T30 grad, bottom 10 percent, no work exp, no debt, need help Forum

[Anonymous User]

-->T30 grad
-->Passed the February 2014 CA Bar. Licensed since July. Have been looking for a job ever since.
-->Bay Area Native. Willing to work anywhere in Northern California.
-->Bottom 10 percent of class...didn't really pay attention in law school. Didn't participate much in school activities. Few journals and moot court.
-->No debt. In fact, I can work some shit job for a few years, but I really need some good experience/mentorship. I am a slow starter/learner, but speed up quickly.
-->No significant work experience. Literally all I have on my resume is my summer work from 1L, 2L and a few externships during law school. Nothing after my 3L year. Huge red flag.

I also realized I hate legal research and writing. I think I prefer to do boilerplate motions and courtroom work. It seems criminal law is the only way to go. Any general advice on my situation? Should I contact my county and see if I can volunteer my time for court appointed criminal law cases? What are some websites I can use to find jobs? I am currently using indeed.com and craigslist.

Also, is getting a real estate license worth it for an attorney in California? Would it be worth my time or can attorneys pretty much do most things a realtor can do?


I have even contacted small firms to see if I can work for free. I don't even get replies back most of the time.

[Anonymous User]

-->T30 grad
-->Passed the February 2014 CA Bar. Licensed since July. Have been looking for a job ever since.
-->Bay Area Native. Willing to work anywhere in Northern California.
-->Bottom 10 percent of class...didn't really pay attention in law school. Didn't participate much in school activities. Few journals and moot court.
-->No debt. In fact, I can work some shit job for a few years, but I really need some good experience/mentorship. I am a slow starter/learner, but speed up quickly.
-->No significant work experience. Literally all I have on my resume is my summer work from 1L, 2L and a few externships during law school. Nothing after my 3L year. Huge red flag.

I also realized I hate legal research and writing. I think I prefer to do boilerplate motions and courtroom work. It seems criminal law is the only way to go. Any general advice on my situation? Should I contact my county and see if I can volunteer my time for court appointed criminal law cases? What are some websites I can use to find jobs? I am currently using indeed.com and craigslist.

Also, is getting a real estate license worth it for an attorney in California? Would it be worth my time or can attorneys pretty much do most things a realtor can do?


I have even contacted small firms to see if I can work for free. I don't even get replies back most of the time.

You might already know this but the legal market in the Bay Area is much smaller than LA/NY. Since you took the February 2014 bar, I'm going to assume you're a 2013 grad? You're now going to be competing with 2014 grads trying to break into the Bay Area market who are going to get bar results in the next month.

Given your grades and your lack of experience, the reality is that unless you have a very strong connection or get very lucky, you're going to have an extremely difficult time getting a job up here. If you want to be employed (in the legal field), you'd be wise to expand your job search well beyond Northern CA.

[whitecollar23]

Have you considered changing careers? Seriously, you don't seem so passionate about a career in law, or am I misunderstanding?

[JusticeJackson]

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[Danteshek]

The guy who started this website sells real estate in northern California.

But his profile emphasizing "it was a Vault 10 firm when Ken joined in 2000" is pretty laughable
http://www.top-law-schools.com/tls-about.html

[Anonymous User]

I realized too late in the game that I dread writing...which is what lawyers do most of the time. I am assuming criminal law is the least writing intensive as it is mainly negotiations, courtroom work, and boilerplate motions?

I think I'll have to expand my search to less desirable areas like the central valley and maybe way up north.

But I don't know much about the real estate license, but it could be a door to an alternative career path? I don't have to take any of the course requirements, but all I need is to pass the real estate exam. Or do most of what realtors do can easily be done by a licensed attorney anyway? Deciding if it's worth it.

[20141023]

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[BlueLotus]

What sort of internships did you do for your 1L and 2L summer and during the school year? Were they public interest?

Be sure to check out PSJD, Idealist, and the BYU Jobbank for PI jerbs that don't care about grades.