Let’s Talk DC Circuit! Forum

[Anonymous User]

Thoughts on Judge Kelly as a boss/mentor/clerkship experience on DDC?

I have heard great things. And in my limited interactions with him, I have always come away impressed. His clerks seem to be happy with the experience.

Anyone know if Kelly has moved this cycle?

[Anonymous User]

How competitive are COA clerks (not from CADC or CA2 or a feeder) for a district court clerkship on DDC? Summa/Coif from T30.

I love admin law and am very interested in clerking in DDC for its docket and will be practicing in DC prior to my COA clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

How competitive are COA clerks (not from CADC or CA2 or a feeder) for a district court clerkship on DDC? Summa/Coif from T30.

I love admin law and am very interested in clerking in DDC for its docket and will be practicing in DC prior to my COA clerkship.

Need more information. Which school? There is a difference between being summa and involved in FedSoc at, say, NDLS and gunning for a clerkship with a Nichols or McFadden (after securing a COA clerkship, usually quite a solid one), and being summa at UGA or something and trying for the same or for most of the liberal judges on that court (not trying to dunk on UGA). If you are the former, you may well be a viable candidate (e.g., Nichols hired the valedictorian of NDLS recently). Generally speaking, you are probably not competitive for most judges on D.D.C., which is not exactly known for its holistic attitude in terms of schools. It is a pretty elitist place. But, of course, there are relevant factors that might position you for one of these clerkships that I'm not aware of (connections, etc.). Regardless, always apply and shoot your shot. I've gotten things I never expected to be competitive for because I simply applied.

[Anonymous User]

How competitive are COA clerks (not from CADC or CA2 or a feeder) for a district court clerkship on DDC? Summa/Coif from T30.

I love admin law and am very interested in clerking in DDC for its docket and will be practicing in DC prior to my COA clerkship.

Need more information. Which school? There is a difference between being summa and involved in FedSoc at, say, NDLS and gunning for a clerkship with a Nichols or McFadden (after securing a COA clerkship, usually quite a solid one), and being summa at UGA or something and trying for the same or for most of the liberal judges on that court (not trying to dunk on UGA). If you are the former, you may well be a viable candidate (e.g., Nichols hired the valedictorian of NDLS recently). Generally speaking, you are probably not competitive for most judges on D.D.C., which is not exactly known for its holistic attitude in terms of schools. It is a pretty elitist place. But, of course, there are relevant factors that might position you for one of these clerkships that I'm not aware of (connections, etc.). Regardless, always apply and shoot your shot. I've gotten things I never expected to be competitive for because I simply applied.

OP here - thanks for your reply. Background is much more similar to that latter (non fed soc). Do you know if seniors are less competitive?

[Anonymous User]

How competitive are COA clerks (not from CADC or CA2 or a feeder) for a district court clerkship on DDC? Summa/Coif from T30.

I love admin law and am very interested in clerking in DDC for its docket and will be practicing in DC prior to my COA clerkship.

Need more information. Which school? There is a difference between being summa and involved in FedSoc at, say, NDLS and gunning for a clerkship with a Nichols or McFadden (after securing a COA clerkship, usually quite a solid one), and being summa at UGA or something and trying for the same or for most of the liberal judges on that court (not trying to dunk on UGA). If you are the former, you may well be a viable candidate (e.g., Nichols hired the valedictorian of NDLS recently). Generally speaking, you are probably not competitive for most judges on D.D.C., which is not exactly known for its holistic attitude in terms of schools. It is a pretty elitist place. But, of course, there are relevant factors that might position you for one of these clerkships that I'm not aware of (connections, etc.). Regardless, always apply and shoot your shot. I've gotten things I never expected to be competitive for because I simply applied.

OP here - thanks for your reply. Background is much more similar to that latter (non fed soc). Do you know if seniors are less competitive?

Someone else may be able to speak to the seniors more than I can, but my impression is that they tend to be a small step less competitive than most of the actives on D.D.C., though not always by much. For example, I have seen Judge Bates hire some really solid people from my school in recent years. It just depends. If I were you, I'd probably blanket apply to all or most non-FedSoc judges on the court, active and senior. I don't think you're competitive for Boasberg, Moss, or Cooper (maybe also Contreras, Mehta, Ali, but I know far less about them)--all of whom seem to be quite elitist in their hiring, pulling from the top of HYS--but it's worth throwing apps in with the others.

[Anonymous User]

Curious what the general practice is for judges writing letters of recommendation or serving as references for their former clerks - is that common? Unusual? What should I expect post clerkship?

[Anonymous User]

Curious what the general practice is for judges writing letters of recommendation or serving as references for their former clerks - is that common? Unusual? What should I expect post clerkship?

My partner clerked for a judge that didn’t write recommendation letters for clerks but would serve as a reference/take phone calls. The judges I clerked for would write letters. It varies, but in my personal experience a significant minority don’t write letters but will take a phone call.

[Anonymous User]

Curious what the general practice is for judges writing letters of recommendation or serving as references for their former clerks - is that common? Unusual? What should I expect post clerkship?

My partner clerked for a judge that didn’t write recommendation letters for clerks but would serve as a reference/take phone calls. The judges I clerked for would write letters. It varies, but in my personal experience a significant minority don’t write letters but will take a phone call.

This surprises me. I can't imagine working for a year and presumably doing good work, only to have my boss/judge not be willing to write a letter. Genuine question: what's the rationale behind being willing to serve as a reference but not writing a letter? Is it just that the former requires less effort than the latter?

[Anonymous User]

Curious what the general practice is for judges writing letters of recommendation or serving as references for their former clerks - is that common? Unusual? What should I expect post clerkship?

My partner clerked for a judge that didn’t write recommendation letters for clerks but would serve as a reference/take phone calls. The judges I clerked for would write letters. It varies, but in my personal experience a significant minority don’t write letters but will take a phone call.

This surprises me. I can't imagine working for a year and presumably doing good work, only to have my boss/judge not be willing to write a letter. Genuine question: what's the rationale behind being willing to serve as a reference but not writing a letter? Is it just that the former requires less effort than the latter?

Not a clerkship, but the judge I interned for on the DDC had this practice. Makes more sense for interns, can't imagine what the rationale could be for clerks. I'd be a bit disheartened by it if I were a clerk in that situation.