Maritime and Shipping Law Training Contract Covering Letter Example

Dear Recruitment Team,

I have completed a qualifying law degree at the University of [university] with an upper second class grade in [year]. I am interested in undertaking a training contract with Winter Scott LLP.

I am attracted to Winter Scott LLP because the relatively small size and the collegiate culture of the firm will provide me with a hands-on experience and training with a focus on my personal interests, viewpoints and career goals. I find Winter Scott LLP’s sectoral focus very appealing because it will provide me with a thorough exposure to the legal and commercial implications of maritime law. This will provide me with a deep knowledge of the environment in which clients operate and their individual requirements and commercial objectives. I find the shipping and trade sector of great interest because it is very dynamic and typically involves many jurisdictions and time-zones. This, coupled with the firm’s extensive international contacts will expose me to interesting crossjurisdictional problems and enable me to collaborate with overseas professionals to devise innovative solutions. I find the prospect of working overseas on secondment very appealing because this will enable me to gain an understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by clients around the world and how different jurisdictions work and interact with each other. Winter Scott LLP will provide me with challenging and quality work through the firm’s quality and diverse customer base. This will vest me with variety and interesting and challenging work as I will have to operate at the forefront of legal and commercial developments facing the firm’s clients on a daily basis.

I wish to pursue a career as a solicitor in shipping and trade related litigations because it will present me with a dynamic and challenging environment involving many jurisdictions which will make for a great variety in my working environment. At university, I enjoyed applying and manipulating law to hypothetical scenarios during my modules and mooting competitions because it stimulated my intellectual curiosity since every situation was never the same and required a different approach. As shipping and international matters span different jurisdictions and time-zones, they demand the application of lateral thinking and extensive problem-solving. In turn, this would see me work in integrated teams with a commercial focus on the problem in a quick-paced environment with approaching deadlines. At [law firm] , I especially enjoyed working in teams across different time zones to solve commercial problems. This produced more interesting work, greater variety and a wider group of experts to learn from which made my work environment stimulating and rewarding.

I believe that I am a strong candidate for this role because I possess an international outlook, commercial acumen and strong problem solving and analytical skills which will enable me to understand individual client requirements and the environment in which they operate and deal with their unique problems across a broad spectrum of industries. At [law firm], I gave a short presentation during a board of directors EGM in order to explain local nuances affecting the client in [country]. I successfully applied my understanding of the client’s business and the environment in which they operate by explaining the relevance of each issue to the client’s overall objectives.

I am a good team player and have an ability to express my ideas in a simple and understandable manner which will enable me to discuss and develop ideas and contribute my perspectives. At [law firm], I worked closely with the firm’s London and [city] offices when proofreading and amending witness statements. I played a proactive role by sharing my ideas and perspectives with other team members. I kept a check on time, suggested ways to improve our work and helped others with their workload, which helped us to meet a tight deadline. This helped to develop my organisational skills since I was required to prioritise competing deadlines and manage my time and resources effectively.

I am very enthusiastic, entrepreneurial and motivated which will see me take initiative and go beyond what is expected of me and think creatively about the clients’ problems in order to devise innovative solutions. Recently, I established a business in the events management sector with an innovative business model that focuses on budget packages for parties and helping underperforming businesses to restructure in the business-to-business sector.

I would be grateful for the opportunity to attend an interview for which I am available at your convenience.

I thank you for your consideration and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours Sincerely,

[name]