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Just looking for some general advice.

Finished below median at a T30 in the Northeast (but above a 3.1). I'm from a state in the Upper South (i.e. not AL/MS) and returned there after graduating last month, currently studying for that state's bar. Although I have an out-of-market degree, I went to the best-ranked school in my state for undergrad, so I do have some real connections here.

No real honors in law school, but I've had some interesting (and I think valuable) experiences at a really prestigious public interest place, in-house in a niche area of law, and some litigation...this is all through summer work and clinics.

I'm wondering what I should be doing to maximize my yield on the job search. I'd basically take anything that pays 50K+ (I have close to 150K in loans and I feel taking a job at 35K or so is just not feasible for me). Currently I've applied to some non-JD or JD preferred postings I seem qualified for (still waiting to hear back), but is there some strategic approach I should be taking with law firms? Do my grades and my school keep me out of mid-sized firms of 20-30 attorneys in my home market, or is it worth at least sending a resume, etc? Also, are there any federal government agencies who might be willing to take me on without journal and standout grades?

I haven't done much networking with small firms either (need to catch up on bar review first), and I'm not sure whether to write a cover letter for every single place in my home market, or just send out e-mails of general interest and see where things go. Public interest postings in my home market seem to be extremely limited as well. Same goes for state government work.

Any advice pertaining to anything I said above would be helpful. And please, don't tell me I'm screwed. Even though I'm having difficulties now, I know that 1. that's not true and 2. I'm stressed out enough as it is seeing all the dismal job numbers posted all over the internet.

Thanks in advance!

I was in a very similar boat to you. I was median at a T30, class of 2011, around $100K or so in loans, and landed a small firm gig at $60K with limited benefits but great work/life balance. Mass mailing resumes is worth the shot, but I wouldn't count on getting anything with this strategy. I was a law clerk at a local firm during my third year. As I was leaving, I made sure to ask partners with whom I'd developed a good working relationship for a list of people I could talk to in the field I was interested in working in. I dropped the names of the partner to those people with the goal of getting informational interviews. I figured, I wasn't going to go in begging for a job, but learn about the field, and leave the informational interviews with 2 more names to talk to. This process continued for a few weeks and soon I landed two actual non-informational interviews, one of which turned into an offer. I'd say work on developing connections with your home market in a similar manner.

While this strategy worked for me - more often than not, my friends who were at or below median were without legal jobs or were working part-time/contract work more than one year after graduation. So I'm not sure what makes you think that "I know that's not true" in reference to being screwed. I was one of the lucky few in my position to land a decent job and I still feel "screwed." Servicing six figures of debt on $60K a year feels exactly like the definition of screwed to me.

Are either of you female and immoral? Because I have a different definition of "being screwed" in mind. Someone in my summer class apparently actually did that to get in here. I found out from a certain grapevine (it's not common knowledge in the summer class). I'm shocked and more than a little pissed off, but anyway...she went to T40 school and had below median grades. She is not bad-looking though, so...I guess those cute girls really get away with stuff! I know so many average-looking girls who didn't get the chance she did, just because they didn't have her looks.

Edit: I cannot believe I actually made this suggestion. 0L Peg would not recognize cynical post-2L Peg.

Peg wrote:Are either of you female and immoral? Because I have a different definition of "being screwed" in mind. Someone in my summer class apparently actually did that to get in here. I found out from a certain grapevine (it's not common knowledge in the summer class). I'm shocked and more than a little pissed off, but anyway...she went to T40 school and had below median grades. She is not bad-looking though, so...I guess those cute girls really get away with stuff! I know so many average-looking girls who didn't get the chance she did, just because they didn't have her looks.

Edit: I cannot believe I actually made this suggestion. 0L Peg would not recognize cynical post-2L Peg.

Can't an immoral male whore his way to the top, too? (not that I'm advocating this!)

PinkLotus wrote:

Peg wrote:Are either of you female and immoral? Because I have a different definition of "being screwed" in mind. Someone in my summer class apparently actually did that to get in here. I found out from a certain grapevine (it's not common knowledge in the summer class). I'm shocked and more than a little pissed off, but anyway...she went to T40 school and had below median grades. She is not bad-looking though, so...I guess those cute girls really get away with stuff! I know so many average-looking girls who didn't get the chance she did, just because they didn't have her looks.

Edit: I cannot believe I actually made this suggestion. 0L Peg would not recognize cynical post-2L Peg.

Can't an immoral male whore his way to the top, too? (not that I'm advocating this!)

He can! We have been a species of equal opportunity whoring since the olden days. (Remember Porthos asking his aristocratic Sugar Mommy for money? Yeppp)

OP, find a deeply frustrated 40-something female Biglaw partner. She might be bitterly regretting giving up marriage and kids for Biglaw and now wants a hot boy toy who might even marry her, because the men of her status don't need her money or power and are all chasing 20-somethings. Maybe you should marry her, then you can quit Biglaw after paying off your loans and play golf. You probably won't have kids though. But who needs kids?