Resume Information Forum

[Anonymous User]

Is it okay to put on my resume that, while working for a District Court judge last summer, I wrote draft opinions? Or does the fact that the judge "writes the opinion" make that a no-no.

[Nebby]

You put it on there. Everyone knows that's what clerks do. You write it, the Judge authors it.

[rpupkin]

Is it okay to put on my resume that, while working for a District Court judge last summer, I wrote draft opinions? Or does the fact that the judge "writes the opinion" make that a no-no.

Wait....are you talking about work you did as a clerk or as an extern? Given that you're in the "Judicial Clerkships" forum, I assume you're talking about past externship experience, and that you're asking us how you should represent that experience on your clerkship applications.

My advice is: No, do not put that you "wrote draft opinions" on your resume. If you did draft opinions, and if the judge you externed for liked your work, then let the judge share that in a letter of recommendation.

[Nebby]

Is it okay to put on my resume that, while working for a District Court judge last summer, I wrote draft opinions? Or does the fact that the judge "writes the opinion" make that a no-no.

Wait....are you talking about work you did as a clerk or as an extern? Given that you're in the "Judicial Clerkships" forum, I assume you're talking about past externship experience, and that you're asking us how you should represent that experience on your clerkship applications.

My advice is: No, do not put that you "wrote draft opinions" on your resume. If you did draft opinions, and if the judge you externed for liked your work, then let the judge share that in a letter of recommendation.

But isn't this ridiculous? If they wrote draft opinions then they wrote draft opinions. Everyone knows that clerks and externs draft opinions for judges. Even externs are given the chance to write nonprecedential opinions at the COA level.

[arkhamhorror]

When I did a summer internship with a federal judge, I drafted orders, and subsequently stated that on my resume for OCI and for clerkships. For a few published ones that I liked, I even went into a little detail ("drafted opinion concerning X"). None of the judges I interviewed with for clerkships ever cared, and a few asked me specifically about them which gave me additional talking points in the interview. I'd say you're good to keep it on there.

[rpupkin]

But isn't this ridiculous? If they wrote draft opinions then they wrote draft opinions. Everyone knows that clerks and externs draft opinions for judges. Even externs are given the chance to write nonprecedential opinions at the COA level.

If "everyone knows that clerks and externs draft opinions for judges," then it's pointless to put it on your resume anyway. Based on your assumption, just putting down "extern" on the resume is enough because it will indicate what everyone apparently knows--that externs draft opinions for judges.

The problem, though, is that certain judges are wary of clerks who take credit for drafting opinions. An extern who claimed credit for "drafting opinions" might raise a few eyebrows. In my experience as a clerk, externs for my judge (and other judges at the court) mostly write research memos. An extern might occasionally draft a non-precedential order. But if one of these externs claimed to "draft opinions," I think they'd be stretching it.

Again, I think the safest way to handle this is for the applicant to get a letter of rec from the judge he or she externed for.

[rpupkin]

When I did a summer internship with a federal judge, I drafted orders, and subsequently stated that on my resume for OCI and for clerkships. For a few published ones that I liked, I even went into a little detail ("drafted opinion concerning X"). None of the judges I interviewed with for clerkships ever cared, and a few asked me specifically about them which gave me additional talking points in the interview. I'd say you're good to keep it on there.

Well, obviously they didn't care because they invited you in for an interview. You have no idea whether the judges who passed on your application were bothered by your resume.

Look, a lot of judges won't care about writing that you "drafted opinions for a judge" on your resume. It wouldn't bother the judge I clerked for. But judges are idiosyncratic. And if your goal is to cast your net wide and give yourself the best chance at landing a clerkship, I'd err on the side of caution. Just my two cents.

[arkhamhorror]

Your point about casting a wide net is a very good one. But I think, in light of the fact that a lot of interns/externs are only doing memos, if you were actually able to write a draft opinion (and not just stretching the truth) then you should put it on there because it highlights a different type of experience you received.

Go with your gut. If you think the experience was so worthwhile that it merits a mention, then throw it in.

[Anonymous User]

Our clerkship advisor told us to write "assisted with drafting opinions" or something to that effect. Any judge/clerk looking at it will know it means you wrote the draft opinion, but you're not (inappropriately) taking credit. Of course, this assumes you wrote draft opinions, rather than simply bench memos/research memos.

[Anonymous User]

Our clerkship advisor told us to write "assisted with drafting opinions" or something to that effect. Any judge/clerk looking at it will know it means you wrote the draft opinion, but you're not (inappropriately) taking credit. Of course, this assumes you wrote draft opinions, rather than simply bench memos/research memos.

I have heard the same advice from a current clerk when he was looking at my resume, which originally just said "drafted opinions." I think it's a good middle ground.

[Anonymous User]

I am a current clerk for a state COA judge. Do not put that you drafted opinions as an extern. On a side note, be careful how you present your externship on your resume. I have seen externs put "clerkship" on their resumes. It is an externship, not a clerkship.

[Anonymous User]

But isn't this ridiculous? If they wrote draft opinions then they wrote draft opinions. Everyone knows that clerks and externs draft opinions for judges. Even externs are given the chance to write nonprecedential opinions at the COA level.

If "everyone knows that clerks and externs draft opinions for judges," then it's pointless to put it on your resume anyway. Based on your assumption, just putting down "extern" on the resume is enough because it will indicate what everyone apparently knows--that externs draft opinions for judges.

The problem, though, is that certain judges are wary of clerks who take credit for drafting opinions. An extern who claimed credit for "drafting opinions" might raise a few eyebrows. In my experience as a clerk, externs for my judge (and other judges at the court) mostly write research memos. An extern might occasionally draft a non-precedential order. But if one of these externs claimed to "draft opinions," I think they'd be stretching it.

Again, I think the safest way to handle this is for the applicant to get a letter of rec from the judge he or she externed for.

I interned for 3 judges in law school and I'm now in my 2nd clerkship, and you are the only person who thinks this is an issue. Every intern "drafts orders/opinions" unless they only do research memos (I know some judges/clerks only want research memos).

As an intern, I did plenty of drafts that ended up 75-100% of the finished, published product. This is the norm, not the exception, from my experience. As a clerk, our interns routinely draft the bulk of orders/decisions. Sometimes I end up redoing most of it, but they still draft things for us.

[rpupkin]

The problem, though, is that certain judges are wary of clerks who take credit for drafting opinions. An extern who claimed credit for "drafting opinions" might raise a few eyebrows. In my experience as a clerk, externs for my judge (and other judges at the court) mostly write research memos. An extern might occasionally draft a non-precedential order. But if one of these externs claimed to "draft opinions," I think they'd be stretching it.

Again, I think the safest way to handle this is for the applicant to get a letter of rec from the judge he or she externed for.

I interned for 3 judges in law school and I'm now in my 2nd clerkship, and you are the only person who thinks this is an issue.

Seriously? In this thread alone, other posters (including the one right above you) recommend against externs representing that they "drafted opinions" on their resume. Has it occurred to you that the judges you interned/clerked for aren't necessarily representative of the entire nation's judiciary?

Like I said earlier in this thread, the judge I clerked for would not have cared if an applicant stated that she drafted opinions on her resume. But at least a couple of the other judges of the court I clerked on definitely did not like their clerks (let alone externs) disclosing that they drafted opinions. Now, this was at the federal COA level. As Anonymouse pointed out in another thread, some of this could come down to differences between district court judges and appellate court judges. That might be part of it. Overall, though, I suspect that some judges—at every level—maintain more traditional views about what they see as a master-apprentice relationship.

The Anon post above is part of a trend in the Clerkships forum, where applicants often ask about proper etiquette during the clerkship application process. It seems like there's always one poster—usually posting as an anon—who declares that the judge he clerked/externed for doesn't care about X, and that therefore no judges care about X, and that anyone who avoids X when applying is silly or stupid. It's unfortunate. I mean, it's great to share your anecdotes—the anecdotal information shared on here is really valuable—but I don't get the need to generalize your anecdote into an absolute rule.

[Citizen Genet]

Random aside. I remember reading an opinion where a judge dropped a footnote at the very beginning and said, "I would like to thank Joe Schmoe from Local University Law School who served as my intern for assistance drafting this opinion." I always thought that was classy. Never had the guts to ask my judge to do it for our interns.