| Topic Name: |
Just Finished 1L- Mediocre grades |
| Message Name: |
It's up to you |
| Date Posted: |
07/13/2001 |
| In Reply To: |
I just completed my first year at NYLS and my grades were not all that good. I even got a D. What the heck, I never got a D in all my life. I had 10 classes, ended up with 5 B's, 2C's, 2 C+ and a D. My GPA is about 2.5. Is there any hope for me or can I just start throwing in the towel? Can an excellent 2nd yr turn things around? It seem like On-Campus recruiters (you can't blame them) look for the top 10% and law review only. WHat's the strategy? And what happens if you do very well in your 2nd yr? Can you be on Law Review then? Hopefully there are others out there who can advise me. |
| Message: |
Your question:
"Is there any hope for me
or can I just start throwing in the towel?"
There is every hope that you
can pass the bar and become a lawyer. There is little hope that you can make law review or be recruited by firms that
hire only the top 10 percent in your class. You will need to target firms and opportunities other than the opportunities and firms available to those in the top 10 percent of your class. In your place, there are a number of lawyers who graduate, get a job, and do fine. A number of folks also graduate who never latch on,
and regret their law school decision. Which camp you fall into will depend on your skills at job hunting, the market when you graduate, and
fate/coincidence. Almost every "C" student I graduated with from a lesser law school years ago who wanted to practice law ultimately did.
Almost always they did it by clerking for and then working for tiny firms, until they had the experience to form their own firms.
Many have done quite well, some have done only average.
At the same time, some law grads I have known from lesser law schools with lesser grades either never practiced or achieved jobs which made them wish they had not gone to law school.
You'll see some folks on message boards who have had the same experience.
Your individual fortunes depend on your desire to be a lawyer and the market.
Your question:
"Can an excellent 2d year turn things around"?
My answer:
An excellent 2d year will not put you in law review/top 10% territory, but it may make your class rank more hirable than your current class rank.
Your question:
"What's the strategy?"
My answer:
Network to find small firm jobs in which you clerk during law school or in the summers. Don't rely on on campus recruiting--it usually only helps those whose grades are so good that they barely need On Campus Recruiting.
Start networking acquaintainces and family members. The lower-ranked student's way into work is to
get in the door at a small firm, and work your way into a permanent position.
Work for little or nearly nothing if you have to, but get experience, get in the door, and work to get a permanent job.
If your first year was less favorable than you wish because you just really don't want to be a lawyer, then
don't be a lawyer. Spend your time getting re-tooled for something else. If your "bottom line" is making money rather than that you want to be a lawyer, then it is likely you could spend a couple of years getting training as a computer programmer (assuming reasonable aptitude) or in some other field and come out making more money than your first job at a small firm out of NYLS.
If you really want to be a lawyer, and that's all you really want to do, low grades
mean that your road will not be the easy road, but it doesn't mean you'll never work. If you want to be a lawyer, hang in there, get your grades up, and don't count on on campus recruiting for anything. Start networking (do the What Color is Your Parachute book stuff) and count only on yourself and the connections you make.
Either way, it's not about throwing in the towel. Whether you "give up" on law school or soldier on, don't let your life be defined by
one year's grades on IRAC exams.
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