Is it weird to put DS on resume? Forum

[Anonymous User]

If u book a class/get a kind of A+ achievement you put it on your resume.

It’s a much stronger achievement than putting Stone/low Latin honors on your resume yet everyone does it anyway.

Won’t move the needle on a mediocre candidate but a 3.7 candidate who booked a class will definitely be more compelling than a 3.7 who didn’t.

[Anonymous User]

Since you are at HLS, adding DS to your resume should be limited to your practice area in my opinion.

I've been involved in hiring (though in house, not for law firms) and think this is kind of bad advice-- in my experience, DS in your practice area is potentially less important than from classes outside. If I'm in an environmental firm/practice group, for example, its great to see you booked environmental law, but even with that, I'm assuming (if you are a first year) that you know less environmental law than basically everyone else in the practice group (and if you are more senior, it doesnt really matter because i assume you know environmental law from your practicce and not a survey class in law school). On the other hand, lets say I have a major issue coming through that, while falling in the environmental group, also implicates public international law (for example). Its quite possible that very few associates in the group have any base in international law, and so when I see you booked it, my thought is immediately "hrm, he could be good for XYZ issue." This is something I would ask you about in the interview, and probably wouldnt see or consider unless it's on the resume. tldr: The more niche/outside the practice group, the less likely it is to matter, but if it matters, its going to play a bigger role in my decision. Just put it.

The idea that an interviewer would think a resume is ever snobby is also weird to me. Its a resume. its supposed to be snobby. saying you went to harvard is snobby in certain cases. saying you graduated magna is even snobbier. but its a resume, thats the point. nobody's going to look at a resume and say "what a snob look at all these awards he put down on a piece of paper meant to highlight his awards." they probably wont care, but they will just skip them rather than judging you for it . very little downside. (this is just about a resume, not linkedin or public profiles)

[CanadianWolf]

While I appreciate your opinion, with respect to the practice area of tax law and tax law courses you are incorrect as top grades in related courses are noted by employers. Nevertheless, one's experience can certainly be different than that of others.

[Anonymous User]

Is a DS just like a generic A+? Asking bc I got an award for getting #1 in a doctrinal class at my T14 thats taught by someone very prominent in that field and I was planning on putting it on my resume.

It's around 5-7% apparently. Not quite a CALI A+. More like a NU/GULC A+ (top 5-10%).

The NU and GULC A+ numbers seemed off so I took 2 minutes to google it. NU has a 5% A+ max and GULC is 2% A+. Where do you people get this crap?

[Anonymous User]

FWIW, I’m a rising 2L and I put the DS’s on my resume but not on LinkedIn. Will report back after EIP preview.

[LBJ's Hair]

Is a DS just like a generic A+? Asking bc I got an award for getting #1 in a doctrinal class at my T14 thats taught by someone very prominent in that field and I was planning on putting it on my resume.

an official named award bestowed by your law school is perfectly fine/normal

[Anonymous User]

Is a DS just like a generic A+? Asking bc I got an award for getting #1 in a doctrinal class at my T14 thats taught by someone very prominent in that field and I was planning on putting it on my resume.

It's around 5-7% apparently. Not quite a CALI A+. More like a NU/GULC A+ (top 5-10%).

The NU and GULC A+ numbers seemed off so I took 2 minutes to google it. NU has a 5% A+ max and GULC is 2% A+. Where do you people get this crap?

Per Reddit, GULC people reporting (significantly) more A+ than guidelines allow for. Especially in seminars.

[Anonymous User]

As someone who went to HLS, I am impressed when I see a resume that DS'd a bunch of classes, especially 1L/doctrinal classes. If you otherwise have Magna already on it then not necessary but def doesn't hurt. If you only have 1 or 2 in random classes (like me), I would leave them off.

[Anonymous User]

No, don't put your DSs on your resume. It just signals you got only a few, and yeah it seems like the CALI awards folks from obviously lower-ranked schools list.

I mean by definition, a rising 2L is "only" going to have a few DS's.

Here's a scotus clerk's CV. She puts best exam awards (under education, honors). https://michigan.law.umich.edu/sites/de ... 203.7.docx

Academic CVs are slightly different. She was up for tenure in the past 12 months, too - one of those situations where volume has its own relevance.