Judicial Internship 1L Summer... Forum

[vidhartha]

Do i just mass mail my cover letter, resume, writing sample, etc... to their court address? Should I call up before?

[imchuckbass58]

You can call up if you want to save paper/postage, but I found it easier just to mail everyone. My school has a database where you can select the jurisdiction(s) and other critera (senior/not, include magistrates, etc) and just do a mail merge to every judge.

You might have trouble getting a straight answer - some judges haven't yet decided whether to take interns, and some will take resumes that catch their eyes even if they don't have formal intern hiring plans.

I just did resume and cover letter, and figured I'd bring my writing sample to the interview unless they requested it beforehand. It also saves a lot of space in the envelope.

I'd add get you stuff out now, since several district judges are already doing interviews (at least in my district).

[thesealocust]

Yup, a fabulously expensive mail merge. I sent out almost 2 dozen packets with a short writing sample, resume, and cover letter to any judge that our CS office listed as having hired 1Ls as interns. I got my first response (a ding) less than 24 hours after I put them in the mail, lmao.

[kurla88]

Yup, a fabulously expensive mail merge. I sent out almost 2 dozen packets with a short writing sample, resume, and cover letter to any judge that our CS office listed as having hired 1Ls as interns. I got my first response (a ding) less than 24 hours after I put them in the mail, lmao.

How is that even possible. o.O Doesn't U.S. mail take 3 days at least.

[thesealocust]

Yup, a fabulously expensive mail merge. I sent out almost 2 dozen packets with a short writing sample, resume, and cover letter to any judge that our CS office listed as having hired 1Ls as interns. I got my first response (a ding) less than 24 hours after I put them in the mail, lmao.

How is that even possible. o.O Doesn't U.S. mail take 3 days at least.

I guess not (The post office was literally less than a mile from the court house, it must have just moved through the system super fast)

[Rocky Estoppel]

Did you guys just address these to the judge personally?

[thesealocust]

edit: never mind

[dslslave]

How useful are these judicial internships overall? (I have heard from a few 2Ls that they ended up wasting lots of time and their own money on a non-paying gig that provided little experience for them. I haven't heard much in the way of promoting them as a useful things to do in 1L summer, so I'm asking here.) Do any networking connections typically arise from these things, or is it just experience in the field?

I was granted an opportunity to do summer research and co-author a law review article (being published before joining Law review? Whaaaat!), so I was curious if I should try to get a judge thing on top of it, or just enjoy my summer while doing the research assignment.

Thanks all!

[dbt]

how big of a deal is it if you apply to a judge, are offered a job, and then turn it down? I don't want to miss the deadlines, but I can't be certain that I wouldn't turn down the judge for someone else (especially if the academic careers office stressed doing something else).

[tome]

how big of a deal is it if you apply to a judge, are offered a job, and then turn it down? I don't want to miss the deadlines, but I can't be certain that I wouldn't turn down the judge for someone else (especially if the academic careers office stressed doing something else).

Huge deal. Don't do it. At least that is what we were told. In fact, we are not allowed to turn down a judge unless we already have solid summer plans.

[imchuckbass58]

how big of a deal is it if you apply to a judge, are offered a job, and then turn it down? I don't want to miss the deadlines, but I can't be certain that I wouldn't turn down the judge for someone else (especially if the academic careers office stressed doing something else).

Huge deal. Don't do it. At least that is what we were told. In fact, we are not allowed to turn down a judge unless we already have solid summer plans.

I have mixed feelings on how big a deal it actually is.

Obviously career services is going to say "never turn down a judge," because they're afraid that judges will get offended and stop taking students from their school. But in terms of actual impact on your prospects, I think it's probably negligible unless you want a clerkship later with the same judge, or possibly another judge on the same court.

I imagine some judges don't even care - judicial interns aren't hugely valuable. One judge told me most of his colleagues approach internships as a quasi-teaching function. Even if the judge does care, it's not like he's going to run around calling firms and other employers saying you turned him down.

That said, I'd add two qualifications. First, it is customary to accept if offered, and absent a compelling reason (i.e., a concrete offer from another employer), I'd accept just to avoid friction. Second, some law school career services offices will sanction students who turn down judges (I know this is true in a clerkship context, not sure for internships), so you should look into that at your school.

[Nazrix]

Judges usually stay judges for like decades and decades, having worked for a judge, they sure to remember every person who wrongs them...and they do talk to eachother...If you go to their alma, you might even get a formal complaint to some prof/person they know....lots of judges skew towards one school or another, you could seriously screw up your schools rep, and your own.

If it's some judge 1000 miles away you'll never deal with again, probably nothing... if it's a judge in your market, you might get boned.

[Anonymous User]

Since mass mailings seem like the thing to do for 1L judicial internships, how do we feel about mailing to multiple judges at the same court? Is thinking that they would talk to eachother and that it would look bad/unfocused thinking about this way to solipsistically?

[thesealocust]

edit: never mind

[NotMyRealName09]

How useful are these judicial internships overall? (I have heard from a few 2Ls that they ended up wasting lots of time and their own money on a non-paying gig that provided little experience for them. I haven't heard much in the way of promoting them as a useful things to do in 1L summer, so I'm asking here.) Do any networking connections typically arise from these things, or is it just experience in the field?

I was granted an opportunity to do summer research and co-author a law review article (being published before joining Law review? Whaaaat!), so I was curious if I should try to get a judge thing on top of it, or just enjoy my summer while doing the research assignment.

Thanks all!

If its a federal judge, you are a fool to turn it down. Also, if the judge is in the area you intend to eventually work in, the legal community is amazingly small, and there is nothing better during OCI than chatting about a war story with an attorney who is familiar with your judge. Plus, for many people, working with a judge is one of the only resume items you can earn pre-OCI that involves the actual practice of law. Summer research jobs are great, but judicial internships are, IMO, better.