How long is too long of a cover? (Post grad / jr associate)

[Anonymous User]

Basically my first paragraph is introduction/area of law I want to practice. Body is a summary of relevant career experience and achievements. Last paragraph is closing. In all, it's about 4/5 of a page. I know most people keep it super short, like half a page at most. Do recruiters care to read so much of what I have to say about myself or will it annoy them?

For 1st - 2nd yr lawyers

[Anonymous User]

Is that 4/5 of a page without headers? If so that is probably too long. Here is a template that has floated around a few threads on TLS. I used it and got some MM bites.

«Contact_Full»
«Contact_Title»
«Law_Firm»
«Address»
«City», «State» «Zip»

Dear «Contact_Last»:

I am a second-year law student at _______________________ and I am writing to apply for a summer associate position at «Law_Firm_Short_Name» for 2015. Enclosed are my résumé, transcript, and a writing sample.

I am especially interested in ______________________ law as well as __________________________ because of my experience with ________________. It is this interest that has led me to inquire about opportunities at «Law_Firm_Short_Name».

[Paragraph about me].

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

[Anonymous User]

Is that 4/5 of a page without headers? If so that is probably too long. Here is a template that has floated around a few threads on TLS. I used it and got some MM bites.

«Contact_Full»
«Contact_Title»
«Law_Firm»
«Address»
«City», «State» «Zip»

Dear «Contact_Last»:

I am a second-year law student at _______________________ and I am writing to apply for a summer associate position at «Law_Firm_Short_Name» for 2015. Enclosed are my résumé, transcript, and a writing sample.

I am especially interested in ______________________ law as well as __________________________ because of my experience with ________________. It is this interest that has led me to inquire about opportunities at «Law_Firm_Short_Name».

[Paragraph about me].

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Mine's post-grad and it is including the heading. That looks like a good template but it seems fairly boring in the first 2 paragraphs. I wonder if it will grab the reader's attention at all.

How many MM did you send out and how many bites?

[Anonymous User]

100 two weeks ago, about 5 bites so far.

[Anonymous User]

Is this thread/responses talking about MM cover letters or OCI cover letters? Aren't OCI ones supposed to be a little more detailed than a MM cover letter? The template provided seems good for a MM but 4/5 of a page seems pretty good length-wise for an OCI cover letter. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Anonymous User]

Is this thread/responses talking about MM cover letters or OCI cover letters? Aren't OCI ones supposed to be a little more detailed than a MM cover letter? The template provided seems good for a MM but 4/5 of a page seems pretty good length-wise for an OCI cover letter. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't think firms expect much out of OCI cover letters except some indication of ties to a particular area. For example, they know most 1l's have almost no transactional experience seeing as 1l classes are geared towards litigation, and they know every 1l wrote a brief in legal writing. Your resume and transcript will give the screener the information they really are after.