Judicial Clerkships vs Government Positions

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• 1 Like

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  June 2017 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.
• tringo335 Alum Member ⭐

  June 2017 3679 karma

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

  thisissparta Alum Member

  June 2017 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/
• tas236 Free Trial Member

  June 2017 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_P Member

  June 2017 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.
• tringo335 Alum Member ⭐

  June 2017 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!