6 Steps to Powerful Law School Recommendation Letters

Give each recommender as much time as possible before the deadline. If you are asking a professor, do so in the early fall before midterm pressure looms. Nothing guarantees a ho-hum letter of recommendation like giving someone just two days to write it.

If possible, try to set up a time to chat with your recommender so that you can explain why you are applying to law school. It is also helpful for the recommender to put a face to a name—especially if it’s a professor from a large lecture style class. If you are not able to request the letter in person, be sure to provide each recommender with a package of information about yourself.

Supply all recommenders with samples of your work, your resume, reasons why you want to go to law school, how you see your candidacy relating back to your experience with them, and what you think you might do with the law degree. If the person writing the letter does not know you particularly well or you were in a large class with them, give them a little more background about yourself and some highlights of your experience with them.

Choose individuals who know you from different aspects of your life. Having three Economics professors write your letters is not going to be nearly as helpful as professors from different disciplines and an internship supervisor who can attest to different skill sets.

If the person writing the letter has little experience writing recommendations, you can explain to them that law schools are looking for the following traits in strong applications: a willingness to take on responsibility, demonstrated experience as a strong team player, strong writing and speaking skills, a willingness to go above and beyond the basic expectations, active listening skills, and the ability to prioritize and organize tasks. These are traits that can be found in any job, internship, or classroom.

If the person asks you to write the letter for them, offer to provide them with a very specific list of things that they might think about including in the letter but ask them to put it in their own words. Law schools are very good at figuring out if a letter is self-written.