Try to limit it to 5-10 pages. If you need to, cut it down, but if you cut it down, do so very carefully. I once helped someone revise a long writing sample, and I was amazed at how lazy she was about it. If you cut it down, it still needs to stand on it's own.

As with making sure the first few pages are great, also make sure the conclusion is strong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is why I am more interested in reading your cover letter. It probably hasn't been reviewed, buffed and polished by a professor. I am looking for clear persuasive writing. If you cannot successfully advocate on behalf of yourself, why should I let you try to advocate on behalf of my client. While some people will reject you for a typo, I will not. What I will reject you for is a poorly organized cover letter. At its core, a motion (or memorandum in support thereof) should clearly convey the following points: what you want, why the court can give it to you, and why the court should give it to you. Same general concept applies to you cover letter. You want a job practice in x area of the law, my firm has a practice group for that area of law, and the reason we should hire you is because?

Beautifully said. Too many people blow off the cover letter or use the same generic one for every job.

I once got a job based on my cover letter--the hiring director specifically mentioned it while conveying the offer. Your letter should be as good as you can possibly make it.

Anonymous wrote:That is why I am more interested in reading your cover letter. It probably hasn't been reviewed, buffed and polished by a professor. I am looking for clear persuasive writing. If you cannot successfully advocate on behalf of yourself, why should I let you try to advocate on behalf of my client. While some people will reject you for a typo, I will not. What I will reject you for is a poorly organized cover letter. At its core, a motion (or memorandum in support thereof) should clearly convey the following points: what you want, why the court can give it to you, and why the court should give it to you. Same general concept applies to you cover letter. You want a job practice in x area of the law, my firm has a practice group for that area of law, and the reason we should hire you is because?

Beautifully said. Too many people blow off the cover letter or use the same generic one for every job.

Make sure the first three pages are great. That is the max I will read when someone submits something from a class. I don't read the entire thing becuase I know that you spent more time on it, and received more feedback from others than you will working at the firm.

That is why I am more interested in reading your cover letter. It probably hasn't been reviewed, buffed and polished by a professor. I am looking for clear persuasive writing. If you cannot successfully advocate on behalf of yourself, why should I let you try to advocate on behalf of my client. While some people will reject you for a typo, I will not. What I will reject you for is a poorly organized cover letter. At its core, a motion (or memorandum in support thereof) should clearly convey the following points: what you want, why the court can give it to you, and why the court should give it to you. Same general concept applies to you cover letter. You want a job practice in x area of the law, my firm has a practice group for that area of law, and the reason we should hire you is because?

As a new attorney, you probably don't know the pros and cons of one law firm from another and that the real reason you are probably interested in my firm is because you heard we might be hiring. But I expect you to do your best to convince me that you are specifically interested in my firm. It is not always an easy task. That is why the people who can do it get the interview.

Anonymous wrote:OP here! Thank you pps. I am definitely the type of person who hates typos, so that is taken care of. I am also using a brief from a writing class, so it's something that I've done in drafts and I got feedback from a professor. So I hope it's my best work. My only concern is that it's a very... boring brief, about a sort of obscure topic. And I did not know there was a Legal Elements of Style book too! I just have the regular "Elements of Style."

Don't worry about boring. I am the poster from above who said I prefer non-boring briefs, which of course I do, but frankly most briefs are boring anyway. It's kind of a given.

OP here! Thank you pps. I am definitely the type of person who hates typos, so that is taken care of. I am also using a brief from a writing class, so it's something that I've done in drafts and I got feedback from a professor. So I hope it's my best work. My only concern is that it's a very... boring brief, about a sort of obscure topic. And I did not know there was a Legal Elements of Style book too! I just have the regular "Elements of Style."

Get the Elements of Legal Style and follow it.

No typos. Sounds elementary, but you'd be amazed how many we get with typos. If the writing sample is otherwise amazing I will overlook it, but of course that is rare. Most of the time it just makes you look like you either don't care, or don't realize that lawyers love attention to detail.

Also, while this is a stretch, it is nice if the subject matter is either relevant to the job or interesting in and of itself. And I tend to prefer practical materials such as a brief, motion, or research memo, rather than a law review article.

No passive voice. Your grammar needs to be perfect. Have at least 2 people check it.

I am currently applying for attorney positions right out of law school, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips or pet peeves that they see in legal writing samples. Of course I know that they should be my best work, I'm just looking for tips or things I may have missed.