Asking a former boss for rec?

[amarain]

For a year, I worked for one manager. She and I talked often and she knew a lot about my goals, gave me a very positive performance review along with an on-the-spot bonus for excellent performance. However, two months ago she moved to another office in another city. Is it still OK to get her to write a recommendation rather than my current boss who barely knows me?

Also, I am pretty sure she has never written a recommendation for law school before. What do I need to tell her about it? What does it need to say, what info should I provide her with, etc.?

[desmo]

By all means ask her.  Provide her with a copy of your PS and I'd suggest telling her to write something about your work ethic, ambition, and/or general ethics. 

[GentleTim]

For a year, I worked for one manager. She and I talked often and she knew a lot about my goals, gave me a very positive performance review along with an on-the-spot bonus for excellent performance. However, two months ago she moved to another office in another city. Is it still OK to get her to write a recommendation rather than my current boss who barely knows me?

Also, I am pretty sure she has never written a recommendation for law school before. What do I need to tell her about it? What does it need to say, what info should I provide her with, etc.?

I would ask her for sure, and I would also explain what law schools expect from letters of recommendation, and provide a description of what a good letter should be (i.e. specific, anecdotal, etc.).  You might even offer to provide an outline of things you think might be useful for her to mention.

One of the people at my company who I asked for a letter asked me to write a rough draft.  He made some changes, showed it to me, and set it off.  My experience with people outside of academia is that they view these as much more collaborative then academics do.

[russiankitty]

definitely ask her. i'm asking a boss who i haven't worked with in forever but she's now a law school prof. hopefully, that'll help. i don't think it matters WHEN they knew you, as long as you worked closely with them and they have good things to say. there are tons of tips on the web for what to put in a rec etc. i can email you some stuff i found if you want. they basically outline exactly what law schools want to hear.