Choosing a Writing Sample
A writing sample should demonstrate your legal reasoning and analytical skills, as well as your writing
ability and communication style. Your writing sample should convey, not only that you have excellent
writing skills, but that you are detail-oriented and take pride in your work product. Remember that while
a writing sample alone may not land you a job, a poor writing sample can absolutely keep you from
getting one!
You may use the memoranda or briefs from your LRW class –often it’s the only document you have with
legal analysis. Other examples of appropriate writing samples include moot court competition briefs,
drafts of law review articles, papers written for seminar classes, articles for bar association periodicals or
other journals, trial court motions (from working at a law firm or interning for a judge), office
memoranda, case notes on recent court decisions, and appellate briefs.
Writing Sample Cover Page
Jane Lathrop
Stanford Law School
Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant’s
Motion for Summary Judgment
The following Memorandum of Law in Support of Defendant’s Motion for Summary
Judgment was the final assignment in my 1L, second semester legal writing course. I earned
an “A” on the memorandum. Please note that this memorandum is my own work product and
has not been substantially edited by any other person.
In its original format, the memorandum is 27 pages long. For the purpose of serving as a
writing sample, and as a means of reducing its length, this submission includes only the
Introduction and sections A and C of the Argument, so that the memorandum is now 10 pages
long. A copy of the original memorandum, in its entirety, is available upon request.
