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Hello all,

I am beginning to mass mail and have a question regarding my cover letter or body of the email. In the email I am trying to make it short and direct. I am not sure if I can just say that I am a rising 2L at my current school. I don't know if I need put that I recently transferred to this school from school X and ranked in the top % of my class.

Thoughts?

I'm in the same boat and have been mass mailing by opening the cover letter with the first sentence reading … "I am a second-year transfer student at [transfer school], and I spent my first year of law school at [1L school] in [City, State]." Then I go on to say I'm writing to apply for an SA position, why I am interested in the firm (encompassing ties to the area, if any). Second paragraph I have about 4 sentences about work experience/selling myself but I end it by saying the knowledge and experience I gained through work helped me to achieve [gpa/rank/percentile] after my 1L year. Side note, I just put my rank because I didn't want to put my gpa in there, despite it being great, but thats just my personal preference. Finally, my third paragraph wraps it up … "I believe that given the chance, I could make a substantial contribution to [firm]. Please see my attached resume describing my qualifications and experiences in detail. I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss the possibility of a summer associate position with [firm]. I can be reached at [phone number] or by email at [email]. Thank you for your time and consideration.

I am a second-year law student at X, having recently transferred from Y, and am writing to ...

I would just say that you are a rising 2L at [new school]. Your transfer status and your GPA at your 1L school will be on your resume.

Probably better to avoid naming your prior law school in the cover letter of a mass mailing to firms. Most firms, I suspect, look for quick justification to trash an unsolicited resume. Remember that the primary purpose of a cover letter is to get the recipient to read your resume.

CanadianWolf wrote:Probably better to avoid naming your prior law school in the cover letter of a mass mailing to firms. Most firms, I suspect, look for quick justification to trash an unsolicited resume. Remember that the primary purpose of a cover letter is to get the recipient to read your resume.

shock259 wrote:I would just say that you are a rising 2L at [new school]. Your transfer status and your GPA at your 1L school will be on your resume.

I am currently transferring also. If I take the following advice, how exactly do I format it? I do not want to be misleading.

Right now my cover letter says something like this: "I am a rising 2L at [New School], and I am writing to express my interest in a Summer Associate position at [Firm]. I completed my first year of law school at [Old School] of Law with a [X.X] grade point average."

Should I make it something like this: "I am a rising 2L at [New School], and I am writing to express my interest in a Summer Associate position at [Firm]. I finished my first year of law school with a [X.X] grade point average."

I looked back and I did not mention transferring at all in my cover letters. It's very apparent from your resume that you transferred, and I don't see how it could be construed as being misleading to say you are a rising 2L at [New School]. That's exactly what you are.

But if you really want to mention it, I think the way your wrote it seems fine.

shock259 wrote:I looked back and I did not mention transferring at all in my cover letters. It's very apparent from your resume that you transferred, and I don't see how it could be construed as being misleading to say you are a rising 2L at [New School]. That's exactly what you are.

But if you really want to mention it, I think the way your wrote it seems fine.

I would prefer to not mention my 1L school because I feel like I have a better chance at my new school. I just wanted to make sure that I did not come across as misleading or anything. My 1L school is clearly on my resume Thank you for the advice!