that a "better" clerkship will be offered.

Its great that you that you're in the top 10% of your class, which will obviously help, but clerkships will be incredibly hard to get this year. You will be competing with top 10% graduates from much higher ranked schools (I assuming you're at New York Law School, not NYU), who will also be on law review, moot court, etc. You didn't specify what your other credentials are. And to be frank, unless you are ranked #1 in your class and a top editor on law review, I think a federal circuit court clerkship is out of the question. Perhaps a district court clerkship, but that might even be stretching it.

I'm not saying this to be mean. I know a lot of great attorneys, in every area of the legal profession (big law, gov, etc), that went to lower ranked law schools. I don't by into the whole TTT bs for a moment. But with that said, a school's prestige is important for the vast majority of federal clerkships.

So the bottom, take the first clerkship you're offered.

Is anyone actually getting class? 0 for 350 after 1 hour and 34 minutes here.

Mystal = Tyler Perry

D Ct clerk here- we made a call at 10, just an FYI

"Could ATL do a thread on applying for clerkships after working for a few years, as opposed to after 3L year? Tips, tricks, timeline, process, salary, chances of obtaining a prestigious clerkship, sharing of experiences?"

Agreed.

Why do we need comments about Latham in every thread, no matter the subject of the post? Let's settle this once and for all. The laid-off first years were subpar. Remember, half the first years were NOT laid off, and continue to work at Latham to this day.

20 - YOU are the fat fuck. Why don't YOU do an article on the number of judges that do not follow the plan!

47,

Sure, these well credentialed first years were subpar. Latham did not determine this during the hiring process, or during the summer, but rather after a period of 4 months over which there was no work. And they suddenly realized this about all these people all at the same time.

Latham is a poorly managed shit firm run by the biggest, most incompetent assholes in the industry.

Does 10:00 mean 7:00 Pacific?

#9,
I don't think you'll have to worry about disappointing the Second Circuit. Concur with 42: take the first offer. You're not as impressive as you think, ITE or otherwise.

The fact that you sent out 800+ apps is itself troubling. Whatever happened to not applying to a chambers you wouldn't want to clerk for? If you want to hedge, that's your choice, but be prepared for the consequences.

I heard the laid off Latham first years were mostly incompetent and fumbled the few assignments they did receive. I also heard there were warning signs over the summer, but Latham decided to give them all another chance and they all failed miserably.

LATHAM ROCKS!

Bob Dell and Dave Gordon should both be fired.

Did Dave Gordon bomb the LSAT? Why'd he go to Syracuse law school after going to Cornell UG?

49, Latham only needed the bottom 50% first-year dregs when it had too much work for the other 50% to handle. When there wasn't as much work, the competent 50% could handle everything with ease and the incompetent rest should naturally be let go.

Think of yourself as a slightly-more-prestigious but still-pathetically-incompetent temp brought in to deal with overflow work.

I guess a little over two hours in, 0 for 102 here....

I guess a little over two hours in, 0 for 102 here....

1 for 1.

top 10% at a top 10 school, law review -- 1 for 100

nothing yet

top 10% at a T25, LR, publications, 0 for 325 after 2 hours and 9 minutes

56,

lol

That partner's son who went to dad's law school (i wonder how he got in), dad's law firm (i wonder how he got hired), then survived after he failed an exam 90% of his peers passed was surely in the "top half."

I don't think you get how things work. Especially when you're talking about first year associates with no track record. The summer at Latham is a joke because it's a big party with no work. The first four months were a joke because there was no work. Even when there is work, it's well known you don't know who is good and who isn't only four months in.

Now, shut the fuck up Latham's PR company. You're disgusting.

It's pretty sickening that Latham has it's PR attack dogs on here trying to justify one of the more reprehensible layoffs that have occurred during this season.

56, get a real job.

63, just because one incompetent person wasn't fired doesn't mean that those fired weren't incompetent. Did you get a 155 on the LSAT like Mystal?

And sorry that your own parents were loser TTTs who couldn't help your unemployed ass with a good school and a good job. I'm sure you would never do the same. Maybe you should try harder in life so that your own sorry little kids won't suffer your fate.

The journal office here sounds like a PBS telethon!

Indiana 2L

20, those judges could still be following the plan--the plan deadlines apply to applicants in school; judges are free to hire post-grads whenever they want. and there are a lot of them out there.

0 out of 75...but I applied mostly to judges in California. ahhhhhhhh

For everyone freaking out-
I am currently clerking with the district court in a desirable city. My judge hasn't even started looking at applications because of other things going on. Sometimes judges are busy, and believe it or not muddling through tons of applications is not the top thing on their priority list. So if you haven't been called yet, don't give up hope. Last year, I didn't get my first interview until 3 days after the interview period started.

This thread is about CLERKSHIPS, not Latham. Please go find somewhere else to rant.

Do any of the disgruntled unemployed posters really wonder why you were fired? Your attitudes suck.

Per Judge Jerry Smith (5th COA out of Houston):

"I do not follow any national "hiring plan." All such plans are entirely voluntary for judges, law students, and law schools. Many if not most judges have decided not to follow the national hiring plan this year.

Applicants with a serious interest in clerking in this chambers should apply ASAP. I hire almost exclusively those whose term as my law clerks will begin right after graduation. That means that students entering their third year in the fall of 2009 should apply now.

If your law school won't provide a transcript, just send a list of grades. If your professors won't give recommendation letters, I will proceed without their input."

1 for 1 for CoA.

65

Get a real job you sick fuck.

Thank you, 69. I am too wound up to do anything but stalk my phone and ATL, so that helps.

Despite what Latham's PR trolls may say there is no justification for firing that many first years.

Will Latham laid-off associates please just put a sock in it! I'm sorry for your financial/economic circumstances. However there are other firms (which if you had half a brain you'd be applying to) and an entire legal community outside of Latham. The more comments that are made by laid-off Lathams, the more it becomes clear why they may have been let go.
Please stop monopolizing the comment threads.

76,

The Lathamed people have been applying for 6 months now and most haven't found jobs.

You're a fucking idiot if you think someone who was laid off as a first year after turning down their other offers should be happy and chipper is idiotic.

With those reasoning skills, you will not be getting a clerkship, so you might as well turn off your phone and leave this thread.

63 -

"The summer at Latham is a joke because it's a big party with no work."

With this attitude, I'm not surprised that you were terminated, as opposed to those who took the summer program seriously.

71,

Yes, laid off first years should be happy and perky!

With those reasoning skills, you won't be getting a clerkship, so your participation in this thread is unnecessary.

78, you really don't know anything about my background, K?

79. I didn't say happy and perky. Neither did 76. I just said go somewhere else. Please stop subjecting everyone to your angry rants. It's your participation in this thread, the purpose of which is to discuss clerkships, that is unnecessary.

For the record, I'm 2 for 100.

One of the Lathamed first years actually works for Wachtell now. I find it hard to believe that this person's performance was subpar. Wachtell > LaTTTham.

77. I never suggested that Latham's vocal complainers should be happy or chipper (because you clearly aren't). Just stop ranting constantly on this site. Surely with all your free time you can find other blogs to spew your vitriol?

81,

LOL at your miserable stats. Why would you even post that?

You're not getting a clerkship with only two interviews. If your stats were any good you'd have more lined up. Enjoy!

On behalf of all ATL readers, I would like to thank the Latham trolls for once again ruinng what coul d have potentially been an isightful thread.

I'm surprised this isn't clear, so let me say it again. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT WHAT LATHAM DID TO YOU. Life is unfair sometimes. Get over it, and move on with your life already.

lot of people fell for 9 here

my dct judge made his call

This is totally racist, but I read 84's comment with the voice of someone with a penis in their mouth

83.

No. I'll bitch as much as I want. You may find it annoying, but in a way it's helpful. No other V20 has done what Latham did. Most firms in the V100 haven't. Elie won't report the breakdown, or the fact that the first year layoffs were completely unnecessary, so how is anyone going to know if it's not spammed into the comments?

82, if he/she could get a job in this economy, what does that say about why you're still unemployed?

Latham spammer does have a point though. Latham is poorly managed and is not a peer firm.

Anybody know if Mystal is a top or a bottom?

88. Perhaps you should start a blog about Latham so that every thread on this site doesn't turn into and "I hate Latham fest". It is clear something awful happened to you and you're angry. However, you are doing something awful to this site.

89,

If Latham laid her off, what does that say about the quality of Latham's management?

Top 1/3, T14 secondary journal, call from a district court judge

Would you guys shut up about Latham? This isn't about biglaw, it's about people who applied to clerkships and waiting to hear. So just stop. Nobody cares.

i am amazed that people r stupid enough to give 9 actual advice. well done 9.

95,

if you don't like don't respond

Seriously can we just not mention Latham anymore on this thread? There are doubtless a bevy of trepidation-filled 3Ls refreshing every few minutes as they wait for calls whose coming seems more and more unlikely with every passing minute and we shouldn't have to wade through all this other nonsense. Clerking is something very important to a lot of people and they are here to use this particular thread as a resource at this crucial juncture - cut them some slack and hit mute on the Latham business for just a little while, please.

re # 77 - I don't see how perpetuating the belief that Laid Off Latham 1st Years = Internet Trolls is helpful to your cause. Spamming the Internet may have a marginal effect on Latham's reputation but it also leaves the impression that those 1st years are a half-step from going Postal. Not good for your resume!

Latham is a TTT

94:

where? if you don't want to ive specifics, at least give a general idea (e.g. SDNY/CD Cal vs. ND Ill/other major city vs. flyover)

100

I concur.

Did it ever occur to the laid-off Latham first years that they're digging their hole deeper by constantly posting on ATL?? If I were an employer and got a resume from someone laid off from Latham, I would be really apprehensive about hiring someone who spent the vast majority of their free time trying to let the world know that they were wronged. Freaks.

Get over it already. The vast majority of you have excellent credentials and everyone knows you were laid off because of the economy. You're all probably younger than 30. Yes, things are shitty right now, but you'll be fine in the long run (assuming you don't kill yourself before then). You're some of the brightest people in the country and you're going to be fine.

Just stop with this "I was wronged and everyone should know it" attitude. Let's think about this. How did you get your job? You interviewed in 2007 for about 20 minutes on campus. Then you spent an afternoon meeting with 5-6 people for about ~20 minutes each. And you think that entitles you to 5-6 years of employment at a salary of ~$200,000?! Come on! Not to mention you made about $30K to spend a summer partying and eating fancy lunches. Try explaining your "problem" to someone outside of the legal field.

Some perspective, please? Just give it a rest. At least for today. It's September 11, for Christ's sake.

T50; Top 5%; No journal; only applied to 7 CoA judges; already have 2 interviews and waiting for more...

D Ct clerk here...I polled 3 other chambers and the clerks report that none of their judges have any idea this timeline exists....nor does mine. We already hired....as did the chambers next door...other 2 judges have not.

D Ct clerk here...I polled 3 other chambers and the clerks report that none of their judges have any idea this timeline exists....nor does mine. We already hired....as did the chambers next door...other 2 judges have not.

103,

I don't know the exact numbers but at least 70 first years were laid off from Latham. The chances that any one of them is spamming this board is nill. If you ding them for those odds, your firm is probably a craphole where they shouldn't work anyway.

91, I'm guessing that on Earth--and on any other plannetary body with even moderate gravity--he must be a bottom.

98- You're not getting an offer from a court because your writing sucks. Eschew obfuscation!

Top 50, Top 10% - 0/250

Top 50, top 5% - 1 /400

If we haven't heard by now it's over, right?

Followed clerkship adviser advice; tried to parlay one interview into more by calling other judges in the court house. Got hung up on by a secretary and yelled at by a clerk. But three others said they'd call me back... Oh what fun.

lol. i was almost going to do just that, 112. thanks for warning against it.

D. Ct. clerk here, in a desirable but not super-desirable (SDNY, ND Cal) district.

We haven't done anything yet, except throw out some of the applications that have return addresses from schools that the judge doesn't like. We probably won't be making calls for another 2 weeks, maybe longer.

Don't freak out if you haven't heard anything by the end of the day. Looking at these things is very low on our priority list.

105 sounds about right.

Judge (months ago): Just tell me when I'm supposed to interview people.
Me: Wait until next year. I'm not going anywhere.
Judge: Sounds good.
Me: Phew.

112 -- a little soon to be doing that I think.

T14, top 10% - 2 out of 35 (1 COA, 1 DC)

If you haven't gotten a call by now, you will die a sad and lonely unprestigious death.

113-
Not saying don't do it, just be aware you can either get another one, or burn bridges. Double edged sword. I told my adviser what happened, he said "you can't lose an interview you don't already have". I think if it's a COA, call to parlay, if it's a Dist Ct, they may not have made any calls yet...

116-

How is it too soon? I've gotta book flights, and make other arrangements, so I need to know. Not like I can wait until I'm up there and pop my head in.

-113

Sorry, 120 was from 112, not 113. Nerves are screwing with my counting abilibilities.

112:

When I was clerking, I hated getting those calls and we NEVER interviewed anyone off those calls unless we'd already put them on the list to be called (at which point the 'nudge call' by the candidate made us reconsider). I don't know why the schools tell hiring plan candidates to make such calls. It's one thing if you are off-plan and applying when there are no set deadlines -- then you might catch a chambers that hasn't even looked at your papers yet. During the plan, you just look like a total gunner.

122

On the other hand, I've already gotten an interview from this.

See, as with everything regarding this retarded plan, one judge does one thing, another does what he feels like. Which is why the whole process is horribly painful and clerks should have some FUCKING SYMPATHY. You know we're just doing what we're told, why ding us for it? I know, you love the power. But just remember, you're an asshole.

103: Sounds right. I wouldn't hire a former Latham first year. Sure, there's only a 1 in 70 chance that it's the same looser trolling around here, but there is so much downside if you loose that bet and end up with the 1 that it isn't worth giving the other 69 a break.

i got an email from oscar that said it was from a judge's chambers. the judge said that he will be reviewing apps over the coming weeks and expects to be back in touch later. any clerks out there familiar with something like this? is it actually an indication that i will be contacted, or is it a bulk mailing sent indiscriminately to all applicants?

103: Sounds right. I wouldn't hire a former Latham first year. Sure, there's only a 1 in 70 chance that it's the same loser trolling around here, but there is so much downside if you lose that bet and end up with the 1 that it isn't worth giving the other 69 a break.

3--

COA judges don't call people who split their infinitives.

-COA clerk (flyover circuit)

and non-COA judges, for that matter.

-128

Poor 19 takes up for those who couldn't cut it and everyone should feel sorry for them. I suppose anything is preferable to facing reality. Too funny.

Thanks, 30. You gave me hope.

Top 5 percent T14, LR. 200+ applications to COA and D Ct. 1 D Ct. interview so far, nothing else.

119

What if you're exceedingly nice about it? If you call and speak like an entitled dick, then yah. But if you're very polite, I don't see any reason to ding them.

128-129. The split infinitive rule is subject to scholarly debate and many linguists/English profs now view it as an anachronistic hanger-on from Latin conjugation. hth, snob.

T30, Top 10%, LR, V5 SA, 0-120

MVP, top 10%, LR, v10 SA, 2/100.

As a former clerk, I always hated the "I'm interviewing for another judge, how about adding me to your interview list."' So annoying. We looked the applications and we decided not to interview you. End of story. The fact that another judge thought you might be a good fit for her chambers has no bearing on our decisions. Bad advice from the books/adviser and I would discourage anyone from following it.

103 nailed it.

So, I went to a TT and have been unemployed/unemployable since graduation two years ago. What are my chances at clerking for Posner?

126 - I got an email from a judge's chambers two days ago saying the same thing. They called today. But I'm assuming some judges may send that notice to every applicant.

I'm T50, top 5%, Law Review, 1/50 - DC.

T-10, top 30%, journal, V-50 SA, 0-300

T14, top 10%, 3/40, all DCt

T50, top10%, secondary l rev editor, 0 - 120

Exeter/Yale/YLS, top 0.0000001%, started my own law review, new CEO of Goldman Sachs, parents are billionaires, I'm a bigger fucking douche than 140-144. Suck it.

CCN, Top 10%, 2/40.

Most judges don't just look at the stupid statistics everyone is posting. They're looking for someone they want to see everyday that is not a complete a**hole

107 = that guy who is the Latham spammer, and is now worried law firms can figure out who he is.

that's what an interview is for, 146

146 - Do judges care about improper usage of "everyday" [sic]?

I'm not going to put up my own stats here, but I haven't gotten a single interview and have, in my opinion, pretty damn good credentials. The seeming impossibility of getting ANY clerkship this year, federal or state, has actually made me a lot more concerned for what the legal job market as a whole is like. I knew it was going to be competitive, but not THIS competitive. I feel like anyone who just graduated or is about to graduate law school is pretty much f*cked unless you're an all-star, and doomed to a career of mediocrity.

139 -- High. He'll probably seek you out.

why are all these critical care nurses applying to federal clerkships?

What does the abbreviations CCN and MVP stand for? (Other than Critical Care Nurse and Most Value Player)

What does the abbreviations CCN and MVP stand for? (Other than Critical Care Nurse and Most Valuable Player)

Touche, 149. I actually like grammar police on ATL. It's part of this website's bitchy charm.

Still stand by my comment that judges (district court) are looking for someone to be in "the trenches" with, and you can tell a lot about someone from their application.

-146

T50, Top 15% and LR, v-50 SA, public service, etc. 0-150 so far. Do I even have a shot with the USMJ's I applied to? It seems district judges are prob. out based on all these other postings.............

CCN is "Cooley, Cardozo, and New York Law School." MVP is anyone's guess, but certainly not prestigious.

157 is incorrect. The acronym properly represents "Cooley, Chicago, NYLS."

yada yada clerkships
tell me more about latham! are things going well there?

W.D. Pa. judges seem to be calling.

As for the person above who intimated that they should "report" a judge for "violating" the plan, they grossly misunderstand what the plan is and how it works. The whole enterprise is voluntary as to judges, but slightly more binding as to career offices. Nobody else is officially "bound" by it.

159

No one in this thread is getting a clerkship. Latham is going under.

150 says, my credentials are great and I am an all-star, yet it seems impossible to get state court clerkships, thus, anyone who is not an all-star is screwed.

P.S. 150, you're screwed.

160, what seems clear is that you cannot cotton to the gag when someone "intimates" some seriously fake comments . . . .

anyone know if judges let you know that you are not getting an interview, at least by template letter mailed out?

any specific news from anyone about the ct. of appeals for the fed. cir.? i.e. anyone hear back from any of the judges or any current clerk comments

Former COA clerk here,
agree with others who posted above. As much as it sucks for those waiting to hear it, in most chambers, this is a very low priority. You are calling very busy chambers and the clerk you've reached may be staring at a deadline (Fridays are deadlines for bench memos in many chambers), and your application, or the hiring process, may be the furthest thing from his/her mind. Clerkship hiring is a crap shoot. Know that you did all you could, wait, and hope.

This is absolutely absurd. Lat, Elie, someone, do something! This blog desperately needs comment moderation, or nested threads, or required registration, or SOMETHING so that I don't have to weed through dozens of comments that have absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand. I'm sure there are plenty of people with something valuable to say, but I don't end up reading them because I close my browser after I get fed up with too many irrelevant, inane, and annoying comments. Jerky commenters are going to be the downfall of your site.

166 has nothing to do with Latham. Please moderate.

Since most of you would never dain to visit, much less live, in my lovely city, I doubt you'd care, but my former Judge in "fly over country" isn't calling and won't be for a few weeks.

That would be "deign."

168-69 so hilarious!

True dat, 170. The 168-69 exchange is priceless.

98 - What's Latham?

DNCG, Top 1%ish (maybe #1, but hard to know for sure), 8/10, COA - but this was over the summer.

I was laid off from Latham for "economic reasons" but was still able to secure a TON of clerking interviews this season. The phone is literally ringing off the hook. A lot of New York judges too, which is what I was hoping for. I spent the afternoon hiring a few other laid off attorneys to be my secretaries during this busy time.

XKCD, top 3%, 47/91.

T-25, Top 15%, LR. So far, 1/95.

T-72, top 5%, LR, V100 SA, 0/1231

CCN, top 33%, v5 SA, 0/70 so far.

bleak

Good Lord, 177. Did you have typo in your cover letter or something? One would think you'd have done better, if for no other reason than random probability.

I clerked for a district court judge who called me nearly a month after the "okay to call" date. Relax, folks. Lots and lots of district court judges ignore the time-lines completely. Mine always still ended up getting T10, top 10%, journal, etc. I'm sure he will this year, too, even if he waits until October.

unsolicited phone call from SCOTUS justice offering me soto's spot on the bench.

I suppose that I should know the answer to this, but is Latham & Watkins accredited by the American Bar Association and a member in good standing of the Association of American Law Schools?

TTT, top 50%, 0 for 0 so far. Suck it gunner losers!!!

T10, 40%ile, no journal, no moot court, no work experience, (likely) lukewarm recs, V10 SA (no-offer), 0/40. FML.

does FML = Fuck my life?

Latham First Year Guy (I really hope it's mainly one guy):

I was also laid off from Latham NY, but I don't spend all day whining about it on ATL. Whatever sympathy people had for you/us, has long since evaporated. You are bugging the shit out of everyone and making your former colleagues, the employed and unemployed, look bad in the process, which helps no one. I have some advice for you: shut the fuck up about it, already. Seriously. Give it a fucking rest.

It sure does.

Thanks 187, I was confused but it seems to fit.

185

Clerkship Season 2009 = EPIC FAIL

T20 Alum, top 10%, LR editor, published, 2/~25 COA

law profession 2009 = epic fail

184: don't FYL; get a life.

Thanks, 192. I was planning to get the (new?) life that would spring from the loins of my current life upon a good, solid fucking delivered unto it, but now, thanks to your helpful advice, I see that I can just get one without waiting the requisite nine months! If you would only direct me to the fine life-giving establishment where you procured your clearly fulfilling life, I will be eternally in your debt.

HYS, top student, EIC of all scholarly journals, huge cock: 9 out of 9 Supreme Court

MVP, top 25%, Lex Steele, 1/1 w/ Ginsburg the fox

It has been awhile since I took contracts, but I seem to remember something about reliance on promises. It was in the 90s in the Restatement (2d) of Contracts, I think. I wonder if those applicants who relied on judges following the hiring plan might have some sort of cause of action?

Those applying are probably better than me in contracts, is my memory right?

BTW, applications are up by about 100% in my chambers this year. So slim chance is slim chance / 2 this season.

Good luck with that, everyone.

top 5% at T25 school + LR editor + summered at V10 firm + published = 1/160.

ugh.

I'm another district court clerk urging people not to freak out. I agree with the other clerks that this is simply not one of our priorities. It's September. It's not like we won't be able to find a wonderfully qualified applicant if we wait a week or even a month, expecially in this economy.

We receive hundreds of resumes and it takes time for the judge to review them and for the clerks to provide our input as to whom we should interview. Our chambers has not made any calls to applicants yet. So, just be patient.

I'm another district court clerk urging people not to freak out. I agree with the other clerks that this is simply not one of our priorities. It's September. It's not like we won't be able to find a wonderfully qualified applicant if we wait a week or even a month, expecially in this economy.

We receive hundreds of resumes and it takes time for the judge to review them and for the clerks to provide our input as to whom we should interview. Our chambers has not made any calls to applicants yet. So, just be patient.

Home » News» North Dakota Law Dean Says U.S. News Info on Clerkships Is Wrong
Law Schools
North Dakota Law Dean Says U.S. News Info on Clerkships Is Wrong
Posted Sep 8, 2009, 10:20 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

The dean of the University of North Dakota School of Law says U.S. News & World Report’s latest ranking is wrong, and she’s asking for a correction.

U.S. News & World Report reported on Friday that Yale Law School is tops for having the highest percentage of 2007 grads in federal Article III clerkships, and North Dakota is second.

Dean Kathryn Rand told the ABA Journal that she learned of the new ranking on Friday afternoon when her director of career services sent her the online link. The clerkship list said North Dakota placed 28 percent of its 2007 grads in all judicial clerkships, and 25 percent in federal Article III clerkships.

Actually, the law school did not place any students in Article III clerkships in 2007, Rand said. The 28 percent figure for all judicial clerkships is correct, however, “and not an anomaly at all.”

North Dakota was not the only surprise on the U.S. News list of top judicial clerkship feeder law schools. The University of Wyoming was No. 5 and the University of St. Thomas at No. 6. All are tier 3 law schools on U.S. News’ overall list.

“I don’t know exactly what happened with the misinformation being reported in the U.S. News survey,” Rand told the ABA Journal. “I understand that we weren’t the only school that had misinformation reported.” Rand said she learned of other errors when she called U.S. News.

Rand did not identify which schools were wrongly placed on the list. But Robert Morse, director of data research for U.S. News, told the ABA Journal that Western New England College School of Law, ranked 15th, has also contacted him to report an error. He invites other schools identifying mistakes to contact him, and says the results will be corrected.

Western New England associate dean for external affairs Bill Childs later wrote on Western New England College School of Law Blawg: "We discovered that we made an entirely inadvertent error, reporting our overall clerkship employment rate (i.e., the percentage of our employed recent graduates who were working in any judicial clerkship) as being the same as our federal Article III clerkship rate."

The University of St. Thomas law school has also come forward, issuing a statement by Dean Thomas Mengler saying its clerkship information is wrong. “Our data as provided to U.S. News and World Report is incorrect, and we are working with U.S. News to fix this error,” Mengler said.

The schools reported the clerkship figures in response to a U.S. News questionnaire, according to Morse. Since law school officials supplied the data, they shouldn't imply that U.S. News got the figures without their knowledge, he said.

Rand says she hopes the error “does not overshadow the fact that we do an incredible job in placing our students in judicial clerkships generally.”

Why US News Rankings suck!

As if we needed confirmation that the Dakotas aren't secretly Article III feeders.

T100, 5%, LR, MC. 2/130 so far.

Any C.D. Cal clerks willing to share info on whether their chambers have finished making calls?

**********************************************************
To all those waiting for a telepohone call: please don't give up hope
**********************************************************Judge Elizabeth Halverson (Nevada) and Judge Samuel Kent (Texas) have not yet hired.

Good luck to all.

there's always latham.

Was circuit court clerk 3 years ago, how well I remember these trying days of waiting . . .

T30 alum, top 3%, law review, published, second law degree from a major non-English speaking European country, current district court clerk - 3/50something, all CoA.

Suck it, T14.

How old are you, 208? Cause I'm 24, and I bet you'd give up your clerkship to be 24 again.

Friend is approx top 6% at a T20, law review board, published note....9 CoA interview offers out of ~80 apps.

Suck it, HYSCCN.

209,

I'm 25. 24 didn't feel much different.

208

HYS alum, top 20%, non-LR, no publications, editor of secondary journal, prior district court clerkship, 6/20 (9th Circuit only.)

Anyone ever clerked for the US Court of Federal Claims? Any insight on day to day work and how to nail the interview? Thanks!

213 -- The court does several things that you probably already know about if you applied to clerk there. But an interesting thing would be for you to go to the Department of Justice's website and look at the Civil
Division's Commercial Litigation Branch. These DOJ attorneys practice almost exclusively in that court, and by reading what they do, you will gain another perspective on the work of the Court of Federal Claims. Good luck.