Writing Samples

• DO provide a writing sample when an employer specifically requests it. Pay careful attention as to whether the employer is requesting that you submit it with your initial application package or whether you are to bring it to the interview.
• DO take a writing sample with you to all job interviews, even when the employer has not specifically requested that you do so. In the event the employer requests a sample during the interview, you will look very prepared.
• Do NOT send a writing sample when you are responding to a job post and the employer did not specifically request a sample.
• Do NOT send a writing sample when you are sending unsolicited resumes to an employer.
• Do NOT include writing samples when requesting informational meetings with lawyers or when sending applications proactively. Send only a cover letter and résumé when targeting employers that do not have active postings.
   

Documents Created for Class.

Legal Analysis, Writing and Research 1 & 2 (LAWR) and Appellate Writing and Advocacy (AWA) are examples of classes at Marquette Law School where you generate documents that work well for writing samples. Other advanced writing and research courses may also result in writing-sample appropriate documents. If you submit a brief from AWA, only provide that portion of the brief you exclusively researched and drafted. You cannot present your partner’s work as your own.

Memorandums and briefs created for class prove to be strong examples since you have worked on the documents over an extended period and have the benefit of professors’ comments for revisions. When considering what class-created document to use, select the piece that best highlights your analytical reasoning and writing skills. Always remove your professor’s name and your student identification number and/or pseudonym before submitting class generated documents to an employer.

For first-year students conducting job searches in spring, the only option for a legal writing sample will be an assignment from LAWR 1. Second-year students may still rely on documents created during LAWR 1 or 2, but typically documents written for LAWR 2 will show more sophisticated analysis and writing. Third-year students should not be relying on documents generated during their first year of law school. Employers likely will question why you have not produced formal legal writing more recently. Additionally, the quality of your analysis and application should improve during your tenure at the law school, so a document you drafted during the first year of law school is not likely to reflect the current level of your research, writing, and thinking skills.

You may also be able to use a document created in the course of a clinical placement, legal employment, a seminar class, or a journal. (Law review notes are preferred choices for judicial clerkship applications.) If you have a document where the subject matter is relevant to the specific employer, that would be a preferred choice.

• Permission Required. You must have permission from the assigning/supervising attorney/judge to use a document that was created for an outside organization. Firms and organizations are often supportive of students using work-created documents as writing samples, but you should never use a document without advance permission. Judges are less likely than other internship supervisors to permit students to use documents that were created in chambers. Bench memoranda are private to chambers in that they counsel the court and are not intended for public consumption before or after decisions are made. Also, most judges do not permit students to take credit for opinions and orders even when students make substantial contributions.
• Redact Sensitive Information. You may need to redact client identifying or sensitive information. Confirm with the supervising/assigning attorney/judge what, if any, information needs to be changed or redacted. Most common is to redact or change parties’ names and other identifying references that are not legally significant to analysis (e.g., Molson Coors, a Milwaukee-based beer distributor, might become an Iowa-based manufacturer of the almighty widget). If you are using a brief or other legal document that has been filed publicly with the court, it is less likely the employer will condition your use of the document on redaction. There is an appropriate way to redact information.

  - DO use the find and replace function on your word processing program.
  - DO make certain you replace all forms of the words being redacted, including possessives and plurals.
  - DO replace a party's name with a benign name such as Company X.
  - DO indicate on an attached cover page that the document was redacted.
  - Do NOT block out the name(s) as they appear throughout the document using whiteout or black marker.

• If the document has more than one legal issue submit the document with the statement of facts and as many Questions Presented, Brief Answers and corresponding discussion sections as appropriate.
• Submit substantive text absent the table of contents, caption and signature block.
• Submit only the discussion section or part thereof with a brief statement of facts and summary of other issues.
   

• Your first and last name (use letterhead that matches your résumé and cover letter) and the type of document (brief, memoranda, etc.)
• The context in which it was created (class, work, internship, journal, etc.).
• If work-related, a statement that the attorney/firm/organization/judge has given you permission to use the document as an example of your writing.
• If it is excerpted, indicate the following:
  o The fact the document was excerpted,
  o An explanation of what section(s) are being submitted/omitted, and
  o The entire document is available upon request.
• A Blue Book formatted citation if it is published or pending publication.

Example

                                                                                               Markus K. Wright
                                                      414-555-3221 │ margaret.jones@marquette.edu │Milwaukee, WI
 

                                                                                                 Writing Sample
 

Attached you will find a copy of my writing sample. I am sharing a brief in support of a motion for summary judgment that was filed in the Northern District of Illinois. I researched and wrote this brief while working as a summer associate with Jenner & Block, and submit it as an example of my writing with permission of Atty. Daniel Waldman. For purposes of length, the document has been excerpted to exclude a discussion of a breach of contract. The entire document is available upon your request.
 

• Writing samples should be printed on regular printer paper, NOT résumé-quality paper.
• You should staple the writing sample and cover page together.
• In the rare instance you are mailing a printed application package that includes a writing sample, always use a legal-sized envelope. Do NOT attempt to fold the writing sample and cram it into a regular letter-sized envelope. Do have the envelope metered at the post office so as to ensure that you have enough postage on the envelope.
• When submitting a writing sample electronically, combine the cover page and the writing sample into a single PDF.