Changing practice cover letter question Forum

[Anonymous User]

I’m currently a 3rd year looking to change practice groups. I reached out to my career services office and they said that I should mention in my cover letter that id be willing to negotiate class year.

1) should I really mention that? My gut says no.

2) how exactly should I go about mentioning this? At the beginning? At the end?

I’ve tried applying through friends/classmates but I’ve had no luck since they just kind of give it to HR and HR sees that I’m a 3rd year in X and the position is for a first/second year in Y

[Anonymous User]

I changed practice groups and had to take a two-year cut. I would not mention changing practice groups in your cover letter. Most law firms understand that they cannot bill you out as a third-year when you are just learning the practice. Law firms will already be thinking about a class year cut when they bring you in for an interview and will bring up taking a class year cut on their own once you get to the offer stage and potentially in the interview.

I worry that bringing it up on your own makes you seem desperate or not confident in your ability to change practices and be successful. I would be prepared to answer whether you would be willing to take a class cut in an interview. When I was asked this question, I mentioned that I was comfortable with coming in at my current level, but I would be flexible on class year if the firm thought it made sense. I also mentioned that ultimately I want this move to be successful for me and the firm, so if taking a class year cut would help make the move successful, I would be willing to do it.

I note that it took me a long time to switch practice groups and I only had success getting interviews when I applied directly, not through a recruiter.

[Anonymous User]

I changed practice groups and had to take a two-year cut. I would not mention changing practice groups in your cover letter. Most law firms understand that they cannot bill you out as a third-year when you are just learning the practice. Law firms will already be thinking about a class year cut when they bring you in for an interview and will bring up taking a class year cut on their own once you get to the offer stage and potentially in the interview.

I worry that bringing it up on your own makes you seem desperate or not confident in your ability to change practices and be successful. I would be prepared to answer whether you would be willing to take a class cut in an interview. When I was asked this question, I mentioned that I was comfortable with coming in at my current level, but I would be flexible on class year if the firm thought it made sense. I also mentioned that ultimately I want this move to be successful for me and the firm, so if taking a class year cut would help make the move successful, I would be willing to do it.

I note that it took me a long time to switch practice groups and I only had success getting interviews when I applied directly, not through a recruiter.

Hi, thanks. This is really helpful. When you say do not mention changing practice groups in your second sentence, did you mean not mention the class year cut? I wouldn’t know how to go about writing a cover letter without explicitly explaining I’m changing practice groups (trying to go from a regulatory practice to a niche corporate practice). Obviously I don’t harp on the fact that I’ve never done the work before and say that my background doing regulatory work will be useful, etc.

[Anonymous User]

I changed practice groups and had to take a two-year cut. I would not mention changing practice groups in your cover letter. Most law firms understand that they cannot bill you out as a third-year when you are just learning the practice. Law firms will already be thinking about a class year cut when they bring you in for an interview and will bring up taking a class year cut on their own once you get to the offer stage and potentially in the interview.

I worry that bringing it up on your own makes you seem desperate or not confident in your ability to change practices and be successful. I would be prepared to answer whether you would be willing to take a class cut in an interview. When I was asked this question, I mentioned that I was comfortable with coming in at my current level, but I would be flexible on class year if the firm thought it made sense. I also mentioned that ultimately I want this move to be successful for me and the firm, so if taking a class year cut would help make the move successful, I would be willing to do it.

I note that it took me a long time to switch practice groups and I only had success getting interviews when I applied directly, not through a recruiter.

Hi, thanks. This is really helpful. When you say do not mention changing practice groups in your second sentence, did you mean not mention the class year cut? I wouldn’t know how to go about writing a cover letter without explicitly explaining I’m changing practice groups (trying to go from a regulatory practice to a niche corporate practice). Obviously I don’t harp on the fact that I’ve never done the work before and say that my background doing regulatory work will be useful, etc.

Sorry! Yes, I meant not mentioning a class year cut in the cover letter. I did mention that I’d be transitioning to a new practice group and how my skills would translate to the new practice group.