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I'm currently a 2L attending law school on the East Coast. Last August, I accepted an offer from the Los Angeles office of a V50 firm. I'm grateful and thrilled to have gotten that offer. But just this past week, a family medical situation arose that might complicate things. I'm very close with my parents, who live in the same region where I attend law school. My mom has been feeling ill recently, and was diagnosed with cancer this past week. Needless to say, I would love to be near her over the summer. So my question is: is there any way the firm, which has a NYC office, would let me change plans this late in the game and do my summer associateship in NYC? If I'm in NYC, I'm only a 1.5-hour train ride from home.

Second and related question: assuming there's a chance the firm would let me switch to its NYC office without thinking any less of me / me jeopardizing my chance at a post-graduation offer, would it be best to email or call the HR / recruiting people to explain the situation? My first instinct says call, but I don't want to sound overly emotional on the phone.

Thank you in advance for your replies!

Can't hurt to ask in this situation. I would think call or email is ok, both have pros/cons.

It's worth a call to explain the situation. Even if they can't move you, I'm sure they'll understand where you're coming from and won't hold it against you in the future. And even if they do hold it against you, I don't know if you would want to work somewhere that would do that.