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Letters of Recommendation (LLM & Other Law Programs)

The LLM Credential Assembly Service includes a Letter of Recommendation (LOR) Service as a convenience for you, your recommenders, and participating law schools. A letter discusses the qualities and characteristics of the applicant’s ability, academic and otherwise, to study law. Letters may be submitted on paper or electronically. Letters sent by fax or email will not be accepted. From your LSAC account, you can assign recommendations to specific law schools according to their requirements. Only your assigned LORs will be sent as part of your CAS Report to the law schools to which you apply. Do not delay the submission of your applications while waiting for your letters to be completed.

Follow the instructions provided in your account to

  • provide the names and contact information of all your recommenders;
  • indicate the number of letters that each recommender will submit, and describe them;
  • submit your requests for letters to your recommenders:
    • An email will be sent to your recommender requesting them to complete and upload a letter for you; or
    • you may print the required recommender forms to give to your recommender if they would prefer to submit a paper LOR. These forms must be returned with the recommender's signed letter. Paper letters received without the recommender’s original signature will not be processed.
  • select your law schools and specify the letters that should be sent to each one using the ID numbers. You must assign your letters or they will not be sent;
  • review your LOR specifications early in the application process so that you can redirect letters if necessary before LSAC sends them to a particular school; and
  • review the school-specific information boxes and be sure to follow each school’s requirements.

It is not necessary for the recommender to address each letter to a specific school. If you are applying to five schools and the content is identical for each letter, the recommender need submit only one letter addressed to “Dear Admission Committee.” Do not have the recommender submit five separate letters. This creates unnecessary work for your recommender and may delay processing of your letters.

If you intend to reuse a letter of recommendation for an admission year other than the one for which it was written, or for a different law degree program, it is a good idea to contact the recommender as a courtesy to make sure that the person does not mind this reuse. Some recommenders may wish to write an updated letter when you apply in a subsequent reporting year or to a different type of program. A recommender may decide to rescind a letter after becoming aware that it has been repurposed, if permission to reuse the letter has not been requested and granted.