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.
爱游戏体育 Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Service
Access to 爱游戏体育鈥檚 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 .
If you use 爱游戏体育鈥檚 LOR service, your references will only need to submit their letters of recommendation once to 爱游戏体育 鈥� even if you intend to include these letters in every one of your law school applications. 爱游戏体育 will make copies of each reference鈥檚 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 爱游戏体育 JD Account.
How to Use 爱游戏体育鈥檚 LOR Service
- In your , provide the name and contact information for each of your recommenders.
- Indicate the number of letters that each recommender will submit, and describe each letter鈥檚 use (e.g., for all law schools).
- You must assign the appropriate letters to each law school to which you鈥檙e applying (or they will not be sent). You can find information about each school鈥檚 requirements by clicking the 鈥淟OR Requirements鈥� link beneath the school names on the Letters of Recommendation page of your 爱游戏体育 JD Account.
- Submit your requests for letters by clicking the 鈥淪ubmit Request鈥� 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, 爱游戏体育 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 爱游戏体育 JD 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鈥檚 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 爱游戏体育 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 .
Do I Need to Use 爱游戏体育鈥檚 LOR Service?
Most ABA-approved law schools accept 爱游戏体育鈥檚 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 or contact the law school.
Can My Campus Credential Service Submit Letters to 爱游戏体育?
Yes, 爱游戏体育 accepts copies of letters from undergraduate school credential services or career planning offices. However, the 爱游戏体育 Letter of Recommendation Form must still accompany each letter, even if the school鈥檚 service uses its own preprinted forms in the collection process.
There must be one 爱游戏体育 LOR Form for each letter your campus service will be sending to 爱游戏体育. This is true even if the credential service issues a 鈥減acket鈥� that includes several recommendations. Be certain that your school鈥檚 service understands that each LOR Form you give them must be submitted with the packet to 爱游戏体育.
When identifying your recommenders in your 爱游戏体育 JD Account, enter the name and contact information for each individual recommender, NOT the name and contact information of your campus credential service. 爱游戏体育 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鈥檚 name on your LOR Form. However, enter the contact information associated with your credential service office. 爱游戏体育 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鈥檙e applying. If you aren鈥檛 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 鈥淓nvironmental Law Programs鈥� 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: 鈥淪mith School of Law.鈥� You would assign this letter to Smith School of Law only.
- General References: For letters that aren鈥檛 targeted to specific specialties or law schools, the description could read: 鈥淕eneral Use.鈥� You could assign this letter to any law school.
Law schools receive both the LOR Form and the letter, so write your descriptions carefully.
- Letters sent to 爱游戏体育 remain the property of 爱游戏体育 and will remain active for the life of your file. Letters will be neither returned to nor copied for you, the candidate.
- 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.