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Judicial Clerkships vs Government Positions

jowens7317jowens7317 Alum Member
in General 244 karma

What are the pros and cons of both? Which is the better choice as a career stepping stone? The reason I ask is because I'm trying to decide between two law schools and the only real difference between them is that one places considerably more graduates in judicial clerkships and less governmental positions than the other

Comments

  • AlexAlex Alum Member
    edited June 2017 23929 karma

    @undoubtedly said:
    What are the pros and cons of both? Which is the better choice as a career stepping stone? The reason I ask is because I'm trying to decide between two law schools and the only real difference between them is that one places considerably more graduates in judicial clerkships and less governmental positions than the other

    Which is better for your career is going to ultimately be determined by your career goals. Generally speaking, judicial clerkships are seen as more prestigious and helpful across all sectors of legal hiring. They are also undoubtedly more competitive than most gov't positions by the shear nature of the fact there are less clerkship spots available.

    If you are interested in working at a law firm or in big law, clerkships are the way to go, and many firms offer very hefty bonuses for those who have clerked. Many will consider your time clerking so you don't always have to start as a first year associate if you've spent that year clerking.

    Then again, some gov't positions are extremely prestigious and can help you transition into certain areas of law. Taking a position as an ADA will certainly help if your ultimate goal is to be a DA/Prosecutor, arguably more so than a clerkship. Becoming a JAG officer is another great example of something someone may pass up a judicial clerkship in order to do.

    When comparing law schools, I think I would feel safe saying that in a vacuum schools that places more people into clerkships is usually the way to go. Government positions stats are sometimes used by schools to obfuscate the fact that they are placing students into JD advantaged positions rather than into jobs as practicing attorneys.

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    Can you share which schools have had high rates of placing students into clerkships?

  • thisisspartathisissparta Alum Member
    1363 karma

    @tringo335 said:
    Can you share which schools have had high rates of placing students into clerkships?

    above the law and law school transparency have pretty good stats on this.

    http://abovethelaw.com/2016/08/the-best-law-schools-for-getting-federal-clerkships/

  • tas236tas236 Free Trial Member
    2 karma

    If you are interested in working in a regulatory area of law (antitrust, securities, food & drug, communications, the list goes on...) you may actually be better served by working in an agency, especially at the federal level in Washington, DC or at, for instance, a DOJ field office. Obviously this won't work for everyone due to location, but the best regulatory attorneys I know worked at the respective agency(ies) fairly early in their careers, then 10-15 years in private practice, then went back to an agency in a senior position. They don't call it a revolving door for nothing.

  • Zachary_PZachary_P Member
    659 karma

    What are your career goals? If you ultimately would like to end up in government, either would be great depending of course on what type of role you want to have in government.

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member
    3679 karma

    @thisissparta said:

    @tringo335 said:
    Can you share which schools have had high rates of placing students into clerkships?

    above the law and law school transparency have pretty good stats on this.

    http://abovethelaw.com/2016/08/the-best-law-schools-for-getting-federal-clerkships/

    Thank you!

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