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I'm a Rising 3E at Fordham, working for a bulge bracket investment bank with experience that should help for IP as well, 5+ years working experience. Problem is (without knowing this year's rankings) my GPA would likely put me in the 33% range at best (based on last year's numbers). Having trouble deciding how high I should try to bid at the top end because of the grades.

Non-LR member with writing award and unpublished note.

Looking for a bit of advice, I have some work experience in e-discovery, SOX/Dodd-Frank compliance as well but no legal experience.

Wanted to note, non-URM.

Also wondering a bit what the prospects are for evening students, does work experience outside of legal fields help? Also, does lower 1L but higher 2L grades help for evening students looking to get something through OCI?

OP here, looking like the new bands are out for Fordham and I managed to miss 33% by 0.02 ...

Actually wondering if its worth putting my GPA on my resume and if so whether to put the reference to 33% or median?

Starting to get a list together but wondering if its worth taking a stab at any of the V25. Also, should I use a bid on a firm where I know someone in HR?

Anonymous User wrote:OP here, looking like the new bands are out for Fordham and I managed to miss 33% by 0.02 ...

Actually wondering if its worth putting my GPA on my resume and if so whether to put the reference to 33% or median?

Starting to get a list together but wondering if its worth taking a stab at any of the V25. Also, should I use a bid on a firm where I know someone in HR?

You can reference the 33% if you are closer to it than median and I believe you should do so. I wouldn't bid on V25 in that position. Use any connections that you have and hope.

From experience, at Fordham, if you are top half, and have something else to offer (be it patbar eligibility, years of finance experience, etc), you have a chance. On the other hand, if you are top quarter with none of these things, you can easily get dinged. Focus on each interview, and also be aware that biglaw is not the only path to happy employment (though I will not quibble that is the most straightforward for most people).

Well OperaSoprano your always the optimist but thanks for giving me hope!

I'm not sure if firms will have hard gpa cutoffs but if they don't, I like my chances a bit better now. As for paths to happy employment, its more a matter of not wanting to take a pay cut, which means essentially biglaw, unless there are boutiques paying top end rates these days? Does anyone know if any of the smaller IP shops or plaintiff's shops would pay top dollar, or have some form of incentive based system that could get you to the 160k range? While IB bonuses are down, they're still a lot better than law firms from what I hear, so salary is all you can count on for the most part right?