Question on Professional LORs

[niaquino]

I realize that schools tend to emphasize academic letters of recommendation (I have two), but since I've been out of school for 1.5 years I was planning to also send a professional LOR. I currently work full-time as a paralegal for a small non-profit law firm, but I also do volunteer work as a community organizer/research assistant for a law professor. I feel like I don't really need a letter from both my regular employer and the law professor, but I'm not sure which one I should ask (or if I should ask both). I know that both would write really solid and personal LORs, and while I assume that law schools would appreciate a LOR from an employer, my gut tells me that the LOR from the law professor would be more compelling for law schools.

So, should I ask both the employer and law professor for an LOR? Or should I pick just one (and if so, which one)?

[James Finch]

Hi Nia,

Generally, schools accept up to 4 LoRs, so with your two academic, plus the professional and the volunteer ones, you'd still be fine. As long as they're solid recommendations, it couldn't hurt to have more. It's great to have recommendations coming in from lawyers as well, and especially a bonus to be recommended by a law professor. So you might as well ask for both, but take it from me, ask early and often--you never know when someone might get swamped with professional or other responsibilities, or injured, etc., especially if the semester has just begun for a professor.

Hope this helps!