Everyone always talks about how without top grades you can't get a BigLaw job. Great! I don't care, or I've learned to not care--because it does seem like a foregone conclusion without top grades. I'm much more interested in knowing about prospects outside BigLaw if you have mediocre grades from a bottom of the T14 school, like GULC. (government or small/regional/midsize firms in my home area that might overlook the grades?)

What's your opinion? Am I destined to end up as a barista at Starbucks or doing Doc Review? I am privileged enough to be coming out of law school with ZERO law school and ZERO college debt, so I have no loan repayments to worry about--a 6-figure income is unnecessary. However, I would like to at least be employed doing substantive legal work, that allows me to support myself/pay my bills. Is that a totally unrealistic goal? What about networking/connections from 1L summer job--can't that help?

You only have half your 1L grades back. Get back to studying.

I have no idea about GULC specifically.

1) Don't bid DC big law. It's a myth bro. Bid NYC and wherever you were from.
2) Mass mail like a mother fucker. Literally every firm you can find to email. Try to articulate ties, even if it is a strech.
3) Practice interview a ton
4) Don't fuck up anything at OCI.

After finals, your only job is to two rock OCI.

I know lots about being median-ish at gulc. People who bid smart and do diligent interview prep and network/mass mail aggressively get stuff. If you get cocky and rely on oci, there is a serious chance you will get burned, so don't do that.

Do the same for non firm jobs, but bear in mind that you have to do more of your own targeting, and you'll be ok.

This semester is absolute hell though, and I did feel a lot better prepared last semester, and studying only gets you so far. You're right, the issue hasn't exactly ripened yet but I'm trying to think ahead in case it does.

This is sublime idiocy. Go study.

mass mail prior to OCI or after?

I almost posted a similar thread like this earlier today. BUT now I'm going to go study!!!!

I think it is a realistic goal. How did you do on finals? Maybe if you did well, you will be above median.

Median isn't some bright line between debtors' prison and modelas y botellas, HTH

That. OP, if you really mass mail/bid intelligently, you should get at least one call back (not just the screener) from a large firm if you are at GULC (assuming your GPA is still above 3.0). A lot of the people that don't end up with call backs at really good gigs didn't want to return to where they had ties to and only targeted say, NYC or DC. While that sounds slightly stupid to do so, some people prefer a certain location over high profile employment. You too may end up having to decide if you would rather have the job (i.e. NLJ) or the location (DC/NYC).

I don't know where you have ties to (immediate family, high school, undergraduate school, work, etc.), but target all of the NLJ firm offices in those locations as well as moderate/less selective firms (for GTown) in NYC/DC.

I realize that I didn't directly answer your question, but the above applies to it as well. Simply substitute "large/NLJ firm(s)" with "small/mid law/gov".

Not to hijack OP's thread, but after this semester I expect to get below median at Boston College. Would this advice apply to me as well or should I focus on Legal Services gigs?

And when you're mass-mailing from below median, you don't include the transcript/resume or anything in the emails, right?