Advice for "Cold Emailing" Summer Student Positions

[SNAILS]

I have decided that I want to spend next summer, which is my summer after 1L, being a summer student for a lawyer. I don't just want any old job in the city. I want to summer with a lawyer in a very specific geographic area where there are a few towns with maybe 20, 000 people each. That means I need to either cold call or cold email the lawyers in this area, which is actually no more than 20 "firms" who are mostly solo practitioners.

These lawyers either know who I am or know someone who knows who I am. I worked in the local area for many years and also ran a business in the area for some years. I own a home in the local area.

My strategy is to send a brief, unsolicited email to some of the lawyers, then email a few more of the lawyers if I either do not hear back or they indicate they are not looking for a summer student at this time.

My questions:

1. Do you feel that a very straightforward email is good to break the ice? (My name is X and I go to X law school. I am looking for a summer position. You do know me or may know me from _________).
2. How to address lack of payment and duties?  (I'm pretty sure that trying to get paid for something like this is not the norm, but I could be wrong. The issue for me is that if I am not getting paid, I want to be doing things to help me into the legal profession. I'm not the firms designated coffee getter, and I don't want to sit around doing nothing).
3. How to address grades and resume? (I want my first email to be very short. I'm not hiding my resume or my grades, I just don't want to deter a response by providing more than 2 minutes of reading on first contact).

If anyone is wondering about why I do not take advantage of OCI's, it is because they do not offer the local positions I want. I accept the likelihood that if I strike out with my plan A, that I'll be looking at OCI's next year. My Plan A is to build contacts locally and stay local. Also, I prefer Criminal law, for what it's worth.

Helpful advice from anyone who has either applied for a summer position or has hired someone through a cold call or cold email would be appreciated!

Edited January 15, 2022 by SNAILS

[HammurabiTime]

Personally, I wouldn't be so formal. If you think you already have a connection with some of these people and you're interested in their practice, I'd just send a brief note letting them know that you're in law school now and interested in the kind of work they do. Briefly explain why you're interested in their practice.

I'd ask to get a coffee or drink to pick their brain (likely virtually now) and during that conversation I'd ask if they know anyone in the area that would be open to taking a student or is looking for one. If they do, I'd ask them to make an introduction for you. If they don't, that's why you emailed the other 19 people you're aware of, too.

[SNAILS]

Thank you, @HammurabiTime.

In addition to my question above, does anyone now what the day-to-day life of summer student would look like if a lawyer did agree to take me on?

Would I sit in in virtual court? Would I likely do any case research? If life is back in person, is it likely I would interact with clients?

[HammurabiTime]

2 hours ago, SNAILS said:

Thank you, @HammurabiTime.

In addition to my question above, does anyone now what the day-to-day life of summer student would look like if a lawyer did agree to take me on?

Would I sit in in virtual court? Would I likely do any case research? If life is back in person, is it likely I would interact with clients?

This will vary massively between offices with respect to the kind of practice you've described above. Some soles/small practices may use students largely as administrative support, others may have frequent opportunities for students to appear in Court and give them significant substantive work to do. Some might do both depending on what kind of aptitude the student demonstrates. Opportunities to be in Court will depend a lot on the practice area, too. If you're looking at offices that mostly do solicitor's work I can't really comment on that but I assume there would be a lot of variability there, too.

 

Edit: if you secure interviews I would suggest asking about this to make sure the opportunities you're considering align with your goals. You also mentioned being willing to work for free, personally I would not consider unpaid opportunities.

Edited January 16, 2022 by HammurabiTime

[Whist]

Hopping on this so I don't make another post for a nearly identical question. Is there a preferred time to start cold emailing/contacting for summer positions? I'm not interested in the formal recruit, at least for 1L. However, I don't have any potential connections in my area as SNAILS does. If I actually get to an interview, how relevant would my midterm grades be? Also, while I have some civil experience through clinics (mostly family law, although would accept different areas), I have no substantial/court experience, so I'm not sure how much that would negatively affect my chances.

[99problems]

Below is the body of the email I used for cold-emailing. Cold-emailing may surprise you, but at the same time, be ready for not getting a response from 90% of the recipients. DM me if you want more info about my outcome or whatever:

 

Dear X

I hope this email finds you well.

I am a third-year law student at Osgoode Hall Law School. I am writing to ask whether your firm has decided to hire an articling student for the 2022-2023 cycle. If so, I would be more than happy to apply and provide you with all the necessary documents. For now, I have attached my resume and transcript for your consideration.

Best regards,

57 minutes ago, Whist said:

Is there a preferred time to start cold emailing/contacting for summer positions?

Yes, now.