Law Clerk Addict's Blog
Judge Francisco A. Besosa (D.P.R.) is accepting applications for an unpaid clerkship beginning in the fall of 2009. (The exact start and end dates are negotiable.) Applicants should send a resume, cover letter, and writing sample to Sean Peterson at Sean_Peterson@prd.uscourts.gov or to Brunny Rodriguez at Brunny_Rodriguez@prd.uscourts.gov.
As I mentioned both last month and the month before that, the the job announcements page at the U.S. Courts website is perhaps the most underutilized resource for finding judicial clerkship positions, particularly those that have opened up at the last minute. This month, the U.S. Courts website brings us a full four clerkship opportunities for the 2009-10 term:
* Term Law Clerk (W.D. Okla.) NOTE: June 24, 2009 deadline!
Appellate Judges
Walker, John (2d Cir.)
Location: New Haven, CT
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011 or 8/15/2011 to 8/15/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
District Judges
O'Toole, George (D. Mass.)
Location: Boston, MA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Posnor, Michael (D. Mass.)
Location: Springfield, MA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/7/2011
Underhill, Stefan (D. Conn.)
Location: Bridgeport, CT
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2012
Magistrate Judges
Lopez, Marcos (D.P.R.)
Location: San Juan, PR
Term: 9/20/2010 to 9/20/2011
Conroy, John (D. Vt.)
Location: Burlington, VT
Term: 9/20/2010 to 9/20/2011
Bankruptcy Judges
Davis, Diane (Bankrpt. N.Y.)
Location: Utica, NY
Term: 10/1/2009 to 9/30/2010
Not surprisingly, speculation already abounds as to who President Barack Obama will select to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Here are some highlights from around the blogosphere:
* Orin Kerr guesses it will be Solicitor General and former Harvard Law School dean Elena Kagan, but he would prefer sitting judges Merrick Garland (D.C. Cir.) or Diane Wood (7th Cir.).
* Marc Randazza would like to see Alex Kozinski (9th Cir.), law professor (and former Kozinski clerk) Eugene Volokh, or former Jenner & Block partner Donald B. Verrilli.
* Scott Greenfield is hoping for Sonia Sotomayor (2d Cir.).
* Last but not least, several forum contributors (see, e.g., here and here) are fans of Kim McLane Wardlow (9th Cir.).
As I noted last night, this should make for a very interesting summer!
I have noticed that there has been a large amount of discussion recently (see here, here, and here) in how one can obtain a clerkship in Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, and similar jurisdictions. Perhaps surprisingly, there are some resources out there examining this very question. Here are some of the better ones:
* Michael J. Keyser, The Best Kept Secret in the Law: How to Get Paid to Live on a Tropical Island, 15 J. TRANSNAT’L L.& POL’Y 219, 235 (2006) -- this law review article, available for download on the FSU website, provides perhaps the most comprehensive guide to obtaining a clerkship in American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
* Clerks in Paradise -- an article published last year in the American Lawyer discussing clerkships in tropical islands and mentioning what some clerks did after returning to the mainland United States. See also this Above the Law post about the article.
* Law Clerk on Gilligan's Island -- written by a former law clerk for the Supreme Court of Palau (yes, technically not a United States jurisdiction, but close enough to warrant inclusion), this website discusses the author's experience adjusting to both his clerkship and life on a tropical Pacific island.