Law Clerk Addict's Blog
Today President Barack Obama nominated O. Rogeriee Thompson--a judge on the Rhode Island Superior Court--to a vacant seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, and Denny Chin (S.D.N.Y.) to a vacancy on the Second Circuit.
Biographical information about both nominees is available below the jump.
Gerard Lynch, formerly of the Southern District of New York, was officially confirmed to the Second Circuit on September 18, 2009.
Various media sources are reporting that President Obama will likely nominate Judge Denny Chin (S.D.N.Y.) to a vacancy on the Second Circuit. Please note that while some articles are treating this nomination as a done deal, nominations are never official until formally made by the President.
Appellate Judges
VanAntwerpen, Franklin (3d Cir.)
Location: Easton, PA
Term: 9/13/2010 to 9/9/2011
District Judges
Ditter, J. (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 8/25/2010 to 8/20/2012
McDade, Joe (C.D. Ill.)
Location: Peoria, IL
Term: 8/23/2010 to 9/2/2011
Hamilton, David (S.D. Ind.)
Location: Indianapolis, IN
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Note: Judge Hamiltion has been nominated to the Seventh Circuit and will likely be confirmed by the time this clerkship starts.
Armijo, M. (D.N.M.)
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Term: 8/17/2009 to 8/18/2010
Note: This is a 2009-10 clerkship.
Marra, Kenneth (S.D. Fla.)
Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Caldwell, Karen (E.D. Ky.)
Location: Lexington, KY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Pfaelzer, Mariana (C.D. Cal.)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Term: 10/1/2009 to 10/1/2010
Notes: The Judge handles almost exclusively securities, antitrust, and medical patent (biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device) cases. She also has some general business litigation and some engineering- and computer-related patent cases. The Judge takes a small number of cases, but those cases are large and complex. The Judge does not generally take criminal cases.
Gardephe, Paul (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011 and 10/1/2010 to 9/30/2011
Gertner, Nancy (D. Mass.)
Location: Boston, MA
Term: 8/3/2010 to 8/8/2011
Magistrate Judges
Pitman, Henry (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Levy, Robert (E.D.N.Y.)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/10/2012
Love, John (E.D. Tex.)
Location: Tyler, TX
Term: 8/2/2010 to 8/5/2011
Bankruptcy Judges
Stone, William (Bankr. W.D. Va.)
Location: Roanoke, VA
Term: 8/9/2010 to 8/12/2011
Agresti, Thomas (Bankr. E.D. Pa.)
Location: Erie, PA
Term: 9/1/2009 to 8/31/2010
This site has largely avoided discussing the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor (2d Cir.) to the United States Supreme Court, if only because there are numerous other websites providing far more coverage. However, those interested in the Sotomayor nomination or Sotomayor's confirmation hearing might find this list of primary sources compiled by the now-ironically-named ConfirmThem useful. The resources include not only documents Judge Sotomayor has submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but materials related to her previous Second Circuit and Southern District of New York nominations as well.
Appellate Judges
Kravitch, Phyllis (11th Cir.)
Location: Atlanta, GA
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011 or 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Barkett, Rosemary (11th Cir.)
Location: Miami, FL
Term: 8/31/2010 to 8/31/2011
Boudin, Michael (1st Cir.)
Location: Boston, MA
Term: 6/1/2010 to 6/1/2011
District Judges
Lasnick, Robert (W.D. Wash.)
Location: Seattle, WA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/5/2011
Conti, Joy (W.D. Pa.)
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2012
Magistrate Judges
Denlow, Morton (N.D. Ill.)
Location: Chicago, IL
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Davison, Paul (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: White Plains, NY
Term: 9/15/2010 to 9/15/2012
Bankruptcy Judges
None.
Appellate Judges
Ambro, Thomas (3d Cir.)
Location: Wilmington, DE
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Nelson, Dorothy (9th Cir.)
Location: Pasadena, CA
Term: 8/17/2010 to 8/14/2011
Linn, Richard (Fed. Cir.)
Location: Washington, DC
Term: 3/1/2011 to 8/1/2012
District Judges
James, Robert (E.D. La.)
Location: Monroe, LA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Cogan, Brian (E.D.N.Y.)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Lefkow, Joan (N.D. Ill.)
Location: Chicago, IL
Term: 9/7/2010 to 8/31/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Magistrate Judges
Pohorelsky, Viktor (E.D.N.Y.)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Jones, Thomas (E.D. Va.)
Location: Alexandria, VA
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
Bankruptcy Judges
None.
Appellate Judges
Stahl, Norman (1st Cir.)
Location: Boston, MA
Term: 8/31/2010 to 8/31/2011
Wallace, J. (9th Cir.)
Location: San Diego, CA
Term: 8/18/2010 to 8/18/2011
Garjarca, Arthur (Fed. Cir.)
Location: Washington, DC
Term: 8/11/2010 to 8/11/2011
District Judges
Wood, Kimba (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 8/1/2011 to 7/31/2012
Goldberg, Mitchell (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Hood, Joseph (E.D. Ky.)
Location: Lexington, KY
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/19/2011
Cox, Sean (E.D. Mi.)
Location: Detroit, MI
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Robinson, Sue (D. Del.)
Location: Wilmington, DE
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Stengel, Lawrence (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 8/31/2012
Boyle, Terrence (E.D.N.C.)
Location: Elizabeth City, NC
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Magistrate Judges
Dolinger, Michael (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/29/2011
Austin, Andrew (W.D. Tex.)
Location: Austin, TX
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/29/2011
Ericksen, Joan (D. Minn.)
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
Bankruptcy Judges
None.
Appellate Judges
Jordan, Kent (3d Cir.)
Location: Wilmington, DE
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/14/2011 or 10/4/2010 to 10/2/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Cole, Ransey (6th Cir.)
Location: Columbus, OH
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/19/2011 or 1/1/2011 to 1/1/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Aldisert, Ruggero (3d Cir.)
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Term: 8/9/2010 to 8/8/2011 or 8/23/2010 to 8/22/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates. 3rd Cir. judge who sits in Santa Barbara.
Ryan, James (6th Cir.)
Location: Detroit, MI
Term: 8/7/2010 to 8/31/2011
District Judges
Rakoff, Jed (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Chesler, Stanley (D.N.J.)
Location: Newark, NJ
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Cooper, Mary (D.N.J.)
Location: Trenton, NJ
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Pollak, Louis (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
Surrick, R. (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011 or 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Caldwell, William (M.D. Pa.)
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/16/2012
O'Grady, William (E.D. Va.)
Location: Alexandria, VA
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
Chin, Denny (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011 or 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011 or 10/1/2010 to 10/1/2011
Notes: Three positions available, with different term dates.
Magistrate Judges
None.
Bankruptcy Judges
Flately, Patrick (Bankr. W. Va.)
Location: Wheeling, WV
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Because retiring Justice David Souter chose not to hire any law clerks for the 2009-10 term, there are no jobless Supreme Court clerks for soon-to-be-Justice Sonia Sotomayor (2d Cir.) to inherit (provided that she isn't filibustered). Like most federal judges, Judge Sotomayor has already hired a full complement of law clerks for the 2009-10, but since it is almost unheard of for someone to clerk directly for the Supreme Court without prior clerkship experience, it is unlikely that these individuals will be joining Judge Sotomayor at One First Street this fall. Given that President Obama has been rather dilatory with judicial nominations and his only pending nomination to the Second Circuit is District Judge Gerard Lynch (S.D.N.Y.)--who has 2009-10 clerks of his own lined up--it is not likely that all of the 2009-10 clerks Judge Sotomayor hired last fall can readily get placements with other Second Circuit judges. Given the rather unique situation, it will be interesting to see what happens to these already-hired clerks in the coming months, and who will clerk for Judge Sotomayor this fall.
As those of you who currently work for the government know, today is Memorial Day, meaning that clerks and other federal employees do not have to go to work (well, with some exceptions). But some of you may not know that while all federal courts observe the standard federal holidays, employees of some federal courts have local holidays off as well. Here is a small sampling of this year's bonus holidays for some courts:
D. Alaska - Seward's Day [source].
S.D. Cal. - Cesar Chavez Day, Day After Thanksgiving [source].
D. Del. - Good Friday [source].
D. Guam - Liberation Day [source].
D. Haw. - Prince Kuhio Day, King Kamehameha Day, Admissions Day [source].
D. Md. - Day After New Year, Day After Thanksgiving [source].
S.D.N.Y. - Lincoln's Birthday [source].
D.V.I. - Good Friday, Carnival [source].
Appellate Judges
Southwick, Leslie (5th Cir.)
Location: Jackson, MS
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Thomas, Sidney (9th Cir.)
Location: Billings, MT
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/19/2011 or 8/30/2010 to 8/26/2011 or 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2010 or 9/13/2010 to 9/9/2011
Notes: Four positions available, with different term dates.
Tymkovich, Timothy (10th Cir.)
Location: Denver, CO
Term: 8/31/2010 to 8/31/2011 or 1/2/2011 12/31/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
District Judges
Schiller, Berle (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 8/24/2010 to 8/25/2011 or 8/25/2010 to 8/26/2010
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Schroeder, Thomas (M.D.N.C.)
Location: Winston Salem, NC
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011 or 8/2/2010 to 8/2/2010
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Scullin, Frederick (N.D.N.Y.)
Location: Syracure, NY
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/19/2011
Shubb, William (E.D. Cal.)
Location: Sacramento, CA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Simandle, Jerome (D.N.J.)
Location: Camden, NJ
Term: 8/30/2010 to 8/31/2012
Smith, William (D.R.I.)
Location: Providence, RI
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
Smith, G. Murray (D. Ariz.)
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Stamp, Federick (N.D. W. Va.)
Location: Wheeling, WV
Term: 8/30/2010 to 8/27/2012
Stein, Sidney (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 7/1/2010 to 6/30/2011 or 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Tauro, Joseph (D. Mass.)
Location: Boston, MA
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/26/2011
Trenga, Anthony (E.D. Va.)
Location: Alexandria, VA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Vitaliano, Eric (E.D.N.Y.)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Term: 9/15/2010 to 9/15/2011
Ward, T. (E.D. Tex.)
Location: Marshall, TX
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011 or 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Weinstein, Jack (E.D.N.Y.)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/7/2011
Welein, Ewing (S.D. Tex.)
Location: Houston, TX
Term: 9/6/2010 to 8/31/2014
Zobel, Rya (D. Mass.)
Location: Boston, MA
Term: 8/31/2010 to 8/31/2011
Magistrate Judges
Schulze, Jillyn (N.D. Ga.)
Location: Atlanta, GA
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2012
Segal, Suzanne (C.D. Cal.)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Term: Beginning 9/1/2010
Notes: Career clerk position.
Bankruptcy Judges
St. John, Stephen (Bankr. E.D. Va.)
Location: Norfolk, VA
Term: 8/9/2010 to 8/12/2011
Appellate Judges
Graber, Susan (9th Cir.)
Location: Portland, OR
Term: 8/31/2010 to 8/31/2011
Hartz, Harris (10th Cir.)
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Hawkins, Michael (9th Cir.)
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/5/2011
Iukta, Sandra (9th Cir.)
Location: Pasadena, CA
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
Jones, Edith (5th Cir.)
Location: Houston, TX
Term: 8/9/2010 to 8/8/2011
District Judges
Gilmore, Vanessa (S.D.T.X.)
Location: Houston, TX
Term: 8/25/2010 to 8/20/2012
Goodwin, Joseph (S.D. W.Va.)
Location: Charleston, WV
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
Griesa, Thomas (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 8/9/2010 to 8/9/2011
Gutierrez, Philip (C.D. Cal.)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Hinkle, Robert (N.D. Fla.)
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/12/2011
Hughes, Lynn (S.D.T.X.)
Location: Houston, TX
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2012
Huvelle, Ellen (D.D.C.)
Location: Washington, DC
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/11/2011
Johnston, Thomas (S.D. W.Va.)
Location: Beckley, WV
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/22/2011 or 8/23/2010 to 8/20/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Kay, Allen (S.D. W.Va.)
Location: Honolulu, HI
Term: 10/4/2010 to 9/30/2011 or 1/10/2011 to 1/11/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Kay, Allen (D. Haw.)
Location: Honolulu, HI
Term: 10/4/2010 to 9/30/2011 or 1/10/2011 to 1/11/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Kiser, Jackson (W.D. Va.)
Location: Danville, VA
Term: 7/1/2010 to 7/1/2011 or 8/1/2010 to 7/31/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Kravitz, Mark (D. Conn.)
Location: New Haven, CT
Term: 6/15/2010 to 6/14/2011 or 8/15/2010 to 8/14/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Lemelle, Ivan (E.D. La.)
Location: New Orleans, LA
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/16/2011 or 9/16/2010 to 9/16/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Martin, Beverly (N.D. Ga.>)
Location: Atlanta, GA
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
McBryde, John (N.D.T.X.>)
Location: Ft. Worth, TX
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/22/2011
Magistrate Judges
Guave, Susan (D. Md.)
Location: Baltimore, MD
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/26/2011
Goldman, Marc (C.D. Cal.)
Location: Santa Ana, CA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Joel, David (N.D. W.Va.>)
Location: Martinsburg, WV
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Katz, Theodore (S.D.N.Y.>)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/17/2011
Lloyd, Howard (N.D. Cal.>)
Location: San Jose, CA
Term: 5/13/2010 to 5/15/2011
Lynch, William (D.N.M.>)
Location: Las Cruces, NM
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2012
Maas, Frank (S.D.N.Y.>)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/7/2011
Bankruptcy Judges
Kressel, Robert (Bankr. D. Minn.)
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/12/2012
I have input updated law clerk demographic data for every circuit court and several district courts, including (by popular demand) the Southern District of New York.
As always, if my data is incorrect, or (better yet) you would like to share new information that I missed, please email me at lawfirmaddict@gmail.com or post a comment on this blog post or with the respective court!
Appellate Judges
Tashima, A. Wallace (9th Cir.)
Location: Pasadena, CA
Term: 8/31/2010 to 9/1/2011
District Judges
Cote, Denise (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011 and 1/1/2011 to 1/1/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Magistrate Judges
None.
Bankruptcy Judges
None.
Appellate Judges
None.
District Judges
Batts, Deborah (S.D.N.Y.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 9/13/2010 to 9/7/2012
Notes: Two positions available.
Joyner, J. Curtis (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/3/2011
Notes: Law Schools considered: Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, Michigan, Stanford, Temple, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Villanova and Yale.
Kessler, Gladys (D.D.C.)
Location: Washington, DC
Term: 8/28/2010 to 8/30/2012
Trauger, Aleta (M.D. Tenn.)
Location: Nashville, TN
Term: 8/31/2010 to 8/31/2012
Magistrate Judges
None.
Bankruptcy Judges
None.
Have you had your biglaw offer rescinded, your start date deferred, or been outright fired? Well, the good news is that you can clerk for a SDNY magistrate judge... well, provided you're willing to work for free for a year and are okay with the title "judicial intern" (but don't fret, for "the internships will be substantively similar to a clerkship").
Information on how to apply for one-year volunteer internships with Magistrate Judges Debra Freeman (SDNY) and James Francis (SDNY) are below the fold. For those who care less about job prestige and more about putting food on the table, a Manhattan-based 2009 clerkship is also available with state Judge Bernard J. Fried--provided, of course, that you can work part-time.