with both liberal and conservative judges hiring clerks who reflect their ideological orientation. Generally, the next most sought after federal clerkship is one with a United States district court judge. Some U.S. district courts are more sought after than others due to the district's popular location, for example: the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York, the Northern District of California, and the District of the District of Columbia. There are also federal clerkships with other federal judges such as U.S. magistrate judges; U.S. Tax Court judges, senior judges, and special trial judges; Bankruptcy Appellate Panel judges; and U.S. bankruptcy judges. Former federal law clerks are often highly sought after by large law firms. Firms believe that such individuals have excellent legal research and writing skills, and a strong command of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Firms are even more interested in a former law clerk if the firm generally appears before the clerk's former judge. The interest in former law clerks is seen by the fact that most large firms have a special hiring process for former clerks, and often pay such individuals large signing bonuses. Generally, interested candidates apply for federal clerkships more than a year before the clerkship begins. The federal clerkship application process has also largely been streamlined by the National Federal Judges Law Clerk Hiring Plan and the OSCAR system, an online database in which federal judges post upcoming vacancies (although not all federal judges use this system). The National Federal Judges Law Clerk Hiring Plan sets dates for when federal judges may receive applications, and when they may contact, interview, and hire law clerks. Generally, judges begin looking at applications in the early fall, with contact and interviews happening a few weeks later. These dates only apply to the hiring of matriculating third-year law students; practicing attorneys may apply earlier. Moreover, while many judges adhere to the National Federal Judges Law Clerk Hiring Plan's schedule, many do not follow the plan and interview and hire law students over the summer. The Supreme Court does not follow this timetable. As a result of the extreme competition—both by the judges to get the best candidates and by candidates to get the best clerkships—the pace of the hiring is extremely quick. It is not unknown for federal judges to offer a candidate a clerkship on the spot at the conclusion