general advice for LORs for the rest of us?

[youallscareme]

everyone says, "the best recommendations come from those who know you well"... but, for those of us who aren't doing research to cure hepatitis with our profs, what do you think is the best way to go about getting a good recommendation? just start hanging out in the department office chatting with profs at random? i mean, i take the classes, i do the work (sometimes), and i participate in discussions. but... beyond this, how do you get to the point where you can get a good letter out of someone?

[JimmyO]

Someone once gave me this advice as an undergrad: Get in your professors' faces (in a good way). 

Faculty have office hours, take advantage of them. Hang out after class to further discuss something in that day's lecture that interested you. Befriend department secretaries, they're the gatekeepers. Get involved in the department outside of the classroom. My undergrad department had clubs, mixers, etc. No, you don't have to be "researching hepatitis" to get on a prof's good side, but showing an interest in their field of research doesn't hurt.

I'm not sure where you're at in your career and LS application process, but I'm 7 years out of my undergrad and had two former profs I was close to and kept in touch with who were happy to write me LoRs. And I could have easily asked two others.

Bottom line, it's all about networking, which is a skill all law school aspirants (presumably) have.

[The Dude Abides]

There has to be some professor that you find to be interesting and have a good rapport with outside of class. You do not have to do research to get a strong letter of recommendation, instead, you could stop by your favorite professor's office during office  hours and shoot the breeze and talk about subjects of interest. "Hanging out" after class would most likely not endear the professor to you since you were already at class. Taking time outside of class to talk or discuss is more meaningful. Schedule an appointment to meet with the person monthly, since most professors only talk to students when they either want or need something. If you took two or more classes from the same professor and received above average grades, that would be a safe bet.

I agree with Jimmy0 on networking, it plays a key role in graduate admissions, the job market. 

[youallscareme]

i like my professors, i find them all interesting and chat with them out of class sometimes. its just, that alot of them remind me alot of myself and i think that if i were in their position i would be thinking, "jesus, will this kid ask me for a reccomendation and leave me alone during my office hours already?"

[AgentSCo]

i like my professors, i find them all interesting and chat with them out of class sometimes. its just, that alot of them remind me alot of myself and i think that if i were in their position i would be thinking, "jesus, will this kid ask me for a reccomendation and leave me alone during my office hours already?"

I felt the same way.  Since I worked during the day, I only went to visit my professors during their office hours when I abosultely needed to.  I would feel kind of phony staying after class just to shoot the sh*t with a professor unless I was genuinely interested in something.  I guess I was always afraid of giving off the wrong impresson.