Near middle of class at T20, what are the best jobs I can get? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Okay so at T20 (pretty much 20) and my first semester GPA was in bottom 50% of class according to previous quartiles. Actually much closer to to 25% quartile. I don't have any particular interests, but I imagine unless I near 4.0 my way out big law is pretty much out of the picture. A realistic goal of mine would be to be near the middle of the class during OCI and graduate around there. I'm not saying I couldn't do better, but just being realistic.

What types of firms seek candidates like myself? Everywhere I look online, all the hires graduated at the top of the class, so I am a bit intimidated tbh.

What kind of pay would I likely be looking at?

Should probably pay more attention at employment information sessions, but for now I will post here.

All help appreciated.

[zot1]

High end barista.

[UVA2B]

I know they're usually a bit overly optimistic, but this conversation needs to happen with career services, not TLS. They can help you formulate a strategy to find gainful employment better than anyone on TLS can.

[chingwoo]

Okay so at T20 (pretty much 20) and my first semester GPA was in bottom 50% of class according to previous quartiles. Actually much closer to to 25% quartile. I don't have any particular interests, but I imagine unless I near 4.0 my way out big law is pretty much out of the picture. A realistic goal of mine would be to be near the middle of the class during OCI and graduate around there. I'm not saying I couldn't do better, but just being realistic.

What types of firms seek candidates like myself? Everywhere I look online, all the hires graduated at the top of the class, so I am a bit intimidated tbh.

What kind of pay would I likely be looking at?

Should probably pay more attention at employment information sessions, but for now I will post here.

All help appreciated.

Realistically biglaw(regional biglaw) is still in play from middle of the class at a T20. Go hustle this summer. Unless you go to University of Iowa, then you might not have a real hometown market.

[gaddockteeg]

Okay so at T20 (pretty much 20) and my first semester GPA was in bottom 50% of class according to previous quartiles. Actually much closer to to 25% quartile. I don't have any particular interests, but I imagine unless I near 4.0 my way out big law is pretty much out of the picture. A realistic goal of mine would be to be near the middle of the class during OCI and graduate around there. I'm not saying I couldn't do better, but just being realistic.

What types of firms seek candidates like myself? Everywhere I look online, all the hires graduated at the top of the class, so I am a bit intimidated tbh.

What kind of pay would I likely be looking at?

Should probably pay more attention at employment information sessions, but for now I will post here.

All help appreciated.

Realistically biglaw(regional biglaw) is still in play from middle of the class at a T20. Go hustle this summer. Unless you go to University of Iowa, then you might not have a real hometown market.

I agree with this. Big law is definitely still in play. You'll just have to nail the few interviews you do get and network your way into extra interviews.

I know a lot of t20 median students with big law, but they uniformly have either (1) on point experience related to the practice area they are going to work-in, accumulated through internships, past WE, etc, (2) or are super personable/likeable/charismatic people.

[Anonymous User]

I went to WUSTL. I know many classmates that were in the the middle of the class that turned out decently well. Some are in normal government attorney jobs that pay around 100k and work 9-5. Some made it to regional biglaw and some even made it to V100 biglaw. With that said, Ive also heard stories of some people that are still working the doc review circuit. YMMV!

What I would do is improve your GPA as much as possible. Your GPA will help you lateral to a new job. Grades are still very important in the lateral market, especially to biglaw. I would also continue to network and try to write articles to show your interest in X area of law. Bottom line is you gotta hustle.

[TLSModBot]

Assistant crack whore, with possibility for advancement inside 6 months pending satisfactory performance reviews

[Anonymous User]

T-20 grad here, bottom third.

Ended up at a small firm making 70k+bonus. I got hired about 3 months after graduation.

It's not anywhere near biglaw pay, but I'm in a low COL area and this is a great place to work. (The office is consistently empty by 6:00pm)

Biglaw seems unrealistic from the bottom of the class, but grade inflation is a thing, and small and mid-sized firms full of local grads didn't seem to realize that my GPA was actually abject shit.

ETA: I somehow ignored that you're a 1L. Your absolute focus right now should be on improving your grades. Nothing will help your job search more than better grades. Nothing.

[MKC]

Assistant crack whore, with possibility for advancement inside 6 months pending satisfactory performance reviews

Who's giving reviews here? Is it the pimp, the head crack whore bottom bitch, or the customers?

Also I'm not sure what an assistant crack whore is. Is that like a fluffer?

[ND2018]

Okay so at T20 (pretty much 20) and my first semester GPA was in bottom 50% of class according to previous quartiles. Actually much closer to to 25% quartile. I don't have any particular interests, but I imagine unless I near 4.0 my way out big law is pretty much out of the picture. A realistic goal of mine would be to be near the middle of the class during OCI and graduate around there. I'm not saying I couldn't do better, but just being realistic.

What types of firms seek candidates like myself? Everywhere I look online, all the hires graduated at the top of the class, so I am a bit intimidated tbh.

What kind of pay would I likely be looking at?

Should probably pay more attention at employment information sessions, but for now I will post here.

All help appreciated.

Tbh it really doesn't seem like you care all that much. Your grades right now will do nothing for you. Your ability to find gainful employment depends solely on the amount of work you are willing to put in. If you're content to sit and wait for whatever outcome happens to fall into the lap of a "median" person at a T20, I have news for you: your not going to like the result. That said, I know below media kids at my T20 who snagged Big law, like good big law. Its because they hustled all spring and summer. Start networking with attorneys in the area in which you want to practice, now.

[Dr. Nefario]

I think a lot of it will depend on where you actually go to school. Different schools can place students close to median better than others. Also, don't give up on 1L yet. There were people in my class who went from bottom 1/3 to top 1/3 of the class after second semester.

[elendinel]

Even assuming you only hit median, I wouldn't discount the degree to which "fit" plays into these decisions; there are a lot of studies that show that an applicant who can connect on a personal level to employers can get jobs they really have no business getting, compared to who else is applying. People get less objective in face-to-face interactions, so be sure to get your face in front of as many people as possible and you may be able to still get a biglaw job.

On top of grades, I'd suggest trying to get internships/volunteer legal positions (even if during the semester) and get good references from them. Having a lot more work experience than SAs/having a lot of happy supervisors may help you network and sound interesting.

[Anonymous User]

Okay so at T20 (pretty much 20) and my first semester GPA was in bottom 50% of class according to previous quartiles. Actually much closer to to 25% quartile. I don't have any particular interests, but I imagine unless I near 4.0 my way out big law is pretty much out of the picture. A realistic goal of mine would be to be near the middle of the class during OCI and graduate around there. I'm not saying I couldn't do better, but just being realistic.

What types of firms seek candidates like myself? Everywhere I look online, all the hires graduated at the top of the class, so I am a bit intimidated tbh.

What kind of pay would I likely be looking at?

Should probably pay more attention at employment information sessions, but for now I will post here.

All help appreciated.

Went to ND, managed multiple biglaw offers with those marks in markets I wanted (Chicago, NYC, DC, LA, SF), all market paying firms. Went to the market I wanted and am happy.