What made a clerkship recommender especially effective? Forum

[AdminMod]

What made a recommender effective in your clerkship process? Keep examples general and avoid confidential communications or judge-specific details.

[Anonymous User]

I can leave my perspective with the caveat that it’s limited to hiring by feeders/extremely selective judges. I would imagine that this changes a bit in degree for other judges but maybe not in kind but I’m not sure. The nature of this is entire process that it’s somewhat credentialist and dependent on closed and elite professional networks. I don’t mean to defend that, but just to share my observations on how I’ve perceived it to work.

In my experience during hiring, there are a few consistent attributes of the strongest recommenders/recommendations. These often overlap. They are:

(1) The strength of the recommendation. There’s a bit of a code here. Is this an “enthusiastic” recommendation, a “most enthusiastic one,” the “highest recommendation?” There’s no set standard here, but the opening paragraph of a letter usually serves to telegraph the recommender’s true opinion. The strongest recommendations will typically say things like “this is one of the 5 strongest students I’ve taught in my career” (for some schools like YLS you might see “my top candidate this cycle” or “the strongest candidate from school X this cycle”).

(2) The credibility of the recommender. Is this somebody who themselves clerked? Have they taught many years of students?This is typically highly correlated with whether the recommender knows how to write letters/play the game, so it’s a bit hard to assess. But when a “big deal” professor says something like “this is one of the brightest students I’ve ever taught,” that catches a reader’s eye.

(3) Outreach by the recommender. The most enthusiastic recommenders often email or call chambers or have the judge’s email. This often depends on the professor having an incredibly strong network. Did they clerk or work with a judge? Do they know them otherwise? Are they in the same clerk network? As you might imagine, many former SCOTUS clerks are professors and many others are judges. That’s a common inroad. But it’s also by no means required. Some professors will reach out cold, and if the recommendation is strong and forceful enough (and if the professor is credible) that can still go a long way. There is a momentum effect here too. If a professor strongly pushes a candidate that the judge goes on to adore, the judge will be likely to listen closely in the future when that professor calls.

(4) The content of the recommendation. Beyond the headline recommendation level, the best letters give a lot of color about a candidate. Much of this might focus on singing a candidate’s praises vis a vis their ability. But the strongest letter writers seem to have taken time to learn the candidate’s “story” and to flesh out some compelling background about them. Not every candidate has that, though. What sometimes you see instead is a discussion of their interpersonal attributes. Sometimes how much a recommender just *likes* a candidate drips right off the page. This is often what determines which of the tippy-top people grade-wise get an interview. Many judges deeply care about the interpersonal dynamics in chambers and are acutely aware that they have to deal with whoever they hire not only for a year, but also as part of a clerkship family.

If I were a law student now thinking about recommenders I would try to forge relationships with the professors who are known to have strong ties to the judiciary and a strong network. Just as (if not more) importantly, you want to find professors who are invested in clerkship hiring. These are the recommenders who will push for you with judges and know the “genre” of the recommendation. Even at the very top schools that isn’t every professor. Some are simply disinterested in the entire clerkship process and, as a result, their recommendations are often poor (even if they hold the student in especially high regard). You should talk to 3Ls to figure out who is who, as some of them are likely to know.

Finally, you might notice that this discussion has been entirely of professors. That’s because they’re typically the ones who are able to offer all the factors above. This is a part of their jobs and they are professionals at it. That isn’t to say that practitioners aren’t able to do the same, but it’s much less likely that they tick all these boxes, and letters from random biglaw partners didn’t move the needle in any chambers I was in (absent a personal connection to the judge, or if that partner was somebody like a known member of the SCOTUS bar).

But I know for a fact that there are some judges who deeply value a letter from somebody who supervised somebody as an attorney (especially if they already have worked). In busy district courts this can be invaluable, and some appellate judges also care a lot about this. So, while these letters may not move the needle as much in among a subset of judges, I think they can still be very valuable.

I’m interested to know if this is consistent with what other people have seen. I’m drawing here on my own experience and also that of many close friends who had similar clerkships, but I’d imagine that it doesn’t generalize perfectly.

[Anonymous User]

I can leave my perspective with the caveat that it’s limited to hiring by feeders/extremely selective judges. I would imagine that this changes a bit in degree for other judges but maybe not in kind but I’m not sure. The nature of this is entire process that it’s somewhat credentialist and dependent on closed and elite professional networks. I don’t mean to defend that, but just to share my observations on how I’ve perceived it to work.

In my experience during hiring, there are a few consistent attributes of the strongest recommenders/recommendations. These often overlap. They are:

(1) The strength of the recommendation. There’s a bit of a code here. Is this an “enthusiastic” recommendation, a “most enthusiastic one,” the “highest recommendation?” There’s no set standard here, but the opening paragraph of a letter usually serves to telegraph the recommender’s true opinion. The strongest recommendations will typically say things like “this is one of the 5 strongest students I’ve taught in my career” (for some schools like YLS you might see “my top candidate this cycle” or “the strongest candidate from school X this cycle”).

(2) The credibility of the recommender. Is this somebody who themselves clerked? Have they taught many years of students?This is typically highly correlated with whether the recommender knows how to write letters/play the game, so it’s a bit hard to assess. But when a “big deal” professor says something like “this is one of the brightest students I’ve ever taught,” that catches a reader’s eye.

(3) Outreach by the recommender. The most enthusiastic recommenders often email or call chambers or have the judge’s email. This often depends on the professor having an incredibly strong network. Did they clerk or work with a judge? Do they know them otherwise? Are they in the same clerk network? As you might imagine, many former SCOTUS clerks are professors and many others are judges. That’s a common inroad. But it’s also by no means required. Some professors will reach out cold, and if the recommendation is strong and forceful enough (and if the professor is credible) that can still go a long way. There is a momentum effect here too. If a professor strongly pushes a candidate that the judge goes on to adore, the judge will be likely to listen closely in the future when that professor calls.

(4) The content of the recommendation. Beyond the headline recommendation level, the best letters give a lot of color about a candidate. Much of this might focus on singing a candidate’s praises vis a vis their ability. But the strongest letter writers seem to have taken time to learn the candidate’s “story” and to flesh out some compelling background about them. Not every candidate has that, though. What sometimes you see instead is a discussion of their interpersonal attributes. Sometimes how much a recommender just *likes* a candidate drips right off the page. This is often what determines which of the tippy-top people grade-wise get an interview. Many judges deeply care about the interpersonal dynamics in chambers and are acutely aware that they have to deal with whoever they hire not only for a year, but also as part of a clerkship family.

If I were a law student now thinking about recommenders I would try to forge relationships with the professors who are known to have strong ties to the judiciary and a strong network. Just as (if not more) importantly, you want to find professors who are invested in clerkship hiring. These are the recommenders who will push for you with judges and know the “genre” of the recommendation. Even at the very top schools that isn’t every professor. Some are simply disinterested in the entire clerkship process and, as a result, their recommendations are often poor (even if they hold the student in especially high regard). You should talk to 3Ls to figure out who is who, as some of them are likely to know.

Finally, you might notice that this discussion has been entirely of professors. That’s because they’re typically the ones who are able to offer all the factors above. This is a part of their jobs and they are professionals at it. That isn’t to say that practitioners aren’t able to do the same, but it’s much less likely that they tick all these boxes, and letters from random biglaw partners didn’t move the needle in any chambers I was in (absent a personal connection to the judge, or if that partner was somebody like a known member of the SCOTUS bar).

But I know for a fact that there are some judges who deeply value a letter from somebody who supervised somebody as an attorney (especially if they already have worked). In busy district courts this can be invaluable, and some appellate judges also care a lot about this. So, while these letters may not move the needle as much in among a subset of judges, I think they can still be very valuable.

I’m interested to know if this is consistent with what other people have seen. I’m drawing here on my own experience and also that of many close friends who had similar clerkships, but I’d imagine that it doesn’t generalize perfectly.

I didn't fully realize the importance of recommenders doing outreach beyond just writing the letter. Do you think it could still make a difference if I ask one of my recommenders to email/call a couple judges I haven't heard back from, even if it has been like 1-2 months since I initially applied?