New York Lawyer
January 29, 2004

Q:
While in law school, I accepted what I hoped would be my dream job: a clerkship with a federal judge. Having talked to many lawyers who spoke about clerking as a high point in their legal careers, I felt incredibly lucky to have such an opportunity.

A few months after accepting, however, I had a conversation for a former clerk of my judge, who warned me that all of the judge's clerks were miserable and that the judge was very abusive, often for no reason whatsoever. Needless to say, this dampened my enthusiasm.

I'm now several months into my clerkship, and things have been as bad as I'd been warned they'd be. My co-clerk and I constantly talk of quitting, and rumor has it that one recent clerk actually did, and at least a couple of others threatened to. Because the work environment is so unpleasant, I don't feel that I am even getting a decent learning experience.

My question for you is this: will quitting a clerkship do long-term damage to my career? If this were any other employer, I'd have walked out the door long ago. Essentially the only reason I am staying (and the only reason I can imagine that previous clerks have stayed) is because of this perception that you just don't quit a clerkship. But I have good credentials and an offer of post-clerkship employment from a law firm. Is it really necessary that I endure another six months of constant abuse just so that I don't have to bear the stigma of having quit a clerkship?

Wanting Off the Bench

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A:

This is a tough one.

There is a vision of clerkships in which clerks and judges become close personal friends, go out to lunch, develop a fond parental bond, and carry on their friendship throughout their careers. This is when it works. I clerked for a wonderful judge in New Jersey - Daniel J. O'Hern, formerly a justice with the New Jersey Supreme Court -- and had exactly that experience.

But of course it doesn't always work out that way. Judges are people with the usual variety of personalities. You've drawn the short straw in a big way, and I sympathize. I've talked to others who've endured bully judges and it's no fun. Of course, the great advantage that you have over others with abusive bosses is that you'll definitely be out of there in six months.

The arguments for leaving the clerkship is that you're not even learning, and therefore the experience is not fulfilling even the basics of that position. You would be free of a tyrannical boss, and the judge would get a sharp kick in the gut if you leave, perhaps recognizing his/her personality problems. (It also might serve as a wake-up call to others in your court system that the judge is terrorizing people.)

But the arguments against leaving the clerkship are overwhelming. As you say, it is pretty much unheard of. In fact, clerks usually promise to serve out the year, so you would be breaking a clear obligation you made to the judge.

And think of the ripple effect your actions would have on others. However impossible your judge is, he or she would be left scrambling to find a replacement. Your co-clerk will have to carry your load and won't thank you for ditching the job and dumping your cases on him, on top of dealing with a nasty boss. Ultimately all this disruption hurts litigants, who are counting on reasonable efficiency from the court. Consider this last point seriously in your deliberations, so to speak.

And you can't presume that others will sympathize with your plight. Obviously the judge won't; if the jurist already is the cranky type, don't be surprised if he or she badmouths you to the bar. This could do serious damage to your reputation. Other members of the bar won't know the judge's reputation as a curmudgeonly boss and will only hear that you flounced out of a clerkship in the middle of the year. And don't be so sure that your future employers will welcome you with open arms in advance of your presumed employment date. They will be puzzled as to why you're leaving; if you say the judge is a meanie, they will think that you are a troublemaker who will be disruptive in their firm as well. I'm sure you think this last part isn't fair, but remember, they will have only your word to go on and it will look suspect on their end.

Here's what I would do in your position. I would grit my teeth and serve out my sentence, er, clerkship. And why not try to change things during that time? You have a job to go to, so you have little to lose. Give a try at letting the judge know how his or her actions affect you. The judge may not know; abusive bosses often are self-absorbed and don't have a clue how they come across. You can say, "When you criticize me in such a loud voice, so sarcastically, and in front of my co-clerks, it makes me feel terrible. How can we work together, how can I improve my work or better serve you, so that this doesn't happen?" In this way you can try to dent the armor shielding a judge who mistreats his employees pretty badly.

At the close of your clerkship, do not leave until you tell someone of influence what's going on. This is an obligation that you have to others who will follow you. Stick to observable facts, not broad personality swipes, so that you have credibility. Explain how it affects the process of justice, avoiding too much concentration on your hurt feelings. But make sure to close the loop before you close the door on the chambers.

Sincerely,
Holly English
Principal Consultant, Values at Work