Attorneys involved in deciding who to set up an interview with, what reasons do you look for among their application materials to call them back, and what reasons do you look for to toss their application in the trash? All points appreciated, both objective and subjective.

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I once knew a partner that would have his associates check every punctuation mark’s font and size, as well as number of spaces for applicants. If a single thing was off, even a single period by 1 size, or if you mistakenly put two spaces after a period but used only one space after all other periods, he would trash your resume with no response. His reason was “there are so many of you on the market I can afford to be that picky about who I interview.”

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Also.... If a partner asked me to do that as non billable time.... I'd snap

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Maybe I’m snooty but I think the cover letter should be perfect in terms of grammar and clean appearance. It should be one or two paragraphs and if you can’t proof that and get perfect I’d worry about briefs and letters going out in work for the firm. That said I’ll forgive a comma or minor typos in the real stuff as long as only happening on occasion. But in a two paragraph letter that is an introduction to how the candidate writes there is no room for error.

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Well prepared cover letter and cv are a must. Checking for an extra space seems a bit nutty, but you absolutely have to be at your best, and have no good reason not to.

After that, I am looking for smart and a history of effort. Deliberately avoid “cause” lawyers, as well as those whose work and academic history reflect a lack of effort or focus.

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When I reviewed clerkship applications, I rarely even looked at cover letters. I'd go straight to school, grades, and work experience.

In my view, a cover letter shouldn't say more than "my name is X, I'm applying for Y position, enclosed are my materials, thank you for your consideration.". If you can't do that without a typo that's pretty lackluster, but I likely wouldn't notice either way.

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This is a really subjective issue, but for the judge I clerked for (court of appeals in a large city), it was rare to extend interviews to applicants from schools outside the top 50. And most of the people hired went to T14 schools.

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