Law Clerk Addict's Blog
Although the lack of any formal data from this time last cycle makes a comparison difficult, eyeballing the new 2011-12 early hiring list gives the impression that a higher-than-normal amount of hiring activity is currently going on for 2011-12 clerkships (and, in some cases, even 2012-13 clerkships, see, e.g., Chester Straub and Theodore McKee). Notably, virtually all of this early hiring is concentrated on the Second, Third, and D.C. Circuits. Furthermore, many circuit judges (such as Andrew Kleinfeld, Catharina Haynes, and Edith Clement) have recently begun to accept 2011-12 applications on OSCAR. 9/27/09 Update: A commenter notes that Haynes and Clement have both partially hired for 2011-12.
Given the record of number of applicants this year, I wonder if some judges who traditionally do not hire this early are hoping to take advantage of a higher quality, more risk-averse applicant pool that may not be around next cycle.
President Obama has nominated district judge Thomas Vanaskie (M.D. Pa.) and law firm partner Jane Stranch, respectively, to vacant positions on the United States Courts of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the Sixth Circuit.
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
Appellate Judges
Leval, Pierre (2d Cir.)
Location: New York, NY
Term: 6/1/2010 to 6/1/2011
Suhrheinrich, Richard (6th Cir.)
Location: Lansing, MI
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
McKeown, M. (9th Cir.)
Location: San Diego, CA
Term: 8/15/2011 to 8/31/2012
Roth, Jane (3d Cir.)
Location: Wilmington, DE
Term: 9/1/2011 to 8/31/2012
Notes: Moving chambers to Philadelphia, PA in late 2009.
Hardiman, Thomas (3d Cir.)
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Term: 9/1/2011 to 8/31/2012
District Judges
Covello, Alfred (D. Conn.)
Location: Hartford, CT
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/13/2011
Wigenton, Susan (D.N.J.)
Location: Newark, NJ
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Jackson, Raymond (E.D. Va.)
Location: Norfolk, VA
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/17/2011
Lee, Gerald (E.D. Va.)
Location: Alexandria, VA
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/20/2012
Faber, David (S.D. WVa.)
Location: Bluefield, WV
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
Duggan, Patrick (E.D. Mich.)
Location: Detroit, MI
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
O'Malley, Kathleen (N.D. Ohio)
Location: Cleveland, OH
Term: 9/13/2010 to 9/14/2012
Campbell, David (D. Ariz.)
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Wilson, Stephen (C.D. Cal.)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Term: 8/9/2010 to 8/5/2011 and 8/16/2010 to 8/12/2011
Alsup, William (N.D. Cal.)
Location: San Francisco, CA
Term: 9/1/2011 to 8/31/2012 and 11/19/2011 to 11/13/2012
Huff, Marilyn (S.D. Cal.)
Location: San Diego, CA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 8/27/2011
Smith, C. (N.D. Ala.)
Location: Huntsville, AL
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
Magistrate Judges
Hayes, Karen (W.D. La.)
Location: Monroe, LA
Term: 8/30/2010 to 8/26/2011
Miller, Tommy (E.D. Va.)
Location: Norfolk, VA
Term: 8/22/2010 to 8/14/2011
Gold, Steven (E.D.N.Y.)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Bankruptcy Judges
Barbosa, Manuel (Bankr. N.D. Ill.)
Location: Rockford, IL
Term: 8/17/2009 to 8/18/2010
Today's New Jersey Law Journal contains a very detailed profile of Judge Thomas Greenaway, Jr., (D.N.J.). As you may recall, President Obama recently nominated Judge Greenway to the vacant New Jersey seat on the Third Circuit. The NJLJ describes Judge Greenaway as a "centrist," and, in addition to providing some information about his personal background, examines some of the most prominent cases in which his opinions have been affirmed or reversed.
President Obama has officially nominated District Judge Thomas Greenaway, Jr., (D.N.J.) to the Third Circuit seat held by Justice Samuel Alito prior to his elevation, and has also nominated District Judge Beverly Martin (N.D. Ga.) to the Eleventh Circuit. The official White House press release, which contains additional information about the nominees, is available here. Those following judicial nominations will recognize that these two nominations are consistent with President Obama's previous appellate nominations, which have all entailed elevating sitting judges to higher courts.
Clerkship applicants should note that both Judge Greenaway and Judge Martin are (or soon will be) taking applications for 2010-11 clerkships, so those interested in a federal appellate clerkship might benefit from submitting applications to them now since, given the Democratic tilt of the Senate, both nominees will almost certainly be elevated to their respective circuit courts prior to 2010.
Senior Judge Ruggero Aldisert (3d Cir.) and two of his former law clerks have published a very interesting article in the Penn State Law Review about the law clerk application process and what factors judges use to evaluate applicants. While this article was originally written in 2006, I expect much of its advice and information remains relevant to current applicants.
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.
It seems that 2010-11 hiring on the Ninth Circuit is really starting to pick up, with rumors that Judges John Noonan and James Browning are done and that Judge Ronald Gould has made at least one hire. This is in addition to yesterday's news that Judge Arthur Alarcon is done and last week's news that Judge Consuelo Callahan is done, Judge Stephen Reinhardt has partially hired, and that Judges Dorothy Nelson and Milan Smith are interviewing (in Judge Smith's case, for the last 2010-11 position available).
In related prestigious clerkship news, we received a tip today that Judge Marjorie Rendell (3d Cir.), one of the most sought after clerkships in the Third Circuit, has recently hired a University of Chicago graduate. As usual, please feel free to publicly post your tips on the court comment pages or the notifications page, or to privately submit them by sending an email to lawfirmaddict@gmail.com.
The past couple of days have seen some additional movement on the circuit court clerk hiring front. Some highlights:
* Based on notifications, comments, and other tips, the early hiring list has been updated to indicate that Judges Roger Gregory (4th Cir.) and Arthur Alarcon (9th Cir.) are done, while Rosemary Barkett (11th Cir.), Amalya Kearse (2d Cir.) and Jane Roth (3d Cir.) have partially hired.
* An observant tipster on our Ninth Circuit comments page notes that Judge Marsha Berzon (9th Cir.) updated her OSCAR profile to narrow her class rank requirement from top 10% to top 5%. Perhaps this sudden change is another sign that Dan Filler's prediction about very bad days for 2010-11 clerkship applicants will indeed come to pass.
* Commenters on the Fourth Circuit and Seventh Circuit comment pages have indicated that Judge Paul Niemeyer (4th Cir.) will begin interviewing in July and that Judge Diane Sykes (7th Cir.) will begin reviewing applications later this month. However, given that these tips are anonymous, feel free to take them with a grain of salt.
For those who still aren't aware, Law Clerk Addict is tracking pre-September hires through a moderated early hiring list. As you can see, there has been a non-trivial amount of 2010-11 hiring activity over the past week or so. Some selected highlights:
* Judge Jerry Smith (5th Cir.) is completely off-plan and currently extending interview invitations to rising 3Ls.
* Judges Maryanne Barry (3d Cir.) and Milan Smith (9th Cir.), both of whom hired some alumni applicants for 2010-11 in mid to late 2008, are extending interview invitations to alumni again.
* Judge Joel Dubina (11th Cir.) is reported to be interviewing and allegedly has made at least one hire.
* On the district court front, Judge Charles Breyer (N.D. Cal.), brother to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, is reportedly done for 2010-11.
Remember, early hiring updates are typically not announced on the front page, so be sure to visit the early hiring list directly to get the most up to date news on the 2010-11 hiring cycle.
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
On court pages you can now designate your comment as pertaining to a speific judge. Likewise, if you post a comment on a judge page, your comment will be mirrored on the judge's corresponding court page, and the court page will identify the judge your comment is about even if you forget to mention his or her name in your post.
To see how this looks in practice, check out the comments section on the Third Circuit page.
Appellate Judges
Bye, Kermit (8th Cir.)
Location: Fargo, ND
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/12/2011
Clifton, Richard (9th Cir.)
Location: Honolulu, HI
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Greenberg, Morton (3rd Cir.)
Location: Trenton, NJ
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Kelly, Paul (10th Cir.)
Location: Santa Fe, NM
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Murphy, Diana (8th Cir.)
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/12/2011 or 8/23/2010 to 8/19/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Prado, Edward (5th Cir.)
Location: San Antonio, TX
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/16/2011
Pryor, William (11th Cir.)
Location: Birmingham, AL
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Sutton, Jeffrey (6th Cir.)
Location: Columbus, OH
Term: 6/1/2010 to 5/31/2011 or 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011 or 8/2/2010 to 8/2/2011 or 8/3/2010 to 8/3/2011
Notes: Four positions available, with different term dates.
Tjoflat, Gerlad (11th Cir.)
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Term: 7/31/2011 to 7/31/2012 or 8/7/2011 to 8/7/2012 or 8/14/2011 to 8/14/2012 or 8/21/2011 to 8/21/2012
Notes: Four positions available, with different term dates.
District Judges
Cummings, Samuel (N.D. Tex.)
Location: Lubbock, TX
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/15/2012
Feldman, Martin (E.D. La.)
Location: New Orleans, LA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Fullam, John (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/5/2011
Kazen, George (S.D. Tex.)
Location: Loredo, TX
Term: 8/12/2010 to 8/12/2011 or 8/26/2010 to 8/26/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Tagle, Hilda (S.D. Tex.)
Location: Brownsville, TX
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
Magistrate Judges
None.
Bankruptcy Judges
None.
I have added new law clerk information for Judge David Smith (3d Cir.), Judge Fortunato Benavides (5th Cir.) and Judge Kim Wardlaw (9th Cir.). Provided that this information is accurate, it would appear that Judge Smith is full for 2010-11, and the early hiring list has accordingly been updated.
Appellate Judges
Morris, Arnold (8th Cir.)
Location: Little Rock, AK
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Beezer, Robert (9th Cir.)
Location: Seattle, WA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Benton, Duane (8th Cir.)
Location: Kansas City, MO
Term: 8/16/2010 to 8/12/2011
Berzon, Marsha (9th Cir.)
Location: San Francisco, CA
Term: 6/14/2010 to 6/10/2011 and 8/16/2010 to 8/12/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Brown, Janis Rogers (D.C. Cir.)
Location: Washington, DC
Term: 8/1/2010 to 7/31/2011
Carnes, Ed (11th Cir.)
Location: Montgomery, AL
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011 or 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Colloton, Steven (8th Cir.)
Location: Des Moines, IA
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011
Cudahy, Richard (7th Cir.)
Location: Chicago, IL
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/6/2011
Dennis, James (5th Cir.)
Location: New Orleans, LA
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2012
Dyk, Timothy (Fed. Cir.)
Location: Washington, DC
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Fisher, D. Michael (3rd Cir.)
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/19/2011 or 8/30/2010 to 8/26/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Garwood, William (5th Cir.)
Location: Austin, TX
Term: 8/3/2010 to 7/31/2011
District Judges
Allegra, Francis (U.S. Court of Federal Claims)
Location: Washington, DC
Term: 8/30/2010 to 9/1/2011
Anderson, S. Thomas (W.D. Tenn.)
Location: Memphis, TN
Term: 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
Arterton, Janet (D. Conn.)
Location: New Haven, CT
Term: 8/9/2010 to 8/7/2012
Barbier, Carl (E.D. La.)
Location: New Orleans, LA
Term: 6/15/2010 to 6/15/2011 and 8/15/2010 to 8/15/2011
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Baylson, Michael (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Brack, Robert (D.N.M.)
Location: Las Cruces, NM
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/8/2011
Cardone, Kathleen (N.D. Tex.)
Location: El Paso, TX
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/2/2011 or 9/7/2010 to 8/31/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Carney, Cormac (S.D. Cal.)
Location: Santa Ana, CA
Term: 8/2/2010 to 8/27/2011
Cauthron, Robin (W.D. Okla.)
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Chatigny, Robert (D. Conn.)
Location: Hartford, CT
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Chesney, Maxine (N.D. Cal.)
Location: San Francisco, CA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Cohn, James (S.D. Fla.)
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Term: 8/25/2010 to 8/31/2012
Copenhaver, John (S.D. W.Va.)
Location: Charleston, WV
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/26/2011
Currie, Cameron (D.S.C.)
Location: Columbia, SC
Term: 9/7/2010 to 9/6/2011
Dalzell, Stewart (E.D. Pa.)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Term: 8/23/2010 to 8/23/2012
Dimitrouleas, William (S.D. Fla.)
Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2012
Downes, William (D. Wyo.)
Location: Casper, WY
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2012
Flanagan, Louise (E.D.N.C.)
Location: New Bern, NC
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011 or 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Notes: Two positions available, with different term dates.
Frizzell, Gregory (N.D. Okla.)
Location: Tulsa, OK
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2012
Magistrate Judges
Ashman, Martin (N.D. Ill.)
Location: Chicago, IL
Term: 8/16/2010 to 9/1/2011
Barfield, W. Leon (S.D. Ga.)
Location: Augusta, GA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2012
Bankruptcy Judges
Barfield, W. Leon (Bankr. D. Ariz.)
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/12/2012
Davlis, John (Bankr. S.D. Ga.)
Location: Brunswick, GA
Term: 9/1/2010 to 8/31/2011
Some quick updates to the Law Clerk Addict's list of judges hiring before the Plan:
* The previously reported rumor that Theodore McKee (3d Cir.) has completed hiring for 2010 has been confirmed. Furthermore, though not reflected on the list (which only covers the 2010-11 hiring season), I have received a reliable tip that Judge McKee has already made one hire for 2011-12.
* These aren't based on new information, but I have updated the list to add older rumors that Allyson Duncan (4th Cir.) and Eugene Davis (5th Cir.) have partially hired and that Peter Fay (11th Cir.) is completely done for the 2010-11 term.
Appellate Judges
Barry, Maryanne (3d Cir.)
Location: Newark, NJ
Term: 9/1/2010 to 9/1/2011
Moore, Karen (6th Cir.)
Location: Cleveland, OH
Term: 8/1/2010 to 8/1/2011
Williams, Ann (7th Cir.)
Location: Chicago, IL
Term: 1/3/2011 to 12/31/2011
District Judges
Zloch, William (S.D. Fla.)
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Term: 9/7/2010 to 8/31/2012
Magistrate Judges
Carter, Andrew (E.D.N.Y.)
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Term: 6/15/2009 to 6/15/2010
Notes: Newly appointed judge. Three years of civil litigation experience and bar admission required. Two positions available. Closes on May 7, 2009.
Bankruptcy Judges
None.