Capitalisation in applications

[MrGGx]

Hello,

When writing cover letters etc should the practice names be capitalised?

For example:
"I am particularly interested in X's M&A, Banking and Litigation practices"

I know that you would for IP and M&A, but not sure about the others.

Thanks,
MrCG

 

[Dheepa]

I don't think it's necessary to capitalise them. IP and M&A are capitalised mostly because they are common acronyms I think.

@Jessica Booker

 

[Jaysen]

Hello,

When writing cover letters etc should the practice names be capitalised?

For example:
"I am particularly interested in X's M&A, Banking and Litigation practices"

I know that you would for IP and M&A, but not sure about the others.

Thanks,
MrCG

Generally I prefer not to capitalise practice areas. 'IP' we'd also want to write out in full (i.e. intellectual property).

There's too much inconsistency though (even among law firm websites), so you should be fine either way.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Agree with Jaysen. Most times it won’t be capitalised.

But if you are ever unsure look at how the firm writes it in the body of their website (not headings/titles). But as Jaysen says, even there you can find inconsistencies.

But it’s such a minor point, I don’t think it makes much difference unless there’s lots of other over capitalisation of words throughout your writing.

 

[Alice G]

Agree with everything said above, I wouldn't capitalise practice groups and just as a general word of caution, I find candidates are often a bit over zealous with capitalisation so when you feel like a word needs to be, I really would entreat you to check whether it ought to be. Check out the Oxford style guide available online as a pdf as this helps me all the time!

 

[missw01]

Would you capitalise law or solicitor/trainee solicitor throughout an application?
@Jessica Booker

 

[Alice G]

Would you capitalise law or solicitor/trainee solicitor throughout an application?
@Jessica Booker

I wouldn't capitalise solicitor or trainee solicitor and law wouldn't be usually unless it was to express the name of a formal course being written in full. It depends on your usage of the words though ultimately which is why it is better to check and research this online or by using the style guide to be sure.

 

[missw01]

I wouldn't capitalise solicitor or trainee solicitor and law wouldn't be usually unless it was to express the name of a formal course being written in full. It depends on your usage of the words though ultimately which is why it is better to check and research this online or by using the style guide to be sure.

Thank you!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Would you capitalise law or solicitor/trainee solicitor throughout an application?
@Jessica Booker

Depends on context. But generally these aren’t capitalised.

For instance,

I studied law (not capitalised)

If you were putting your degree title in on a CV then it would be Law LLB.

Job titles are also not generally capitalised. The below image might help clarify when capitalisation is needed:

 

[missw01]

Depends on context. But generally these aren’t capitalised.

For instance,

I studied law (not capitalised)

If you were putting your degree title in on a CV then it would be Law LLB.

Job titles are also not generally capitalised. The below image might help clarify when capitalisation is needed:

View attachment 3066

Super helpful, thank you!

 

[aadamsiddiqi0807]

Depends on context. But generally these aren’t capitalised.

For instance,

I studied law (not capitalised)

If you were putting your degree title in on a CV then it would be Law LLB.

Job titles are also not generally capitalised. The below image might help clarify when capitalisation is needed:

View attachment 3066

Generally I prefer not to capitalise practice areas. 'IP' we'd also want to write out in full (i.e. intellectual property).

There's too much inconsistency though (even among law firm websites), so you should be fine either way.

Hi Jessica and Jaysen,
Would you recommend capitalising the Firm when referring to the specific firm I’m applying to?
For example, say I have my work experience firms referred to as “the firm” but the firm of the application referred to as “the Firm”.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica and Jaysen,
Would you recommend capitalising the Firm when referring to the specific firm I’m applying to?
For example, say I have my work experience firms referred to as “the firm” but the firm of the application referred to as “the Firm”.

This is something that gets a bit complicated but is ultimately a stylistic point not to get too caught up on. You are not going to be marked down on something like this.

In short, because you are not writing as if you are “the firm”, I wouldn’t capitalise it.

Some firms do capitalise firm when describing themselves though (eg when they publish articles and want to refer to themselves), whilst others don’t. Many firms these days actively avoid writing “the Firm” and instead will use other pronouns to define themselves (we/our mainly), and therefore you can also try this approach to minimise the use of “the firm”. This often saves on word count too. For instance, if you are trying to describe the firm you are applying to, you can always use “your” - “the Firm’s clients” can easily become “your clients”.

However, for those that do capitalise “the Firm”, they are identifying themselves as a particular entity. Firm generally is not capitalised if you wrote “a firm” or “the firms involved in the project”. Legal documents are a whole different ball game though.

This article here explains it better than I can!

Should we capitalize “Firm”?

Someone smart once said you have to pick your battles. That’s particularly true at Baker McKenzie, where trying to effect change can feel like attempting to shift the direction of the Seawise…

thewritinghabit.blog

 

[aadamsiddiqi0807]

This is something that gets a bit complicated but is ultimately a stylistic point not to get too caught up on. You are not going to be marked down on something like this.

In short, because you are not writing as if you are “the firm”, I wouldn’t capitalise it.

Some firms do capitalise firm when describing themselves though (eg when they publish articles and want to refer to themselves), whilst others don’t. Many firms these days actively avoid writing “the Firm” and instead will use other pronouns to define themselves (we/our mainly), and therefore you can also try this approach to minimise the use of “the firm”. This often saves on word count too. For instance, if you are trying to describe the firm you are applying to, you can always use “your” - “the Firm’s clients” can easily become “your clients”.

However, for those that do capitalise “the Firm”, they are identifying themselves as a particular entity. Firm generally is not capitalised if you wrote “a firm” or “the firms involved in the project”. Legal documents are a whole different ball game though.

This article here explains it better than I can!

Should we capitalize “Firm”?

Someone smart once said you have to pick your battles. That’s particularly true at Baker McKenzie, where trying to effect change can feel like attempting to shift the direction of the Seawise…

thewritinghabit.blog

thank you for the clarification, much appreciated jessica