Ah, the cover letter. That piece of paper intended to introduce yourself and to persuade the reader to, well, read further. Or to explain something obvious that you’ve attached or enclosed. Whether you’ve given up on cover letters because they are useless or whether you swear they are necessary, here are our best posts on dealing with them, writing them, and ultimately responding to them.
1“I believe I received the worst cover letter ever written last week. It wasn’t that the job seeker, a soon to be graduating law student, was unqualified. It was just the liberties that he took in trying to convince me (as well as everyone else that read this form letter) that he should work for my firm.” From Responding to a Form Cover Letter.
2“Here’s the deal. You forward my resume to the hiring partner or committee, with a note that the firm should take a close look at me. If hired, I become your bitch. I’m not talking sex. I’m talking the following. From Nix the Crappy Cover Letter, Let’s Talk Kickbacks.
3What does a lawyer’s cover letter to another lawyer actually convey? A Bitter Lawyer infographic lays it all out. View One Lawyer’s Letter to Another, Explained.
I started my summer job recently and, prior to my first day, had a head full of typical first day anxiety questions. Will they be nice to me? Will I know how to do what they ask me to do? How often do they have snack day? Does this suit send the right message? Will anyone even notice me? Is this the kind of place that uses 1 ply toilet paper to cut costs? Do they use Lexis or Westlaw? (Because I’m only proficient in one, contrary to what my résumé implies.) And the one that plagued me most: do they really know who they hired?
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They say “No good deed goes unpunished,” but John Davis never thought it would lead to a run in with authorities. Davis recently exited a highway off-ramp only to see a man in a wheelchair asking for extra cash. Davis sympathized with the man’s plight and gave the man a couple of dollars. In the process one dollar fell to the ground. Moments later, Davis was pulled over by a Cleveland cop and ticketed for littering. Specifically his offense: “Throw paper out window,” and in parenthesis, “money to panhandler.” Davis’s one dollar good deed has turned into a $500 fine.
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QFirst of all, I actually read your column but mostly for the occasional humor and to hear about situations that lawyers get themselves into. But I don’t read it for advice because I’m what you call a happy lawyer. I like what I do, love the practice of law (family law mostly), and enjoy working with my colleagues. Plus, I get paid fairly well in my market.
No, I’m not fresh out of school and, yes, I have student loan debt, plenty of it. But I’m happy because I wanted to be a lawyer and am now a lawyer and loving it for three reasons: 1) it’s challenging; 2) I like solving problems; and 3) people respect me. So, my question: why aren’t you happy? Or, maybe put it this way: what makes lawyers so unhappy?
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Interested in writing for Bitter Lawyer or have videos or comic illustrations you’d like to see featured by us? Bitter Lawyer is always interested in receiving high-quality guest submissions, as well as finding new, regular, and humorous contributors.
Whether you want to submit a video, a single guest post, or if you want to become a regular Bitter Lawyer contributor, please email us a proposal or complete and submit the form below. We are particularly interested in developing weekly (or every other week) regular contributors, whom we pay on a per impression basis.
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Even for a boutique lawyer, there’s no way to ever get 100% away from work. Even if the other lawyers in my firm had the time or inclination to help me out—which they don’t—there’s a lot of “getting up to speed” in a case that is required to make effective arguments. And by “getting up to speed,” I mean none of my files are sufficiently notated for another associate to jump right in. Most of the big-picture strategy is locked away in mi cabeza. I’m generally not playing a team sport.
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