Q:  In last month’s column, you wrote that “it is often appropriate to contact a law firm by email.”  Does this advice also apply to law students?  I believe that the current generation of students is so used to email that they forego sending a more traditional letter even when they would enhance their job search by doing so.  Isn’t it therefore inappropriate to encourage law students to contact employers via email?

Career Services Pam from Louisiana

A: Dear Pam

This month’s question is derived from a response I received to last month’s column from the staff of the career services office of a fine southern law school.  Pam’s written response (and that of her colleagues) is too lengthy to reproduce here, but the essence of their position is set forth above.  Given that tens of thousands of law students are returning to campus this time of year, let’s address head on the question of how law students should contact prospective employers.

As long term readers of this column already know, the principal challenge facing law students (and lawyers) at the beginning of a job search is:  How to I get noticed in a favorable way?  Generally speaking, email has certain advantages over “snail mail” in this regard.  E-mail is more likely to be targeted to a decision maker, and therefore is less likely than a first-class letter to be intercepted by gatekeepers such as secretaries. Moreover, the intended recipients of email can read it at their convenience.  Thus, for example, email is much more likely than “snail mail” to reach law firm partners who are traveling on business.  In addition, the recipient can forward an email inquiry (and accompanying writing sample) with a click of a button, without having to go to a copier to make copies of your materials.

Does this mean that law students or lawyers should always use email?  Of course not.  Whether email should be used to contact a prospective employer is a matter of context and content.  And there are several contextual factors that strongly suggest that law students might benefit from using traditional mail more than most attorney job seekers.  First, the job search process for law students is structured in such a way that many of the inherent advantages of email do not apply with full force.  For example, the on-campus interview process at many schools takes place at approximately the same time of year.  Law students are also more likely than more experienced attorneys to target larger employers.  Such employers, whether they are law firms or governmental entities, are more likely than small law offices to have set up mechanisms to review summer associate and related applications.  Thus, laws students are more likely to be targeting employers that are to some degree expecting to be hearing from them.

And as Pam and her colleagues pointed out in their message to me, a well-written letter can give comfort to a prospective employer that a student understands the degree of formality that is expected of attorneys.  Most law students, by virtue of their age, need to demonstrate more than their more experienced counterparts that they possess the judgment to know how to interact with clients, other attorneys, and courts.  Law students are also more likely to need to address an often unspoken generational concern; the people who will decide whether to hire you are almost always older than law students, and they may worry that, as member of the “e-mail generation” you will do something wacky, like showing up at an important client meeting sporting flip flops.  A formal business letter can often address that concern more effectively than email. 

And then there is the matter of content.  Too often law students use email as simply a transmittal device.  They write something along the lines of, “Enclosed please find my resume . . . .”  Worse yet, some emails read as if they are a text message or were written in a chat room:  “Do u have a job 4 me?” 

I am not suggesting that law students should always use a first-class letter to contact prospective employers.  But if you are going to use an email, make it formal; in fact make it sound like a formal business letter.  Indeed, as Pam’s thoughtful response to last month’s column shows, the professionals at your career services office can also provide useful guidance about the employment process. 

Ultimately, the choice of how to contact an employer is yours.  But remember that your primary goal at the beginning of a search is to maximize the chance that you will be noticed in a favorable way.  Sometimes a well-written business letter can help you do just that. 

Copyright © 2008 Successful Career Strategies, Inc.  All rights reserved.

Tel. 310.499.4668 • Info@scslawcareers.com • Toll Free  877.727.3399