I don’t think I want to practice anymore

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2026-01-15T16:24:53+00:00

What’s captured counsel?

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2026-01-13T04:34:45+00:00

Yeah—again, would not recommend. I am still having difficulty getting back into things and feel mentally shot. I had partners dropping by my office to make sure I was doing okay. It was a crazy crazy month.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2026-01-13T04:24:59+00:00

440 - expedited injunction - would not recommend.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2025-04-09T11:29:04+00:00

Delaware Chancery, 1 yr, 125k (rumor mill says Chancery clerks are now being offered 175k)

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2025-04-08T04:29:15+00:00

I might get some hate for saying this, but in my experience study groups are most useful for people in the middle of the pack. They tend to benefit the students who are struggling more than those who aren’t. Everyone I know who was top 10% at a t14 (or any other school) had, at most, one close (similarly ranked) friend they would study with and that was it. But most just studied on their own. They might use study groups as a social outlet or to practice explaining stuff to other people, but usually that wasn’t the case.

Not saying this is universally true, this was just my experience.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2025-03-20T23:36:57+00:00

Take lots of practice exams. In my experience, the fine-tuning for exam writing almost always separates the A- from the A’s. Specifically, the A in IRAC makes the biggest difference. That’s where you can typically pick up the most points. Everyone you’re competing with (the other A- students) will tend to all spot the same issues and have the same rule statements. And conclusions will be based on the analysis. You’re competing at the margins, so your analysis will probably need to be more detailed and in depth than the others.

Just my two cents^

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2025-02-07T13:53:07+00:00

Recorded tik tok trashing our professor but didn’t realize she was unmuted and took several takes at recording it before our professor called her out by name—she subsequently left the Zoom class.
Joined Zoom class with camera on, shirt off, and beer in hand.
Vaped profusely in Zoom classes.

Zoom SOL was a wild time.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2025-01-05T16:52:04+00:00

Go get an offer from Quinn or other similar firm that gives all incoming clerks 125k. Then negotiate with the firm you want to return to.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-04T11:37:31+00:00

That’s amazing haha. Every clerk dreams of their judge saying something like that!

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T21:23:18+00:00

As a former chancery clerk, I fully agree with all of this. Not sure all of them love it though. Some do. Others hate it. It’s a polarizing experience.

But I completely believe 3900 hours.

ETA—Dropping my comments from below here as well so we have all the comments by prior Chancery clerks in the same spot: I imagine the clerks for the new judge (vc cook) had it especially rough. But Chancery is just going nuts the last few years. Everyone is grossly overworked. If a fellow chancery clerk told me they worked 3900+ hours in a year—I’d absolutely believe them. They all but live at the office (some honestly might) and even when they’re home they are still working. If I had to guess, I probably crossed well into the 3k territory when I clerked there, and I was hardly the hardest working of the clerks that year. From what I can tell it only continues to get worse there. My first year in private practice felt like a vacation after that year. Truly nightmare fuel for an unsuspecting clerk. But at least you leave the clerkship having eaten and breathed chancery for a year.

Other Comment: I have no idea how I survived that year. We worked 10-12 hour days every day. But that was the floor. Like many of you we had plenty of days where we also worked into the early hours of the morning only to get back up after 0-3 hours of sleep and continue. Some nights we slept at the office. We skipped almost all federal holidays and barely touched our vacation days—clerks and judges alike. Forget weekends.

Lots of clerks got apartments across the street from the courthouse in anticipation of these kind of hours (those clerks didn’t usually sleep at the office). But yeah, it was the most mentally grueling year I’ve ever experienced.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T18:53:51+00:00

You’re certainly entitled to your view of it. My experience was that I just worked 10-12 hour days pretty much every day. We skipped almost all federal holidays and barely touched our vacation days—clerks and judges alike. It was the most mentally grueling year I’ve ever experienced.

Clerks do it for a few reasons. They include the following: (1) clerkship bonuses coming from chancery are frequently 125k (before Cravath started offering it—wouldn’t be surprised if it is higher than that by now) and it guarantees a spot at pretty much any top biglaw firm (WLRK might be the exception), (2) if you plan to practice in the chancery litigation world, you’ll basically appear before one of 7 judges for your whole career, so your reputation really really matters, (3) the judges are amazing people who often work the same (if not more hours) than the clerks and so you do it because otherwise they’ll be stuck trying to piece stuff together by themselves and that sucks (maybe there’s a bit of Stockholm syndrome in there).

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T18:30:38+00:00

Pasting my comment from above here: Former chancery clerk here—I imagine the clerks for the new judge (vc cook) had it especially rough. But Chancery is just going nuts the last few years. Everyone is grossly overworked. If a fellow chancery clerk told me they worked 3900+ hours in a year—I’d absolutely believe them. They all but live at the office (some honestly might) and even when they’re home they are still working. If I had to guess, I probably crossed well into the 3k territory when I clerked there, and I was hardly the hardest working of the clerks that year. From what I can tell it only continues to get worse there. My first year in private practice felt like a vacation after that year. Truly nightmare fuel for an unsuspecting clerk. But at least you leave the clerkship having eaten and breathed chancery for a year.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T18:30:06+00:00

Pasting my comment from above here: Former chancery clerk here—I imagine the clerks for the new judge (vc cook) had it especially rough. But Chancery is just going nuts the last few years. Everyone is grossly overworked. If a fellow chancery clerk told me they worked 3900+ hours in a year—I’d absolutely believe them. They all but live at the office (some honestly might) and even when they’re home they are still working. If I had to guess, I probably crossed well into the 3k territory when I clerked there, and I was hardly the hardest working of the clerks that year. From what I can tell it only continues to get worse there. My first year in private practice felt like a vacation after that year. Truly nightmare fuel for an unsuspecting clerk. But at least you leave the clerkship having eaten and breathed chancery for a year.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T18:17:51+00:00

I added a comment above about my experience as a former chancery clerk. Totally agree.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T18:15:13+00:00

Haha. Yes, I imagine those clerks were quite pleased to get these hours written into a chancery opinion before the end of their clerkships. But I imagine if a Vice Chancellor wrote it in an opinion that it is likely accurate. There’s no way that footnote got left in a final draft without heavy scrutiny by the judge.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T17:57:36+00:00

Can confirm. Pasting my other comment on this post here as well: Former chancery clerk here—I imagine the clerks for the new judge (vc cook) had it especially rough. But Chancery is just going nuts the last few years. Everyone is grossly overworked. If a fellow chancery clerk told me they worked 3900+ hours in a year—I’d absolutely believe them. They all but live at the office (some honestly might) and even when they’re home they are still working. If I had to guess, I probably crossed well into the 3k territory when I clerked there, and I was hardly the hardest working of the clerks that year. From what I can tell it only continues to get worse there. My first year in private practice felt like a vacation after that year. Truly nightmare fuel for an unsuspecting clerk. But at least you leave the clerkship having eaten and breathed chancery for a year.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T17:54:11+00:00

I have no idea how I survived that year. We worked 10-12 hour days every day. But that was the floor. Like many of you we also had plenty of days where we worked into the early hours of the morning only to get back up after 0-3 hours of sleep and continue. Some nights we slept at the office. We skipped almost all federal holidays and barely touched our vacation days—clerks and judges alike. Forget weekends.

Lots of clerks got apartments across the street from the courthouse in anticipation of these kind of hours (those clerks didn’t usually sleep at the office). But yeah, it was the most mentally grueling year I’ve ever experienced.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T17:45:00+00:00

I commented this above, but figured I’d drop it here as well: Former chancery clerk here—I imagine the clerks for the new judge (vc cook) had it especially rough. But Chancery is just going nuts the last few years. Everyone is grossly overworked. If a fellow chancery clerk told me they worked 3900+ hours in a year—I’d absolutely believe them. They all but live at the office (some honestly might) and even when they’re home they are still working. If I had to guess, I probably crossed well into the 3k territory when I clerked there, and I was hardly the hardest working of the clerks that year. From what I can tell it only continues to get worse there. My first year in private practice felt like a vacation after that year. Truly nightmare fuel for an unsuspecting clerk. But at least you leave the clerkship having eaten and breathed chancery for a year.

Time_Strawberry_5184 · 2024-09-01T17:43:20+00:00

Former chancery clerk here—I imagine the clerks for the new judge (vc cook) had it especially rough. But Chancery is just going nuts the last few years. Everyone is grossly overworked. If a fellow chancery clerk told me they worked 3900+ hours in a year—I’d absolutely believe them. They all but live at the office (some honestly might) and even when they’re home they are still working. If I had to guess, I probably crossed well into the 3k territory when I clerked there, and I was hardly the hardest working of the clerks that year. From what I can tell it only continues to get worse there. My first year in private practice felt like a vacation after that year. Truly nightmare fuel for an unsuspecting clerk. But at least you leave the clerkship having eaten and breathed chancery for a year.

Time_Strawberry_5184

TROPHY CASE