Writing Samples

A writing sample provides an employer with an example of how you organize and express your thoughts on paper.  The purpose is to convince an employer that you can create the kind of writing and do the kind of work that is expected of the attorneys that work for that employer.  Legal employers often ask for writing samples, and what follows are answers to the two most common questions regarding writing samples that students ask.

When Does an Employer Want a Writing Sample?

There is no hard and fast rule about submitting writing samples.  Some employers request that writing samples accompany resumes and cover letters; others collect writing samples during the initial interview; and some ask for writing samples at call-back interviews.  If you were not required to submit a writing sample prior to an interview, bring a copy of your writing sample to your interviews.  If the employer asks for it, you'll be prepared to present it.

What Kind of Writing Sample Does an Employer Want?

To determine what writing sample to submit to an employer, use the following guidelines:

• Provide legal writing. An employer wants to see a good, legal writing sample rather than work written prior to law school. Any non-legal writing you want to give employers should only supplement the legal writing sample you do provide.
  
  
• Provide persuasive writing.  Your ability to write persuasively can give employers some degree of measure when they attempt to evaluate your advocacy skills.  A well-written memorandum of points and authorities, or a brief, are excellent choices.  Other non-persuasive, analytical kinds of writing, such as a bench memorandum for a judge, will work as well.  Writing samples that you'll want to avoid are those that do not require research, or are scholarly rather than practical in nature.
  
  
• Provide something from an actual or simulated legal position.  Most employers want to see writing that you've done while working as a law clerk or an extern.  If you don't have a sample like that, an alternative is a school exercise that mimics a "real world" product.  Avoid law review or other scholarly writings, which are customarily reviewed and edited extensively, and not accurate representatives of the time it would take for you to produce a document on the job.  Be sure to read point #8!
  
  
• Provide writing samples employers can readily understand. Writing samples should be free of spelling, grammatical and typographical errors; easy to read, with ample margins and readable typeface; neatly typed on plain white, or off-white paper; and well-written (clear, concise, and coherent).  Avoid writing samples with arcane subjects, unless you are sending them to employers who can appreciate them.
  
  
• Provide something recent.  Ideally, legal writing skills should improve with time and experience, and employers are interested in your current skill level.
  
  
• Provide about five to ten pages.  Most employers need only read about two to three pages to determine whether a writing sample is strong or weak; the additional pages serve to make finer discriminations about the writing.  If you've chosen a sample that exceeds the employer's requirement -or the ten page rule- you may want to cut the sample to an acceptable length.  If you do so, make sure that you don't delete any necessary context, and annotate the cover - "I have omitted Arguments IV and V."  Put such annotations on a cover page, which should include your name and an explanation of when and for whom you wrote the product. Keep in mind that too many pages, and too many writing samples often serve as overkill. Tip: If you're unsure as to what employers are looking for, simply ask them.
  
  
• Provide your own work.  At times a student may choose to submit a writing sample that is the result of a collaborative effort, or one that may appear to be someone else's work.  If either situation is your case, you will need to provide an explanatory note that identifies which part of the sample is your original work. Even though you've attached an explanatory note, it's still very easy for the employer to mistakes someone else's writing for your work. Make it easy on the employer by drawing an "X" through, or deleting, the portions of the sample you did not write.
  
  
• Excise confidential/sensitive information.  It doesn't matter how well you write if you've demonstrated poor judgment and thoughtlessness by failing to remove all client names and other confidential information.  If you must delete confidential information, insert fictitious material; it helps to maintain the flow of the text and makes the writing sample easier to read.
  
  
• Avoid lurid subject matter.  Some students opt to use lurid subject matter in their writing samples in an effort to create an impression.  Unfortunately, the impression made is often negative and one that detracts from the writing itself.
  
  
• Don't put your writing samples and other application materials in binders.  More often than not binders meet their demise early in the evaluation process.  Unless you are submitting a document, such as an appellate brief, that is customarily bound, do not use a binder.  Binders are often stripped from the writing sample simply because they take up too much room in the files.
  
  
• PUT YOUR NAME ON IT!  Believe it or not, your name is the most important and most often forgotten information on the writing sample.

Taken from Submit your Best Writing Sample when you Apply for a Position" by David C. James (March 2001 Student Lawyer) and "Selecting Writing Samples: A Writing Consultant's Perspective" by Marilyn Bush LeLeiko (September 1996 NALP Bulletin).