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Our legal writing class doesn't post grades until the end of the year, but I did well in it and wanted to let employers know about it somehow. Is it appropriate to mention this in the cover letter after discussing the research and writing skills you could bring to the firm? It proves the point but may seem a little tacky. Thoughts?

Id' say:
(1) if firm asks for transcript, definitely not;
(2) if firm does not ask transcript (or even if they do), then it's OK to mention that you excelled in legal writing; but
(3) not OK to put a grade in a cover letter.

Just my $0.02.

I think it's appropriate to put that you enjoyed legal writing and excelled in the class (maybe if you got a book award you could mention that). I don't think putting the actual grade you received is appropriate, though.

I put my legal writing grade in the CL's I sent out, but that's because the sample CL's I found all had the legal writing grade included . Oddly enough, my sister showed me her old 1L cover letter and she used the same template (including her legal writing grade) . BTW, I already have a 1L summer job lined up, so it didn't hurt me... and honestly, I had no idea it was a bad idea .

mistergoft wrote:I think it's appropriate to put that you enjoyed legal writing and excelled in the class (maybe if you got a book award you could mention that). I don't think putting the actual grade you received is appropriate, though.

+1

Don't put actual grades in a cover letter.