Law Firms That Require a Cover Letter
A cover letter is required by 95 of the 102 BigLaw firms we have checked and optional at 7. Each firm links to the page that says so. Latest check Nov 13, 2026.
| Firm | Cover Letter | Notes | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Alston & Bird LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Altshuler Berzon | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Ashurst Perkins Coie LLP | Required | Cover letter should cover area of interest and geographic preference; writing sample max 10 pages; graduate transcripts if applicable; official law transcript once available. Personal statement only for the Inclusive Leaders Fellowship. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Baker & Hostetler LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| Baker Botts L.L.P. | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Baker McKenzie LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Bredhoff & Kaiser | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Brooks Kushman | Required | Send cover letter and resume by email to the recruiting address. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Choate Hall & Stewart | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Clark Hill | Required | Cover letter should state preferred office location and business unit. Writing sample no more than 5 pages. Law transcript must include latest term grades. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Covington & Burling LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Crowell & Moring LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP | Required | The cover letter names your preferred practice department. The undergraduate transcript must be official. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Davis Wright Tremaine LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Day Pitney LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Dechert LLP | Required | The cover letter should note practice area interest; a first semester law transcript completes the application. | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Dykema Gossett | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Epstein Becker & Green | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Fennemore Craig | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Fenwick & West LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Foley Hoag LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Foster Garvey | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Fredrikson & Byron | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Freshfields US LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| Frost Brown Todd | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 11, 2026 | |
| Goodwin Procter LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Greenberg Traurig, LLP | Required | PDF cover letter, resume and 1L transcript. The New York posting covers Corporate, Litigation, IP Litigation and Real Estate. | Firm page | Nov 10, 2026 |
| Gunderson Dettmer LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Hanson Bridgett | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Haynes and Boone, LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | Required | Law school transcript may be submitted post-application. Completed Suited assessment required. Cover letter should state practice area and office preference. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Husch Blackwell LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Ice Miller | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Irell & Manella LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Ivins, Phillips & Barker | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Jenner & Block LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Jones Day | Required | Cover letter should explain interest in the office location. Law transcript and writing sample when available. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| K&L Gates LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Klarquist Sparkman | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Kostelanetz | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Latham & Watkins LLP | Required | Online application form, cover letter, resume and law school academic record. Undergraduate transcript is required for the IP Litigation Program only. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Lathrop GPM | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Lowenstein Sandler | Required | Also a personal statement. Law transcripts when available. Entry-level and clerkship candidates submit cover letter, resume and transcripts. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| McCarter & English | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| McDermott Will & Schulte LLP | Required | Resume required. Include any graduate transcripts. Law transcript may initially have no grades. Writing sample may be from a prior academic program. Cover letter should state practice interests and office preferences. | Firm page | Nov 11, 2026 |
| McGinnis Lochridge | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Miles & Stockbridge | Required | Cover letter should include preferred office location(s) and practice area(s) of interest. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Morrison & Foerster LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Nixon Peabody LLP | Required | Cover letter should express a practice group interest. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Olshan Frome Wolosky | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| Otten Johnson Robinson Neff & Ragonetti | Required | Send a cover letter, resume and transcript. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Parsons Behle & Latimer | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Patterson + Sheridan | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Porter Wright Morris & Arthur | Required | Law transcript when available. Brief cover letter noting ties to preferred office location. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Proskauer Rose LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 11, 2026 | |
| Reed Smith LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Richards, Layton & Finger | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Robins Kaplan | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP | Required | New York asks applicants to identify practice interests in the cover letter and complete a Suited assessment. | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Shute Mihaly & Weinberger | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Sidley Austin LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Spencer Fane | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP | Required | Cover letter should explain interest in practicing at the firm and preferred office. Writing sample preferably 10 to 12 pages max. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young | Required | Indicate preferred office in the cover letter. | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Todd & Weld | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Vinson & Elkins LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| White & Case LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| Wilkinson Stekloff | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Williams Mullen | Required | Richmond posting specifies how to address the cover letter. | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 4, 2026 | |
| Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. | Required | Firm page | Nov 13, 2026 | |
| Winston Taylor LLP | Required | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP | Required | The 2028 intellectual property posting asks applicants to indicate office preference in the cover letter and submit one application. | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann | Optional | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Holwell Shuster & Goldberg | Optional | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Hughes Hubbard & Reed | Optional | The application form asks for an unofficial law school transcript; the cover letter upload is optional. | Firm page | Nov 8, 2026 |
| King & Spalding LLP | Optional | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 | |
| Mayer Brown LLP | Optional | 2028 New York application: resume is the only required attachment. Cover letter, writing sample and a transcript upload are optional; the form does not specify the transcript type. Check the selected office form. 1L program also asks for a cover letter. | Firm page | Nov 11, 2026 |
| Robinson & Cole | Optional | Brief cover letter encouraged; submit law transcript when first semester grades are available. | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson | Optional | Firm page | Nov 6, 2026 |
Required and Optional are as each firm states it, read from the page linked in the Source column on the day shown. Firms that do not say are left out of this page. Notes appear only where the firm's own note speaks of the cover letter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do law firms require a cover letter for summer associate applications?
95 of the 102 firms we have checked require one and 7 make it optional. A firm that does not state its policy is not counted.
Which firms make the cover letter optional?
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, King & Spalding LLP, Mayer Brown LLP, Robinson & Cole and Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson.
Do firms actually read cover letters?
Whether a firm reads one is a different question from whether it asks for one. Our cover letter guide covers when a letter matters.
How do I write a BigLaw cover letter?
Start from the firm's own instructions in the source link, then follow our guide on when a letter matters and how to write one efficiently. The BigLaw cover letter guide
How is this list kept current?
Each row links to the page on the firm's own site that states it, and the Checked column shows the day we read it. The newest check was Nov 13, 2026. Firms change their application pages, so confirm on the firm's site before you apply.
More BigLaw Data
- When Summer Associate Applications Open
- Application Requirements by Firm
- Firms That Require a Writing Sample
- Transcript Requirements by Firm
- Summer Associate Class Size by Firm
- Billable Hour Requirements by Firm
- The Live Job Board
- Summer Associate Deadlines by Firm
- 1L Diversity Fellowships by Firm
- First-Year Associate Pay by Firm
- Law Firm Recruiting Statistics
- Law School Employment Outcomes