Law student email signature Forum

[ffemt107]

I'm a law student (1L) with a masters degree in a non-related field (education). Should I even bother putting that as an email signature when I apply for summer internships? Or other professional correspondence? I don't want to sound like a douche.

If I did, it would be:

Firstname M. Lastname, EdM
JD Candidate
Madeup School of Law

[clee33]

What you put there is great, maybe add your email and phone number. The point of the signature is to help them easily ID/contact you. Name, Law School, Contact info. They'll see the other stuff in your resume.

[haus]

I personally feel that email signatures are overly used, and seldom of value.

They only make sense in a handful of occasions, the people that you deal with on a daily basis likely do not need a miniature resume from you with every message.

[FuturePD]

I always feel as though the entire point of an email signature is to answer two questions. First, who is this email from? And second, how can I get in touch with the sender? My email signature during law school looked like this:

Name
JD Candidate <year>
Law School
email address
phone number (a google voice number I didn't mind strangers having)

That way, if my email got forwarded and the header information was lost, the recipient could still reach me. It clearly identified who I was and why they should care. So yeah, I'd but your grad degree. I might put it on a different line, like, "EdM, School of Ed, <year>," especially if the school is impressive.

[YYZ]

I always feel as though the entire point of an email signature is to answer two questions. First, who is this email from? And second, how can I get in touch with the sender? My email signature during law school looked like this:

Name
JD Candidate <year>
Law School
email address
phone number (a google voice number I didn't mind strangers having)

That way, if my email got forwarded and the header information was lost, the recipient could still reach me. It clearly identified who I was and why they should care. So yeah, I'd but your grad degree. I might put it on a different line, like, "EdM, School of Ed, <year>," especially if the school is impressive.

Agree

[bk1]

I personally feel that email signatures are overly used, and seldom of value.

This. Especially since you are a law student and not a working professional.

[rad lulz]

I never had a problem with just:

Name
Email
Phone

Less is more. The longer your sig is, the less anyone wants to read it

[guano]

I personally feel that email signatures are overly used, and seldom of value.

If my email got forwarded and the header information was lost, the recipient could still reach me.

but keep in mind this:

you are a law student and not a working professional.

[Bildungsroman]

Putting your degree at the end of your name makes you look like a tool, and when it's a masters of education it just makes you look sad.

[haus]

Putting your degree at the end of your name makes you look like a tool, and when it's a masters of education it just makes you look sad.

Although it is not as bad as the listing of certifications one holds (e.g. PMP)

[ArtistOfManliness]

Putting your degree at the end of your name makes you look like a tool, and when it's a masters of education it just makes you look sad.

Although it is not as bad as the listing of certifications one holds (e.g. PMP)

Nothing is worse than listing a PMP

[guano]

Putting your degree at the end of your name makes you look like a tool, and when it's a masters of education it just makes you look sad.

Although it is not as bad as the listing of certifications one holds (e.g. PMP)

I didn't know one could get certified as a pimp

[Kafkaesquire]

I never had a problem with just:

Name
Email
Phone

Less is more. The longer your sig is, the less anyone wants to read it

Name. Mobile. Fax. E-mail.

I agree with the above. The signature is not a miniature resume. The person should not have to look at your signature to gain any information about you that they could not otherwise get from a better source, such as the e-mail itself, your LinkedIn, attached documents, professional contacts, etc.

[RedLightGreenLight]

I never had a problem with just:

Name
Email
Phone

Less is more. The longer your sig is, the less anyone wants to read it

Name. Mobile. Fax. E-mail.

I agree with the above. The signature is not a miniature resume. The person should not have to look at your signature to gain any information about you that they could not otherwise get from a better source, such as the e-mail itself, your LinkedIn, attached documents, professional contacts, etc.

who has a fax machine these days?

[guano]

I never had a problem with just:

Name
Email
Phone

Less is more. The longer your sig is, the less anyone wants to read it

Name. Mobile. Fax. E-mail.

I agree with the above. The signature is not a miniature resume. The person should not have to look at your signature to gain any information about you that they could not otherwise get from a better source, such as the e-mail itself, your LinkedIn, attached documents, professional contacts, etc.

who has a fax machine these days?

You'd be surprised

[Kafkaesquire]

I never had a problem with just:

Name
Email
Phone

Less is more. The longer your sig is, the less anyone wants to read it

Name. Mobile. Fax. E-mail.

I agree with the above. The signature is not a miniature resume. The person should not have to look at your signature to gain any information about you that they could not otherwise get from a better source, such as the e-mail itself, your LinkedIn, attached documents, professional contacts, etc.

who has a fax machine these days?

You'd be surprised

Lol. Yeah, you never know. And it's not exactly distracting or lengthy information, so if you do have a fax number, might as well throw it into the signature. I personally have a fax machine within my Fax/Copy/Scan/Print device, but I have never used it....

[Void]

I have a master's and would never put it in my email like that. I also hate to break it to you, but I watched as multiple employers glanced down my legal resume as a 3L and skipped from law school straight to undergrad. Honestly, people aren't that concerned about that thing you did after undergrad that obviously didn't work out too well because you ended up in law school instead.

[Kafkaesquire]

I have a master's and would never put it in my email like that. I also hate to break it to you, but I watched as multiple employers glanced down my legal resume as a 3L and skipped from law school straight to undergrad. Honestly, people aren't that concerned about that thing you did after undergrad that obviously didn't work out too well because you ended up in law school instead.

There is something about your last statement that I cannot condone. Not everyone goes to law school simply because they did not or could not succeed in another field. I have every criteria to work for a Fortune 50 company as an engineer, but I will go to law school because I see it as my calling.

I am not denying that people may skip the things you mentioned they tend to skip, but your premise is false.

[Void]

I have a master's and would never put it in my email like that. I also hate to break it to you, but I watched as multiple employers glanced down my legal resume as a 3L and skipped from law school straight to undergrad. Honestly, people aren't that concerned about that thing you did after undergrad that obviously didn't work out too well because you ended up in law school instead.

I have a lot about your statement that I cannot condone. Firstly, not everyone goes to law school simply because they did not or could not succeed in another field. I have every criteria to work for a Fortune 50 company as an engineer, but I will go to law school because I see it as my calling.

I am not denying that people may skip the things you mentioned they tend to skip, but your premise is false.

I meant that this is the general assumption, not that it's actually the case. It's also a different situation if you have a STEM background and you're interested in IP, because those employers generally care alot about your pre-LS experience.

[clee33]

I never had a problem with just:

Name
Email
Phone

Less is more. The longer your sig is, the less anyone wants to read it

Name. Mobile. Fax. E-mail.

I agree with the above. The signature is not a miniature resume. The person should not have to look at your signature to gain any information about you that they could not otherwise get from a better source, such as the e-mail itself, your LinkedIn, attached documents, professional contacts, etc.

Your law school and year should definitely be in there too. That information is central to the job you are trying to get and how you are identifying yourself. Yeah they might be able figure it out from the body of the email, but you don't want them (or the people they forward the email to) to have to do the extra work on such important information.

[Kafkaesquire]

I never had a problem with just:

Name
Email
Phone

Less is more. The longer your sig is, the less anyone wants to read it

Name. Mobile. Fax. E-mail.

I agree with the above. The signature is not a miniature resume. The person should not have to look at your signature to gain any information about you that they could not otherwise get from a better source, such as the e-mail itself, your LinkedIn, attached documents, professional contacts, etc.

Your law school and year should definitely be in there too. That information is central to the job you are trying to get and how you are identifying yourself. Yeah they might be able figure it out from the body of the email, but you don't want them (or the people they forward the email to) to have to do the extra work on such important information.

Yes, I suppose I would agree.

[blsingindisguise]

Don't include the EdM, but do include your contact info (I really like it when people always use contact info sigs in professional e-mails because then if I need to call them I don't have to dig for their number), and including the JD Candidate stuff is not a bad idea if it's in stuff relating to a job app (and I don't find anything particularly douchey about it in any case).

[Void]

Don't include the EdM, but do include your contact info (I really like it when people always use contact info sigs in professional e-mails because then if I need to call them I don't have to dig for their number), and including the JD Candidate stuff is not a bad idea if it's in stuff relating to a job app (and I don't find anything particularly douchey about it in any case).

When I was in school I included my class year too- the JD candidate thing is a way of communicating that you're still a law student, and the class year generally indicates how far along you are. This way your recipient can at least get a rough idea of whether you're a 1L or a 3L.

[blsingindisguise]

Don't include the EdM, but do include your contact info (I really like it when people always use contact info sigs in professional e-mails because then if I need to call them I don't have to dig for their number), and including the JD Candidate stuff is not a bad idea if it's in stuff relating to a job app (and I don't find anything particularly douchey about it in any case).

When I was in school I included my class year too- the JD candidate thing is a way of communicating that you're still a law student, and the class year generally indicates how far along you are. This way your recipient can at least get a rough idea of whether you're a 1L or a 3L.

Right, this. Law students have a tendency to over think what kind of "impression" every little detail makes rather than thinking about the practical side. The fact that a person is a law student graduating in x year can be useful information, and no hiring person is going to go "LOL what a snob, he put his JD class in his e-mail signature."