Letters of Recommendation Forum

[sharpnsmooth]

I am putting my letters of recommendation together, and have one from a respected lawyer who has been a close family friend of mine for many years. For my 2nd one there are several ways I can go. I was wondering what other people think is a good source to get a letter from aside from someone in the field, which i am sure looks good, but is a bit obvious. Having the safe one in, I'd like to take a "safe" risk with the other.

[februaryftw]

You NEED an academic letter. So, at the very least, use the best letter from a prof you can get--preferably a prof that knows you well. It does not need to be law related at all; someone who can speak to your intellectual, writing, and/or speaking abilities in an academic context is best. They want to know you'll be a benefit to the classroom.

[Kilpatrick]

Really both of your letters should be from professors. If you've been out of school for a long time, then a boss is acceptable. It probably won't hurt you to have a family friend but it might. And it certainly won't help. Some schools (Cornell for example) are very strict about having academic LORs.

[kalvano]

Schools want academic LOR's that testify to your ability to make it in law school. It's hard, and a ton of work.

A family lawyer friend is, at best, a 3rd or 4th back-up LOR.

Average is 2 LOR's and both should be academic, unless you've been out of school a while, then ideally one from a professor and one from a boss.