JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK - Cornell University Law School

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participation in programs or activities that provided broad or intense learning experiences, or that represented academic achievement; extracurricular activities that are creative (e.g., drama) or intellectually demanding (e.g., debating). C Your GPA: Here are the options for stating your GPA: If you are in the top 5 ranked students in your class say the following: “GPA = x.xx ‐ ranked number x in my class”. Boardman, Kerr and Fraser prize winners should state and define the honor. If you are in the top 5% say the following: “GPA = x.xx ‐ top 5%” If you are in the top 10% say the following: “GPA = x.xx ‐ top 10%” If you are near the top 10% say the following: “GPA = x.xx ‐ top 10% = x.xx” Otherwise, say the following: “GPA = x.xx. As a matter of faculty policy, class rank is not provided.” C Emphasize writing experience. If you are on a journal and have a note sufficiently underway, include the title. It may pique a judge=s interest. Do not limit yourself to legal writing. Did you do an undergraduate thesis or honors paper? List it, with title and perhaps a brief statement of its thesis. Other possibilities include journalistic experience and non‐legal jobs that involved substantial writing. Particularly if you come to law school with a scientific or technical background, it is important to reassure the judge about your ability to write easily and well. C Give a sense of who you are and what=s important to you. Judges receive hundreds of applications from smart people at good law schools. What could help distinguish you are: volunteer, community service, or extracurricular activities before and during law school; your interests (put back the AInterests@ section if you took it off your resume); skills such as foreign languages; experiences such as travel; or unusual jobs. This is not the occasion for a safely neutral, Aplain vanilla@ resume. If you have doubts about whether, or how, to include something, talk to a member of the Judicial Clerkship Committee. C If it is not a household word, explain it. It does no good to proudly list that you were a APuffinstuff Scholar@ at your undergraduate school if the judge has never heard of this distinction. Awards, activities, programs and achievements that are not reasonably self‐evident should have a clear, but succinct, explanation. Do not belabor the explanation of Atypical@ legal internships or jobs. Do include any unusual or significant projects. Important: You should redraft your resume, adding all items that might fit these guidelines, and then meet with a member of the Judicial Clerkship Committee to review and refine it. 18 | P age
COVER LETTER The same concerns about both appearance and content which apply to resumes also apply to your cover letters. Your cover letter should be considered a writing sample. Even a strong resume and references may not be enough to overcome poor grammar, bad sentence structure, typographical errors or misspellings in your cover letter. Edit and proofread carefully. It is difficult to give generic advice about the style of this letter. Many people keep it a short transmittal letter that simply describes the materials enclosed. See Sample 1, Appendix P. Other people use the cover letter as another opportunity to emphasize what sets them apart. It is probably not worth discoursing generally on Awhy I want to clerk.@ On the other hand, there are several situations in which a substantive cover letter clearly makes sense. If you had an extended Alife before law school@ ‐ another career, substantial academic training in another discipline, etc. ‐ you may want to briefly discuss why you came to law and what your prior life adds to your professional legal skills. (See Samples 2 & 3, Appendix P). Similarly, if you are applying to a specialized court, like the bankruptcy court, you should mention any relevant experience (e.g., accounting) as well as any directly relevant courses you are taking. If you plan to practice in the geographic area, say so. Finally, if you have special interest in or connections to a geographical area, highlight them. Many judges, especially in state courts and federal district courts outside major metropolitan areas, look for people who have lived, or plan to practice, in the area. Again, we urge you to try your hand at a draft and bring it to your meeting with someone on the Judicial Clerkship Committee. Whether simple or substantive, all cover letters should convey the following basic information: C year of graduation and year of clerkship applied for; C a list of what=s in your application packet including, for the writing sample, a description of what it is, when you wrote it, the extent to which it has been edited by others, or that is unedited by others, and (if applicable) a statement that you have permission to use it; C names of people serving as your references (e.g., AProfessor X, for whom I am working as a research assistant@; AJudge Y, for whom I interned during my first‐year summer@) with a description of who they are if there is anything useful to be added on this subject; C if the area is geographically distant, a reference to any travel plans you may have, in order to facilitate scheduling an interview. This is likely to be more effective with state court judges or geographically‐isolated federal district court judges than with 19 | P age
Page 1: JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK CORNELL
Page 4 and 5: Leadership Libraries 15 LexisNexis
Page 7 and 8: INTRODUCTION Clerking for a judge o
Page 9 and 10: valuable. (For further discussion,
Page 11 and 12: positions as Atemporary,” meaning
Page 13 and 14: JUDICIAL FELLOWS PROGRAM Following
Page 15 and 16: above, as one application. SELECTIN
Page 17 and 18: Grades and Other Credentials You do
Page 19 and 20: Cornell University’s Internationa
Page 21 and 22: C Almanac of the Federal Judiciary:
Page 23: STAFF ATTORNEY AND PRO SE LAW CLERK
Page 27 and 28: WRITING SAMPLES Your writing sample
Page 29 and 30: Although there are no guarantees ab
Page 31: FEDERAL COURT WORKPLACE ISSUES In a
Page 34 and 35: Academic Record What are your grade
Page 36: Jeffrey S. Lehman Chief Judge Frank
Page 40 and 41: torney’s pay rate is comparable t
Page 42 and 43: Circuit and Contact Information 5th
Page 45 and 46: Applying to everyone in October sou
Page 53 and 54: Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito,
Page 55 and 56: APPENDIX K JUDGES WHO HIRED CORNELL
Page 59 and 60: JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP RESOURCES APPEND
Page 61 and 62: types of clerkships, how to build a
Page 63 and 64: The Honorable XXX United States Dis
Page 65 and 66: The Honorable XXX Supreme Court Sta
Page 67: Judge Frederick Block U.S. District

JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK - Cornell University Law School

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