JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK - Cornell University Law School

WRITING SAMPLES
Your writing sample should be the best legal writing you have done. Typically judges prefer
no more than 10‐15 pages, so if your preferred writing sample is longer, send a discrete
section. It can be a memo from a summer job, a portion of a moot court brief, or a part of a
writing competition note that you submitted to a journal. If at the time you are applying
you have a law journal note, send that. Indicate clearly on the first page the extent to
which it has been edited by someone else. Additionally, you should proofread the
document and check your bluebook cites. You should also be prepared to submit a legal
memo or brief as well (or work produce from a research assistantship for a professor, if it is
specifically focused on cases) if you are asked.
If you are sending something you worked on for an employer, be sure to obtain (and make
clear to the judge that you have obtained) the employer's permission to use the materials.
Be very aware of confidentiality issues with memos and exclude client‐identifying
information.
Again, if you are sending a sample that has been edited by someone else indicate the
circumstances. Be aware that some judges request a sample that has not been
substantially edited by another person. You should also be sure to make clear why and
when you wrote the sample, i.e., for a seminar in a particular course, as part of a
memorandum for an employer, for a particular journal. If your writing sample has been
accepted for publication, be sure to indicate that and send the judge the published version
if it becomes available at a later time. If you are using as your writing sample an opinion
that you worked on for a judge (e.g., in a summer intern position), do not use the phrase
Aopinion that I drafted@ or Aopinion that I wrote@. Instead, indicate that you Aworked on@
the opinion. This is an important distinction to some judges.
CLERKSHIP INTERVIEWS
GENERALLY
The process of interviewing for a clerkship is very different from the process of interviewing
for a position with a law firm, government agency or public interest organization. Plan to
attend the Judicial Clerkship Committee=s September program on judicial clerkship
interviews. As soon as you get an interview, log on to Symplicity and check for feedback
from previous applicants who have interviewed with the judge. Click the “clerkships” tab.
Then select “clerkship interview”, search by judge’s last name, and click the “review”
button.
Interviewing for a clerkship requires that you be as flexible and accommodating as possible.
Keep in mind that declining or delaying interviews reduces your own chances of success and
may discourage the judge from offering scarce interview slots to other Cornellians. If you
are having trouble juggling interview offers with class responsibilities, see someone on the
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