Clerk to the stars

The ABA Journal reports that Justice O'Connor's sudden retirement will leave her clerks in the lurch, but as lurches go, this one seems like it might be fairly comfortable ...

"Most speculate the O’Connor clerks will be absorbed by the court, either by a new justice or somewhere else. One lucky clerk will likely go with O’Connor, who gets to keep a court-paid clerk while in retirement.

"But no matter which way they go, these clerks are off to brilliant starts to their legal careers. Judicial clerks, especially those who have spent time with Supreme Court justices, are sought-after commodities, with large firms often luring them with $120,000 signing bonuses.

" 'The bragging rights alone are worth $120,000' to these firms, says Joel F. Henning, senior director of Hildebrandt International, which specializes in management and consulting for the legal industry. Henning says O’Connor’s clerks will have their pick of firms."

That's pretty much what happened to me when I left my clerkship at the Oregon Court of Appeals. Ahem. Except for the bonus. And my pick of firms. Past that, it was exactly the same.