Under the new federal law clerk hiring plan, most judges will not be accepting applications from students until fall of their third year of law school. What does this mean for you? Use the present time to read up on clerkships, gather information from a variety of sources, and prepare your application strategy. In your choice of courses for next semester, try to take into account your future plans to apply. This means courses with appropriate content for a clerkship (e.g., Evidence, Federal Courts, Jurisdiction, Property), hopefully small class size so you will get to know the professor, and writing papers so that the professor will get to know your writing. Keep in mind your future need for letters of recommendation and a writing sample -- use this extra time wisely to build a successful application as well as an optimal law school experience!