Law School Application Process

The Law School Admission Council (Law Services) was organized to coordinate, facilitate and enhance the law school admission process. In addition to administering the Law School Admission Test, Law Services provides a number of services and produces several publications.

The Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS) is coordinates the submission of some application materials to law schools. The three central purposes of LSDAS are:

• to centralize the collection of college transcripts required for law school admission decisions;
• to combine a summary of these transcripts with LSAT scores and basic data about law school applicants; and
• to produce for law schools an LSDAS Law School Report for each applicant period.

All applicants to accredited law schools must register with LSDAS. You can register online at www.lsac.org. LSDAS will create a file on you that includes your LSAT score, transcripts, and letters of recommendation. When a law school receives an application, they contact LSDAS, who in turn sends all requisite information directly to the law school. The applicant is thus saved from having to send a separate transcript, LSAT score report, etc. to each school. Upon registration, LSDAS will set up a file for each candidate that is updated when new information is received. Applicants can check on the status of their file online, and both applicants and law schools are periodically sent up-to-date summary reports with all pertinent information.

Once you register for LSDAS, your subscription is good for 5 years. You will need to purchase one report for each law school you apply to. However, you do not need to notify LSDAS of which specific law schools you will be applying to.

You can register for LSDAS at the same time that you register for the LSAT, but it is not required. If you are certain that you will be applying to law school, it is easiest to register for LSDAS at the same time that you register for the LSAT. You can register later if you want to, but you should make sure that you do so well before you submit your law school applications. If you are not certain that you will be applying to law school, I would recommend waiting to register with LSDAS until you decide that you are applying.

After registering, a candidate must send LSDAS an official transcript from every institution they attended. LSDAS will then compile it into the standard format for reporting. Your recommenders will send their letters of recommendation, along with the recommendation forms to LSDAS. Your LSAT score is automatically included in the LSDAS report.

For information about using the LSDAS letter of recommendation service, visit http://www.lsac.org/LSAC.asp?url=lsac/letters-of-recommendation.asp.