A little different. Cover letters are supposed to demonstrate who you are to the firm, it allows for a bit more expansion, so pigeoning yourself into one interest in the firm can sometimes actually look bad on you as a person (firms are very different). 300 word answers are a little different, simaltaneously talking only about one practice area is really detrimental, but also being really broad is also bad. You gotta ask yourself the question, what do you actually know of the firms practice areas? If you're a student with no legal experience, you probably know next to nothing about how firms actually operate, how they do the work they do on a day to day basis and what any of the 100s of practice areas really do. With the exception of boutique firms, most firms practice areas are so diverse that you probably don't know all of them. Of course, practice area is a key topic to talk about, but focusing on more tangible qualities like training, culture, support and diversity initiatives can come across more organically than saying yes I am absolutely 100% sure that I want to work in corporate M&A despite never having done a days actual experience in your life.
(I didn’t even apply to bakers)
