I plan on applying to my state Appellate and Supreme Court. But lately, I've been torn between two writing samples, but today I had a different idea and it I feel like it could either work for me or against me. What if I wrote about a big issue that is currently being decided by the state Supreme Court, in the form of a predictive memorandum? I actually came across the issue in a different context, but after some research I realized it was just recently argued in front of the state Supreme Court. Would they see it as great content (assuming my reasoning is different)? Or do I run the risk of them thinking differently than me, and, as a result, dinging me?
Also, my GPA is decent but not great (3.5) from the state flagship school...Any feedback at all would be great!
Edit: median at my school is a 3.0
Clerkship Writing Sample Advice Forum
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Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
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EzraFitz
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Re: Clerkship Writing Sample Advice
I think your best bet is going to be tightening up and perfecting something you have already written rather than starting from scratch with a completely new, completely speculative piece.
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#NotACop
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Re: Clerkship Writing Sample Advice
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Last edited by #NotACop on Thu Apr 07, 2016 9:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Clerkship Writing Sample Advice
Current district court clerk. Do not write a new memo on the topic currently pending before the SSC. I cannot imagine it ending well. You need to select one of the two others. Whichever you select, make sure it is free from errors. I would also suggest cutting it down to 10 pages.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Clerkship Writing Sample Advice
I am a former clerk and highly recommend using your absolute best, highest-quality piece of erotic Pokemon fan fiction.
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emkay625
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Re: Clerkship Writing Sample Advice
This sounds like a weird idea that could only hurt, not help you. Honestly, the most important thing about writing samples is that they are free of errors. No typos, no citation mistakes, no grammar issues, etc.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Clerkship Writing Sample Advice
Tagging on to this post with a different question about clerkship writing samples:
I'm an attorney who graduated in 2015, I'm applying to the few 2016 clerkships that are still open. I don't really have a good writing sample from my current position or my 2L job. I am trying to get permission for a current writing sample, but it's an internal memo and there are a lot of rules at my job (government agency) for using those, so I'm uncertain if I'll be able to use it even with redactions.
My only other options are a 1L internship writing sample, which was a judicial internship but I don't know if using an almost 3 year old writing sample is a good idea. Or, using one of the papers I wrote for a class in law school.
Any advice? Because most judges use rolling applications I'd like to get applications out ASAP, and even if I do get permission to use the memo from my current job it probably wouldn't be for another week or so. Is it bad if I use a writing sample from a 1L internship almost 3 years ago? Should I try an academic writing sample?
I'm an attorney who graduated in 2015, I'm applying to the few 2016 clerkships that are still open. I don't really have a good writing sample from my current position or my 2L job. I am trying to get permission for a current writing sample, but it's an internal memo and there are a lot of rules at my job (government agency) for using those, so I'm uncertain if I'll be able to use it even with redactions.
My only other options are a 1L internship writing sample, which was a judicial internship but I don't know if using an almost 3 year old writing sample is a good idea. Or, using one of the papers I wrote for a class in law school.
Any advice? Because most judges use rolling applications I'd like to get applications out ASAP, and even if I do get permission to use the memo from my current job it probably wouldn't be for another week or so. Is it bad if I use a writing sample from a 1L internship almost 3 years ago? Should I try an academic writing sample?
