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Hey all,

Current D.Ct. clerk in flyover district. Have applied to COA positions on numerous prior occasions with no luck; this round (for 2016) is my hail-mary. My stats are OK, but not amazing (secondary journal, GPA below the A- range; I had to struggle to get this position). That's at least partly my reason for applying, as I think that a COA position is really my only shot at the BigFed/BigPI stuff I'm looking for.

To my surprise, my judge explained that he does not write letters of recommendation and will not call other judges, although he will serve as a reference; my sense is that this is common practice in my district. I'm worried that this will torpedo any chance I had to grab a COA gig, because as much as the D.Ct. clerkship helps, anybody looking at my materials will wonder why there's no letter, and I can't rely on a phone call to get my application out of the giant mass.

Any thoughts? Should I explain this in my cover letter?

I don't think it will torpedo your chances, because it's pretty common; a lot of judges won't write letters or call - they'll talk about you if someone calls them, but they feel that reaching out to others could be seen as an abuse of their position (granted, that makes more sense if they're calling firms that might appear before them rather than other judges, but it's still common). You could probably put something in your cover letter like, "LORs from X, Y, and Z are enclosed. My current employer, Judge Q, prefers not to writer letters but is happy to serve as a reference and may be contacted at 876-5309 or [e-mail]."

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I don't think it will torpedo your chances, because it's pretty common; a lot of judges won't write letters or call - they'll talk about you if someone calls them, but they feel that reaching out to others could be seen as an abuse of their position (granted, that makes more sense if they're calling firms that might appear before them rather than other judges, but it's still common). You could probably put something in your cover letter like, "LORs from X, Y, and Z are enclosed. My current employer, Judge Q, prefers not to writer letters but is happy to serve as a reference and may be contacted at 876-5309 or [e-mail]."

I'm glad to see that Judge Tutone is still serving.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I don't think it will torpedo your chances, because it's pretty common; a lot of judges won't write letters or call - they'll talk about you if someone calls them, but they feel that reaching out to others could be seen as an abuse of their position (granted, that makes more sense if they're calling firms that might appear before them rather than other judges, but it's still common). You could probably put something in your cover letter like, "LORs from X, Y, and Z are enclosed. My current employer, Judge Q, prefers not to writer letters but is happy to serve as a reference and may be contacted at 876-5309 or [e-mail]."

867, right?

Citizen Genet wrote:

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I don't think it will torpedo your chances, because it's pretty common; a lot of judges won't write letters or call - they'll talk about you if someone calls them, but they feel that reaching out to others could be seen as an abuse of their position (granted, that makes more sense if they're calling firms that might appear before them rather than other judges, but it's still common). You could probably put something in your cover letter like, "LORs from X, Y, and Z are enclosed. My current employer, Judge Q, prefers not to writer letters but is happy to serve as a reference and may be contacted at 876-5309 or [e-mail]."

867, right?

Drat. Yes.

A. Nony Mouse wrote:I don't think it will torpedo your chances, because it's pretty common; a lot of judges won't write letters or call - they'll talk about you if someone calls them, but they feel that reaching out to others could be seen as an abuse of their position (granted, that makes more sense if they're calling firms that might appear before them rather than other judges, but it's still common). You could probably put something in your cover letter like, "LORs from X, Y, and Z are enclosed. My current employer, Judge Q, prefers not to writer letters but is happy to serve as a reference and may be contacted at 876-5309 or [e-mail]."

Current COA clerk here. This is correct. We receive many application from district court clerks saying "Judge X does not provide letters of recommendation but would be happy to serve as a reference. He/she can be reached at (123) 456-7890 or at JudgeDredd@dev.uscourts.gov." That said, it also goes the other way -- a lot of current d. ct. clerks do provide letters of recommendation from their judge, but I've only seen a handful that actually make a difference.

A lot of judges don't make calls or write letters of recommendation. It's more common than you might think. It shouldn't be a big deal honestly.

I was recently in the same boat as you. District judge doesn't do letters of rec or calls, so he/she wasn't part of my original packet. The day before my CoA interview, I asked the judge if I could provide the CoA chambers with his/her number in the event that they wanted to do follow up. Judge said that was fine and I prepared a nice short statement saying "Here is Judge X's contact info if you wish to speak to them". Long story short, interview went well, CoA judge called my judge and I ended up getting the job. I did all that without actually putting anything in my cover letter, but I agree with the other posters that stating it up front likely won't do any harm.

OP here. I'm relieved beyond belief; I thought I was in a unique position outside of this (peculiar) District, and I am very glad to hear that is not the case. The advice above is great! Thanks for your help.