Big Law/Midsize Law transition from shit law but no debt? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Just graduated in 2015. Went to a good T1 school (whatever that means) on full scholly so no education debt. Also have no other debt (no not a trust fund baby. Just lived within my means or starved). I am not married either so I can buy some time to look for a biglaw job.

Currently I am doing shit law at a small shit firm that is about to go down. Partner is probably going to be sanctioned a million+ dollars and close shop soon. It's inevitable. If I last for another 5 months or so I will have a full 1-year litigation experience under my belt with some pretty good substantive work experience (drafting complaints, appellate briefs, various motions and discovery responses, etc).

I'm waiting on the Feb bar result in CA. Assuming that I pass the bar in May and shit hits the fan at work over the next couple of months, what's the best way to get into Biglaw/Midsize law? Does work experience matter if it was from a shit firm? Do biglaw recruiters care about grades at this point? My resume looks half decent if not for my lousy 3.2 GPA. I would just like a more stable firm job that pays competitive salary. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[h2go]

Yes grades still matter. Litigation biglaw lateral hiring in CA is slow unless you have some specialty. T1 is too broad of a category to assess your chances. Duke and Florida are both T1, but your mileage is going to vary significantly.

[Jay2716]

I don't really know what your chances are, but I do know enough to doubt whether any recruiter worth working with would be interested in you. Good recruiters aren't looking for challenging clients, and you'd be a challenging client. I think your best bet is networking in your market with attorneys from firms of all sizes. Network with biglaw and midlaw lawyers, but don't neglect the small firms either. If things at your firm are as dire as you think you need a backup exit strategy if you strike out on more competitive firms.

[TheHill5]

Just graduated in 2015. Went to a good T1 school (whatever that means) on full scholly so no education debt. Also have no other debt (no not a trust fund baby. Just lived within my means or starved). I am not married either so I can buy some time to look for a biglaw job.

Currently I am doing shit law at a small shit firm that is about to go down. Partner is probably going to be sanctioned a million+ dollars and close shop soon. It's inevitable. If I last for another 5 months or so I will have a full 1-year litigation experience under my belt with some pretty good substantive work experience (drafting complaints, appellate briefs, various motions and discovery responses, etc).

I'm waiting on the Feb bar result in CA. Assuming that I pass the bar in May and shit hits the fan at work over the next couple of months, what's the best way to get into Biglaw/Midsize law? Does work experience matter if it was from a shit firm? Do biglaw recruiters care about grades at this point? My resume looks half decent if not for my lousy 3.2 GPA. I would just like a more stable firm job that pays competitive salary. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Not to be a jerk, but you have 0 chance at biglaw. Your experience will not be valued, you are not from a t14, and your grades are mediocre. I would try to potentially latch on to a small firm 1-15 or so attorney's. That is your best bet.