This article talks a lot about the monetary and prestige benefits of clerking after a few years of practicing law. As someone who’s just finished a clerkship 5+ years into private practice, I think that’s entirely the wrong focus and probably the wrong motivation. A short thread https://twitter.com/reuterslegal/status/1298283996019855365

I left a BigLaw firm that’s largely focused on trial-level litigation (although it has some spectacular appellate lawyers). One senior partner told the litigation associates that if we didn’t enjoy forcing an opposing witness to sit through a deposition, we were in the wrong job.

I love writing briefs, not trying to ask gotcha questions to a corporate representative over stale coffee. The job wasn’t for me, but it was hard to see a way out for a foreign-trained lawyer with a largely-transactional antitrust background.

For some reason (lapse of judgment, maybe?), two appellate judges gave me a shot at clerking (one of whom still has time to change his mind). I’m still not sure why, but I think real-world legal experience had something to do with it:

As a clerk, many of the issues raised by the parties weren’t just abstract legal Qs but familiar problems I’d come across in practice. Although I had the privilege of working with co-clerks and a judge all much smarter than me, I’d like to think my value-add was my experience.

In terms of the reward, I have no idea if it’ll lead to more money or a more prestigious job. That’s not why I did it. The opportunity to work with brilliant colleagues committed to understanding the law and getting it right—that was my reward.

Whatever good comes next, it’s all gravy. So if you find yourself in a mid-career rut, or if there’s a quasi-academic itch you need to scratch, or if you think you can do some public good in public service, I cannot recommend clerking highly enough. Don’t do it for the prestige.

I hope you’ll find an equally kind judge willing to give you a shot. /end

I should add: do feel free to reach out if I can be of any help with clerkship questions. The only caveat is that, as with law in general, I can only offer middling answers, but delivered in an English accent.