Table 27. Demographics of Students Who Did and Did Not Apply for a Clerkship
|
APPLIED |
DID NOT APPLY |
||
Percent |
Number |
Percent |
Number |
|
Overall |
48.2% |
796 |
51.8% |
855 |
Gender |
||||
Women |
55.5 |
441 |
55.3 |
473 |
Men |
44.5 |
354 |
44.7 |
382 |
Age |
||||
20-25 years |
42.9 |
340 |
39.8 |
339 |
26-30 years |
43.1 |
341 |
41.4 |
352 |
31-35 years |
8.2 |
65 |
11.5 |
98 |
36 and older |
5.8 |
46 |
7.3 |
62 |
Sexual Orientation |
||||
Heterosexual |
94.2 |
729 |
94.9 |
807 |
Other |
5.8 |
45 |
5.0 |
43 |
Race/Ethnicity |
||||
American Indian/Alaska Native |
0.1 |
1 |
1.0 |
8 |
Asian/Pacific Islander |
6.7 |
51 |
7.2 |
59 |
Black/African American |
4.7 |
36 |
5.0 |
41 |
Caucasian |
84.8 |
647 |
81.3 |
662 |
Hispanic/Latino |
2.6 |
20 |
3.6 |
29 |
Other |
1.0 |
8 |
1.8 |
15 |
Disability Status |
||||
Not Disabled |
98.0 |
745 |
97.2 |
791 |
Disabled |
2.0 |
15 |
2.8 |
23 |
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Table 28. Comparisons of Application and Offer Rates
|
Total # |
% Applying |
% Not Applying |
Of Those Applying % Receiving Offer |
Overall |
1,651 |
48.2% |
51.8% |
69.5% |
Gender |
||||
Women |
914 |
48.2 |
51.8 |
66.0 |
Men |
736 |
48.1 |
51.9 |
73.7 |
Age |
||||
20-25 years |
679 |
50.1 |
49.9 |
72.6 |
26-30 years |
693 |
49.2 |
50.8 |
69.8 |
31-35 years |
163 |
39.9 |
60.1 |
67.7 |
36 and older |
108 |
42.6 |
57.4 |
47.8 |
Sexual Orientation |
||||
Heterosexual |
1,536 |
47.5 |
52.5 |
69.5 |
Openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual |
74 |
52.7 |
47.3 |
69.2 |
Other |
13 |
46.2 |
53.8 |
66.7 |
Race/Ethnicity |
||||
American Indian/Alaska Native |
9 |
11.1 |
88.9 |
100.0 |
Asian/Pacific Islander |
110 |
46.4 |
53.6 |
80.4 |
Black/African American |
77 |
46.8 |
53.2 |
66.7 |
Caucasian |
1,309 |
49.4 |
50.6 |
68.9 |
Hispanic/Latino |
49 |
40.8 |
59.2 |
80.0 |
Other |
— |
34.8 |
65.2 |
62.5 |
Disability Status |
||||
Not Disabled |
1,536 |
48.5 |
51.5 |
69.9 |
Visually Impaired or Blind |
5 |
60.0 |
40.0 |
66.7 |
Hard of Hearing or Deaf |
3 |
66.7 |
33.3 |
100.0 |
Learning Disabled |
10 |
10.0 |
90.0 |
100.0 |
Other |
19 |
47.4 |
52.6 |
55.6 |
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Table 29. Law School Activities (Reported by Students Receiving an Offer for a Judicial Clerkship)
Have top grades/high class rank |
53.7% |
On the law review/law journal |
53.7 |
Have been a teaching or research assistant |
52.8 |
Have significant prior work experience |
45.0 |
Participated substantially in a law clinic |
37.6 |
Did summer/academic year judicial intern/externship |
31.1 |
Participated in another journal in the law school |
30.9 |
Member of moot court team/barristers union |
22.6 |
Hold other advanced degrees |
15.4 |
Other |
13.7 |
Have some special connection to a judge |
8.3 |
None of the above |
0.2 |
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Table 30. Importance of the Following Factors in Judges' Selection of Law Clerks
Factor |
Extremely Important |
Moderately Important |
Not Very Important |
Academic Record |
83.6% |
15.8% |
0.6% |
Cover Letter |
12.9 |
46.7 |
40.4 |
Demographics (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation) |
9.6 |
45.4 |
45.0 |
Evaluation of the interview |
81.6 |
17.0 |
1.4 |
Faculty recommendations |
46.0 |
46.8 |
7.2 |
Geographic/regional factors |
15.5 |
47.0 |
37.5 |
Law clinic experience |
5.3 |
33.0 |
61.7 |
Law journal membership |
57.5 |
33.6 |
8.9 |
Law school attended |
67.4 |
28.3 |
4.3 |
Moot court participation |
9.9 |
49.9 |
40.3 |
Prior work experience |
18.5 |
56.3 |
25.2 |
Personal character traits |
62.9 |
30.6 |
6.5 |
Personal connection to judge |
33.4 |
35.5 |
31.0 |
Summer or academic year judicial internship/externship |
13.4 |
39.7 |
46.9 |
Writing sample |
42.2 |
46.9 |
11.0 |
Other |
41.7 |
10.7 |
47.6 |
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Table 31. Assessment of Reason(s) for Unsuccessful Applications
Reason |
All Responses |
Men |
Women |
Minority |
Non-Minority |
Application was not competitive enough |
81.4% |
80.7% |
81.9% |
81.4% |
81.3% |
Grades/academic record were not strong enough |
69.1 |
70.3 |
67.9 |
79.2 |
66.8 |
Did not have the right connections to acquire a clerkship |
40.8 |
41.4 |
40.4 |
33.3 |
42.4 |
Disadvantaged by law school's reputation |
35.7 |
35.7 |
35.7 |
31.3 |
36.6 |
Was not competitive in some other respect |
16.0 |
14.9 |
17.1 |
13.5 |
16.6 |
Did not have adequate writing sample |
9.1 |
10.0 |
8.2 |
3.1 |
10.4 |
Did not have adequate prior work experience |
5.9 |
5.6 |
6.1 |
5.2 |
6.0 |
Was disadvantaged by some aspect of selection process |
55.4 |
54.3 |
56.4 |
50.9 |
56.3 |
The timing of the process |
61.8 |
40.2 |
43.6 |
36.5 |
43.1 |
The arbitrary nature of the process |
54.0 |
34.5 |
38.6 |
31.3 |
37.8 |
Geographic location/judges preferred local candidates |
26.5 |
14.9 |
20.8 |
17.7 |
18.0 |
Race/ethnicity |
8.4 |
9.2 |
2.5 |
17.7 |
3.0 |
Age |
7.5 |
5.22 |
5.0 |
3.1 |
5.5 |
Gender |
7.2 |
4.4 |
5.4 |
5.2 |
4.8 |
Sexual orientation |
3.3 |
1.6 |
2.9 |
1.0 |
2.5 |
The interview(s) did not go well |
17.7 |
18.0 |
17.5 |
17.0 |
17.9 |
Did not have adequate support/faculty clerkship committee |
10.6 |
10.3 |
10.8 |
9.3 |
10.8 |
Did not have adequate support/career services office |
9.6 |
9.7 |
9.4 |
10.2 |
9.5 |
Do not have any theory as to the reason(s) |
9.5 |
9.3 |
9.7 |
9.3 |
9.5 |
Unable to obtain strong enough recommendations |
8.7 |
8.4 |
9.1 |
7.6 |
9.0 |
Reason |
All Responses |
Age 20-25 |
Age 26-30 |
Age 31-35 |
Age 36 and Older |
Application was not competitive enough |
81.4% |
83.9% |
80.8% |
70.0% |
82.4% |
Grades/academic record were not strong enough |
69.1 |
70.5 |
71.4 |
58.8 |
53.6 |
Did not have the right connections to acquire a clerkship |
40.8 |
38.5 |
42.9 |
32.4 |
50.0 |
Disadvantaged by law school's reputation |
35.7 |
34.2 |
33.8 |
55.9 |
35.7 |
Was not competitive in some other respect |
16.0 |
18.0 |
15.2 |
8.8 |
14.3 |
Did not have adequate writing sample |
9.1 |
9.4 |
8.7 |
5.9 |
14.3 |
Did not have adequate prior work experience |
5.9 |
8.6 |
4.0 |
26.5 |
7.1 |
Was disadvantaged by some aspect of selection process |
55.4 |
55.4 |
54.2 |
56.0 |
61.8 |
The timing of the process |
61.8 |
43.2 |
41.6 |
55.9 |
21.4 |
The arbitrary nature of the process |
54.0 |
36.8 |
37.2 |
26.5 |
35.7 |
Geographic location/judges preferred local candidates |
26.5 |
19.7 |
17.3 |
11.8 |
17.9 |
Race/ethnicity |
8.4 |
3.9 |
7.4 |
5.9 |
3.6 |
Age |
7.5 |
3.0 |
0.9 |
5.9 |
57.1 |
Gender |
7.2 |
3.4 |
5.2 |
5.9 |
10.7 |
Sexual orientation |
3.3 |
0.4 |
3.5 |
8.8 |
10.7 |
The interview(s) did not go well |
17.7 |
16.1 |
19.2 |
16.0 |
20.6 |
Did not have adequate support/faculty clerkship committee |
10.6 |
10.4 |
10.1 |
8.0 |
17.7 |
Did not have adequate support/career services office |
9.6 |
9.6 |
10.1 |
8.0 |
8.8 |
Do not have any theory as to the reason(s) |
9.5 |
8.2 |
11.2 |
12.0 |
2.9 |
Unable to obtain strong enough recommendations |
8.7 |
11.8 |
8.0 |
46.0 |
2.9 |
Reason |
All Responses |
Disabled |
Not Disabled |
Heterosexual |
Other Sexual Orientation |
Application was not competitive enough |
81.4% |
81.8% |
81.3% |
81.7% |
77.6% |
Grades/academic record were not strong enough |
69.1 |
75.0 |
68.6 |
69.1 |
68.9 |
Did not have the right connections to acquire a clerkship |
40.8 |
36.1 |
41.1 |
40.6 |
42.2 |
Disadvantaged by law school's reputation |
35.7 |
36.1 |
35.6 |
35.7 |
35.6 |
Was not competitive in some other respect |
16.0 |
16.7 |
16.0 |
15.3 |
24.4 |
Did not have adequate writing sample |
9.1 |
8.3 |
9.1 |
9.3 |
6.7 |
Did not have adequate prior work experience |
5.9 |
11.1 |
5.5 |
6.4 |
68.9 |
Was disadvantaged by some aspect of selection process |
55.4 |
50.0 |
55.7 |
55.5 |
53.5 |
The timing of the process |
61.8 |
30.6 |
42.7 |
42.7 |
33.3 |
The arbitrary nature of the process |
54.0 |
27.8 |
37.3 |
36.7 |
35.6 |
Geographic location/judges preferred local candidates |
26.5 |
13.9 |
18.2 |
18.6 |
11.1 |
Race/ethnicity |
8.4 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
5.8 |
4.4 |
Age |
7.5 |
13.9 |
4.5 |
5.2 |
4.4 |
Gender |
7.2 |
8.3 |
4.7 |
5.0 |
4.4 |
Sexual orientation |
3.3 |
8.3 |
2.4 |
2.5 |
26.7 |
The interview(s) did not go well |
17.7 |
18.2 |
17.7 |
17.3 |
22.4 |
Did not have adequate support/faculty clerkship committee |
10.6 |
13.6 |
10.3 |
10.4 |
8.6 |
Did not have adequate support/career services office |
9.6 |
13.6 |
9.3 |
10.0 |
6.9 |
Do not have any theory as to the reason(s) |
9.5 |
4.6 |
9.8 |
9.6 |
8.6 |
Unable to obtain strong enough recommendations |
8.7 |
9.1 |
8.7 |
8.4 |
12.1 |
Based on 654 responses. Percentages add to more than 100 because respondents could check more than one item. The secondary reason percentages (indented) are percentages of those who checked the primary reason.
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Table 32. Factors Influencing Decision to Apply for a Clerkship
Reason |
Percent Responding |
Desire to gain work the work experience of a clerkship |
87.1% |
Impact of clerkship on future career |
80.5 |
Prestige of clerkships |
69.4 |
Discussions with others |
64.1 |
Lawyers in practice |
58.1 |
Law students |
46.9 |
Other faculty member |
36.0 |
Career services professional |
24.6 |
Other person (parent, mentor, friend) |
22.1 |
Member of faculty clerkship committee |
15.4 |
Academic performance in law school |
21.4 |
Journal/moot court membership |
4.5 |
Programs in the law school |
1.6 |
Based on 793 responses. Percentages add to more than 100 because respondents
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Table 33. Clerkship Application by Career Plans
Choice |
# Checking This Choice |
% Not Applying |
Of Those Applying % Receiving Offer |
Of Those Applying % Not Receiving Offer |
Private Practice/Law Firm |
1,215 |
55.8% |
70.7% |
29.3% |
Public Interest Law |
241 |
39.0 |
74.7 |
25.4 |
Government |
410 |
34.9 |
73.8 |
26.2 |
Academia |
157 |
25.5 |
83.3 |
16.7 |
Non-law |
119 |
74.0 |
51.6 |
48.3 |
Other |
74 |
68.9 |
72.7 |
27.3 |
Undecided |
116 |
39.7 |
66.2 |
33.8 |
Note: Respondents could check more than one choice.
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Table 34. Reasons for Not Applying for a Clerkship
Reason |
Percent Responding |
Preferred a different post-graduation option |
61.3% |
Did not think application would be competitive |
43.4 |
Thought academic record not strong enough for clerkship in which interested |
86.8 |
Did not think had right connections to acquire clerkship |
32.6 |
Did not have an adequate writing sample |
17.8 |
Felt disadvantaged being from law school given competitiveness of clerkship |
15.1 |
Felt record was not competitive in some other respect |
10.0 |
Lacked the finances to sustain a clerkship term (salary differential) |
33.8 |
Discouraged by some aspect of the application process |
30.3 |
Timing of the process |
66.4 |
Arduousness of the process |
61.8 |
Felt entire process was unfair |
13.5 |
Fairness of hiring relative to race/ethnicity |
9.3 |
Fairness of hiring relative to age |
6.9 |
Fairness of hiring relative to sexual orientation |
3.9 |
Fairness of hiring relative to gender |
3.5 |
Did not believe a clerkship would benefit in future career |
29.2 |
Did not feel had adequate support or assistance from career services office |
10.9 |
Did not feel able to make a job commitment that far in advance |
7.5 |
Lacked the finances to apply or interview for a clerkship |
6.1 |
Did not feel had adequate support of faculty clerkship committee or administration of school |
5.1 |
Was unable to obtain sufficient recommendations |
3.9 |
Note: Based on 855 responses. Percentages add to more than 100 because respondents could check more than one item. The secondary reason percentages (indented) are percentages of those who checked the primary reason.
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Table 35. Factors Influencing Decision to Apply to Particular Courts
Factor |
Percent Responding |
Geographical considerations |
73.0% |
Level of court — trial/appellate |
53.7 |
Type of court — federal/state/local |
52.8 |
Prestige of court |
32.8 |
Future career plans |
20.7 |
Specialized subject matter (e.g., bankruptcy, tax, military) |
8.8 |
Financial (e.g., salary, differential in future clerkship bonus) |
6.8 |
Based on 792 responses. Percentages add to more than 100 because respondents could check more than one item.
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Table 36. Factors Influencing Selection of Judges to Whom to Apply
Factor |
Percent Responding |
Reputation of the judge |
43.7% |
Length of clerkship term (one year vs. two years) |
39.4 |
Atmosphere in chambers/working conditions |
37.7 |
Judge hired clerks from law school before |
23.9 |
Judicial ideology |
20.2 |
Mentor relationship |
20.1 |
Political affiliation of the judge |
13.8 |
Personal connection to judge |
8.4 |
Judge is a graduate of law school |
8.2 |
Race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability status of the judge |
7.9 |
Special status of the judge (e.g., chief, senior, new appointee) |
7.5 |
Status as a "feeder judge" for U.S. Supreme Court |
4.1 |
Based on 748 responses. Percentages add to more than 100 because respondents could check more than one item.
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|
PERCENT WHO SAID: |
||
Yes |
No |
# of Responses |
|
Overall |
60.5% |
39.5% |
787 |
Men |
61.4 |
38.6 |
350 |
Women |
59.6 |
40.4 |
436 |
20-25 years |
64.8 |
35.2 |
335 |
26-30 years |
58.3 |
41.7 |
338 |
31-35 years |
55.3 |
44.6 |
65 |
36 and older |
55.6 |
44.4 |
45 |
Heterosexual |
59.9 |
40.1 |
721 |
Other sexual orientation |
66.7 |
33.3 |
66 |
Non-minority |
61.9 |
38.1 |
640 |
Minority |
54.4 |
45.6 |
147 |
Disabled |
57.1 |
42.9 |
49 |
Not disabled |
60.7 |
39.3 |
738 |
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Table 38. Experienced Difficulties with Mechanics of the Clerkship Process
Experienced Difficulties |
Percent Reporting |
Yes |
44.9% |
No |
55.1% |
Difficulty |
Percent Reporting |
Determining application requirements and deadlines of each judge |
53.4% |
Timeliness of the application |
50.9 |
Arranging or prioritizing the interviews |
32.5 |
Researching background of the judges |
26.3 |
Obtaining letters of recommendation |
26.0 |
Obtaining names and addresses of judges |
16.1 |
Assembling the application package |
13.3 |
Preparing writing sample |
10.7 |
Preparing cover letters |
9.9 |
Preparing resume |
1.4 |
Based on 354 responses. Percentages add to more than 100 because respondents could check more than one item.
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Table 39. Obtaining References
Person Requested From |
Percentage Requesting Response From |
Professor(s) for whom I wrote an exam only |
25.9% |
Professor(s) for whom I wrote paper(s) or essay(s) |
21.5 |
Lawyers in practice |
18.5 |
Professor(s) for whom I was a research assistant or teaching assistant |
14.1 |
Professor(s) for whom I did work in a legal clinic |
5.3 |
Dean |
3.1 |
Other professor |
2.7 |
Faculty Clerkship Committee member/advisor |
1.9 |
Percent indicating difficulty finding references |
33.1% |
Percent indicating problems with content of letters |
36.1 |
Percent indicating problems with timeliness of letters |
30.8 |
Based on 789 responses. Percentages add to more than 100 because more than one item could be checked.
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Table 40. Degree of Usefulness of Programs in the Clerkship Application Process
Program |
Very Useful |
Moderately Useful |
Not Useful |
Not Available/ |
Introduction/overview of clerkships |
23.2% |
46.5% |
8.7% |
21.7% |
Mechanics of application process |
21.7 |
33.8 |
7.3 |
37.2 |
Interviewing for clerkships |
5.6 |
15.5 |
7.7 |
71.0 |
Preparing for clerkships(3Ls) |
1.7 |
2.0 |
3.0 |
93.4 |
Panels of third-year students |
8.0 |
18.8 |
5.2 |
68.0 |
Panels of alumni law clerks |
8.9 |
19.4 |
4.0 |
67.7 |
Panels of faculty members |
6.8 |
20.4 |
5.7 |
67.1 |
Lectures by judges |
7.8 |
13.2 |
3.6 |
75.4 |
Specialized informational/support programs for women |
0.6 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
97.6 |
Specialized informational/support programs for students of color |
2.4 |
0.9 |
0.4 |
96.3 |
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Table 41. Degree of Usefulness of Resources in the Clerkship Application Process
Resource |
Very Useful |
Moderately Useful |
Not Useful |
Not Available/ |
Law school's judicial clerkship handbook |
30.9% |
42.9% |
9.1% |
17.1% |
Judicial clerkship section of law school's web site |
5.6 |
6.7 |
9.1 |
78.6 |
Law school's judges database |
24.2 |
21.6 |
6.6 |
47.7 |
Written feedback from alumni law clerks |
9.0 |
18.5 |
8.3 |
64.3 |
Written comments from faculty |
1.3 |
3.8 |
6.9 |
88.3 |
Postings of letters from judges seeking law clerks |
13.7 |
21.5 |
14.1 |
50.7 |
Almanac of the Federal Judiciary |
29.0 |
27.5 |
3.6 |
39.8 |
BNA's Directory of State and Federal Courts, Judges and Clerks |
11.5 |
17.5 |
4.3 |
66.7 |
The American Bench |
3.8 |
5.6 |
4.1 |
86.6 |
Judicial Yellow Book |
14.0 |
17.5 |
3.8 |
64.7 |
Judicial Staff Directory |
5.9 |
10.3 |
4.9 |
78.9 |
Wants Federal-State Court Directory |
0.7 |
1.3 |
1.7 |
96.3 |
Guide to State Judicial Clerkship Procedures (Vermont Law School) |
1.7 |
2.6 |
2.4 |
93.3 |
NALP Judicial Clerkship Directory |
13.6 |
21.9 |
3.1 |
61.4 |
Directory of Minority Judges of the United States |
1.3 |
2.1 |
1.9 |
94.7 |
WESTLAW®/LEXIS® |
21.9 |
37.9 |
7.0 |
33.8 |
Web sites |
6.4 |
7.3 |
2.9 |
83.5 |
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Table 42. Outcomes of Applications by Type of Court
|
Number of Applications Sent |
% of Applications Resulting in Invitation to Interview |
% of These Invitations Resulting in Interview |
% of Interviews Resulting in Offer |
Federal Appellate |
8,948 |
10.0% |
59.8% |
36.4% |
Federal District |
16,085 |
11.2 |
50.0 |
33.6 |
Federal Other |
1,240 |
13.2 |
66.5 |
33.0 |
State Appellate |
1,571 |
24.9 |
74.7 |
43.2 |
State Trial |
2,671 |
24.4 |
62.3 |
37.1 |
Local Appellate |
13 |
46.2 |
83.3 |
20.0 |
Local Trial |
556 |
19.1 |
52.8 |
14.3 |
Other |
13 |
69.2 |
77.8 |
57.1 |
Based on 763 responses.
Note: Figures in this table provide a gauge of chances of success
at each stage of the process. However, because of the variety of
individual circumstances, such as instances of receiving a clerkship
without going through the application process, having multiple interviews
as the result of one letter of application to a pool of judges,
and withdrawing other applications upon receiving an offer, these
figures should not be viewed as precise quantities.
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Table 43. How Much Time Given by Judges to Respond to a Clerkship Offer
Least Amount of Time Given by Judge to Respond to Offer |
Percent Responding |
Most Amount of Time Given by Judge to Respond to Offer |
Percent Responding |
On the spot |
21.2% |
On the spot |
12.3% |
Less than 24 hours |
11.8 |
Less than 24 hours |
6.8 |
24-48 hours |
22.8 |
24-48 hours |
21.5 |
2 days to 1 week |
29.1 |
2 days to 1 week |
31.3 |
1-2 weeks |
9.6 |
1-2 weeks |
15.9 |
2 weeks to a month |
3.6 |
2 weeks to a month |
7.2 |
More than 1 month |
1.9 |
More than 1 month |
5.1 |
Note: A number of
people did not answer this question, noting that they accepted on
the spot and withdrew all
other applications.
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Table 44. Declined Clerkship Offer
Declined Offer |
Percent Responding |
Yes |
32.3 |
No |
67.7% |
Reason for Declining |
Percent Responding |
Accepted offer from another judge |
82.0% |
Did not wish to clerk for this particular judge |
6.9 |
Did not wish to do a judicial clerkship after all |
2.5 |
Felt constrained financially (i.e., by educational and consumer debt) |
0.6 |
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Table 45. Perception of Overall Application Process
|
PERCENT WHO WERE: |
||
Satisfied |
Dissatisfied |
# of Responses |
|
All who applied |
57.7% |
42.4% |
765 |
Those receiving offer |
64.4 |
35.6 |
540 |
Those not receiving offer |
40.0 |
60.0 |
215 |