Dear 1L, I don’t give out model cover letters for a reason.

A “model” is the antithesis of what a cover letter should be.

Instead, your cover letter should scream:

“I'm different; I’m better; you want me; you want only me!”

So while I have networking tips for you below, I am mostly writing to tell you I am thinking about you.

I don’t think this fall-2025-recruiting gambit is either good or fair, and I really wish you didn’t have to be its guinea pig.

But adjust, we must.

Some firms are already interviewing 1Ls.
Others open Dec 15.
This is for 2L summer jobs.
Sound nuts? It is.

Stunned is how I felt coming out of Monday’s BigLaw recruiting panel (four major firms, hosted by Summer Associate Hub—thank you, Albert Tawil, for doing this!).

✔️ Defendants ask the Court to reconsider.
❌ Defendants request the Court to rule in their favor.
❌ Defendants move the Court to grant summary judgment.

You may “ask” the court “to” do something.
But you should NEVER “request” or “move” the court “to” do anything.

I’m sending all my 1Ls so much positive energy during this, THE hardest month of law school. 💌

Brandon Farrow

J.D. Candidate at University of Baltimore School of Law I B.A. in Political ScienceJ.D. Candidate at University of Baltimore School of Law I B.A. in Political Science

So I’ve written him this ditty—a show of loving support.
May this rhyme bring him luck, for his big day in court.

He’s got not one case to argue, but back-to-back: TWO.
And that is a feat that he’s long yearned to do.

Replace her rule with this new, refined rule for legal writing, and get your words right in your memo:

🔷 1: Do NOT vary the substantive words of your case.

Here’s a checklist of common errors I see in memos every year (so you can avoid them).

Save + put on your wall!

Please save this checklist—and share to help more 1Ls ♻️

(—even though I said I’d never do this again.)

Dear 1L, If I were savvy at sales, I’d make you give me an email address to get this attachment. But you have no time for that, so here it is, no strings.

—She doesn’t know any of the facts in the hypothetical.
—He doesn’t know any of the cases you’ve found in your research.
—They don’t know any of the legal principles you’ve found for your analysis.

NOTHING.

My task was to analyze whether a mother could bring a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.

She wanted to sue the coroner who’d autopsied the wrong body (that of her nine‑year‑old daughter), where no autopsy was needed or authorized.

(35 out of 100.)

It was Oct 1993.
It was my first & only feedback.
I thought the world was going to end.
And it forced some intense soul-searching.

🩳 “Little kids” are short.
Periods and commas [.,] are little kids.
They sit on or below the line.
They’re too short for cars to see.
They must play safely INSIDE the fence (the quotes).

🛑 The WRONG WAY is to:

-Pick a random lawyer
-Learn nothing about them
-Send them a generic message
-Explain you want to “pick their brain”
-Make clear you seek a 1-time transaction
-Suggest that they “jump on” a 60-min Zoom

—All I said to myself was, ‘I can’t wait to finish law school and start making money,’ and ‘I long to get married + have children.’

When I was 34, I was married with 3 girls under age 5.