Letter of Rec Advice Forum

[UnderDogClerk]

Hey y'all. Looking for some advice on letters of rec. I'm a 3L at a TTT that is not particularly well-connected outside of the mid-size city where the school is located. I recently accepted an offer at a SSC for '21 and am looking to revamp my materials for '22 (looking at district courts and a few COA judges).

One of my recommenders is a career clerk for a district court judge whom I externed for. He/she wrote me an excellent letter (the only one I personally read). My second recommender is my legal research and writing prof. I had him for three years. He knows me and my writing well and I believe he wrote a strong letter. My third recommender is the only one who clerked for a COA judge, but he/she specifically told me not to apply to that judge because they have a penchant for treating clerks poorly. I had this prof for a couple of classes in which I did really well, but I'm not sure about how strong his letter is.

There are some other faculty members that I know would write me strong, personalized letters. Should I nix my third recommender in lieu of another professor who would be more likely to go to bat for me even if they're less prestigious? I also have a good relationship with an adjunct who works in federal gov. that would likely write me a very strong letter.

Any thoughts/recommendations on my specific situation or general advice on letters of recommendation would be greatly appreciated. The career office at my school is always bogged down and hasn't been of the greatest help. So anything y'all have to offer would be great. Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Prestige matters less than the quality of the LOR. If you can get a stronger LOR that speaks in more depth to your skills/work product/performance, that will go further than a mediocre letter from a former COA clerk. And if anyone is willing to go to bat for you (making calls/sending emails to judges) absolutely take them up on it. Especially coming from a TTT, you need ALL the help you can get to make yourself visible to potential judges. Clerkships are dominated by T14 grads and regional T1 superstars, so you've got to stand out from the pile in any way that you can.

[UnderDogClerk]

Prestige matters less than the quality of the LOR. If you can get a stronger LOR that speaks in more depth to your skills/work product/performance, that will go further than a mediocre letter from a former COA clerk. And if anyone is willing to go to bat for you (making calls/sending emails to judges) absolutely take them up on it. Especially coming from a TTT, you need ALL the help you can get to make yourself visible to potential judges. Clerkships are dominated by T14 grads and regional T1 superstars, so you've got to stand out from the pile in any way that you can.

Great advice, thanks! I was starting to lean towards giving up prestige and looking for recommenders who will call chambers for me. I've had difficulty in finding recommenders who will make calls (and my school does not have a clerkship committee or in any way endorse clerkship candidates), but I think I've managed to find one. At the very least, I know some profs who I have great personal relationships with who I think will write much stronger, more personal letters. And it sounds like that's the avenue to follow. I appreciate the feedback!

[mjb447]

Just to be clear for posterity, since it sounds like you're going to follow the anon's good advice, is the third recommender only "prestigious" because s/he's a former COA clerk for a judge to whom you probably won't apply (in addition to being a prof for a class you did well in)?

[UnderDogClerk]

mjb447, I would say they're more prestigious because of their clerkship and because they're well published. But I wouldn't compare them to any heavy hitters from a t14. That's why it seems a lot more appropriate to just get the strongest letters and find profs who will make calls for me.

[mjb447]

Got it. Yeah, that's a pretty clear-cut situation - often when this question comes up the "prestigious" recommender is a household name (at least in law) or something, and most people still recommend using the recommender who knows you better and can write a very strong letter.

[Anonymous User]

How important is it to get letters of recs from professors vs. non-professors such as clinic law fellows (several years out of law school with clerking and work experience)?

I'm thinking of asking 2 professors and my clinic law fellow. However, I can make a push to ask another law professor who may not write as good of a LoR.

[Anonymous User]

How important is it to get letters of recs from professors vs. non-professors such as clinic law fellows (several years out of law school with clerking and work experience)?

I'm thinking of asking 2 professors and my clinic law fellow. However, I can make a push to ask another law professor who may not write as good of a LoR.

2 professors and a fellow who will write a glowing letter seems good to me. I wouldn't consider a clinical fellow a professor (say, for a judge who asks that a certain number of letters be from professors)-- fellows are more akin to a supervisor at an internship. But if they will write the stronger letter and you already have two profs, this sounds good.