Tell me about your town

[Prudence]

Originally Posted by Morrigoon

Pru: to stand out from the crowd, how about sending "just a notes" to the judges you most want to work for (eg: small greeting cards, which you can probably get from vistaprint.com)

That falls into the category of Things That Are Not Done. I might stand out, but not in a good way. Many judges state right in the description that you're not to contact chambers for any reason, except to withdraw from consideration.

I'm already bucking the rules by including actual content in my cover letter, when most schools advise sending something that is more like

"Dear Judge Smith:

I am applying for a position in your chambers for the 2008-2009 term. Enclosed please find my resume, law and undergraduate transcripts, writing sample, and letters from:

Professor X
Professor Y
Professor Z

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Jane Q. Student."

Seriously. No actual content. (Of course, as my adviser notes, when you come from Harvard, you don't need content.) Persuasive letters are frowned on by most everyone, but I'm not a typical candidate, so I have to say more.

In short: my cover letter may get derisive comments from individual judges, but they likely won't phone up their colleagues to talk about the idiot from Seattle. Sending something to the judges, on the other hand, might.