Clerkship Interviews: 2025-2026

[oatsstoat]

Got a BCCA interview offer earlier today 🙂 

Edited February 22 by oatsstoat

[lawfulactivity]

On 2/19/2024 at 3:34 PM, tiktok said:

Does anyone know if FCA interviews are usually more law-focussed than FC interviews?

Had no substantive law in mine. The judge said right off the bat that no substantive law questions will be asked. But have heard that it is entirely judge dependent at FCA.

[Goblin King]

Anyone know what to expect from the BCCA?

[traintogo]

Got bcsc

anyone know how many applicants are shortlisted for the bcsc?

[tiktok]

2 hours ago, lawfulactivity said:

Had no substantive law in mine. The judge said right off the bat that no substantive law questions will be asked. But have heard that it is entirely judge dependent at FCA.

Thanks! I really wonder how they do their rankings... it doesnt seem like they get much substance from these interviews. 

[misterpresley]

Any advice on how to feel better after an interview that didn't go as well as hoped? I know the chances of getting hired are pretty low already, so it's more about feeling down on myself for not feeling like I was able to show off how much work I put into preparing -- would be grateful if anyone has any wisdom about moving on and not feeling down about having potentially wasted months on this process.

[capitalttruth]

42 minutes ago, misterpresley said:

Any advice on how to feel better after an interview that didn't go as well as hoped? I know the chances of getting hired are pretty low already, so it's more about feeling down on myself for not feeling like I was able to show off how much work I put into preparing -- would be grateful if anyone has any wisdom about moving on and not feeling down about having potentially wasted months on this process.

What about the interview did you feel not go well?

[misterpresley]

8 minutes ago, capitalttruth said:

What about the interview did you feel not go well?

Nothing too specific -- just felt like I spent way too much time preparing and barely got to discuss anything in depth the way I would have wanted. This is 100% just a me problem -- haven't done a recruit in a few years and I'm not used to the Post-Interview Depression lol don't mind me

[capitalttruth]

1 minute ago, misterpresley said:

Nothing too specific -- just felt like I spent way too much time preparing and barely got to discuss anything in depth the way I would have wanted. This is 100% just a me problem -- haven't done a recruit in a few years and I'm not used to the Post-Interview Depression lol don't mind me

Are you referring to the fact that the clerkship interviews are fairly conversational? How did you prepare? I sympathize. These interviews seem like a crapshoot - you really have no idea what the judges are looking for.

[HarryCrane]

1 hour ago, misterpresley said:

Any advice on how to feel better after an interview that didn't go as well as hoped? I know the chances of getting hired are pretty low already, so it's more about feeling down on myself for not feeling like I was able to show off how much work I put into preparing -- would be grateful if anyone has any wisdom about moving on and not feeling down about having potentially wasted months on this process.

You got in the door which is way more than a lot of people can say. It might sting now, but I think when you look back you’ll appreciate the process and the fact you got to chat with a justice for a half hour. 

[Mignonette]

10 hours ago, tiktok said:

Thanks! I really wonder how they do their rankings... it doesnt seem like they get much substance from these interviews. 

My understanding is that, especially with FCA and FC, the conversational interview speaks to the work environment during the clerkship.  In FC and FCA you are paired with one judge (whereas ONCA you are part of a student cohort? I think?) so the judge wants to know that they can stand to be in a room with you talking about hard questions for 10 hours a day.  The thought is that if you made it through school and have a good transcript you are relatively competent in substantive legal issues, and the judge is obviously an expert, so the emphasis is less on substantive law and more on personal fit.  Very judge-dependant though.  

[PassionFusionsAcquisitions]

Hi all, not really familiar with the whole FCA and FC interview process.

 

Once first interviews are done, are there any second interviews? If not, what's the timeline for job offers? Thanks and best of luck!

[PlainsGal]

1 hour ago, Mignonette said:

My understanding is that, especially with FCA and FC, the conversational interview speaks to the work environment during the clerkship.  In FC and FCA you are paired with one judge (whereas ONCA you are part of a student cohort? I think?) so the judge wants to know that they can stand to be in a room with you talking about hard questions for 10 hours a day.  The thought is that if you made it through school and have a good transcript you are relatively competent in substantive legal issues, and the judge is obviously an expert, so the emphasis is less on substantive law and more on personal fit.  Very judge-dependant though.  

I totally agree with this (for FC/FCA). A judge explicitly told methat they weren't doing subtantive law interviews because they assumed that based on our transcripts/CV/rec letters, we were intellectually capable of doing the job, so the interviews are more personality fit-driven.

[scooter]

58 minutes ago, PassionFusionsAcquisitions said:

Hi all, not really familiar with the whole FCA and FC interview process.

 

Once first interviews are done, are there any second interviews? If not, what's the timeline for job offers? Thanks and best of luck!

There's only one round of interviews. I've heard March 7/8 for FCA but I'm not sure if that also applies to FC.

[tiktok]

1 hour ago, PlainsGal said:

I totally agree with this (for FC/FCA). A judge explicitly told methat they weren't doing subtantive law interviews because they assumed that based on our transcripts/CV/rec letters, we were intellectually capable of doing the job, so the interviews are more personality fit-driven.

Has anyone feel like they didn't click with an FC/FCA judge? I feel like it's very hard to tell since it was all very casual... if you did find that you didn't click with a judge, why was that? like the conversation was a bit dry? didnt find a judge too receptive? the interview ended early or went over 30 min? As for me, I didn't get any red flag that a judge didnt like me, but also dont feel like I managed to establish a strong connection... but you never know I guess... march 7/8 cant come fast enough

Edited February 23 by tiktok

[Mignonette]

There isn't a firm call date for FC that is published as far as I'm aware, but likely the first week of March.  Exceptionally in weird cases I have heard of people getting second interviews, but it isn't standard.  FC and FCA are less structured that other clerk applications.  You won't get "rejections" usually from the FC because they keep apps on file.  I've heard of people getting calls in the summer and fall with clerkship offers if a new judge was appointed or someone dropped unexpectedly.  

[FellowTraveler]

1 hour ago, tiktok said:

Has anyone feel like they didn't click with an FC/FCA judge? I feel like it's very hard to tell since it was all very casual... if you did find that you didn't click with a judge, why was that? like the conversation was a bit dry? didnt find a judge too receptive? the interview ended early or went over 30 min? As for me, I didn't get any red flag that a judge didnt like me, but also dont feel like I managed to establish a strong connection... but you never know I guess... march 7/8 cant come fast enough

You have zero way of knowing, short of "I used a slur and/or ran over their dog and this is the first time they've seen me since".

You can either spend the next two weeks obsessing over details that may or may not mean anything to a particular judge, each of whom has their own personality and is looking for something slightly different, or you can just accept that you've done what you can and move on. I know in practice it's hard not to overthink, so good luck with the next couple weeks and be kind to yourself!

[neonisblue]

This might be a stupid question but is it still customary to send post-interview thank you emails for FC interviews?

[Mignonette]

39 minutes ago, neonisblue said:

This might be a stupid question but is it still customary to send post-interview thank you emails for FC interviews?

This is a great Q actually.  I couldn't find judges' email addresses online, and received my interview and application confirmations from a "noreply" address or an admin person.  It feels weird to send a thanks to an admin staff person to have them then convey to the judge...

[mewtwo101]

2 hours ago, Mignonette said:

This is a great Q actually.  I couldn't find judges' email addresses online, and received my interview and application confirmations from a "noreply" address or an admin person.  It feels weird to send a thanks to an admin staff person to have them then convey to the judge...

I asked my school's CPDC this question and they said it's not expected 🙂

Edited February 23 by mewtwo101

[RollAND]

On 2/22/2024 at 9:21 AM, christinesinclair said:

See, I sent an email asking if I could move my interview for the FC and it seemed like they said no (they called me and reiterated what date and time it was at). I honestly felt like maybe the woman on the phone didn’t understand what I was asking, but she didn’t seem to be budging at all so I just said I would make it work. 

Got the same experience except she understood my query. She very clearly laid out that if I had 5 minutes in between the two interviews, that should be more than enough. So it was a « me » problem and not a « them » problem. I gave up.

Edited February 23 by RollAND

[Byzantine]

On 2/22/2024 at 6:18 PM, Allard2024 said:

Got bcsc

anyone know how many applicants are shortlisted for the bcsc?

Allard's clerkship guide says 30 for 2nd interview with BCSC and 24 for BCCA. No clue about accuracy. 

[herb]

On 2/22/2024 at 4:32 PM, Goblin King said:

Anyone know what to expect from the BCCA?

My interview was with four judges - fairly conversational and pretty much what I expected. They moved through a lot of stuff in my resume with a focus on my research experiences and writing sample. The conversation grew organically out of the answers I gave. They did ask me to discuss a case of my choice that stood out to me and explain why. Interview ended with "do you have any questions for us".

[itsme]

So is the expectation that SCC offers will be late this week / early next, with the other courts following towards the end of next week? That seems to track with previous years, though I note the SCC site says hiring completed by the 15th of March. 

[A Moving Potato]

9 minutes ago, itsme said:

So is the expectation that SCC offers will be late this week / early next, with the other courts following towards the end of next week? That seems to track with previous years, though I note the SCC site says hiring completed by the 15th of March. 

SCC would likely be this week as ONCA offers are March 7-8