JUDICIAL CLERKSHIP HANDBOOK - Cornell University Law School

Staying current
Application materials may be sent in the fall, but
some Justices will not review them for months.
Applicants should send update letters whenever
they obtain new information, particularly:
Contact information. Students typically list
their law school address and telephone number
on their résumés, which makes it imperative
that they send a letter or updated résumé
indicating where they can be reached
immediately during the summer. Contact
information for recommenders may change as
well, and applicants should submit an updated
list promptly.
Grades. Send a new transcript when additional
grades are posted.
Additional publications or honors. A
publication, an academic award, or a
promotion at work, for example, would all
warrant an updated résumé.
In a perfect world, perhaps, candidates could
submit one application package to each Justice
and update it infinitely, but the Justices generally
discard application materials when they finish
hiring for a given Term. October remains a useful
benchmark after the submission as well; those
who apply and are not selected by the following
October should seriously consider sending out
new packages. Applicants can minimize the in-
convenience to their recommenders by letting
them know well in advance that they may apply
again and asking them to retain the computer file
of their recommendation letters.
Supreme Court clerk lists
For serious researchers or the simply curious, the
Supreme Court’s Public Information Office publishes
two lists of clerks for each Term. The first,
available in July, lists only the names of all law
clerks for each Justice. The second, available in
October, includes the law school and lower court
judge for each law clerk. There is no charge for
either list; call (202) 479-3211 to request a copy.
The Supreme Court Library also maintains a
clerk database; the early data is a little spotty, but
the information on law schools and lower court
judges for each law clerk is pretty comprehensive
after about 1940. Call (202) 479-3000 and
ask for the Library to get more information.
Marilyn Drees is Director, Judicial Clerkships &
Fellowships, for the Yale Law School Career
Development Office and is a member of the NALP
Judicial Clerkship Task Force.
Forms of Address for Members of the United States Supreme Court
The Chief Justice
Address: Hon. William H. Rehnquist
The Chief Justice of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
One First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Salutation: Dear Mr. Chief Justice:
Associate Justices
Address: Hon. Sandra Day O’Connor
Associate Justice
Supreme Court of the United States
One First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20543
Salutation: Dear Justice O’Connor:
Reprinted from NALP Bulletin, October 2002.
© NALP 2002. All rights reserved. This article may be printed for personal use only. Any reproduction, retransmission or
republication of all or part of this material is expressly prohibited unless NALP or the copyright owner has granted prior
written consent. For reprint permission contact the NALP office at (202) 835-1001 or www.nalp.org.
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