I went to a T14 law school, got great grades and glowing recommendations, and wrote (what I thought was) a great writing sample. But I got rejected from all 70 federal clerkships I applied to. The only thing I can think of is: I took a non traditional route after law school and did a 2 year public interest fellowship in a niche field of administrative law. The rejection gave me a lot of self hatred. I still really want to clerk. Any advice? What is wrong with me? I feel like a failure.

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You’re not a failure! It is so competitive. Many times judges are recommended people by lawyers they know, or will hire former interns. Also it can be harder to get a spot when you don’t have an obvious connection to the district. If you decide to apply again I’d suggest trying to hi-light in the cover letter why you want to move to that particular place. Sorry, I know it’s tough.

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Have you had someone look at your resume, cover letter, and writing samples? Maybe you’re missing something that’s off putting in there?

It’s tough out there for sure.

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As someone who has interviewed a lot of clerks, 90% of the time who we select is not related to you. Sometimes we have a challenging case come up and need a specialist/someone with experience, sometimes we’ve hired something and are being mindful of team dynamics. If you got interviews you got the goods it’s a matter now of timing luck and fit.

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I am convinced that it is impossible to get any sort of desirable/prestigious job in the legal field without some kind of “in,” that is, some way to get your name pulled out of the pile of resumes. You need someone who will make a phone call or send an email on your behalf.

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My judge does not really care about calls from professors, but calls from other judges he/she respects are helpful. School + grades combo and interesting resume lines really are the big things for us; once you are in play, there’s a random/arbitrary nature to it, with geographic ties being a helpful plus. Being on the hiring end this year, I’m surprised I got the gig. We aren’t SDNY/CDCA/DDC level, but my judge’s standards are not much lower surprisingly

The reason we selected my co-clerk over the runner up was entirely due to fit. We were from the same hometown, had complementary personalities and work styles, and they had a bit more relevant experience handling the types of evidence we usually see. The runner up was, on paper, more or less identical, but the fit just wasn’t as good. If you’re getting interviews it’s just a matter of time. In my opinion getting the interview is easily the biggest hurdle (for those of us who didn’t go to T14s)

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Sure

Keep shooting. I applied to about 80 clerkships and got 1 interview and ended up getting the clerkship. From speaking to colleagues, a lot of t-14s have feeder judges, and from my experience a lot of judges are somewhat elitist I their selection of clerks (i.e., they prefer students from the t-14). With that being said, try reaching out to faculty and career services at your school to see if they have any connections. And reach out to former clerkship who graduated from your school

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Apply to more if you really want it. 70 is not an insane amount. I applied to more judges with more or less top 10% grades from one of HLS/chicago/columbia and only got a handful of interviews. Unless you are valedictorian at a good school or near the top of a T5-6 school, it really is a numbers game.

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70 applications isn't that many, frankly. It's extremely competitive. If you want it, keep applying. I doubt your public interest fellowship is the problem. But I want to make clear that nothing is wrong with you. It's simply difficult to land an Art. III clerkship.

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