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Letters of Recommendation for Prelaw Students

Most law schools require letters of recommendation (LOR) from persons who can evaluate your potential. In general, they use letters as another tool in predicting whether you will be successful in law school classes. If a law school says that letters are optional it is still highly recommended to submit them. The importance of these letters varies from school to school, but generally the following statements apply:

Introduction—LOR for Law Schools:

Recommendations are most influential when the applicant's grades and test scores are borderline for the particular school or the student is an average applicant, neither an automatic accept or reject. However, at certain schools, especially those that are extremely competitive, recommendations can play a major role. Having an extraordinary letter is always a big plus.
The instructions as to how many letters each school wants (typically 2 or 3) and from whom (typically academic letters are preferred) vary, but can be found on the school's application. However, many schools will actually read more than they state on the application. To find out for sure, just call their admissions office.
Advance planning can make getting letters of recommendation much easier. Open your file with HPPLC early, in your sophomore or early junior year. Ask for letters to be written ahead of time, when the writer's memory of you is freshest. The letters will be sent to HPPLC and kept in your file until you are ready to submit your applications.
All applicants should have at least two letters in their file by the end of the junior year. Remember, ideally, you should submit all application material by Thanksgiving of your senior year.
The most valuable recommendations come from those recommenders who are very familiar with your particular strengths and weaknesses. These are difficult to obtain if you go through college anonymously. Taking small, discussion-oriented classes, taking multiple classes from the same professor, participating actively in all classes, and visiting instructors during office hours (even if you don't have questions about the material) are a few ways to develop the academic and personal relationships necessary to get informative recommendations.
We recommend: try getting to know at least one professor per semester. Resolve to always be prepared, to speak up in class, and to go to office hours.
HPPLC has guidelines for writers (see the relevant section below)—we tell them what to include in a letter and how to make it effective for law schools. For those using the HPPLC recommendation service, we also have pre-addressed campus mail envelopes for their convenience.

Who to ask:

In general, law schools will say they prefer academic letters. Therefore, choose professors, AIs, or graduate students who you have had in a class and who have given you a grade. It is preferable to have a letter from a graduate student who knows you well and who can write about you in detail, than from a famous professor with whom you've had limited contact. If you do not have at least one academic letter, the law school will probably wonder why. Moral: try to get to know your professors. Make it your goal to get to know one professor per semester.
Others with whom you have had at least a semi-professional relationship can also provide meaningful letters. Thus, employers, internship or volunteer supervisors, coaches, etc., might also be considered as sources for supplemental letters. Many applicants make the mistake of asking the famous politician or university official in whose office they interned (but with whom they had little, if any, contact) to write a letter. The result is often a short boilerplate or form letter that says little about the applicant's abilities. While the name itself may be impressive to the general public, it carries little weight with law school officials. Instead, it is usually preferable to ask the immediate supervisor who is much more familiar with your performance.
If you have been out of school for a number of years, the law schools are more understanding about a lack of academic letters. However, such a situation should be explained in a letter of addendum or cover letter.
If you know that you will be taking some time off after graduation and before applying to law school, then it is especially important to open a recommendation file with HPPLC and have academic letters written while the writers' memory of you is fresh. As an alumnus, you may use HPPLC's services 100%, and you don't have to be located in Bloomington to do so.
What law schools generally do NOT find useful are letters from persons with whom you have not had a professional relationship: for example, family friends who may be attorneys, local politicians, high school teachers or counselors, clergy, or other "character references." The one exception may be the attorney who knows you and who attended a law school to which you will be applying. In this limited case, a "school-specific" letter that discusses what a good fit you'd be for that particular school may be useful.

How to ask for a letter:

For detailed suggestions as to how to ask for a letter, please read "Recommendation Request Letter" (link provided below).

Guidelines for the writers:

If your writers need suggestions as to what to include, here are some references:

A checklist of information for the writer to include: "Evaluator of professional or graduate school applicant." (link provided below).
Guide for writing an effective letter to law schools: "A Dean's Suggestions to Faculty for Reference Letters" (link provided below).
We also recommend that you give your writers a resume, a draft of your personal statement, a short autobiographical statement, and a copy of any work you have done for them. For details as to how to ask for a letter, read "Recommendation Request Letter" (link provided below).

Getting your letters to the Law Schools (in brief):

I. HPPLC's Recommendation Service:

The Health Professions and Prelaw Center offers an optional Recommendation Service for Indiana University students. This service does not replace the LSDAS (which is required of all applicants); it is in addition to it. The service allows you to collect recommendations over several years from professors as you go through undergraduate courses and to store the letters in your file. Then, at your request, the Center forwards the letters to the LSDAS and/or directly to law schools. Our professional recommendation secretary will make sure that your letters are sent in a timely manner, to the proper address, in the correct format, properly signed, and with the correct forms. For more detailed information, read the Recommendation section of this website, which includes the publications Guide to the Recommendation Service and Why You Should Use the Recommendation Service. (links provided below)

II. The Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) Basics:

The Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) provides a way of centralizing and standardizing undergraduate academic records, including LORs and transcripts, to simplify the admissions process (from the law schools' perspective). For the applicant, it is a confusing and expensive process.

All applicants to law school MUST use the LSDAS, even if you have a file with HPPLC. No exceptions. This is true even if your writers or HPPLC send your letters directly to each law school (Note that some law schools will require that your letters be delivered via the LSDAS. Such information should be supplied on each school's application). You do not and cannot tell the LSDAS where to send its report. It will be contacted by each law school individually after the school receives your application.

Unfortunately, the LSDAS is not always the most "user-friendly" organization. If you have questions or encounter problems, please contact a HPPLC Prelaw Advisor.

Note: registration for the LSDAS is separate from registering for the LSAT. Each requires a separate registration; each costs over $100.00. Just because you have an LSAC account number does NOT mean you are registered for the LSDAS. You do not need to register for both at the same time, although you certainly may. The absolute latest you should register for the LSDAS is about two months prior to mailing your applications. The LSDAS may take two to three weeks to process your material.

It is often necessary to call the LSDAS and speak to a human being in order to resolve questions and problems with your account. Please do NOT hesitate to do this! Having a valid file with them is essential to being admitted anywhere. Call 215.968.1001 (options 5, then 0, to speak to a representative).

You must arrange to have your transcripts and letters of recommendation sent to the LSDAS. This section will focus on LOR. For comprehensive information on what must be submitted to the LSDAS and how, see the HPPLC publication LSDAS FAQs (link provided below), and refer to the cumbersome and confusing official LSDAS website.

The LSDAS needs only one copy of each LOR and transcript—they will make copies and send the items to each of the law schools to which you apply. The LSDAS will not accept these documents directly from students, so the registrar (re: transcripts) and your letter-writers (or HPPLC if you have a file there—see below) must send this material directly to the LSDAS.

All other documentation (e.g., personal statement, resume, addenda letters, etc.) should be sent by you directly and separately to each individual law school along with your other application material.

The LSDAS will accept up to four generic LORs. They will send the number requested by each law school in the order they are received, unless you change the order online. They will accept an unlimited number of "school-specific" letters.

The LSDAS requires that their LOR form (which you print out from your account) accompany every letter. If a letter arrives without this form, it will be returned to the writer.

Sending Your Letters

If you do NOT have a LOR file with HPPLC, make sure you give an LSDAS LOR form to EACH of your writers, and make sure that the writers mail the form together with their letter directly to the LSDAS.

If you DO have a file with HPPLC, please bring in at least one LOR form to the recommendation secretary in Maxwell 010. Do not fill out the bottom portion of this form; the secretary will make copies and fill out the bottom section for you for each of your letters.

When you want the letters to be sent, you must notify the HPPLC office (Maxwell 010) by providing a hard copy of a very short form [called Request for Letters to be Sent (link provided below)], signed by you, authorizing the service to send out your letters. It takes about 30 seconds to fill out this form and you don't need an appointment. Please note that all letters must actually be in your file in order to request that they be sent. Requests cannot be held pending the future receipt of letters.

Usually HPPLC sends out letters within 72 hours, but during peak times (e.g., November, December, and January) there is often a delay of several days or more. HPPLC's official policy: You must allow 10 business days' notice when requesting letters to be sent.

Will HPPLC automatically send out my letters?

No! You will need to provide a signed "Request for Letters to be Sent" form (link provided below).

Can I have HPPLC send out my letters if I'm out of town?

Yes. If you have your letters with HPPLC and you are out of town, download the following form, fill it out, SIGN IT, and FAX it to us at 812.856.2770: Request for Letters to be Sent (link provided below). Then follow-up with a phone call to make sure the fax was received.

Note: it can take the LSDAS up to two weeks to process each of these items (I. and II. above)--longer is possible during the peak season. So plan ahead!

Conclusion:

The above represents a brief and necessarily incomplete introduction to the issue of LOR for law schools. Do not expect everything to make sense. If you have questions or encounter problems in dealing with any of these organizations, we urge you in the strongest terms to contact a HPPLC Prelaw Advisor (a quick email note is fine) and resolve the issue ASAP. Remember, when applying to law school, you must do everything right, and do it early. HPPLC is here to help you succeed! Please make an appointment to meet with a HPPLC Prelaw Advisor at some point to go over your individual needs and situation.

Links to publications and forms referred to above:

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