How to Build Relationships With Law School Professors: A Practical Guide
Most strong faculty relationships begin in ordinary ways: a useful question after class, a conversation about a paper, or a visit to office hours when you are genuinely stuck. What matters is giving a professor enough opportunities to understand your interests and your approach to work.
Why are Faculty Mentors Important in Law School?
In life, no two relationships begin or develop in exactly the same way. A relationship with a law professor is no different. You start as strangers, and the best way to connect is to give the relationship something real to grow from: consistent effort in class, a question you keep returning to, or a shared interest in an area of law. Over time, the professor gets to know what you care about and how you think.
Faculty mentors can have a lasting impact on both your law school experience and your legal career.
- They help you think more critically, challenge your assumptions and encourage you to explore areas of law that align with your interests and goals.
- Over time, they become trusted advisors who can offer perspective on coursework, internships, clerkships and career decisions.
- Because they have seen your growth firsthand, they can also provide meaningful recommendations and introduce you to professional opportunities that might not otherwise be available.
Like any meaningful professional relationship, faculty mentorship is built on mutual investment. Professors share their perspective, experience, and professional network. As your own career develops, you may find opportunities to reconnect, exchange ideas, and contribute your own insights. Those relationships often continue long after graduation.
How to Make the Most of Office Hours
Office hours are not exclusively for struggling students. They can also be used to test your understanding, learn about a professor’s research, or ask about a specific legal field. It’s an open invitation to connect and solve problems together.
However, you do need a reason to be there. And the more specific, the better.
Arriving with “I just wanted to introduce myself” puts the burden on the professor to create a conversation. Instead, bring one or two questions you genuinely want answered.
Before the meeting, think through three things:
- What do you already understand?
- Where did your reasoning break down?
- What have you reviewed or tried on your own?
This preparation makes the conversation more productive and gives the professor a better sense of how to help. The ABA’s guide to approaching law professors also advises students to seek help before they fall behind.
Professors have different preferences about scheduling. A straightforward question may fit comfortably into regular office hours. If you need to discuss a larger academic concern, ask for an appointment. Do not assume that an open office door means the professor has unlimited time.
How Faculty Relationships Develop Beyond the Classroom
Some relationships deepen when a student and professor work together over extended periods or on various projects that cover different ground. A research assistantship is one way this might take shape.
- Research assistants support faculty scholarship in many ways, from examining cases and secondary sources to preparing memoranda, cite-checking articles, and helping edit manuscripts. The duties and selection process depend on the professor and institution.
If you are interested in a professor’s research, begin by learning enough about the work to explain why it interests you. Then ask whether the professor expects to hire an assistant or knows of another way to engage with the subject. Do not assume a position is available, and do not send a generic message to several professors.
- Clinics, externships, journals, centers, advocacy programs, and supervised projects can provide similar opportunities for ongoing collaboration.
At the University of Mississippi School of Law, students can pursue practical experience through the Family and Child Advocacy Clinic, George C. Cochran Innocence Project, Housing Clinic, MacArthur Justice Clinic, Transactional Clinic, Pro Bono Initiative, and Clinical Externship Program.
The law school’s clinic guide explains the work associated with each program.
When and How to Ask for a Recommendation
Contrary to popular belief, you do not need an A grade to request a recommendation from a law professor. Some of the strongest recommendation letters describe how a student has grown over time.
- What matters is whether the professor has enough direct experience with you to say something meaningful.
Ask if the professor would feel comfortable writing a strong recommendation. That wording gives them room to decline if they do not know your work well enough or cannot support the application enthusiastically.
When requesting a recommendation, give your professor enough information to understand the opportunity and write a thoughtful letter. Include the deadline and submission instructions, and share any supporting materials that would be helpful. Whenever possible, make your request at least four to six weeks before the earliest deadline so your professor has enough time to prepare.
Advice for Prospective and Nontraditional Students
Prospective students can begin by researching the faculty at the schools they are considering.
- Explore each professor's courses and professional experience to understand the legal issues that shape their work.
- During a visit, ask admissions how students typically interact with faculty and whether visitors can observe a class.
You generally do not need to contact professors before applying to a law school. If you have a specific question about a professor’s scholarship or field, a concise email may be appropriate.
Career changers may worry about returning to an academic environment after years in the workforce. But prior experience can provide a useful starting point for conversation when it connects with a course or legal issue.
At the same time, remain willing to ask for help and adjust to new expectations. In an ABA account of attending law school later in life, success often comes from recognizing when to adapt your approach and making use of the support available to you.
Finding Faculty Mentorship at Ole Miss Law
Getting to know your professors can feel more natural when you are not always one face in a large crowd.
Ole Miss Law prioritizes engagement and takes pride in keeping many classes small.
- During the 2025–26 academic year, more than two out of three upper-level classroom sections had fewer than 25 students, while nearly three out of four first-year sections outside legal research and writing had fewer than 50.
- That gives law students more room to speak up and let their professors get to know them.
Students can also engage with faculty through six in-house clinical programs and a Clinical Externship Program, as well as centers and institutes, journals, advocacy programs, and more than 30 student organizations. These settings do not produce identical relationships, but they offer different ways for students to pursue their interests and allow faculty members to become familiar with their work.
Ole Miss Law’s Career Services Office highlights faculty who may serve as references when they can speak to the quality of a student’s work. Faculty references are used for judicial clerkship applications, and students may ask faculty members to review potential clerkship writing samples.
That is ultimately how mentorship develops: not through a perfectly timed introduction, but through the accumulation of real conversations and shared work.
To learn more, browse the Ole Miss Law faculty directory or schedule a visit.
FAQs
Use Professor [Last Name] in conversation and email unless the professor invites you to use another form of address. If you are unsure, beginning formally is the safest approach.
Yes, but you should have a specific reason. Research the professor’s work first and ask a focused question about their scholarship, course, clinic, or field. General questions about admission or enrollment should be directed to the admissions office.
No, but office hours are not limited to students who need academic help. You can use them to discuss a course concept in greater depth, ask about research, receive feedback, or learn more about a relevant practice area.
No. A professor may be able to discuss your improvement, research, writing, or contributions to a seminar or supervised activity. The more important question is whether the professor knows your work well enough to write a detailed and supportive letter.
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