How Much Does A Supreme Court Clerk Make

Only how high will signing bonuses for Supreme Court clerks go? Information technology was just last summer that the going the market charge per unit rose to a new peak — $350,000 — but information technology'south at present been confirmed that $400,000 is now the prevailing rate. Yes, you're reading that correctly. Biglaw firms and prestigious boutiques are now willing to pay old Supreme Court clerks about one-half a million dollars in bonus coin merely for signing on the dotted line, on top of their base salaries and regular bonuses. Onetime SCOTUS clerks are making nearly double their Supreme bosses' salaries. This is crazy.

We get-go hinted at this trend back in Baronial, when my colleague David Lat mentioned that at least six firms — Jones Day, Kirkland & Ellis, Orrick, Paul Weiss, Skadden Arps, and Susman Godfrey — were offering $400,000 bonuses to their SCOTUS clerk recruits. Michael Scanlon, hiring partner at Gibson Dunn, now confirms that "the market appears to accept settled" at $400K.

Court-watchers are having trouble believing Biglaw firms are willing to pay this much coin just for a new acquaintance'southward résumé line, and some accept even suggested that ethics rules be consulted. Tony Mauro of the National Law Journal has the details:

"It'due south become absurd," said Todd Peppers, who has written books about Supreme Court clerks. "These firms can no longer credibly argue that they are compensating these former clerks for the additional education and training obtained during their Supreme Court clerkships. Yep, these onetime clerks are very smart. That being said, this is nearly access and insight into the individual chambers."

U.C. Hastings College of the Police force professor Rory Little, himself a one-time clerk, said, "If I were a clerk today and knew that I could go an extra almost half-million dollars, I would feel very conscientious about the firms' Supreme Court cases while clerking. Seriously, an ethics good needs to look at this carefully, under the current ethics rules and concerns we adopt for lawyers and judges in other situations. All 37 clerks or more than experience that aforementioned 'tug,' even if it is implicit or unconscious."

More than clerks at ane firm than at any other may exist feeling that "tug" right now, and that's because Jones Day merely emerged victoriously from this year's wooing of the SCOTUS clerks, having cornered the market later on hiring 11 of them. That's a $4.four million investment in signing bonuses alone for a grouping of new hires who may current of air up taking the money and running later on simply a few years at the firm.

Equally noted past Harvard Law Schoolhouse professor Richard Lazarus, "Jones Solar day is paying a lot of coin for a photograph." Oof, Jones Day needs to open upwards a personal injury practice group for that sick burn. Luckily for the firm, there's a pretty big chance information technology'll be staffed by some highly intelligent Supreme Court clerks.

If you know that your firm is paying $400,000 for SCOTUS clerks, electronic mail us (subject line: "SCOTUS Clerkship Bonuses") or text us (646-820-8477), and we'll compile a list of every firm that's paying and so generously for talent of Supreme proportions.

$400K for SCOTUS Clerks: A Bonus Too Far? [National Law Journal]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she's worked since 2011. She'd honey to hear from you, and then delight feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.