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Hey, when mass-mailing midlaw/smalllaw firms, should I use a stock cover letter, or should I try to distinguish the firm by tailoring the letter to each firm's practice areas and specialties?

Also, if I am just interested in general civil litigation, will it suffice to say so? Or do I need to specify a certain area of civ lit that I want, e.g., "employment law" or ERISA or some such thing? Do they expect first-year attorneys to have some specialized area of interest in civ lit?

FWIW, I worked at DAs office. However had to leave the da after a few months because of a family exigency in another state. Now I am trying to crack back into the legal field after being totally derailed.

I think it's a good idea to personalize cover letters as much as possible for small firms. This will indicate that you've done your research and are interested in their particular firm.

As for the specific practice, I'd keep it as broad as possible. Small firms generally handle a variety of work, and it might be important to indicate that you're available to work in any opening they might have.

Just be careful not to be too specific. There isn't a ton of info out there about a given small firm and you can only glean so much from their websites. Don't say "I want to do this work and this work only" when in fact, the small firm may do that work but require you to be a generalist and do a whole bunch of other stuff.

I'd trumpet your interest in working for a small firm rather than your interest in a discrete practice.