District Court Profile: SDNY

Federal district court clerkships come in all shapes and sizes.  Arguably the most popular, prestigious, and busy are those on New York's Southern District, commonly known as "SDNY."  The district court's website has this to say:

Once a 'leisurely one man court,' the Southern District of New York currently has forty-four United States District Judges and fifteen United States Magistrate Judges presiding over the highest civil caseload in the country.  These forty-six men and thirteen women determine matters ranging from admiralty business, the backbone of the Court’s work in early years, to anti-trust prosecutions, patent, copyright, trademark, anti-racketeering, income tax, and violations of Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) laws.  Occasionally, one or more of the District (Article III) Judges of the Southern District of New York may sit by designation on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Due to the heavy workload and complexity of the docket, many SDNY judges prefer to hire clerks with a post-law school experience working in a firm or government agency.  Some require this.  Applicants should consult OSCAR to get a sense of which judges fall into these categories.  The upshot is that SDNY clerkships can be quite difficult for students to get; the increasingly common "work-clerk-work" approach may be the only way in the door for some.

Three SDNY judges -- District Judges Karas and Nathan, and Magistrate Judge Freeman -- are currently hiring for 2013-14 on OSCAR.  Without further ado, here is contact information for each SDNY District and Magistrate Judge:

Chief District Judge Loretta A. Preska
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse
500 Pearl Street, Room 2220
New York NY 10007-1312

District Judge Deborah A. Batts
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse
500 Pearl Street, Room 2510
New York NY 10007-1312

The list continues after the jump . . .

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