Example Training Contract Application to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Please give details of any prizes, scholarships, positions of responsibility and any other noteworthy achievements that will support your application.
Firstly, I am fluent in verbal and written communication in [language] and [language] languages. This I feel could be a great asset to [law firm] in terms of its day-to-day dealings with international clients or simply as a way of increasing diversity within the firm. In my spare time I greatly enjoy playing [sport] and doing [Sport]. Last summer I was selected to play in [sport] nationals, which I feel is a significant achievement given my relatively short period of time at the [sport] club. This I feel successfully outlines my determination to learn and succeed; especially when presented with novel tasks. As follows, I have [done the sport] in England at both national and international level having had over fifty amateur fights. I strongly maintain that [Sport] has taught me the importance of discipline, endurance and perseverance, and has helped me to prosper both academically and socially. I am in turn very keen to share my skills with the society. I have managed to start up a [Sport] club at the [University] for the first time in twenty years. I am also a very active member of the [language] Speaking Society; continually promoting [language] culture and language amongst students. I have successfully organised a trip to the Cardiff University which provided students with an opportunity to learn about different culture and just spend their time pleasantly. On a more academic note, I am actively involved in internal mooting competitions as a way of exercising my interest in law. I feel that mooting allows me to implement my zeal and passion for law on a more interactive level. Recently, I have been elected as the student-staff liaison committee member to represent all third year students. This position of responsibility has enabled me to air any concerns that the law students may have and is positively reforming the operation of the [university] law school. Less recently, I have received two commendations for receiving the highest grades at both GCSE and A-Level which displays my high calibre of academic performance.
Please give details of any interests/hobbies you have outside of university/work?
Firstly, I greatly enjoy travelling and exploring new places. Being a sociable person, I particularly enjoy interacting with people from different places as I feel that it teaches me something new and thus aids my character development. I also greatly enjoy nature and pastoral settings. This is effectively reflected in my interest and passion for [sport]. Playing [sport] allows me to concentrate, enjoy myself and to simply reflect on various things. Having done [Sport] for over a decade, I have developed a genuine passion and love for the sport. I thus enjoy training people and sharing my skills with them; I strongly believe that it is always very important to give back to the community. Moreover, I truly enjoy motoring and especially sports cars. Last year I was involved in a project whereby me and a group of friends have modified and improved a professional rally car.
[Name]
[address line 1]
[POST CODE]
Tel: [telephone number]
[date]
[recruitment manager’s name]
[law firm]
40 Bank Street
Canary Wharf
London, E14 5DS, England
Dear [recruitment manager’s name],
I am a final year student at the [University] expected to graduate in [year]. I have achieved an upper [grade] in my second year. I am applying for a vacation scheme for the year [year] with [law firm].
I have developed my interest in law throughout my academic career at [university]. In my second year I have completed a legal practice course where I was working in a group on a mock-trial case involving a breach of contract. This course has allowed me to incorporate my knowledge of law in a simulated solicitor’s environment. I genuinely enjoyed the team work and problem-solving elements of the course. The course essentially provided me with a deeper insight into the work of a solicitor, which I immensely enjoyed. As follows, I am actively involved in mooting competitions at the university as I genuinely enjoy debating and disputing a legal position of a client. Applying law to a particular scenario stimulates my intellectual curiosity and arouses a sense of passion in me when it comes to communicating the legal argument to the judge. Recently, I have been particularly attracted by the judgment of the Supreme Court as millions of customers hoping for refunds of unauthorised overdraft charges were left disappointed. In a landmark ruling, the five judges of the court unanimously decided that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) did not have the authority to determine the fairness of the charges — which can be as much as £35 for a single slip into the red. On the face of it seems mostly unfair but if the banks had lost, it could have cost the industry up to £3 billion a year in lost revenue and led to refund payments of up to £10 billion. The likely outcome would have been the introduction of monthly account charges and increases in other fees, such as cash machine withdrawals, as the banks looked to recoup the lost revenue. I strongly feel that we need a system of charges that is more proportionate and more transparent, so that the fees are fair and people are clear about what they are signing up to. However, I look forward to a challenge of this decision by the OFT in the nearby future as Justice Walker said in his summing up that OFT may be able to look at fairness by another route. Analysis of the full report reveals the court’s coded message to the OFT was, ‘You took this case on too narrow a legal basis’.
I would especially like to work for [law firm] because I am attracted by its expansive practice areas. I would particularly like to do an internship with [law firm] because it could provide me with a comparison of US and EU law at a practical level. Throughout the advanced competition law module I have developed an interest in the refusal to supply intellectual property rights. I was particularly fascinated by the decision of the EC in Windows where it was held to be anti-competitive to refuse to supply interoperability data to its competitors. The Microsoft case however produced a split between US and EU competition law on the subject of consumer welfare. The EU approach focuses on innovation by competitors in order to increase competition in the market and to give consumers a better deal. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US approach generally focuses on overall innovation in the market and efficiency for consumers rather than which company fostered the innovation in question and whether existing competitors might be shut out as technology markets evolve. Moreover, I am also attracted by the practice area in [country]. Being fluent in verbal and written communication in [language] and English languages, I strongly believe that I could contribute to the [language] practice area. Additionally, this summer I have worked for [law firm], which is a London based law firm that serves a vast amount of [language] and [language] Speaking customers. Having an interest in the [language] culture and heritage I would be very willing to learn more about the legal practice in [country], especially having had some experience with [language] clients in London.
Yours sincerely,
[Name]
