Who to Ask for a Law School Letter of Recommendation

For law school candidates, October doesn't just mark fall and Halloween. It's the crucial month in law school applications. Law school admission offices and advisors recommend that candidates submit their applications as soon as possible since law schools accept applications on a rolling basis. One school's admission office told me that by January they usually fill 75% of their class. This means that in many cases, when it comes to law school admissions, the early bird is more likely to get the worm.

Plus, if you get your applications in early, you'll find out faster where you are accepted and you can potentially get another shot at taking the LSAT and applying to more schools for the same year before the deadlines pass. (Remember, although most schools' deadlines are in January there are many that will accept applications until the end of March.)

Although the to-do list for law school applications is long, it pays to prioritize and make a timeline. Some items on your to-do list, such as the personal statement, will require much more time, effort and preparation than others. One such item is the letter of recommendation.

Law Schools require 1-3 letters of recommendation per applicant. The LSAC website can tell you how many letters each school requires. In addition, you would do well to read each school's requirement on their application. The crucial question when it comes to law school letters of recommendation is: whom do you ask?

This question is not to be taken lightly or neglected. And no matter what you do, do not procrastinate on this one! You should spend some time carefully considering your options. Follow the steps below to get organized:

What is required in a letter of recommendation?

Before you can determine whom to ask for a letter of recommendation, you have to know what law schools look for in these. Law schools prefer letters from professors over any other type of letter. The reason is simple: they want to know about your academic fortitude and your ability to handle and succeed in a very rigorous academic environment. It can be assumed that the professors who recommend you will also be able to speak about your character and strong personal characteristics in detail. Law schools are looking for concrete examples and a lot of detail so the person writing your recommendation should know you so well (and want to help you genuinely!) that he will not use a template recommendation.

Before you select someone to write your letter, read the instructions to the recommender on the letter of recommendation forms (found on LSAC). These will tell you in more detail what a recommender is asked to write about. Also, ask admissions representatives and look at law school brochures to get more information on what they're looking for.

Step 2: Criteria for Selecting a Professor

This step is somewhat common sense but it warrants reading because the selection of recommenders for law school is much different for law school as compared to college. For one, the letter of recommendation carries a lot of weight in the decision-making process. Secondly, law schools admit a very small percentage of the candidates that apply: you can use any edge over the pack that you can get!

There is one big rule of thumb here: if you never spoke or interacted with your professor outside of class do not ask him or her for a recommendation regardless of how well you did in the class. This person will not be able to write a detailed letter of recommendation, which will undoubtedly be detrimental to your application. If you think about it, an admission's officer who reads a generic letter with no detail about your abilities, skills, experiences and character is likely to think: "Is this the best this person could do?" and toss your application aside.

When you think about whom to ask, think about the professor who knows you the best personally and with whom you are still in contact. Will this person be able to write about your academic achievements and strong personal characteristics? Would this person be able to write about specific situations where he noticed your exemplary analytical and problem-solving skills? Do you think she's someone who would invest precious time and energy to write a stellar recommendation?

Only ask professors who you know have only positive things to say about you - if you have any doubt about someone, do not ask that person.

Step 3: What if I didn't have Strong Relationships with any Professors?

It's entirely possible that you didn't have any strong relationships with professors in college. It's also very common. In this case, think about the classes where you did the best in and where you felt that you had some sort of connection, even if very minimal, with the professor.

Once you identify a couple of professors, the best thing to do is to reach out and get back in touch as soon as possible. If they don't know you well, they will likely need more time to write your letter and they will be less likely to prioritize your request. To start, write a polite e-mail where you remind them who you are and explain your situation. In this e-mail, you should ask the professor for a time to meet in person so they can learn more about you and your goals. Keep in mind, you might hear back from professors who say that they don't know you well enough to write a recommendation or that too much time has passed since they had you in their class. You have to be respectful of this and move on to the next person.

Here is a template you might use:

Dear Professor X,

As you might remember, I was a student in your International Relations class at ABC University last year. I greatly enjoyed your course and received a high grade in it.

Law schools have a rigorous application process and require a letter of recommendation from a professor. I would be honored if you would be willing to write a letter of recommendation for me. If you are available, I would greatly appreciate a meeting with you to answer any questions you might have, should you be interested in writing this letter.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Xxxx

Keep in mind that this situation is completely undesirable. Even if the professor agrees to write the letter, it will likely be a short, generic form. You would do well to give this professor a lot of guidance on what is required and provide him/her with many examples of your academic fortitude and personal excellence!

Step 4: What if I have been out of school for 4 or more years and I have not kept in touch with my professors?

First, see if you can reconnect with them! Was there any professor that you had a good relationship with while in school? If you have 6-12 months before your applications are due, e-mail or call your professor and set up a time to meet for coffee. Start rebuilding the relationship early and when it comes time for applications, ask them for a letter.

If you are trying to send in your applications in the next 2-3 months, rekindling won't help you much. You can try to call or e-mail an old professor who knew you very well and see if they'd be willing to write a letter because if they knew you well, the letter will still be very valuable to your application. Otherwise, you would do well to ask your superiors at work. Make sure that whoever you chose knows they need to write about your ability to learn, juggle heavy loads of new information, think and write analytically and problem solve.

If you are able to get one letter from a professor, supplement it with additional letters from coworkers. You have been outside of school for a long time in the eyes of admissions so they will want to know your most recent history. Many schools have a 3 or 4 letter limit - send as many as possible if your letter from the professor is going to be weak.

Step 5: Timeline

Ask for a letter of recommendation as soon as possible. If it's October, ask right now. What if it's not October... ask as soon as possible! You need to give your recommender at least 4 weeks but preferably more to write the letter. Let them know when you are submitting your application. Just because the school's deadline is January 31, that doesn't mean that the deadline for the letter is January 31. If you want to submit your application at the end of October, you should ask your recommender in early September.

It is common courtesy to give the recommender ample time to write - she is doing you a favor and taking time out of a very busy schedule. Most importantly, the more time you give the recommender, the better the chances are that he will get the letter in on time. Remember, schools will not look at your application unless it's complete which means that the letters have to be turned in at the same time or very close to the rest of your application.

You should also allocate ample time to get organized. Are you familiar with LSAC's procedure for letters? Have you written up a description of letter requirements for your recommender? Does your recommender have all the instructions and information they need to write the perfect letter?

Step 6: Request the letter

The way you ask for a letter is also crucial to this process. You need to show your best characteristics and the utmost courtesy. Follow the instructions and templates here.