Citing unpublished cases firms are working on in cover letter: Good or bad idea? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I know you're supposed to research employers and tailor cover letters to the work that each is doing and why you would be an ideal candidate for each. Because we have WestLaw as a resource, I was wondering if it would be wise to mention beyond what's mentioned generically on their website and LinkedIN and actually cite cases that their team is working on. Well, maybe not so much cases as looking into the complaints and motions in their dockets on WestLaw. Technically this would be a way to show interest in an employer's projects, but I can see how it might come across badly or very "stalker-ish" in the legal sense.

So what are your thoughts on this? Do you really just mention the field similarities or go really in depth with the cover letter business? What's an appropriate level of snoop when applying for summer associate/clerk positions?

[kaiser]

Didn't you just ask this question in another thread?

[JusticesLeague]

Didn't you just ask this question in another thread?

I did, but I was really hoping for a lot of opinions quickly so I can get to work on this stuff now. I thought maybe by posting in both threads, I'd get different responses from different crowds. But then again, that might be asking a little much from TLS.

[kaiser]

Didn't you just ask this question in another thread?

I did, but I was really hoping for a lot of opinions quickly so I can get to work on this stuff now. I thought maybe by posting in both threads, I'd get different responses from different crowds. But then again, that might be asking a little much from TLS.

You aren't going to get varying opinions on this. You don't put legal citations in a cover letter. I'm speaking to you as a mid-level attorney who assists in hiring.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Yeah, you're not supposed to post duplicate topics. I'm going to lock this but if you'd prefer your question to be in this forum let me know.