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Having a debate with a friend.

Having worked as a legal assistant for BIGGOV for 5+ years, will I have a greater advantage in getting gainful legal (attorney) employment than someone with zero legal work experience but better grades in law school than me, or will grades matter more.

Thoughts?

Depends how much better the grades are. If you're talking top 40% v. top 30%, the experience may count for more in some circumstances (though probably not much more). But if you're talking median v. top 10%, grades will count for far more.

OP HERE:

What if I am applying for legal employment at the same law firm I have already been working for? Also, does undergraduate GPA or prior legal work experience matter more when gaining acceptance into law school?

It would probably depend on the employer and how much better the grades are. Biglaw will care more about grades, but if you're both above the cutoffs, being more above the cutoff may not make much difference. If you're not above their grade cutoffs, however, it won't matter what legal experience you have. As for government/public interest jobs, if you can spin the biggov job into a dedication to public service, and you're applying to employers who don't care about grades (e.g. some PD offices), then your experience would probably give you a leg up over someone without any, regardless of their grades.

In a lot of cases, though, higher grades will trump lower grades with experience (and the other issue is that there are plenty of people with both higher grades and experience).

ETA: I don't think it would make a difference if you're applying to your previous employer, unless they've given you some indication they're interested in hiring you as a JD. And undergraduate grades are way way way more important for getting into law school than previous legal experience.

And if you're not in law school yet, you're not supposed to be in this forum: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3&t=189981