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Clerkship Thoughts from Gate 33B

Someone asked in the thread below about a clerkship discussion, which is something I have been meaning to start for weeks. I guess I was a little distracted with a test, or something, but what better opportunity to catch up than now, while I sit here waiting for a connecting flight at LAX?

Where are you in the timeline? Paper judge lists in? Cover letter writing? OSCAR deadline looming? That seems about right.

Let me share some off-hand thoughts, and then open a forum. As a threshold matter, I remember being utterly confused by the lingo, the timelines, the telephone strategies, and all the rest of it. The clerkship process is a little like OCIP in that it seems massively confusing until you have actually gone through it once. Afterward, it seems relatively simple. So, if you have any questions (particularly questions you are too embarrassed to ask the CDO in person), ask anonymously to your heart's content. Someone will answer.

There are four specific pieces of advice I would like to share. I realize perspectives vary and so you should not take this as gospel. Just take it as one person's perspective.

First, do not hang your soul on this process. Being a clerk is in no way a measure of your legal mind, your academic merit, or  career potential, much less your worth as a human being. Not only is the hiring process "highly competitive" (how many times have you heard that one?), but it is also quite arbitrary. Approaching the process with a "well, let's see what happens" mindset, in my opinion, is the only healthy way to go. Really. Stay healthy.

Second, try not to compare us to Yale and instead reach out to the CDO and see what they can do for you. We may not have the crazy clerkship guns of other schools, but I found our guns more than adequate. Our CDO answered my questions, passed on tips based on what they remembered about my applications, and really did seem to know what they were doing. Small example: I know for a fact that ES went the extra mile for at least one of my classmates well after the clerkship hiring process ended, and as a result classmate is now a federal clerk with a prominent bay area judge. I realize opinions vary, and I don't want to open a debate about the CDO (please, I really don't), but my experience was positive, and I have every reason to believe that yours can be positive, too.

Third, if it is your application, it is your responsibility. Even given what I just said about the CDO, you are seeking a clerkship so that you can benefit by being a clerk. It matters more to you than to anyone else, and I think that keeping this perspective is helpful -- this whole affair isn't profoundly important; it is just profoundly important to you. On one hand, if things go wrong with your application, they will affect you more than anyone else. But on the other, the fruits of extra energy on your part will be reaped by you and no one else. No one is going to hand you a clerkship for being yourself -- no matter what your rank, how awesome your personality, or how catchy your resume's interests section, you still have to put yourself out there, and a judge still has to decide to like you. What I am saying is that the more you own this process, the more you will stand out from the thousands and thousands of other applicants who are plodding through the paces. Which means the more likely you are to become a clerk.

Fourth, quality not quantity. I now know that a key to tipping the clerkship hiring arbitrariness in your favor is to focus on judges within your reach and show them that you care about working for them. Try to (professionally) reach out and touch your judges, instead of just spamming every federal judge in OSCAR. The judges with whom I interviewed all said that after routine screening for grades, schools, etc., they pulled my application because it appeared that I had genuine desire to work for that judge in particular. We all know to "personalize our cover letters" and so I can conclude only that despite how common that advice is, few people actually follow it. Strive to be one of the people who does.

Those are my off the-cuff thoughts on this. Fire away in the comments with your questions. I am sure other folks who have been through this process will chime in, and even if they disagree with what I have said here, you should listen to them.

Good luck!

(Sent from my phone.)

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on August 02, 2010 (boomark / email).