The Girl's Guide to Law School®
Get In, Get Through, Stay You
This week we welcome guest writer Aleena Ijaz to talk about, and demystify, the clerkship process.
I had absolutely no idea what a “clerkship” was before I started law school. So, if you are reading this post and don’t even know what a clerkship really is, don’t stop reading. I will explain.
This week we welcome guest writer Tina Arroyo to talk about her transition from law firm life to being a career clerk and why this career path works for her.
After years of legal practice, like almost every woman I know in the legal profession, I found myself searching for that ever so elusive work-life balance. And I found it in a place that you often do not hear about in law school – in a career clerkship.
Today, we’re thrilled to welcome back Fairuz Abdullah, Associate Director for Public Interest and Clerkship Programs at UC-Hastings School of Law. In Fairuz’s first post, she talked about what the future holds for 2L applicants. Now she’s back to address a question on many minds — what should you do if you didn’t immediately get a clerkship offer when the window opened for 2L applicants?
Without further ado, here’s Fairuz.
As long-time readers of The Girl’s Guide know, we’re huge proponents of judicial clerkships. But the world has gotten a lot more complex since most of our original clerkship content was published. The hiring plan is a mess, and no one’s quite sure what’s going on.
That’s why we’re so thrilled to have Fairuz Abdullah, Associate Director for Public Interest and Clerkship Programs at UC-Hastings School of Law, here to talk about 2L clerkship hiring!
Without further ado, here’s Fairuz.
Since the Federal Law Clerk Hiring Plan crashed and burned earlier this year, there is uncertainty about what judges will do starting today when rising 2Ls can begin submitting applications to judges through the Online System of Application and Review, better known as OSCAR.
Word on the street is that judges will most likely be sipping Mai Tais on a beach during the August vacation season rather than reviewing clerkship applications from 2Ls.
However, judges have posted quite a few openings with 2016 start dates which means that regardless of whether they are expecting it or not, they will receive applications from 2Ls.
When I started work as a law clerk, I assumed I’d learn about trial practice and explore some new areas of law. That turned out to be true.
What I didn’t realize was that I’d get some really great life advice along the way.
In general, clerking is a great job!
One NALP study found that a remarkable 97% of judicial clerks would still opt to clerk, if they could go back in time and make the choice again.
It is important to understand, however, that there are potential downsides, as with any situation where a small number of people work closely together!
Applying for a clerkship can be one of the most fraught experiences of law school. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.
Plenty of talented, well-qualified people apply for clerkships each year, and come up empty handed.
After the chaos of setting up your interview schedule, going to the actual interviews should be rather relaxing!
Or not. Judges can be intimidating people.
The most critical piece of advice for managing your interview schedule is simple: do not answer the phone!
Let all of your calls go to voicemail, at least temporarily. If you are a competitive candidate and have applied to fast-moving locations, it would not be uncommon to receive between five and ten calls in the first few minutes judges are allowed to schedule interviews under the Guidelines.
If all goes well, one morning your phone will start ringing with judges who would like to meet you.
While receiving calls is certainly exciting, it can also be stressful, especially if you’ve applied in more than one geographic area.
