Corporate Transactional Opportunities in Philly
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 1:15 am
Hey all,
I thought I'd reach out to see what y'all think about this. I really want to do corporate transactional work of the BigLaw variety. Unfortunately, I fucking suck at Law school exams. So here's my situation...
Went to an ivy for undergrad. Worked as an aide to a Senator during undergrad summers. Overall, did alright (3.2gpa). Took the lsats and got a 172. Worked for 1 year as a paralegal at a BigLaw firm in NYC. Moved back to Philly for law school (worse than Penn, better than Drexel). Ended up being just absolutely terrible at law school exams. I ended 1L year with a 2.5gpa and no law review. However, I have a pretty good grasp of the materials and had 3 professor tell me not to worry because "I'd be one of the top 5 most successful lawyers in my year". Despite the bad grades, a few key professors went to bat for me and helped me get an internship with a 3d Cir. judge for 1L summer. The judge loved me and ended up using a lot of my language/reasoning in a precedential opinion.
Came back for 2L year and did almost the exact same thing. Ended up rocking a moot court-like competition for transactional law but still got mostly Bs and Cs (but got A's in Corporations and Secured Transactions). Again, professors went to bat for me and helped me land an internship with the Philly Fed, where I am now. I am also pretty good at the social part of law school and life in general. Of the 12 or so interviews I've gone on since college, I've only not been offered a job on 2 occasions. So, I have ended up with 2 decent-to-awesome internships despite my horrible grades.
So, do I have a realistic chance of making BigLaw? I know at this point most places already have their class set for after graduation. When I think about this, I vacillate between thinking I'll land somewhere in BigLaw and thinking that I'll be living in a box by the Delaware. So, can you all help me constrain my thinking? Would greatly appreciate any and all thoughts and constructive recommendations. Thanks!
I thought I'd reach out to see what y'all think about this. I really want to do corporate transactional work of the BigLaw variety. Unfortunately, I fucking suck at Law school exams. So here's my situation...
Went to an ivy for undergrad. Worked as an aide to a Senator during undergrad summers. Overall, did alright (3.2gpa). Took the lsats and got a 172. Worked for 1 year as a paralegal at a BigLaw firm in NYC. Moved back to Philly for law school (worse than Penn, better than Drexel). Ended up being just absolutely terrible at law school exams. I ended 1L year with a 2.5gpa and no law review. However, I have a pretty good grasp of the materials and had 3 professor tell me not to worry because "I'd be one of the top 5 most successful lawyers in my year". Despite the bad grades, a few key professors went to bat for me and helped me get an internship with a 3d Cir. judge for 1L summer. The judge loved me and ended up using a lot of my language/reasoning in a precedential opinion.
Came back for 2L year and did almost the exact same thing. Ended up rocking a moot court-like competition for transactional law but still got mostly Bs and Cs (but got A's in Corporations and Secured Transactions). Again, professors went to bat for me and helped me land an internship with the Philly Fed, where I am now. I am also pretty good at the social part of law school and life in general. Of the 12 or so interviews I've gone on since college, I've only not been offered a job on 2 occasions. So, I have ended up with 2 decent-to-awesome internships despite my horrible grades.
So, do I have a realistic chance of making BigLaw? I know at this point most places already have their class set for after graduation. When I think about this, I vacillate between thinking I'll land somewhere in BigLaw and thinking that I'll be living in a box by the Delaware. So, can you all help me constrain my thinking? Would greatly appreciate any and all thoughts and constructive recommendations. Thanks!