Cover letter advice Forum

[Anonymous User]

I can't find much advice on cover letters on TLS. I think the template given by my law school is garbage (4 paragraphs with repeating info), I plan on using one I found floating around TLS too mass mail. My question is, is there anything else I should keep in mind as I fill in this cover letter?

«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,

[lavarman84]

I wouldn't tell them you're interested in specific areas of the law. Best to be flexible.

[mister logical]

I wouldn't tell them you're interested in specific areas of the law. Best to be flexible.

Yeah I think "transactional" or "litigation" is probably good enough.

[yay]

not op here. but wouldnt it better to highlight your prior work experience and specifically say you are interested in "x litigation/transaction" rather than just saying you are seeking opportunities in x city?

[Lincoln]

not op here. but wouldnt it better to highlight your prior work experience and specifically say you are interested in "x litigation/transaction" rather than just saying you are seeking opportunities in x city?

Not unless you know the firm is looking to hire in that specific area. Otherwise, you risk someone looking at that and thinking "Huh, he wants to do M&A. Too bad ECB is where we really need people."

[cron1834]

I shoehorned my geographic tie and interest in an early sentence. E.g. "As a lifelong Chicagoan, I am seeking ..." etc. My sense is that no one spends more than ten seconds reading these, so you want something important up front.

[yay]

How does one write a cover without highlighting the area of law they have interest in and showing an interest in a particular field? Wouldnt that make u sound like u just want a job anywhere?

Or is this limited to 2L SA OCI advice? My question was from a POV of a recent graduate.

[cron1834]

How does one write a cover without highlighting the area of law they have interest in and showing an interest in a particular field? Wouldnt that make u sound like u just want a job anywhere?

Or is this limited to 2L SA OCI advice? My question was from a POV of a recent graduate.

This is an SA thing, as stated in the OP. Your situation is different.

[RaceJudicata]

If targeting a specific market that is NOT nyc, make sure you highlight that in the first paragraph. Also highlight work experience if you have any. Every single applicant wrote xyz memo in legal research, honed their writing skills, etc.

Have to stand out in some way. The best way to do that is: geographic connection, work experience, grades, and journal/moot court experience (not necessarily in that order), NOT coursework.

Also, expressing interest in a specific practice group is probably a bad idea. Stick with "litigation" or "corporate/transactional." But make damn sure that the office has a substantial group doing one or the other. For ex: my office is solely litigation, yet tons of folks at receptions/networking events say "oh I want to do transactional work, etc etc." NALP has a lot of this information -- use it!