Applying to Judicial Nominees Forum
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Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are sharing sensitive information about clerkship applications and clerkship hiring. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned."
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Anonymous User
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Applying to Judicial Nominees
Based on past threads, it seems like the prevailing view on TLS is that applying to nominees before their confirmation is worth it despite the risk of some judges not liking it. But how forward can your application be? For example, if the nominee is currently in the private sector, is directly emailing them your materials acceptable? Or should you only send hard copies to their office? For anyone who has applied to nominees in the past, what did you do? Did you include all of your materials (including letters of recommendation) or just a resume and cover letter expressing interest in applying for a clerkship after confirmation?
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Anonymous User
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- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: Applying to Judicial Nominees
I sent a few nominees my application materials, typically through a cover-letter style email with a resume, transcript, and writing sample attached. I sent a handful of hard copy apps (including rec letters) to certain nominees if my school's clerkship program suggested it or if I could find their work address but not a public work email. I always acknowledged where they were in the confirmation process (recently nominated, out of committee, etc.) and stated i was interested in the upcoming term if they were considering applicants at that time.
None of my nominee applications were successful, but I did receive a few responses saying they'd hold on to my materials, it was too early, etc. I did have a recently confirmed judge reach out a few weeks ago (nearly a year after my initial email) to see if I was still available/interested in potentially starting immediately, so these responses weren't all fluff. I had some friends get spots prior to confirmation this way as well. I'd say it doesn't hurt to try, especially if you have some sort of connection to them or the division.
None of my nominee applications were successful, but I did receive a few responses saying they'd hold on to my materials, it was too early, etc. I did have a recently confirmed judge reach out a few weeks ago (nearly a year after my initial email) to see if I was still available/interested in potentially starting immediately, so these responses weren't all fluff. I had some friends get spots prior to confirmation this way as well. I'd say it doesn't hurt to try, especially if you have some sort of connection to them or the division.
