Volunteer LOR Forum

[Aurelius85]

Hey guys,

First off, I want to thank everyone for reading my thread and contributing. So I just completed a 3 year volunteer commitment with Big Bros Big Sisters (mentored an at risk teen) and I would like them to draft a LOR for me. Before I delve into specifics, I'll describe my background. It's been 7 years since I graduated college and I never kept in touch with any of my professors. The LOR's I expect to obtain are: one from work (work for a criminal defense attorney), one from a 2 yr internship with the DA, and an academic one from my paralegal professor.

Now typically, 3 LOR's would suffice but since I already did my time, so to speak, why not ask for a LOR? More so, considering that I plan on applying to Notre Dame and BC, two religious schools with a strong emphasis on social justice and community service. Perhaps a fourth LOR or a long community service commitment on my resume could help if I'm on the bubble, particularly for an older prospective law school student. I realize it's not likely to move the needle very much, but a fourth LOR wouldn't hurt and like I said, I already volunteered 3 years of my life, so I feel like they owe me that at least. I already have a prompt that I used when I asked the DA for an LOR, but obviously it's a prompt for a law related internship position. There's a few pages of that prompt which are generic and referential in nature (such as why I'm going to law school, a page with the qualities I'd like emphasized, some links/sample LORs) but should I include anything else? Can anyone suggest anything important or vital I should include? Links or examples perhaps? Obviously, I'm going to include my duties, what I did to impact his life, how those skills and qualities translate to the practice of law, and how my volunteer opportunities are in synch with X law school's principles. Needless to say, I can certainly draft something decent based on all the LOR material I've amassed over the last few months, but I just wanted to check with all of you to see if anyone else has prepared one of these or gone through something similar to this. Thanks ahead of time everybody, I appreciate it.

[Abraham Lincoln Uni.]

You may consider providing a CV/resume so that the recommender has an idea of your previous work related involvements. Other than that, the material you mentioned should be sufficient. You may also arrange a meeting with them in person if they feel it is necessary to converse with you regarding the recommendation.

Best of luck!