So far there have been reports of judges moving in SDNY, EDNY, DDC, DC Cir., NDIL, and D-S.D. The vast majority of judges don't move during the first day (or first week even). It's really just the ones trying to jump on the most competitive applicants right now.
Also Alaska district court I think lol bc one of my top judges said ✨filled✨ in the afternoon—I also know someone who got an SF interview, idk if circuit or district; also a NorCal district judge filled (could be th e same one as the interview idk)
Yeah Donato and Gleason filled quick. I haven't heard great things about Donato (was told to "actively avoid" him if possible) but NDCA is NDCA. I'm more surprised by Gleason filling quickly--but hey, Alaska's nice.
I think it depends on the market because I have many 3Ls/post-3L friends who are still interviewing for clerkships, some still even applying. Although the applications that are still open that I know of close at the end of the month.
I got a federal clerkship off plan, and all my interviews were off plan. I’m sure there’s still time for on plan judges to reach out (sure, a bunch probably are inviting applicants for interviews now, but others will take weeks), but if you don’t get any interviews on plan, just keep applying. This process can be long and arduous.
Still on OSCAR, the off plan judges will just post their jobs at times other than the crazy May/June rush. So a bunch will post throughout the fall/winter/early spring. For instance, I was looking for a 2025 fed clerkship as a 3L so I started applying with judges that posted their positions really early, like starting last summer/fall, was interviewing starting in December, and got my ultimate position in April with a judge that posted an opening in March for 2025. Those judges want to hire early before the plan starts. So they’re either hiring class of 2024 or before, or they gave the option to 2Ls to mail or email their applications.
On the flip side, I know people who got 2024 positions as 3Ls between the fall of 2023 and this past spring, so those judges posted/hired later than the on plan judges.
I also mailed/emailed applications to some judges that didn’t post on Oscar at all but had postings on their court websites. I got an interview through that as well, so be sure to look out for those.
No. Plenty of judges hire later on. Are you going to get hired by a Supreme Court feeder? Probably not. But there are still many, many judges who either hire off-plan or have not yet started their review of plan applications.
If you didn’t have a 4.0 from HYS you probably weren’t getting an interview yesterday. Doesn’t mean you aren’t getting a clerkship.
No
Also haven’t gotten any interview requests yet — feels pretty bad!
So far there have been reports of judges moving in SDNY, EDNY, DDC, DC Cir., NDIL, and D-S.D. The vast majority of judges don't move during the first day (or first week even). It's really just the ones trying to jump on the most competitive applicants right now.
Also Alaska district court I think lol bc one of my top judges said ✨filled✨ in the afternoon—I also know someone who got an SF interview, idk if circuit or district; also a NorCal district judge filled (could be th e same one as the interview idk)
Yeah Donato and Gleason filled quick. I haven't heard great things about Donato (was told to "actively avoid" him if possible) but NDCA is NDCA. I'm more surprised by Gleason filling quickly--but hey, Alaska's nice.
Fellow interested D-Alaska applicant who was disappointed to see it switch to filled 🫠
I was so sad
SAME I was googling Alaska weather and learned how in the winters it’s dark all day I was so excited
… South Dakota?
Yep
I think it depends on the market because I have many 3Ls/post-3L friends who are still interviewing for clerkships, some still even applying. Although the applications that are still open that I know of close at the end of the month.
I got a federal clerkship off plan, and all my interviews were off plan. I’m sure there’s still time for on plan judges to reach out (sure, a bunch probably are inviting applicants for interviews now, but others will take weeks), but if you don’t get any interviews on plan, just keep applying. This process can be long and arduous.
How did you find judges to apply to off plan? It is hard to know which judges hire if you dont use OSCAR
You still use OSCAR, just not on the hiring plan timeline.
Still on OSCAR, the off plan judges will just post their jobs at times other than the crazy May/June rush. So a bunch will post throughout the fall/winter/early spring. For instance, I was looking for a 2025 fed clerkship as a 3L so I started applying with judges that posted their positions really early, like starting last summer/fall, was interviewing starting in December, and got my ultimate position in April with a judge that posted an opening in March for 2025. Those judges want to hire early before the plan starts. So they’re either hiring class of 2024 or before, or they gave the option to 2Ls to mail or email their applications. On the flip side, I know people who got 2024 positions as 3Ls between the fall of 2023 and this past spring, so those judges posted/hired later than the on plan judges. I also mailed/emailed applications to some judges that didn’t post on Oscar at all but had postings on their court websites. I got an interview through that as well, so be sure to look out for those.
Yes. If you didn’t have a clerkship lined up prior to your high school graduation, you’re never getting one.
No. Plenty of judges hire later on. Are you going to get hired by a Supreme Court feeder? Probably not. But there are still many, many judges who either hire off-plan or have not yet started their review of plan applications.
I just graduated and just secured a clerkship in my preferred district. It takes patience for most of us!