One of the most important pieces of employment
is the cover letter. When you are in law school, cover letters are an important
part when you want to get hired in any of the local law firms for an internship
or even as part of their staff.
To begin the process, you must understand what these law school cover letters
look like. To help you, please review the enclosed sample legal cover letter.
Mrs. Jane Doe, (Note you should get the actual name of the person doing the
hiring. Avoid using a generic title such as Sir/Madam.)
Your Law Firm
123 West Your Street,
Sample City, PA 98745
Dear Mrs. Doe,
I am taking the time to introduce
who I am. My name is Roger Wilkinson, and I am currently a student at Graduates Law University.
I am contacting you in regards to your opening placed in Law Times. The
position in question is a junior law student, which is an internship position.
If you would kindly review the
enclosed resume, you will note that I have a very strong academic background in
law, and have a combined year of experience with legal document handling. My
most recent internship was done in the Eagle Law Firm and this allowed me to
strengthen the skills I can provide you. I believe my experience will prove
valuable to your firm, and I believe in turn I can grow further thanks to your
organization.
I would be open to talking with you
about both my experience and education if you would like to setup a meeting. If
it will be acceptable, I can call you in the morning and we can discuss the
possibility of scheduling an interview. Thank you for taking the time to review
this cover letter, and your consideration.
Sincerely,
Roger Wilkinson,
Junior Student, Law,
GLU, Sample City
Enclosures:
1. My Resume - Roger_Wilkinson.doc
2. Letter of Recommendation by The Head of the Law Department, GLU. -
recommendation_letter.doc
As you can see from this sample legal cover letter, it is to the point and
formal in nature. The most effective letters are not filled with unnecessary
words or information. If the company is interested in learning more, they can
contact you. Of course, when you open your letter to making contact and follow
up on it, there will be an impression that is made with the firm that you are
considering. Just be sure not to be overly aggressive with the law school cover letters
that you send out on prospective internships.
Everything should be done as professional as possible. Before you send the
letter, check your spelling and grammar. In addition, make sure you have the
proper spelling and title for the individual you are sending the cover letter
to. If the person is a Ms. and you send it as a Mrs., it could leave a negative
impression.
Finally, adjust each cover letter you send out based on the job and company.
Your cover letter can become stale otherwise, and if you want to approach a
company as fresh as possible, this will need to be updated.
