Guidelines for Faculty Writing Law School References
The following guidelines are meant to be a resource for faculty in writing law school letters of reference. We encourage students to provide a copy of this section to faculty members who are writing letters of reference for them.
The purpose of this section is simply to pass on suggestions made at meetings of law advisors and admissions officers, not to tell faculty how to write references. Generally, most schools supply forms that outline the information they seek. Because it is often impossible for the writer to fill out each one individually, almost all schools will accept a general letter appended to the form, which allows you to write one letter to be sent to all of the applicant’s schools. If you wish to send that letter to the applicant’s file at the Center for Work and Service, we will photocopy it and attach it to the forms submitted by the applicant. If you send a letter directly to the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) or the law school, it is very helpful to send a copy to the Center for Work and Service so it may become part of the applicant’s permanent record.
References for law school provide assistance to all candidates. They are particularly important when admissions committees have to choose among applicants whose grades and scores are similar. The schools need to know what in an applicant’s background, classroom work, extracurricular activities, or other work experience makes her unique and what distinguishes her from other applicants whose grades and LSAT scores may be in the same range.
Law schools look for: motivation for law, high intelligence, superior analytical and critical thinking, curiosity, persistence, realism, flexibility, independence, self-discipline, stability, high competitiveness, and integrity. The views below, taken from "Recommendation Letters," written by Richard Badger, Assistant Dean, University of Chicago Law School, express the sentiments of many admissions committees:
Legal education and the legal profession...emphasize some skills over others and the following comments may help writers who are not familiar with these distinctions:A good letter of reference will discuss how long and in what capacity you have known the applicant, her strengths and weaknesses, any unusual aspects of the applicant’s background that might contribute to or hinder academic work, and knowledge of any extracurricular activities the applicant has pursued during the college years. Discuss the applicant’s academic background in greater detail than a listing of courses. If you know that she has taken the most rigorous academic series, or has chosen to complete a very demanding individual project, relate these matters to the admissions committee. Some valid information may come more gracefully from you than from the applicant. The applicant may have gotten a B in a very difficult course, when B was the highest grade given. She may have been the most effective student member of a committee. She may have had a bad semester for valid personal reasons. She may have carried job responsibilities going well beyond what the job title indicates. Such information may be difficult for the applicant to state without sounding immodest or defensive.
Language is the lawyer’s working tool and the best law students are those who have the ability to write and speak with precision, fluency and economy. Not only must the student be able to communicate his or her own thoughts clearly, but he or she must have the ability to read and listen carefully with an eye and ear for fine points and subtle distinctions.
Legal education demands well developed analytical skills and the ability to juggle multiple variables. Legal reasoning at one time or another involves deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning and reasoning by analogy. The best students can think independently, have the ability to cut through to the essentials and can distinguish the relevant from the extraneous. Contrary to what many believe about the law, there are few clear and distinct legal rules. A tolerance for this ambiguity and the ability to recognize exceptions and qualifications which may modify general rules are characteristics of successful law students. In short, a reference should consider whether an applicant is likely to be stimulated or frustrated by questions where there are no correct answers.
The nature of legal education-- large classes, competitive pressure, and substantial amounts of material to be mastered-- may make some personality traits more important in law school than in other academic programs. Students will often learn as much from their classmates as from the faculty. Thus, interaction among students is an important feature of legal education and those who enjoy engaging in discussion in and outside of class are more likely to flourish in this atmosphere. The student who is intellectually alive and curious is more likely to sustain academic progress where there is little reinforcement between examinations. A student must be diligent and well organized to handle large quantities of material. A well developed sense of humor and a mature attitude are particularly helpful in adjusting to the pressures which many students will experience in law school.
Admissions officers really want to know what a person is like. They also know that most candidates are not fully formed. It is better to allow the applicant some room to grow rather than to present her as a flawless paragon. Specific examples are more valuable than generalities.
Finally, while we realize that writing a letter according to these suggestions is a time consuming task, the timely submission of your reference is vital to the application process.
