PREPARING FOR LAW SCHOOL: Cultivating Support
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• The best person to ask for a recommendation is a faculty member who knows you well and can provide specific information about your character and abilities. Do not be intimidated by professors. Writing these letters is part of their job, and at some point, someone did the same for them. If they know you, and you have done well in their classes they usually find this a pleasure.

• Work to establish relationships with professors throughout your college years. Speak in class; take some courses or seminars with a small class size.

• Take more than one class with a professor whom you respect.

• Attend a professor’s office hours to get help, or ask questions about course lectures and readings. Show your interest in the material by discussing potential paper topics, reviewing a paper you wrote, or asking about research opportunities within the department and about outside internships. Discuss your future studies, including other courses you might take, and your career plans.

• Do not wait until the last minute! Ask professors for letters of reference while you are in contact. It may be particularly difficult to contact adjunct or visiting professors later on, so this is very important.
  
  
• Visit the Letters of Recommendation section for more information.