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November 2, 2016

How to Get Killer Law School Letters of Recommendation

How to Get Killer Law School Letters of Recommendation

When the admissions season starts heating up, our Forum sees an influx of questions about letters of recommendation (LOR.) There’s a lot of confusion over who to choose and what they should write. Since a poor recommendation can really hurt your admissions chances, you can’t afford to make a mistake here! So, let’s talk about how to get the best possible recommendations.

Who to Pick

The first decision you have is, who should you choose to write your recommendations? The key determinant here is how well the writer knows you. You need a recommender that can speak about you with authority. Someone who can lend insights into your thinking and writing, as well as your ability to make decisions and perform as part of a community. In other words, someone who can be specific about you and your skills. Note that there’s no mention of how famous or important that writer is! Why? Because in actuality, it isn’t very important. If you happen to know someone famous or powerful and they know you quite well, then that’s a winning combination. But, if this famous person only knows your parents and doesn’t know you that well? That’s a resounding no. You’re actually better off with your shift manager at a retail store. They can actually speak about the type of person you are and use actual examples from working with you.

A classic case comes from taking a class from a well-known “big-name” professor. The tendency is to want to choose that person as a recommender. But, if they don’t know you, then they’re not a good choice. The class TA that got to know you is a better option. On the surface, most people would say choose the professor. They’re wrong. It all comes down to how well a person knows you. We’ve had multiple law school deans tell us about botched LORs where the recomender obviously knew little to nothing about the applicant. It ends up making you look bad.

How to Ask

Now that you may have some potentials in mind, the next step is asking for the letters. Prelaw Guru Peng Cheng wrote about this on our blog here. You can find solid tips on how to approach potential recommenders including how to write a brief cover letter to the recommender. In addition to what she has to say, we recommend adding a few lines asking your recommender to be as specific as possible when discussing your candidacy. This is really where your recommendations can stand apart from others. Our admissions consultants have seen far too many LORs that contain generic phrases. “John is an excellent student.” “Jane performed well in class.” “I feel confident that they can perform equally well in the demanding environment of law school.” At first glance this doesn’t sound terrible. It’s certainly not horrible, but it doesn’t say a whole lot about the person they’re recommending.

Compare it to something like the following. “Jordan has been one of my favorite students of the last few years. They’re eager to participate in class and often helps take the discussion to a higher level and in unexpected directions. They’re well prepared and argues their point passionately, but without rancor. They keep me on my toes!” Language like this is a stark contrast from the other comments. It makes the former language look bland and somewhat hollow. The latter is much more of an endorsement. Which one do you think catches the eye of the admissions committee?

Foster Relationships Early

To go back to our first point, there’s no way to get a killer recommendation from someone that barely knows you. We emphasize this point a lot, and for good reason! It takes time and effort. You can’t expect to take a single class from a professor and get that stellar recommendation. This means you have to cultivate your potential recommenders over time. If you’re in school, make a point to talk to your professors and TAs. Get to know them both in class and hopefully out of class. They’re people too! Like everyone else, they enjoy meeting new and interesting people. Make sure you work on getting to know them just as hard as you’d work on learning the subject they teach. If you’re out in the working world, make sure to form relationships with your managers and co-workers. Perhaps form a mentoring relationship with one of the more senior people in your company.

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Posted by Dave Killoran / Law School Admissions / Law School Admissions, Law School Applications, Letters of Recommendation Leave a Comment

  • Kay
    November 02, 2015 at 5:17pm

    Hi Dave,

    What about those of use who have been out of school for a while? I doubt my professors remember me so asking them for LOR’s wouldn’t be a good idea, in my opinion. I work at a law firm and asked my boss and she happily agreed. I think I should get three LOR. Do you think it’s best to get all of them from the attorneys I work directly with? And do you agree as to three? Or should two be fine? I do a lot of volunteering but echoing back to your article, I think LOR from the organizations would be too generic. Thanks in advance.

  • Dave Killoran
    November 02, 2015 at 6:03pm

    Hi Kay,

    Thanks for the question! I actually think two would be fine, but you can always seek three and have that one in reserve (or substitute it in if you get a bad feeling about one of the others).

    In your case, working with attorneys is the equivalent of working with professors. The attorneys (and your boss, of course) will be able to comment on the quality of your work and thinking, and assert that you have the academic wherewithal to do well. All other things being equal, I’d take an attorney recommendation over the volunteer rec.

    Being out of school for a while isn’t a problem at all–this situation comes up frequently, and law schools understand that once you’ve been out of college for a while it’s unreasonable to think a professor would write a detailed recommendation. So, they are used to seeing work-related recommendations, and it’s not a concern for them. Overall, it sounds like you are in a really good position, and as long as your work colleagues are detailed (don’t let them get away with the attorney-standard two-paragraph rec!), your LORs should be strong. Congrats on that!

    Please let me know if this helps or if you have any other questions. Thanks!

  • Sara Zhou
    February 20, 2017 at 5:34am

    Hi Dave,

    I have been out of school for several years too. Fortunately I do still have a couple of professors that remember me very well and are enthusiatic about recommending me for law school. This is because although I studied pharmacy, I loved writing and really stood out in their classes (writing and health care ethics). I have been working for the last several years but all of my bosses held very high level positions, did not interact with me on a daily basis, and therefore don’t know me very well. Do you think I could ask for a letter from a former or current colleague instead? Or would the two professors’ letters be enough? Would the admissions officers be skeptical ahout my work performance if I do not submit a letter from work?

    Thanks!

  • Dave Killoran
    February 22, 2017 at 11:09pm

    Hi Sara,

    Thanks for the question! This actually isn’t a bad situation because you do have some options. First, the two academic references are probably sufficient. Law schools love to read the comments of professors because that’s the environment you’ll be in in law school. So, on that count you are likely fine if you just used your professors. Second, it will be ok to not have a work reference. In a number of cases, individuals in the work force are unable to submit a work reference because they don’t want to let their employers know they are thinking of leaving. You sometimes see addenda that make that exact point. My experience with law schools has been that as long as the two recommenders know you well and comment on your ability to perform in the law school environment, they are ok with them not coming from work. Last, one alternate suggestion you see about work recs is to get them not from a boss, but from a work colleague who has seen you perform in the workplace. I’m not sure if there is a person who fits that criterion for you, but if so that might be a way around the issue here if you are really committed to having a work rec (which, as a third rec, certainly wouldn’t hurt to have).

    Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

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