For the Orrick application, I think that it is possible to construe the application questions differently from material that you would include in the cover letter in order to avoid overlap. The questions that I think you are referring to which you consider to be 'Why law' and 'Why Orrick' are the following:
- Why have you decided to pursue a career as a commercial lawyer working in an international law firm? What factors and influences have affected your decision?
- Why specifically are you interested in training at Orrick? What makes us different to the other firms you have applied for?
Then, of course, you have a 500-word covering letter in addition!
First of all, remember that 500 words is quite short. By the time you address your letter to the recruiter and introduce yourself, your academic background and current position, and sign off the letter at the end, you do not have that many words to play with!
If it were me, I would introduce my overarching interest in law at the beginning of the cover letter, without spending too much time on this. I think it is especially important for someone from a non-law background (like myself) to outline what first got them thinking about law and where that interest is rooted! This is the traditional
'Why law' section of your cover letter and does not need to be too extensive in this case, which is good, given the tight word count.
Then I would talk about why I am attracted to the firm as a whole and why a career there would be of particular value to me, including the firm's excellent work on certain deals and in certain sectors, and any star lawyers that you would love the opportunity to work with. This is the '
Why Orrick' section of your cover letter and there should be a reasonable amount to discuss here which does not overlap with the second bullet point, which I will elaborate on further below!
The real benefit of the cover letter is the opportunity to explain
'Why me' and it is perfect because this section does not overlap with any of the other questions in the application! You could sort of say it overlaps with the extra-curricular activities, prizes or 'greatest success' question but in reality this provides an opportunity for you to outline your skillset as demonstrated by a range of your achievements and experiences that you may not have space to talk about elsewhere.
You will find that you easily reach 500 words with all of this!
Now I will consider the kinds of things that I would mention in the two questions I have bullet-pointed above.
In the first question, I think you should consider specifically the
commercial and
international aspect of the question. Really dig into your interest in business and why you are not only interested in law generally, but specifically why you would thrive at a major international commercial law firm! Since you are keeping your 'Why law' section of the cover letter brief, you can also elaborate more on that in this question.
In the second question you should bear in mind that you are being asked specifically why you are interested in
training at Orrick. I would mention more specific things about the unique nature of the firm's training contract vis-a-vis other firms (e.g. the six seats, any mentorship opportunities, required seats etc.) and the practice areas that I would be interested in exploring as part of the training contract.
I hope that this is all helpful! I think you should be able to answer all of these questions without overlap but please let me know if you have any further questions
