Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Into 2016 We Go -- Plus SCOTUS Clerk Bonus News
Who are the latest Supreme Court clerks, and how high are signing bonuses going for outgoing SCOTUS clerks?
The start of the new Term of the Supreme Court of the United States is about a month away. So now is a good time to do a new round-up for Supreme Court clerk hiring. As it turns out, there are more than enough unreported hires for a fresh story.
And there’s other SCOTUS clerk news to share as well. Remember last year, when law firm signing bonuses for SCOTUS clerks hit a new high of $300,000? Well, try to stop yourself from turning green with envy, but some firms are now offering even more than that.
How much are these kids — and yes, many of them are kids, in their mid-twenties — taking home in signing bonuses? Yes, signing bonuses, on top of their usual six-figure associate salaries….
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Before we get to the bonus news, a quick shameless plug. If you’re reading this post, you’re presumably interested in SCOTUS clerk hiring. If you’re interested in SCOTUS clerk hiring, then please check out my forthcoming novel, Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link). According to Judge Richard Posner, “This fine novel by a leading Internet commentator and analyst of the courts provides disquieting insight into the secretive world of federal judges and their brilliant anxious young law clerks.” According to Judge Richard Kopf, reviewing the book over at Hercules and the Umpire, Supreme Ambitions is “more about truth than fiction. This is legal realism at its finest but told in the highly unusual and difficult form of a well-crafted novel.” (That’s the abbreviated version of the plug; I’ll have more to say closer to publication. The book comes out in December, but you can pre-order it now if you like.)
Very well, on to the news. We have received reports of multiple firms offering $330,000 clerkship bonuses to SCOTUS clerks starting this fall. Upon information and belief, the following firms are members of the $330K Club:
- Boies Schiller (which pays $300,000 year-end bonuses to non-SCOTUS-clerk associates)
Jones Day (which last year won the SCOTUS clerk sweepstakes)- Kellogg Huber (the most impressive firm that you’ve never heard of — and they like it that way)
- Paul Weiss (arguably New York’s sexiest law firm)
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UPDATE (9/10/2014, 1:30 p.m.): Official responses from the firms: Kellogg Huber confirmed that it’s paying $330,000, Jones Day denied it’s paying $330,000, Boies Schiller declined comment, and Paul Weiss hasn’t gotten back to us yet.
If you have firms to add (or remove) from this list, please email us or text us (646-820-8477). A little over a year ago, I wrote, “$300,000 is a nice round number (as well as a large one). I’m guessing that bonuses for Supreme Court clerks might remain at this level for a year or two before heading higher.” It looks like I was wrong, at least as to some SCOTUS clerks and some firms.
(If only we could do something about the stagnation of “regular” associate salaries. They have to go up again sometime, right? Inflation is low but greater than zero.)
When we report on Supreme Court clerkships, we sometimes offer a little color commentary — observations about which feeder judges or law schools are killing it in minting SCOTUS clerks. Today we’ll give a shout-out to Judge James E. Boasberg. A tipster tells us:
I [recently met] Judge Boasberg, having placed several clerks with him. He’s a D.D.C. judge, not appellate. Nevertheless, FOUR of his clerks over the last two years have been hired by SCOTUS justices. I recall your doing a piece about Judge [Gary] Feinerman (N.D. Ill.), so this seemed like a newsworthy tip if you do another profile of top district court judges.
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Let’s welcome Judge Boasberg to the ranks of the district-judge feeders. And unlike many other feeder judges, he never clerked for SCOTUS himself — he clerked “only” for the Ninth Circuit (the distinguished Judge Dorothy Nelson, former boss of ATL columnist Mark Herrmann, among many other high-powered lawyers) — so his achievement is even more impressive.
Oh, and speaking of district-judge feeders, congratulations to Judge J. Paul Oetken (S.D.N.Y.), the first openly gay man confirmed to the Article III federal bench. Last weekend, Judge Oetken married his longtime partner, Makky Pratayot, the internationally prominent make-up artist. Don’t be surprised to see them in a future Legal Eagle Wedding Watch!
Okay. You’ve all been very patient, so it’s time for the list. See below for the October Term 2015 Supreme Court law clerks hired thus far — and even a few for October Term 2016.
You’ll note that we have not carried over from the last hiring update the list of October Term 2014 clerks. That’s because they’re old news; those folks have already started working at One First Street (even though not all of their bosses are back in town yet). You can check out the full roster of OT 2014 clerks here.
As always, if you have additions or corrections, please email us (subject line: “SCOTUS clerk hiring”) or text us (646-820-8477). We realize that we’re missing a number of hires; for example, we’ve heard reports of two recent UVA Law grads who clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson getting picked up (by JGR and AMK, upon information and belief). Thanks!
OCTOBER TERM 2015 SUPREME COURT CLERK HIRES (as of September 9, 2014)
Chief Justice John G. Roberts
1. Jake Brege (Michigan 2012 / Sentelle / Boasberg (D.D.C.))
2. Daniel Feith (Yale 2012 / Sullivan (S.D.N.Y.) / Griffith)
3. Ben Tyson (UVA 2014 / Srinivasan)
4. Katherine Booth Wellington (Harvard 2013 / Kavanaugh)
(Marguerite Colson (Yale 2015 / Kavanaugh) has been hired for October Term 2016.)
Justice Antonin Scalia
1. Sopan Joshi (Northwestern 2013 / Posner/ Feinerman (N.D. Ill.))
2. Michael Kenneally (Harvard 2011 / Gorsuch)
3. Taylor Meehan (Chicago 2013 / W. Pryor)[1]
4. Jonathan Urick (UVA 2013 / Sutton / Thapar (E.D. Ky.))
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
Justice Clarence Thomas
1. Marisa Maleck (Chicago 2011 / W. Pryor)
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
1. Josh Bone (Yale 2013 / Tatel)
2. Sam Harbourt (Harvard 2013 / Garland / Bristow)
3. Amy Marshak (NYU 2011 / Rakoff / Katzmann)
4. ?
Justice Stephen G. Breyer
1. Galen Bascom (UVA 2013 / Garland / Bristow)
2. Tejas Narechania (Columbia 2011 / D. Wood)
3. Farah Peterson (Yale 2012 / Calabresi)
4. ?
Justice Samuel Alito
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
Justice Sonia Sotomayor
1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
Justice Elena Kagan
1. Yaira Dubin (Harvard 2013 / Srinivasan / Boasberg (D.D.C.))
2. Jeremy Feigenbaum (Harvard 2014 / Fletcher)
3. Thomas Fu (Stanford 2014 / Garland)
4. Jonathan Meltzer (Yale 2013 / Wilkinson / Bristow)
(Ben Eidelson (Yale 2014 / Garland) has been hired for October Term 2016.)
Justice John Paul Stevens (retired)
1. Gillian Grossman (Harvard 2014 / Kavanaugh)
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (retired):
1. Sarah Boyce (Duke 2012 / Sutton / Bristow Fellow)
Justice David H. Souter (retired):
1. ?
Do you know about a hire we haven’t reported yet, or have an addition or correction to any of this info? Please email us (subject line: “SCOTUS Clerk Hiring”) or text us (646-820-8477). Thanks!
[1] I write “W. Pryor” because Judge William Pryor — a longtime leading light of the federal judiciary, and a prominent feeder judge — has just been joined on the Eleventh Circuit by Judge Jill Pryor.
David Lat’s first novel, “Supreme Ambitions,” deftly dissects judicial power [Hercules and the Umpire.]
Supreme Ambitions: A Novel [Amazon (affiliate link)]
Earlier: It’s Official: Supreme Court Clerkship Bonuses Hit A New High
Prior ATL coverage of Supreme Court law clerks
