October 17, 2026
Dear [Hiring manager's name],
I'm a second-year student at Harborview University School of Law, and this past year I logged more than 300 hours in the school's civil litigation clinic representing tenants in eviction defense, including two hearings I argued solo under supervision. I'm applying for the legal intern position at [Law firm name] because I want that same real-client responsibility inside a firm that handles higher-stakes civil litigation.
In the clinic I drafted answers and discovery responses in 14 cases and negotiated payment plans that kept nine clients in their homes past the initial hearing date. On law review I cite-checked and edited two full issues, catching citation errors in roughly one of every six footnotes I reviewed, which taught me how much a careless cite can undercut an otherwise strong brief.
I'm trained in Westlaw, Lexis and our clinic's case management software, and I've briefed cases well enough that my clinical professor now has me review first drafts from newer students before they reach her. I take direction well, but I also flag when a filing deadline looks tighter than the assignment sheet suggests, which has caught two near-misses this year alone.
I'd welcome the chance to bring that clinic experience to [Law firm name] this summer, and I can provide writing samples or a clinic supervisor reference right away. Thank you for considering my application.
Thank you,
Ethan Davis