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We really can't answer that without more specifics. What school? What state? What locality? What position?

If you're top half from Cornell, it will still be a horrifically uphill battle to get a Manhattan DA spot, but probably not as hard to swing a spot in the Scranton city attorney's office. (assuming they're hiring. don't attack me trolls, it was for sake of explanation.)

Yes, definitely, more info needed. My state's PD office, for instance, doesn't look at transcripts and doesn't care about grades. But I highly doubt that's universal. (I'd also debate whether "top-third required for federal government" is a valid generalization, though it might be true for certain schools or certain agencies/positions.)

TLS wrote:I know the standard is top third grades generally needed for federal gov't positions. Does this hold true as well for state and local gov't positions? Appreciate any insight here. Thanks.

Not necessarily. I think selectiveness varies depending on the department, agency, entity, etc.

Four Ten wrote:

TLS wrote:I know the standard is top third grades generally needed for federal gov't positions. Does this hold true as well for state and local gov't positions? Appreciate any insight here. Thanks.

Not necessarily. I think selectiveness varies depending on the department, agency, entity, etc.

For instance, the IRS was highly selective this year w/r/t grades. Other agencies may not be as grade-conscious, but they may be looking for other factors, such as demonstrated interest in the area of law.

Ah, okay. It will still probably vary somewhat by employer/region/etc. But of those fields, my sense is that in particular immigration and L/E (plaintiff side) are not going to care very much about grades and instead will look for demonstrated dedication to the cause. I had friends who interned at the EEOC and while I'm not certain of their grades, they were definitely outside top 10% - one was probably top 1/3, but the other probably not and probably closer to median. But both were very involved in employment law and other PI stuff.

As for immigration, if your language is Spanish (or a language spoken by a group well-represented among immigrants in your area), any of the non-profits in my town would have been thrilled to have you volunteer regardless of your grades (because immigration is federal, of course, no state or municipal government positions). Interning in an immigration court is a good gig and again, probably attainable with demonstrated interest/experience regardless of grades (though foreign language is less relevant).

This is going to sound kind of bad, but my theory is: the less money is involved/the poorer the clients, the less grades matter compared to dedication to the employer's mission. So I would say health (where it addresses medical malpractice by doctors/hospitals) and consumer protection (where it involves regulating banks) are going to be a bit more grades-conscious, as opposed to health (where it addresses things like individual Medicare benefits or getting veterans their health care) and consumer protection (where it involves getting info out to the consumer/public about, say, lead in house paint or the like). That said, if an employer looks at grades at all, better grades probably trump worse grades.

Tl;dr: I don't think there are clear-cut grade cutoffs for any of these things, and that government is still an option for you if you end up median. But some government employers may well care - it's just a little hard to predict which ones. (Also, I initially I thought you meant post-grad permanent employment.) It might be helpful to ask your career office and 2Ls/3Ls at your school about which government employers in your area care about grades. (Assuming you're searching where you go to school...)