How much do Harvard/Yale/Stanford grades matter after graduation Forum

[Anonymous User]

If anyone here has any knowledge about this, I'd like to know: how much do Harvard, Yale, or Stanford grades matter after you've graduated? I'm doing/I've secured a government/PI position that I'm happy with, but eventually - let's say, in the next 1 to 3 years - I'd like to work at a biglaw or regional firm or secure a USAO/DOJ job, and I'm wondering if and to what extent I should expect to be hampered by the fact that my law school grades are quite bad (no RCs or LPs, but still, bad). Because I don't want to dox myself, I'll just say, in case this may help anyone assess my situation, that I was in law school recently enough to know a lot of the people graduating in the class of 2019 from the school I attended, although I'm not necessarily a part of it.

[Anonymous User]

I had multiple LPs/RCs, so I understand "bad" - I luckily got a big law job to start, but then found that when I tried to lateral as a mid-level that yes, some super elite firms do have a pretty firm GPA cutoff that they aren't willing to go below, even if you're otherwise perfect for the job and perfectly competent. On the other hand, some firms that rejected me during OCI due to my grades didn't seem to care any more - they were impressed by my HYS credentials and just checked the transcript to make sure I had, you know, actually graduated. I think it really depends on if you're trying to go to a super elite firm that actually has grade cutoffs, how badly the practice group wants you, and how in demand your skills are. During OCI the only thing they know about you is your grades/previous job experience, and after a few years of work experience, you should have actual skills that are in demand. And obviously whether you're one year out or three years out will matter too, because more time = more time to develop skills/competency.

[Anonymous User]

This is an employer-by-employer question. I was hired for an incredibly selective job several years after graduating without even being asked for my transcript (although my CV does include some signals indicating likely good grades--like (a) clerkship(s)). On the other hand, my current position--also highly selective--cares a medium amount about grades, even for people who graduated a decade ago.

The general rule is that the longer that you are out, the less people are going to care. Think about it this way: employers have a limited number of signals that they can use to determine if you're going to be a good employee for them. Grades are one. As you progress through your career, you'll develop other better signals -- and grades will matter less. The more indicators that you have on your CV that you can do the job well, the less likely anyone is to look at your grades (or to care about them). So if you know you want to lateral somewhere competitive, work hard to develop an impressive CV of jobs well done. If you have a CV that shows that you're an excellent lawyer, I doubt that many people are going to care much about your grades.

[Anonymous User]

I had multiple LPs/RCs, so I understand "bad" - I luckily got a big law job to start, but then found that when I tried to lateral as a mid-level that yes, some super elite firms do have a pretty firm GPA cutoff that they aren't willing to go below, even if you're otherwise perfect for the job and perfectly competent. On the other hand, some firms that rejected me during OCI due to my grades didn't seem to care any more - they were impressed by my HYS credentials and just checked the transcript to make sure I had, you know, actually graduated. I think it really depends on if you're trying to go to a super elite firm that actually has grade cutoffs, how badly the practice group wants you, and how in demand your skills are. During OCI the only thing they know about you is your grades/previous job experience, and after a few years of work experience, you should have actual skills that are in demand. And obviously whether you're one year out or three years out will matter too, because more time = more time to develop skills/competency.

Did you by chance have some kind of STEM undergraduate degree, or some interesting and unique pre-law school work experience, which compensated for your low grades?