Career Strategy

Writing Samples

Many employers will ask you to provide them with a legal writing sample. This may occur prior to the first interview, or at an interview. Your writing sample should be an excellent example of your current legal writing and analysis abilities. Needless to say, your legal writing sample must be free of misspellings, typographical errors, and grammatical mistakes. There are, however, other important considerations to keep in mind.

1. Choosing the Sample.

If you have two or more samples from which to choose, select the one that most positively reveals your legal writing style, ability to organize your thoughts, powers of analysis, succinctness, clarity, and legal reasoning. An obvious rule of thumb: choose your best legal writing to date. 
Good legal writing samples contain legal analysis, citation, and application to an issue or set of facts. 
The following are some guidelines to follow whenever possible:

• provide persuasive writing if available,
   
• provide something from the "real world,"
   
• provide something recent,
   
• provide about 10 pages, rarely more than 15,
   
• provide your own work, and
   
• redact confidential/sensitive information.

If you area first year law student, you may not have many choices. However, as you progress through your legal career, you should always strive to develop strong writing samples so you have several to choose from when necessary.

2. Length.

Some employers specify the minimum or maximum page length. Most of the time, however, this is a matter of your own good judgment. 

Remember that the employer wants a sample of your writing, not a compendium of everything you've ever written since starting law school. Unless the employer gives you an actual page limit, there is no black and white answer to the question "How long should the sample be." Thus, it is wisest to choose FIRST on quality and then deal with the issue of length. That said, a good ballpark range is anywhere from 5 to 15 pages. If it's substantially more than 15 pages, consider providing an excerpt. If it's 20 pages or more, always try to provide an excerpt, or find an equally good sample that is shorter. Again, follow whatever guidelines the employer specifies, if any. If they say submit a 5 page paper, do that. If you are in doubt about length versus quality, go for the longer sample of highest quality. Samples that are too short are not helpful to the employer.

3. Content.

Choose a topic that the reader will understand or find interesting. Avoid lurid or shocking subject matter.

In addition, you must submit your own work. Here are some samples that may cause an employer to question how much of the work is yours and how much belongs to someone else. For example, if presented without explanation, an opinion written for a judge may cause an employer to wonder how much of the work is yours and how much is the judge's. If, however, the piece you wrote for a judge is your best work and is substantially your own writing, you may redact any sections written by someone else and attach a cover page explaining that it is substantially your own work. Also be careful when submitting judicial opinions as writing samples to judges! Judges can be very sensitive to suggestions that the "clerks do all of the judge's work," and a candidate should be wary of this. Some employers feel very strongly that a clerk should never represent an opinion issued over the judge’s signature as the work of the clerk. Similar questions may arise for published articles that you wrote for a law journal or other legal periodical. While legal writing is often a dynamic and collaborative process, the prospective legal employer also wants to be confident you are providing a sample of your true writing ability. The editing process may result in a product that reflects more of the talents of the editor than the original author. 

4. Proofread Carefully!

Just because your sample should be your own work doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for help. Ask someone to review your work. You can ask for input from others to help improve your writing sample. Having someone review your work doesn’t mean he or she should rewrite it, however. The reviewer can point out where and how your writing could be better, and you should then make the improvements. Good candidates for this role might include a legal writing or other professor, an attorney whose work you admire, or even a colleague whose writing skills you respect. 

We cannot overstate the importance of careful proofreading. Too many people treat the writing sample as a casual afterthought. And each year we hear from an embarrassed student or a disappointed attorney about a major mistake or typographical errors in the writing sample. You typically have ample time to choose and polish your writing samples. So, don't lose out on an opportunity by failing to take the time to read over a hard copy of your sample. Also, check the copy before you mail it--copy machines have been known to skip pages or foul up formatting.

5. Format and Presentation.

Include a cover page with your name (as well as your address and telephone number) and title. If the writing sample is an excerpt from a longer piece, determine where you need to prepare an introduction to provide context for the reader. If you redact the document, try to avoid simply “black out” with marker or white-out if the presentation will look sloppy as a result. Rather, use fictitious names or non-identifying information. Use regular white laser or copy paper (resume paper is not required and too bulky). Do not use fancy folders or binding—it will only make copying harder for the employer.

Finally, bring your writing sample to every interview in case it is requested. Be comfortable talking about your writing sample. Re-read it before your interview. Writing samples are often a source of interview questions. You want to be especially prepared in case your interviewer has some experience or expertise in your topic.

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