I 10/10 hate my federal clerkship. Anyone hate their clerkship and then have a good firm experience? Or am I doomed to hate being a lawyer?

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Clerkship shouldn’t really have any correlation to a firm job in terms of satisfaction. That doesn’t mean you’ll love working at a firm (grass is always greener). Most would say try to enjoy the hours, weekends and holidays now while you can- it’ll always be a plus on your resume

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I hated being a judicial intern so I never applied to be a clerk. It’s definitely different then practicing

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May I ask why you hate your clerkship?

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If thats the issue you are definitely going to hate firm life. Go the government route. Also that’s not a typical clerking experience sounds like maybe you need to set some boundaries. Almost everyone I know who clerked said the best thing was the hours.

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When I externed, I felt like the clerks hated their job. The judge was always gone and they all had huge workloads. They might as well have been working at a big firm for the hours/stress.

However, I love my current judge and have great work life balance. I think it depends on the judge and culture they set for chambers.

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This is probably a greener grass thing but I feel like I work *way* more than lots of lawyers from my class that are at decently sized firms. If I’m lucky I’ll take an afternoon off on a Saturday. That combined with the constant feeling that a judge is breathing down your neck is just exhausting.

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I would try talking to some people who've done both (especially alum clerks who know the specifics of your judge's style and expectations). Firms vary and even more than that partners and practice groups vary.

Think of it this way, as a clerk you basically have one boss and you know exactly who you have to please. At a firm, every partner (and for a while every atty more senior than you) is your boss and will have different expectations. You may find supervisors and mentors you thrive with, but who knows how long that will take.

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Clerkships vary wildly, even with judges of similar prestige and in the same court.

Mine was with a judge who sent occasional clerks to the Supreme Court and was in essence a 9-5 job and my judge was a terrific boss who did not micromanage at all. I know several clerks in the same building as me who worked far, far longer hours with far worse bosses.

It’s tough to know what you’re walking into because no one ever publicly bad mouths their judges or clerkships more generally. But in reality OP your situation is not that uncommon. The good news is that firm life isn’t comparable to being a clerk.

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I think some judges really see this as someone who has sold their soul for their entire term. I am given no vacation. Any time I have taken off is something I have had to negotiate. I have not taken a day off in over a year.

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Yeah I mean I know with 1-2 year clerkships we don’t get the same vaca as permanent clerks or employees, but I still think time off here and there is fine. My co-clerks have taken off a week to study for the bar and for their honeymoon with no issue. I will say I personally feel guilty asking for time off but my boss has never said no.

My judge is very chill and does not micromanage, but I do get texts from him late at night (10-12) any night of the week. However because he’s normally chill I am okay with the random late texts. This sounds like too much. You don’t get paid enough for that.

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