How to Write a Legal/Law Cover Letter [Examples]

It doesn’t matter whether you carried a sense of injustice you needed to correct since early adolescence, or you just really liked Harvey Specter in Suits. Getting the legal jobs you want is about demonstrating that you can do what you’re routinely going to be doing. Building an argument.

A legal cover letter needs to show your powers of reasoning and persuasion to build a strong case for your suitability to the role at hand. You will need to show empirical as well as theoretical basis for why you are guilty of being the best candidate for the position.

This guide is focused on legal professionals after their LPC that hope to train to be a solicitor or barrister. However, you can use these tips whether you’re applying as a paralegal, legal assistant, or else. The same rules apply. Time to go to trial.

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 Looking for a different cover letter example? See:

• Administrator Cover Letter
• Administrative Assistant Cover Letter
• Business Analyst Cover Letter
• Consulting Cover Letter
• Goldman Sachs Cover Letter
• Investment Banking Cover Letter
• Paralegal Cover Letter
• PhD Cover Letter
• Teacher Cover Letter

 Couldn't find your job? See a full list of our cover letter examples. 

Legal/Law Cover Letter Example

That’s how to nail a legal cover letter bang to rights. Let’s craft your own, step by step. Here's how to structure your cover letter, or, in other words, what to include in your application letter:

1. Start your law cover letter with a professional header and salutation

Start writing your cover letter by formatting the header like any other business letter: 

• Right-align your contact details (incl. email and phone)
• Left-align your hiring manager’s details
• Put down the date
• State the subject (i.e. the position) of your legal cover letter

If possible, try to address the cover letter directly to the person dealing with it. In this profession, surname may be better than first name, initially. Reference against this legal cover letter sample:

Legal cover letter examples—header

You can adjust every cover letter created in the builder to meet the job requirements. Choose the name of your profession and the company to which you’re applying, and the LiveCareer cover letter builder will automatically adapt the content for you. Create a cover letter faster than you ever thought possible and apply for the job in record time.

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2. Open your legal cover letter with strong evidence

Your legal cover letter should not be an investigation. It should be a presentation of evidence. Unlike in the courtroom, don’t save the best until last. Offload it as soon as possible to give them a reason to keep reading. These applications come by the dozen.

Since you are most likely at the beginning of your legal career, you should state your ambition and how it aligns with the profile of the firm you are applying to. This section should be somewhere between 40 and 80 words.

Legal cover letter examples—opening paragraph

3. Make a good case in the body of your law cover letter

This is the trial. The main body of your letter will be where you present the majority of your arguments and evidence. Relate it to the needs of your prospective employer and explain how those experiences make you prepared and eager to work in this position.

If you have experience in more commercial areas of law, you will find it easier to provide perspective for your experience, in terms of numerical figures. 

Even in the more personal areas of law, you could try to estimate how many cases you assisted on during internship or pupillages, and what was the significance of it. It is also a good place to explain your passion for this particular area of law.

If you are applying to a training contract with rotating seats, you could discuss why you prefer this way over another company’s way of doing it, showing you have done the research. This section could be between 120 and 200 words. It's better to be concise as hiring managers prefer short cover letters.

Legal cover letter examples—main paragraph

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4. Provide a closing argument for your law cover letter

The third paragraph of your cover letter (also general cover letter) is for summing up exactly what you hope to do for your employer, and for yourself. Spend 60-80 words on your closing argument tying up loose ends. Below, add a call to action.

Ask for a call or a meeting to discuss a particular case, achievement, or nuance of working at that firm. Make it interesting and don’t be passive and half-baked. Show conviction and determination in striving for your desired trajectory.

Always close your cover letter formally with ‘Best Regards’ or a suitable alternative. 

Cover letter to law firm examples—closing paragraph

5. Apply a proper legal cover letter format

Princeton students have found that we make an impression on someone’s trustworthiness within 100ms. With legal letters of application, it could be similar. In whatever position you’re applying for, you’re going to be drafting a lot of documents.

This one is the first they will see, and maybe the last. Don’t let any mishaps sneak through. Brevity is the soul of wit. Here are some more tips:

Set the right legal cover letter length

Here's how long your cover letter should be:

• 1st paragraph—40-80 words
• 2nd paragraph—120-200 words
• Closing paragraph—60-80 words
• Call to Action
• Formal Closing
• Total 200 — 350 words 
• No more than 1 page of A4

Match your CV and law cover letter format

Your legal CV and motivation cover letter must have the same style. They are two segments of the same document, and they will look odd if they mismatch. A detail like this will be held against you in a job this challenging. For enhanced readability, use a simple template without any graphics or icons.

Use an elegant font in your legal cover letter

Choose a font size between 10 and 12. Choose a readable, but elegant font that matches your CV font—think Arial, Calibri, Noto, Garamond. CV and a cover letter are two different things, but they work together.

Apply even margins and white space

When laying your cover letter out, use white space between sections and paragraphs to guide the reader’s eyes (but don't go beyond a two-page cover letter). Center your legal cover letter on all sides using even, 1-inch margins. If you are running out of space, consider some bullet points for key points.

Target each legal cover letter

Many firms do similar things, but each firm is different. And above all, each firm believes they’re special. Research each place you’re applying to thoroughly, so that you can adequately focus on their priorities when discussing your strengths and skills.

Save your law firm CV as PDF, unless...

Large firms almost all use Applicant Tracking Systems to manage their applications. Check each job posting carefully for what format they would like to receive documents in, as some are not compatible with certain ATS software.

Otherwise, save as PDF to protect the formatting of your cover letter unless you're writing an email cover letter.

A cover letter alone simply won’t be enough—you need an impactful CV, too. Create your CV in minutes. Just follow our wizard and fill in every CV section with ready-made content. Get started by choosing a professional CV template.

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Does this answer how to write a cover letter for legal jobs? Got any more questions on what to include? Did you find the law cover letter example helpful? Let us know in a comment!

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.