Hello dear Xanga friends,
I think I have three subscribers left, but it's okay, this whole xanga blog is solely for me to keep track of my progress in law school. Speaking of law school, I have BIG news!
Summer Associate offer:
As you all know, I worked at a firm this summer. Unlike previous years when the firm gave almost 100% offers, this year was quite unprecedented and challenging. We had a group of amazing summer associates and all of us ended up being really close. Unfortunately, the firm could not extend offers to everyone. In the end, two of my closest friends did not get offers and I heard two more also did not make the cut. The offer rate, as you could have guessed, was more like 60% instead of 100%. Fortunately for me, they extended me an offer, but due to the economy, they deferred me for one year with fellowship money and bar stipend.
I was quite happy actually. I have the rest of my life to work at big law and welcome the chance to give back to the community. I love working in public interest and would really enjoy being a public defender for a year. That was one of the options available to me.
Or I could apply for a clerkship.
Federal clerkship:
This year was especially terrible for students who want to apply for clerkships. Everyone and their mamas want a clerkship. Gunners, deferred associates, laid off associates, lawyers with no jobs. I mean, everyone! I heard competition was especially fierce this year and chambers were receiving applications in record numbers. I honestly did not have hope of landing any clerkship. Although I attend one of the top three law schools in the nation, I am not in law review and do not hold any editorial position in my journal. I may have been number 1 at my OLS (old law school), but at my NLS, I was probably middle of the pack with equal H's and P's. But I had to try right?
So I did. I hustled and got my letters of recommendation. I talked to people who had clerked before and met with my mentors on multiple occasions. I researched my judges, made my list, edited my writing sample, updated my resume, wrote generic cover letters, and sent in my package to my OCS by the deadline. I submitted my application via Oscar on that dreadful Tuesday, September 8, 2009.
By Thursday, September 11, 2009 (first day judges can call applicants), I received ZERO calls. ZERO! On Monday, September 14, I received one call from a district judge. From that one interview I set up, I tried parlaying interviews with other judges in the same district. No luck.
What I did wrong was not utilize the contacts that I had. One of the partners at my law firm told me that I could send him my resume and he'll foward them to the judges that he knows. I did not do that. Why? I have NO idea. I have no excuse! Maybe I thought it was futile and I didn't want to bother him? I don't know. Another senior associate and one of my recommenders told me that they could call their former judges for me, but unfortunately, those judges were not hiring. Another partner worked for this judge as a permanent clerk for a number of years and I think if I had asked her, she would have called on my behalf, but I did not. My other recommender asked if I have two top judges that I would like for her to call and I answered her very late. The moral of this story? Take advantage of all the help you were offered and be on top of things!
But there is a good ending to this story. As luck would have it, a judge sent an e-mail to her former law clerks and asked if they know of students they can recommend. My mentor immediately replied and mentioned my name. He summarized my life story to her and strongly endorsed me. A few days later, I received an invitation for an interview. I interviewed a week later and a few days after that, I received an offer to clerk for her! WOW. I won't say who my judge will be to remain anonymous, but let's just say that she is a Circuit Judge from one of the most prestigious circuits in the nation. I am overwhelmed and feel so blessed to have such a great mentor who went to bat for me constantly. I feel even more fortunate that I have a fiance who is so supportive of me and always believes in me. Yes, that is the other news. I just recently got engaged to the best guy ever! We will be separated for a year, but he's still so happy that I got my clerkship!
So there you have it, my update in a nutshell (not really). My next goal in life? To pass the bar! Until then, chao.
Comments (2)
um, all the best, i guess....
haha, law school thingies are too complicated for me to understand, it seems...
CONGRATS!! You got it! Sometimes it is so hard to see the end when we are stuck in the middle. You are getting it done, way to go!