Law school letters of recommendation (LORs) are some people’s worst nightmare: after all, no one likes it when people talk about them behind their back. Yet, in asking your professors and employers to write your letters of recommendation, you’re asking them to do just that. Here’s a quick guide to making the process as painless as possible:

How many letters of recommendation do I need for law school?

Most schools require at least 2 LORs. However, a good rule of thumb is to get 3 total: 2 academic letters (professors, TAs, etc.) and 1 professional one (employers, managers). If you’re straight out of college and don’t have much work experience, it’s fine to just stick to 2 or 3 academic LORs.

Unless you have a really, really compelling reason, sending 4 letters is generally considered overkill.

Who should I get to write my LORs?

Your academic letters should generally be from professors - specifically, from professors who know you well and can speak highly of your character and academic abilities. Don’t worry too much about getting a “big name” professor - it’s much, much more important to get someone who knows you well.

Your professional letter can be from anyone who knows you in a professional setting: a boss, manager, etc. It’s better to get a letter from someone who oversaw your work, than, say, a co-worker in the same position as you.

This applies to every LOR: the more recently you interacted with the recommender, the better. No matter how well you did in the class, your 1st year accounting professor probably doesn’t remember you well enough to write a good letter.

How do I ask for a law school letter of recommendation?

First, you’ll want to just reach out and ask the potential recommender if they’d be willing to write the letter. You should do this no later than May, since some professors get far less reachable deeper into the summer, and you want to make sure you get on their radar before then.

Depending on the recommender, this may be their first time writing a law school recommendation letter, so they’ll ask you what to write. Tell them that you’re looking for a 1-2 page letter that discusses your academic/professional skills and your personality.

You should also send them something that tells them more about you to make their letter make sense with the overall narrative of your application. Sending a resume is always a good idea. If you already have a draft of your personal statement, send that. If not, it’s good practice to write up 1-2 pages that tell them a bit about you: your career goals and interests, as well as a reminder of what you did in their class and anything you worked on together.

How do I submit a law school letter of recommendation?

Once each letter is done, you’ll log in to your LSAC account and “add” each recommender in your “Manage LORs” tab by inputting their name, email and address. Then, you’ll hit a button to request the letter, which will automatically email them a link that will allow them to upload their letter directly to your application.

At no point do they need to send or show you the letter. They can if they’d like, but you should not ask them to send you a copy unless they offer.

As you’re adding each recommender to your LSAC account, you’ll be asked if you want to waive your access rights. This is basically just asking you to agree to give up your right to see the LOR once it’s submitted. You should always select “yes”, as it ensures that your recommenders can be as open and honest as possible, and that admissions committees don’t feel like they’re getting a biased or coerced letter (yes, they see which option you picked).

When should I ask for letters of recommendation?

Since some recommenders might drag their feet on writing the letter, we recommend asking as soon as possible - May or June at the latest. Once your letters are done and submitted, the LSAC can take up to 3 weeks to process them, so try to have them uploaded no later than early August (assuming you’re shooting for a September application).

Need help deciding who to ask for letters or how to ask? We can help!