Dear Professor . . . please recommend me. . . . Best, Law School Dreamer ~LOR’s Part I~

August 9, 2010 at 7:38 pm (Applying to Law School, LORs)

All last week I assembled packets of information to provide to my letter of recommendation writers and distributed them accordingly.  I contacted my recommenders roughly two weeks ago to ask if they would be able to write a “strong letter of recommendation” for me and to arrange a time that I could drop off some materials.  This way, I could get a feel for how eager they were to write the letter for me, and so that I could give them the heads-up (I think its disrespectful to just spring this on someone).  All recommenders were grateful for me making their job easier for them and one complimented that my organization came as no surprise.

My academic letter writer packet included:

• Copy of my transcript with classes taken with the professor highlighted.
• Full-length resume (as opposed to the shortened one for law school admissions purposes).
• Copy of my personal statement marked draft (to encourage the recommender to make any comments or changes deemed necessary – I figured if it was assumed to be finalized there would be less interest in offering advice).
• Official LSAC letter of recommendation writer form which must be included with the letter when sent to LSAC.  (This form is produced by logging into the LSAC account under the credentials>LOR page.
• Cover letter to recommender, which followed a similar form to:

Dear Esteemed Professor:

Thank you for your willingness to write a letter of recommendation for my application to law school.  I want to make it clear to law school admissions committee members that I  . . . . .

I think I stand out as an applicant by my involvement in  . . . . .

I hope you will consider mentioning my success in your {class} in which I earned an {grade} and focused my efforts on {whaever project}.

I am applying to {insert schools}.  So that you do not have to write a letter for each individual school, it is customary for recommenders to write one letter but to address it “Dear Admissions Committee” or “To Whom It May Concern” and omit the specific school.

As we have discussed, I am applying to law schools in just a few short weeks.  If at all possible, the letter should be submitted no later than August 20 to allow for processing time so that I may submit my applications as soon as they become available.  The letter must be sent with the accompanying LSAC form and may be either mailed to the address on the form (I have also included an addressed, stamped envelope for your convenience) or it may be faxed to the Law School Admissions Council at: (215) 504-1444.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at  {phone number}.  Thank you again for taking the time to help me in my journey to law school.