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Hi all,

I'm interested in honest advice as to whether or not I should bother putting a lot of effort into trying to find a job in California based on my 1L GPA. I have a 3.17 at a T14 (think 7-13, though not B). I think median is a bit over 3.3. I don't have particularly impressive ties to Cali, but my mom's from California and I have a lot of close family in both Norcal and Socal, and have visited them a lot (the potential family support is one of the most attractive things about California to me, aside from the weather and it being a larger market than my home market). However, I also am aware that the market in California is very tough for lawyers.

I'm in decent shape financially, thanks to scholarship money, my savings (worked before LS), and some help from my parents, so I'm hoping to graduate with 60-70k in student loans and maybe 20-50k in loans from my parents who won't charge me interest. So I don't think I absolutely need a high paying job, and would be willing to work for 5 figures if I could find a decent job as a lawyer that pays that. Is that a possible outcome? Is getting a job in Califorrnia feasible? Am I hunting a unicorn? Feel free to be brutally honest.

My likely alternative is going back to my home market which is much smaller, but which I have very strong ties to (externing at the state supreme court this summer). Cost of living is high though and my impression is salaries are low.

Also, not sure if it makes much of a difference, but my undergrad has a strong reputation (one of Harvard, Yale, Princeton). I also did a summer in China at a program for another HYP. But my B.A. is Poli Sci so.....yeah. Anyways I'd appreciate any useful advice people might have. Thanks!

Anonymous User wrote:Hi all,

I'm interested in honest advice as to whether or not I should bother putting a lot of effort into trying to find a job in California based on my 1L GPA. I have a 3.17 at a T14 (think 7-13, though not B). I think median is a bit over 3.3. I don't have particularly impressive ties to Cali, but my mom's from California and I have a lot of close family in both Norcal and Socal, and have visited them a lot (the potential family support is one of the most attractive things about California to me, aside from the weather and it being a larger market than my home market). However, I also am aware that the market in California is very tough for lawyers.

I'm in decent shape financially, thanks to scholarship money, my savings (worked before LS), and some help from my parents, so I'm hoping to graduate with 60-70k in student loans and maybe 20-50k in loans from my parents who won't charge me interest. So I don't think I absolutely need a high paying job, and would be willing to work for 5 figures if I could find a decent job as a lawyer that pays that. Is that a possible outcome? Is getting a job in Califorrnia feasible? Am I hunting a unicorn? Feel free to be brutally honest.

My likely alternative is going back to my home market which is much smaller, but which I have very strong ties to (externing at the state supreme court this summer). Cost of living is high though and my impression is salaries are low.

Also, not sure if it makes much of a difference, but my undergrad has a strong reputation (one of Harvard, Yale, Princeton). I also did a summer in China at a program for another HYP. But my B.A. is Poli Sci so.....yeah. Anyways I'd appreciate any useful advice people might have. Thanks!

I don't see any reason why you should not try. But I would save most of your OCI bids for NYC and whatever your home market is. Then mass-mail all the CA firms. With that GPA and not being from CA will probably be really hard, but worth mass-mailing if that is where you want to be

It doesn't hurt to try. A couple comments:

In general, LA is easier to get than SF. If you're going to burn a couple bids on Cali, I'd target LA offices. And, of course, don't target firms that have a reputation for being grade selective.

Having gone to HYP for undergrad does help a little. You'll get a bit of a bump for your undergrad. At the end of the day, though, you're a below-median student at a lower T14. So it's a steep uphill climb.