How Many Letters Of Recommendation For Law School

There must be one LSAC LOR Form for each letter your campus service will be sending to LSAC. This is true even if the credential service issues a “packet” that includes several recommendations. Be certain that your school’s service understands that each LOR Form you give them must be submitted with the packet to LSAC.

Letters of Recommendation

The most effective letters of recommendation are written by professors or work supervisors who know you well enough to describe your academic, personal, or professional achievements and potential with candor, detail, and objectivity. Letters that compare you to your academic peers are often the most useful.

Most schools do not consider general, unreservedly praiseworthy letters helpful.

LSAC Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Service

Access to LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation (LOR) service is included in Credential Assembly Service (CAS) registration. This service allows you to manage your letters of recommendation through your LSAC.org account.

If you use LSAC’s LOR service, your references will only need to submit their letters of recommendation once to LSAC — even if you intend to include these letters in every one of your law school applications. LSAC will make copies of each reference’s original letter to include in your CAS Reports.

You get to assign which letters you want each law school to receive. If you change your mind early enough in the application process, you can reassign your letters through your LSAC.org account.

How to Use LSAC’s LOR Service

1. In your LSAC.org account, provide the name and contact information for each of your recommenders.
2. Indicate the number of letters that each recommender will submit, and describe each letter’s use (e.g., for all law schools).
3. You must assign the appropriate letters to each law school to which you’re applying (or they will not be sent). You can find information about each school’s requirements by clicking the “LOR Requirements” link beneath the school names on the Letters of Recommendation page of your LSAC.org account.
4. Submit your requests for letters by clicking the “Submit Request” buttons in your account. Your recommender will receive an email requesting that they complete and upload a letter for you. However, if your recommender prefers, LSAC also accepts paper letters of recommendation. This is important. If your recommender is submitting your letter of recommendation on paper, you must print the required LOR Form from your LSAC.org account and deliver it to your recommender. This form must accompany your letter of recommendation. Paper letters received without an accompanying LOR Form or without the recommender’s signature will be returned to the recommender. If your recommender is sending more than one letter for you, be sure to emphasize the importance of attaching the correct form to the corresponding letter. Please allow LSAC two weeks from the time of receipt to process your paper letters.

The status of each of your letters will be listed on the homepage of your LSAC.org account.

Do I Need to Use LSAC’s LOR Service?

Most ABA-approved law schools accept LSAC’s LOR service. However, unless a law school states that you must use this service, you may choose not to use it. For individual application requirements, log in to your LSAC.org account or contact the law school.

Can My Campus Credential Service Submit Letters to LSAC?

Yes, LSAC accepts copies of letters from undergraduate school credential services or career planning offices. However, the LSAC Letter of Recommendation Form must still accompany each letter, even if the school’s service uses its own preprinted forms in the collection process.

There must be one LSAC LOR Form for each letter your campus service will be sending to LSAC. This is true even if the credential service issues a “packet” that includes several recommendations. Be certain that your school’s service understands that each LOR Form you give them must be submitted with the packet to LSAC.

When identifying your recommenders in your LSAC.org account, enter the name and contact information for each individual recommender, NOT the name and contact information of your campus credential service. LSAC will use this contact information to send your recommender a confirmation of receipt.

In the event that a recommender on file in the credential service office is no longer associated with the institution, or has passed away, you should still enter the recommender’s name on your LOR Form. However, enter the contact information associated with your credential service office. LSAC will send a confirmation of receipt to the campus credential service.

Describing Your Letters

Descriptions will help you assign the correct letters to each school to which you’re applying. If you aren’t sure how to describe your letters, these examples might help:

• Program/Specialty-Specific References: If you interned for the EPA, you could ask either a professor or your supervisor to write a letter about that experience. Describe this letter as “Environmental Law Programs” if you only plan to assign it to law schools that offer environmental law specialties.
• School-Specific References: If one of your professors is a law school graduate, you could ask this professor to recommend you to their alma mater. The description for this letter could read: “Smith School of Law.” You would assign this letter to Smith School of Law only.
• General References: For letters that aren’t targeted to specific specialties or law schools, the description could read: “General Use.” You could assign this letter to any law school.

Law schools receive both the LOR Form and the letter, so write your descriptions carefully.

1. Letters sent to LSAC remain the property of LSAC and will remain active for the life of your file. Letters will be neither returned to nor copied for you, the candidate.
2. If you intend to reuse a letter of recommendation for an admission year other than the one for which it was written, or for a different law degree program, it is a good idea to contact the recommender as a courtesy to make sure that the person does not mind this reuse. Some recommenders may wish to write an updated letter when you apply in a subsequent reporting year or to a different type of program. A recommender may decide to rescind a letter after becoming aware that it has been repurposed, if permission to reuse the letter has not been requested and granted.

Questions You May Have

• How Law Schools Determine Whom to Admit: What other factors do law schools consider?
• The Application Process: An Overview: What steps are involved in the law school application process?
• Requesting Transcripts: How do I request transcripts?
• CAS FAQs: I have a different question.

Law school reference letters

The Law School Admissions Council offers a convenient reference letter service that allows you to build a file over time. Access to LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation (LOR) service is included in Credential Assembly Service (CAS) registration. This service allows you to manage your letters of recommendation through your LSAC.org account.

FAQ

• How many reference letters do I need?
• Who should write my letters?
• How do I get strong letters?
• What should the letters cover?
• How do I obtain letters from my writers?
• When should I send my letters?

A word of advice

Gathering reference letters always takes much, much longer than anyone had anticipated, so do not procrastinate and get going with this time-consuming but very important task.

How many reference letters do I need?

Law schools place a great deal of emphasis on strong reference letters. Most law programs require two or three reference letters for admission, although they may accept more than just three. While references from faculty members are ideal, law schools may seriously consider nonacademic references as well, especially if applicants have been out of school for several years. Application instructions often specify who should write the letters and, occasionally, what issues should be addressed. If you have more letters than the required minimum, you can consider submitting an extra one as long as you are not exceeding the maximum number of accepted letters (as specified by each school) and the letter provides new information about you.

Who should write my letters?

It is important to get at least one reference from a professor, usually in your major. The best reference is from someone who has high regard for your work, knows you well and is a good writer. Ideally, your reference should be able to evaluate your performance in the same way and in the same language as law schools’ admissions committee members evaluate students in their program. In addition to professors in your major, you may consider other professors who know you well and are willing to give you a strong, personalized reference. They may be advisors for student organizations or clubs, or professors for whom you have been a teaching assistant, grader or research assistant. If you have developed a strong relationship with your faculty advisor, a special Graduate Student Instructor, your dean, or other administrators, you may consider approaching them for a reference as well. You may also ask supervisors from volunteer experiences and employers from jobs where you have had significant responsibility.Refrain from submitting letters from politicians, judges or your congresspersons unless you had an opportunity to work for these individuals directly. Many admissions committees do not look favorably upon these “power letters” since the writers usually have limited first-hand knowledge of candidates and their abilities.

How do I get strong letters?

Always ask your reference letter writers if they know you well enough to prepare a meaningful and positive letter. When asking for a reference, remember that yours may be only one of many requests. Do not wait until the last moment to ask. As a courtesy, you should give your writers at least two to three weeks to craft your letter(s), so it helps to plan ahead. If at all possible, plan to meet in person to discuss your professional plans and bring/send any supporting materials that will assist your author in writing a detailed letter on your behalf, such as: transcripts, a resume, a copy of your personal statement (even if only at the draft stage), or a statement of intent to help them craft a thorough evaluation. If some time has elapsed since your last interaction with your writer, and you cannot meet in person, consider including a picture with your supporting materials, just to jog their memory. Later, your writers will appreciate a thank-you note. It is also a nice courtesy to let your writers know the outcome of your application to law school.

What should the letters cover?

The Pre-Law Committee of the American Bar Association has identified the following core skills and values as important for those wanting to pursue a legal career:

• Analytic and problem solving skills
• Critical reading abilities
• Writing skills
• Oral communication and listening abilities
• General research skills
• Task organization and management skills
• The values of serving others and promoting justice

In addition to the fundamental skills and values listed above, there are also other traits and characteristics that are helpful to the development of a competent law school student and lawyer:

• Scholarship and intellectual ability
• Judgment, decisiveness and common sense
• Resourcefulness, creativity and initiative
• Work ethic and industriousness
• Willingness to assume responsibility and leadership skills
• Positive attitude and flexibility
• Self-confidence and awareness of own strengths and weaknesses
• Dependability, conscientiousness and follow-up
• Integrity: moral and ethical qualities
• Ability to overcome hurdles—special life circumstances
• Motivation, perseverance and stamina
• Emotional maturity and stability
• Cross-cultural awareness

Based on your academic and extracurricular experiences, ask yourself who could best speak of you about the skills, values and characteristics listed above.Who could be the best advocate for your candidacy?

How do I obtain letters from my writers?

If you are planning to use the LSAC’s Letter of Recommendation (LOR) service to obtain your letters from your writers, see these instructions.

When should I send my letters?

While, in a perfect world, you would want to coordinate the submission of your law school applications with the forwarding of your reference letters, official transcripts, LSAT scores, etc. some of the components of your application may be slow in trickling in. Please follow individual law schools’ preferences if provided, but in general, a good rule of thumb is to submit materials as they are ready and become available.