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Letter of Recommendation
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:32 pm
by Anonymous User
Last summer, I interned for the chief judge of a district court. He has already hired several years out, but he gave me a letter of recommendation. I think that he supposed that the LoR would be for firm applications (didn't end up needing it for that), but I would like to use it as a LoR for applying to other judges in his district. Is it appropriate to use his LoR without asking or do I need to confirm with his chambers it's okay to use?
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
Re: Letter of Recommendation
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:36 pm
by emkay625
Can't hurt to confirm. It will also give you a chance to touch base with the judge again and update him on what you've been doing the past year, which will give him more info when he talks to any judges who call him as part of your application/interview process.
Re: Letter of Recommendation
Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 6:08 am
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:Last summer, I interned for the chief judge of a district court. He has already hired several years out, but he gave me a letter of recommendation. I think that he supposed that the LoR would be for firm applications (didn't end up needing it for that), but I would like to use it as a LoR for applying to other judges in his district. Is it appropriate to use his LoR without asking or do I need to confirm with his chambers it's okay to use?
Maybe I'm overthinking it.
No, I think you definitely should. I'm clerking for a district court judge right now and there's no way another judge on his court would hire a former intern of his without talking to him first if he wrote a recommendation. And if that phone call is a surprise for him because he had no idea you're applying, and possibly would not have recommended you for the clerkship, then it's only going to go badly for you.
You should DEFINITELY bring it up - I think you could just do so in the context of wanting to touch base with him about applying for clerkships in his district, and see where the conversation goes from there. If he doesn't already volunteer to help, then you can raise the question of the LoR. But I would definitely not use it if you're not 100% he would be supportive of you applying to judges on his district. Judges on the same district know each other well, so it's just not a good idea to do this without him being on board.
Good luck!