Ranking of Law Schools by Placement in Federal Appellate Court Clerkships

UPDATE:  Please note that the data, below, is not entirely accurate, as the comments make clear--and some corrections have already been recorded at the Clerkship Blog--follow the links, below.

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The Federal Appellate Clerkship Blog is reporting clerkship placement for the 2008-09 term.  I don't know if the statistics are reliable, though some of the stats I know about look to be correct.

Her are the top 25 law schools by the total number of graduates securing circuit court clekrships:

1.  Harvard University (55)
2.  Yale University (50)
3.  Stanford University (26)
4.  University of Chicago (25)
5.  Columbia University (22)
6.  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (20)
7.  University of Texas, Austin (19)
8.  Georgetown University (18)
8.  New York University (18)
8.  University of California, Los Angeles (18)
11. Northwestern University (16)
12. University of Virginia (14)
13. Duke University (12)
13. University of Pennsylvania (12)
15. University of California, Berkeley (10)
16. Vanderbilt University (9)
17. University of Minnesota (7)
17. University of Notre Dame (7)
19. Brooklyn Law School (6)
20. University of Iowa (5)
20. Washington University, St. Louis (5)
22. Catholic University (4)
22. George Washington University (4)
22. University of California, Hastings (4)
22. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (4)

Here are the top 25 law schools by the percentage of clerks for 2008-09 based on the total 2008 graduating class (i.e., not the total number actually seeking clerkships):

1.  Yale University (26.5%)
2.  Stanford University (15.2%)
3.  University of Chicago (13.0%)
4.  Harvard University (9.9%)
5.  Northwestern University (6.9%)
6.  Duke University (5.9%)
7.  Columbia University (5.7%)
8.  University of California, Los Angeles (5.4%)
8.  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (5.4%)
10. University of Pennsylvania (4.8%)
11. Vanderbilt University (4.7%)
12. University of Texas, Austin (4.3%)
13. New York University (4.0%)
14. University of Notre Dame (3.9%)
15. University of California, Berkeley (3.8%)
16. University of Virginia (3.7%)
17. Georgetown University (3.1%)
18. University of Minnesota (2.7%)
19. University of Iowa (2.4%)
20. Washington University, St. Louis (2.1%)
21. University of Richmond (1.9%)
22. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1.7%)
23. Cornell University (1.6%)
23. University of Illinois (1.6%)
23. Washington & Lee University (1.6%)

Comments

[Mike]

Where would one go for statistics on the total number seeking clerkships? I realize this might be hard to get, but it would be far more accurate since I'm sure Harvard, Georgetown, and NYU's numbers are depressed by corporate or administrative careers. Chicago would similarly be inflated (I could be wrong) by an inflated %-of-class applicant pool to clerkships.

[Robert Ahdieh]

I can't speak to the accuracy of the other numbers, but Emory's correct count for 2008 appellate clerkships is 5, rather than 3.

[Brad Clark]

I am a faculty member at GW Law School, and actually we will have 9 students clerking on federal courts of appeals, and 1 student clerking on the Supreme Court during 2008-09. Here is the current list:

Supreme Court:

Jennifer Mascott, The Honorable Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court of the United States(08-09)

U.S. Courts of Appeals:

Irene Ayzenberg, The Honorable Michael A. Chagares, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit (Newark, NJ) (08-09)

Garth Baer, The Honorable Raymond Clevenger, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (08-09)

Jonathan C Bond, The Honorable Jeffrey Sutton, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit (Columbus, OH) (08-09)

Matthew Dowd, The Honorable Paul R. Michel, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Washington, DC) (08-09)

Russell Morris Gold, The Honorable Carlos F. Lucero, US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (Denver, CO) (08-09)

John Kammerer, The Honorable Karen Williams, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit (Orangeburg, SC) (08-09)

Derek Lawlor, The Honorable John M. Rogers, USCOA for the Sixth Circuit (Lexington, KY) (08-09)

Seema Mittal, The Honorable Carlos Bea, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (San Francisco, CA) (08-09)

Joseph R. Oliveri, The Honorable Edward C. Prado, US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (San Antonio, TX) (08-09)

[Kirsten Solberg]

Thanks for the update. The original information apparently came from anonymous reports, which may not provide a complete picture. I know, for example, that Harvard has at least 74 circuit court clerkships secured for 2008 rather than the 55 cited here. Plus some judges have not finished hiring yet. - Kirsten Solberg, Career Services, Harvard Law School