Bottom 30%? Anyone care to enlighten us? Forum

[Flanker1067]

Is there anyone out there at a t14 school but in the bottom ~30% who can tell us what life/job prospects are like? I only ask because I feel like this could be an important factor that is almost never discussed, I am sure because no one plans to be there. Yet, no matter what, there will be a bottom 30%.

[avacado111]

I have been wondering this too....

[A'nold]

I don't know what it's like in the t14 but at lower ranked schools I'd say below median is basically the same, meaning, network your butt off.

I don't think an employer would say, "man, I don't know, we like you but you are only in the top 75% of your class and we just interviewed someone we are luke warm about but he is much better than you, top 65%."

[JollyGreenGiant]

I would be interested in this as well. Especially comparisons between a T14 and a 25-50 ranked school. Obviously, no one is planning on being below median, but shit happens.

edit: and if anyone is afraid to disclose themselves plz feel free to use the anonymous feature

[TigerBeer]

This is one of the most important threads on this forum but no one seems interested in replying . Maybe they all really did /killself like it is often suggested here.

[AngryAvocado]

This is one of the most important threads on this forum but no one seems interested in replying . Maybe they all really did /killself like it is often suggested here.

Or they've pawned their computer by now.

[rx3r]

This is one of the most important threads on this forum but no one seems interested in replying . Maybe they all really did /killself like it is often suggested here.

Or they've pawned their computer by now.

Or they are too busy networking their butts off instead of trolling TLS.

[t14underground]

I think in the past bottom of the class got something. According to our CSO career statistics only 3% of the class accepted an offer from a firm with less than 50 attorneys (50+ attorney firms typically pay somewhere between $80-120K). I'm a bit skeptical about those statistics, but who knows, I've heard "large law firms were literally handing on jobs" back in the day and that students would be able to "shop their offers" and "end up in their first preference in terms of legal markets" even if they didn't have ties to it from alumni.

I actually talked to this one girl who left law school from here and worked in an opera for 2 years (because she couldn't find a job -- she graduated a bit after the 2002 recession), and after that somehow still managed to find work in a NLJ250 firm.

Nowadays, bottom of the class struggles. I know a few people from my class that are towards the bottom of the class (not sure exactly, but I know it's around median or worse) and none of them having anything lined up for this summer. I usually sit around and bitch about job prospects with them, lol. It seems like the biggest problem right now is that literally no legal employers are hiring anywhere. I mean, if you read my other thread, out of all billion applications I sent out the vast majority of smaller firms replied with something along this lines of "we just aren't hiring right now." Getting non-OCI interview anywhere is pretty tough, particularly since a lot of firms just aren't interviewing outside of OCI. "Network" seems to be the key phrase nowadays that mysteriously allows anyone at any school with any grades to find a job. In all reality, networking can be really helpful, but when no one is hiring at all and the market is flooded with resumes, it is tough to get anywhere (e.g. this one dude from my school that has bad grades networked a lot and got a few screening interviews at local large firms but didn't get much further then that).

[BetterCallSaul]

At CCN here.

I don't personally know what a job search is like for the bottom 30% because I'm just barely above the median, but I imagine OCI sucks.

When you're at a t14 it's very easy (and dangerous and depressing) to start thinking that your resume or your grades get you the job. It's a bad habit to think that way since the only place where that is even partly true is OCI--and it won't ever be true after that.

Why Networking is Magical
-Networking got me a job offer at a my dream boutique firm before anyone even asked about my grades.
-Networking has gotten me interviews when the grade cut off would have kept me out--and some of those interviews led to offers.
-Last week a very successful lawyer I befriended called to ask if I knew of a law student who might be interested in working in trial prep and support for a major case over the summer.
-My boss from my summer job last year (public interest) asked me if I knew any deferred associates interested in this particular area of law--she said they get mobbed with resumes if she posts a position, she'd much rather interview 2-4 deferred associates who come through personal recommendations.
-All of this happened "in this economy"
-I feel good about becoming a lawyer because I now know many lawyers with varied and interesting careers and a bit about how they made it happen.

It's not like I'm a schmooze queen, I just got my first semester grades back, they were "meh" and I decided that I would need to shine in other ways. I made myself super useful at my public interest summer job (a job I got by gushing to the Career Services person about how much I wanted it until the sent a personal email to the organization and encouraged them to interview me). I did an externship in the fall and worked my ass off--it never hurts if your supervisors love you. I seek out lawyers who do the kind of work I want to do informational interviews now and then. I take classes with adjunct professors who are practicing lawyers and get to know them. I stay in touch with everyone.

This did not come to me naturally, but I realize how valuable relationships are so I put in the time and effort.

I really recommend Guerrilla Tactics to the Legal Job of Your Dreams. Also, The Opportunity Maker is decent. You can start small and still get a lot out of your efforts.