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Is a clerkship "worth it" with a state intermediate court of appeals judge? Is a clerkship with such a judge looked on as "prestigious"?

The reason I am asking is this: to me the experience itself will be worth it. I know the judge that I am thinking of applying to and know that I would really enjoy working for him and would learn a lot. I also know that the firm I worked for this summer was really supportive of me applying for any clerkship and the attorneys I worked for at the firm offered to recommend me to this judge.

My only hesitation is that I told someone who recently graduated my law school that I was going to apply to this judge. My friend looked surprised and told me that he did not think it was worth it to take a clerkship with a state intermediate court of appeals judge--in fact, that a clerkship with this judge would look bad on my resume considering my stats (I'm a rising 3L and an editor at LR at a top 20 law school, top 10).

Is this the way that people will really look at such a clerkship?

Disclaimer: I did a state intermediate court of appeals clerkship, so I'm partial. But: It's certainly not as "prestigious" as SSC or federal clerkships, but I think saying it would "look bad" on a resume is a bit much. I do know someone who's firm would hold her job open for a SSC (or federal) clerkship, but not for the state COA. But I don't think even they would think it looked "bad," it just wasn't it worth it to them for her to get that experience (based on the kind of work they did). It can depend on the judge, too - if the judge is well known highly respected in the region where you want to practice, it doesn't matter as much what court they're on. If your firm is supportive and wants to recommend you to the judge, and you know working for the judge would be a good experience, I wouldn't worry about what other law students think.

Anonymous User wrote:If your firm is supportive and wants to recommend you to the judge, and you know working for the judge would be a good experience, I wouldn't worry about what other law students think.

this

i'm starting a state COA clerkship after the bar. cum laude at a t14, LR, etc. chose the clerkship for geography reasons, and because the judge seemed like (s)he would be an awesome mentor. i would be lying if it didn't cross my mind that a state COA clerkship is not as "prestigious" as federal court, but life is short. go with your gut feeling and ignore what snobby law students think. if you like the judge and think the experience will be enjoyable, do it (assuming you even get offered the clerkship).

I think your other consideration is that, say if ur firm somehow rescind your offer a year or 2 from now (i really hope it doesn't though), then you'll need to use ur resume to get another job. Now, the problem is that you have great credential, but your first job out of law school is a state CoA clerkship. People would look at your resume and think that was the best job you could get. If you are ok with that worst-case scenario, then by all means, take the state clerkship and don't look back.

Because lord knows a state COA clerkship is a black mark on a resume. Heaven forfend.

Anonymous User wrote:i'm starting a state COA clerkship after the bar. cum laude at a t14, LR, etc. chose the clerkship for geography reasons, and because the judge seemed like (s)he would be an awesome mentor. i would be lying if it didn't cross my mind that a state COA clerkship is not as "prestigious" as federal court, but life is short. go with your gut feeling and ignore what snobby law students think. if you like the judge and think the experience will be enjoyable, do it (assuming you even get offered the clerkship).

Can you private message me?

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Because lord knows a state COA clerkship is a black mark on a resume. Heaven forfend.

I feel like I've read pretty much exactly this on TLS (posted seriously.) I guess because you can't use one to get into Biglaw like you can fed clerkships (sometimes?).

shifty_eyed wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Because lord knows a state COA clerkship is a black mark on a resume. Heaven forfend.

I feel like I've read pretty much exactly this on TLS (posted seriously.) I guess because you can't use one to get into Biglaw like you can fed clerkships (sometimes?).

I mean, I know people who went from state COA to biglaw (even in my tiny biglaw market). I'll admit that if you don't already have a job lined up, the outcomes from state COA are probably fairly variable (though this is often true of federal clerkships, too). And if you're looking at a job where you're only going to practice in federal court, a state clerkship isn't really going to help you. But I disagree with the idea that a state clerkship is a black mark on your resume, which I've seen here, too.

I guess the assumption is because it's "easy" to get one, they "look bad" because that was "all you could get." And yeah, if you're at HYS, and probably a lot of the T14, you do have a decent shot at state COA (my sense is that in my law school state, most state COA judges would hire someone from H pretty much in a heartbeat without a lot of concern about grades). But I really don't think employers are walking around saying, "Gosh, the only thing they could get is a state COA, that's an auto-ding." At least, that's certainly not what happened in my market, and it seems fairly short-sighted to me.

shifty_eyed wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Because lord knows a state COA clerkship is a black mark on a resume. Heaven forfend.

I feel like I've read pretty much exactly this on TLS (posted seriously.) I guess because you can't use one to get into Biglaw like you can fed clerkships (sometimes?).

Also consider that not all states are created equal. You're in one with COAs that often have the final word on issues of first impression on even major issues. Especially influential are the 1st/14th, 3rd, and 5th.

(You also happen to be at a school with decent clerkship advisors. I would seek one of them out with this question. Also consider doing an internship for credit for one of the SSC justices during the fall or spring this year; students at your school have a distinct advantage in applying for those given geography, plus it can get you a good recommendation for a future SSC or COA position.)

Many firms don't pay bonuses for state court clerkships that are not at the SSC level, and at some prestige-obsessed firms, it would, rightly or wrongly, be looked upon weirdly to do an intermediate state COA. That being said, if it's something you want to do, and you want to go back to your firm that supports you doing the clerkship, go for it!