Application Toolkit: Letters of Recommendation

On this webpage, you will find our advice and guidance on the letters of recommendation component of the application.

Instructions

The J.D. Admissions Office requires two letters of recommendation, but you may submit up to three. We strongly recommend that at least one letter of recommendation come from an academic source.

Blog Advice

  • Overrated/Underrated Part 3

    Continuing our Overrated/Underrated series, this week, we shift our focus to highlight some of the overrated approaches that we recommend applicants avoid as they craft their applications. 

    November 17, 2021

  • Overrated/Underrated Part 2

    This week, we continue our Underrated Approaches to the Application series with some additional advice.

    October 21, 2021

  • Our Recommendations for Your Recommendations

    Letters of recommendation are an important part of your application. We’ve compiled some tips and advice on how best to approach these letters to help you better prepare for this part of the process.

    September 24, 2019

Podcast Advice

Miriam Ingber (Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Yale Law School) and Kristi Jobson (Assistant Dean for Admissions at Harvard Law School) provide candid, accurate, and straightforward advice about law school admissions — direct from the source. They will be joined by guest stars from other law schools to discuss application timing, letters of recommendation, personal statements, and more.

Miriam and Kristi talk about letters of recommendation, with advice for both applicants and recommenders. They answer questions including how many letters you should submit, who should write them, and what makes a letter great…and not so great!

FAQs

  • Whom should I ask to write my letters of recommendation? (Regular J.D. and JDP)

    We strongly recommend that at least one letter come from a professor, advisor, or other educational contact who can address your academic and scholarly abilities. However, applicants who have been out of school for several years and struggle to find an academic recommender may submit letters from employers or others who have worked closely with them.

  • Whom should I ask write to my letters of recommendation? (Transfer)

    We require two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be from a law professor at your current law school. Although you may use one letter from a previous application in your transfer application, you must still provide a letter of recommendation from a professor at your current law school.