News from LSAC re Letters of Recommendation process

I received the following from LSAC. It answers certain questions about designating letters as general or specific, and how to ensure that the appropriate letters go to the matching law school.

There is some confusion afoot about LSAC's letter of recommendation process and I write to clarify how the process works in regards to the candidate's ability to direct general letters to specific law schools. I have responded incorrectly to a couple of inquiries from prelaw advisors in the last couple of weeks and I hope you will share this message with your listserv. The "first in, first out" process is followed when the candidate elects not to list her recommenders individually or chooses not to direct general letters that are on file. She can direct letters, both general and targeted letters, to individual law schools.

When a candidate opens her online account and selects the LSDAS/LOR tab, she can perform a range of functions regarding her recommendation letters. If she clicks on the "letters of recommendation" button, a set of instructions appears offering the candidate several options. If she wants to determine which of her general letters are sent to specific law schools, she must use the "add recommenders" button to list the persons from whom she is expecting letters of recommendation or choose from the list of letters received. As she lists the recommenders, each letter is assigned a specific number in the LSAC account (i.e., L1, L2, L3, etc). When a letter is received, it is matched to the number she assigned or, if recommenders are not listed, it is assigned a number.

The next step in directing general letters is to click on the "add law schools" button. Every law school appears in a drop-down box for selection. When the candidate clicks on a law school, she receives information about the letter preferences of that law school (how many letters they require/accept) and the appropriate number of boxes for those letters. The candidate then selects letters from those displayed, assigning the appropriate number of letters to that school. By using this process, the candidate has control over the letters that are sent to each law school and does not have to worry about the "first in, first out" process that is followed if the candidate does not choose to list or direct her letters.