Feeling like my extra hustle wasn’t worth it Forum

[DisappointedSummer]

I realize this sounds elitist but just hear me out: all my life I have tried my absolute best and made sacrifices to get the top grades, go to the best law school, get the best GPA, and go to the best firm. Check check check and check. But this summer I realized I was in the same spot as people from not just inferior schools but VASTLY inferior schools, with credentials that simply aren’t even in the same ballpark. So what was all that hustle for? These people will work at the same firm as me despite seemingly putting in less work or being less talented. I feel like I should have coasted more and enjoyed life but it’s too late for that now and all my tunnel vision was for nothing. Is this all there is? I expected to be surrounded by similarly credentialed law students but there are people from TTT and some aren’t even on law review! And they’re all getting offers! I did so much extra work for no reason! I’m just going to give up and start coasting I guess because I really don’t care anymore. It’s all a sham.

[nixy]

I realize this sounds elitist but just hear me out: all my life I have tried my absolute best and made sacrifices to get the top grades, go to the best law school, get the best GPA, and go to the best firm. Check check check and check. But this summer I realized I was in the same spot as people from not just inferior schools but VASTLY inferior schools, with credentials that simply aren’t even in the same ballpark. So what was all that hustle for? These people will work at the same firm as me despite seemingly putting in less work or being less talented. I feel like I should have coasted more and enjoyed life but it’s too late for that now and all my tunnel vision was for nothing. Is this all there is? I expected to be surrounded by similarly credentialed law students but there are people from TTT and some aren’t even on law review! And they’re all getting offers! I did so much extra work for no reason! I’m just going to give up and start coasting I guess because I really don’t care anymore. It’s all a sham.

What is with the trolls on this site lately

[Anonymous User]

You feel this way because — despite all your striving — you didn’t get an offer from WLRK.

[Anonymous User]

I realize this sounds elitist but just hear me out: all my life I have tried my absolute best and made sacrifices to get the top grades, go to the best law school, get the best GPA, and go to the best firm. Check check check and check. But this summer I realized I was in the same spot as people from not just inferior schools but VASTLY inferior schools, with credentials that simply aren’t even in the same ballpark. So what was all that hustle for? These people will work at the same firm as me despite seemingly putting in less work or being less talented. I feel like I should have coasted more and enjoyed life but it’s too late for that now and all my tunnel vision was for nothing. Is this all there is? I expected to be surrounded by similarly credentialed law students but there are people from TTT and some aren’t even on law review! And they’re all getting offers! I did so much extra work for no reason! I’m just going to give up and start coasting I guess because I really don’t care anymore. It’s all a sham.

If anything, those people who went to TTT schools probably busted their asses to get the absolute best grades and networked to get where you are. These students probably learned they exact same things you have in law school and have just had to work harder for the opportunity. You shouldn’t be projecting your insecurity on others based on your perception that certain jobs are only limited to those who went to certain schools or joined certain extracurriculars. If you continue with this attitude you’re not going to be well-liked.

[Anonymous User]

Isn't this your fault for not looking on the "best" firm's website and seeing that they hire from places that are decidedly not the best? Any schmuck from Fordham could tell you that outcomes like where you end up working or how much money you make are not dictated purely by preftige. If this particular firm was your goal all along (dubious), then you got bested by a bunch of TTT students.

Anyway, I can't believe I'm trying to make you feel better about this, but there are two things to keep in mind. First, you'll always have YLS on your resume, which, if you read any thread on this forum re: people choosing between YLS and some other school with $$$, means something to a lot of people (for better or for worse). Second, just getting a job is only half the battle - get ready for the rat race to equity. You can still give these plebs hell to vindicate your "best" credentials.

But more to the point, you're dead wrong to conflate stronger credentials with being the "best" or trying hardest. In fact, I find that lots of scrappy TTT kids are MUCH better attorneys precisely because they had to try harder than everyone else to get where they are. I didn't go to YLS, but things came really easy to a lot of folks at my T14. Some of the attorneys from [insert local night school] at my firm worked WAY harder to get where they are, and continue to work harder as attorneys (in a way that pays off).

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

OP is trolling, but for the benefit of other young people on TLS, once you are in biglaw grades don’t matter much. Especially true in corporate. professors and other students just act that way because they’re losers.

[Moneytrees]

OP is trolling, but for the benefit of other young people on TLS, once you are in biglaw grades don’t matter much. Especially true in corporate. professors and other students just act that way because they’re losers.

People like OP are actually the worst associates in Biglaw. Can't have any sense of entitlement as an associate, you just have put your head down and work hard. Thinking that you are better or more accomplished than your peers is just going to make you resentful as you slog through due diligence and other grunt work for your first few years.

[Antetrust]

I realize this sounds elitist but just hear me out: all my life I have tried my absolute best and made sacrifices to get the top grades, go to the best law school, get the best GPA, and go to the best firm. Check check check and check. But this summer I realized I was in the same spot as people from not just inferior schools but VASTLY inferior schools, with credentials that simply aren’t even in the same ballpark. So what was all that hustle for? These people will work at the same firm as me despite seemingly putting in less work or being less talented. I feel like I should have coasted more and enjoyed life but it’s too late for that now and all my tunnel vision was for nothing. Is this all there is? I expected to be surrounded by similarly credentialed law students but there are people from TTT and some aren’t even on law review! And they’re all getting offers! I did so much extra work for no reason! I’m just going to give up and start coasting I guess because I really don’t care anymore. It’s all a sham.

The sooner you stop comparing yourself to other people the sooner you can start enjoying the short time you have on this side of the dirt.

That said, all your work wasn't for nothing - you gave yourself the highest probability of success you could. The final outcome isn't the only thing that matters, but also your chances of getting there. Some people get rich by yoloing Grandma's life savings on dogecoin, but that doesn't mean everyone else was a sucker for getting rich by working hard.

[Anonymous User]

OP is trolling, but for the benefit of other young people on TLS, once you are in biglaw grades don’t matter much. Especially true in corporate. professors and other students just act that way because they’re losers.

People like OP are actually the worst associates in Biglaw. Can't have any sense of entitlement as an associate, you just have put your head down and work hard. Thinking that you are better or more accomplished than your peers is just going to make you resentful as you slog through due diligence and other grunt work for your first few years.

No cap the Princeton/Yale/YLS grad in my associate class was the first to leave (read: got fired) for this very reason.

[Anonymous User]

OP reminds me of all those median NYU / Columbia kids who would be so jelly of me walking around with my Pacer Law Alumni shirt and Cravath duffle bag (logo facing out). All that hard work to get a middling Kirkland offer, meanwhile I literally got into law school by way of having a pulse yet hear I am!

[Lawman1865]

To echo some others, putting aside the fact that this is obviously a troll post, there is actually some value in it. There does come a point where, assuming you get the big law job (and that's a big assumption), there may be a decline in the value of the previous hustle, etc. That being said, if that hustle helps get you there, then great. But comparing your experience to the experience of others, whether comparing the hustle to get to the biglaw job, or even comparing houses, spousal choices, cars, etc., is not a great road to go down.

[Anonymous User]

This is probably a troll, but I'll say something a bit contrary to the conventional wisdom on here:

It's true that you're on a level playing field with people from TTT, but that just gives everyone a chance. You can't coast, and it's a different ballgame than law school or college, but odds are, you're still a better player, and can win on a level playing field. There's no reason you can't do better here, just as you did the last ten years (at college, on the LSAT, and in law school). They'll need to outwork you to do better (or win because your terrible attitude kills your chances).

You probably have a stronger network. That doesn't matter yet, but will in ten years. If you were a top student from a top school, you probably write better and have a deeper understanding of the law. That means you'll add more value. Make that clear and you'll be on top again soon. It's simply a fact that most top partners did well at top schools--not all, of course, but a disproportionate number. There's a reason. Your peers that you resent are still the underdogs, so don't go all "woe is me."

On the other hand, for the few people that make it from TTT with 0 debt to rainmaker, yeah, they did better. But it's higher risk and there were a huge number of people like that who didn't make it.

[Anonymous User]

Gonna be completely honest I know how bad it sounds but I had a lot of the same feelings as OP when I got to my V10 and saw the - not always super impressive - credentials of the people around me. I borrowed an unbelievable amount of money to go an awesome law school and then worked as hard as I possibly could on grades once I got there. Whatever, I get to have the awesome pedigree and the degree follows you for life, but there was definitely a part of me that was a little upset that I strived so hard in law school admissions when I saw that people who had good but not great grades at schools I wasn't even seriously looking at got the same job as me.

[Anonymous User]

I realize this sounds elitist but just hear me out: all my life I have tried my absolute best and made sacrifices to get the top grades, go to the best law school, get the best GPA, and go to the best firm. Check check check and check. But this summer I realized I was in the same spot as people from not just inferior schools but VASTLY inferior schools, with credentials that simply aren’t even in the same ballpark. So what was all that hustle for? These people will work at the same firm as me despite seemingly putting in less work or being less talented. I feel like I should have coasted more and enjoyed life but it’s too late for that now and all my tunnel vision was for nothing. Is this all there is? I expected to be surrounded by similarly credentialed law students but there are people from TTT and some aren’t even on law review! And they’re all getting offers! I did so much extra work for no reason! I’m just going to give up and start coasting I guess because I really don’t care anymore. It’s all a sham.

Which firm is this? I'm prepared to give you an A- depending on your response

[Prudent_Jurist]

In litigation, roasting junior attorneys from top schools is an honored pastime by opposing counsel who went to the local state accredited law school. They do it very well, too.

Never let yourself think your credentials mean shit in a deposition, an arbitration, or a courtroom. That’s when you make a fool of yourself in front of everyone that matters: judge, jury, and client.

[Anonymous User]

Gonna be completely honest I know how bad it sounds but I had a lot of the same feelings as OP when I got to my V10 and saw the - not always super impressive - credentials of the people around me. I borrowed an unbelievable amount of money to go an awesome law school and then worked as hard as I possibly could on grades once I got there. Whatever, I get to have the awesome pedigree and the degree follows you for life, but there was definitely a part of me that was a little upset that I strived so hard in law school admissions when I saw that people who had good but not great grades at schools I wasn't even seriously looking at got the same job as me.

Welcome to the world. You paid that shitload of money to get as close to a guarantee of that outcome as you could get. You weren’t willing to take the risk of not being in the whatever small percentage of people at the other school who get biglaw, which is fine, and reasonable enough. But you don’t get to complain about the existence of people who took that risk and won. You also don’t know anything about the capabilities of the people who got hired from the schools you wouldn’t even consider.

[Anonymous User]

Gonna be completely honest I know how bad it sounds but I had a lot of the same feelings as OP when I got to my V10 and saw the - not always super impressive - credentials of the people around me. I borrowed an unbelievable amount of money to go an awesome law school and then worked as hard as I possibly could on grades once I got there. Whatever, I get to have the awesome pedigree and the degree follows you for life, but there was definitely a part of me that was a little upset that I strived so hard in law school admissions when I saw that people who had good but not great grades at schools I wasn't even seriously looking at got the same job as me.

the trade-off is that they took on dramatically more risk than you

even if your grades were worse, you probably would've landed biglaw if you went to a T14 and came out alright as a decent interviewee

for someone at a noname school in the middle of nowhere with equivalent debt, it's do or die

[jotarokujo]

Gonna be completely honest I know how bad it sounds but I had a lot of the same feelings as OP when I got to my V10 and saw the - not always super impressive - credentials of the people around me. I borrowed an unbelievable amount of money to go an awesome law school and then worked as hard as I possibly could on grades once I got there. Whatever, I get to have the awesome pedigree and the degree follows you for life, but there was definitely a part of me that was a little upset that I strived so hard in law school admissions when I saw that people who had good but not great grades at schools I wasn't even seriously looking at got the same job as me.

i wouldn't look at the benefit as solely reducing risk, as others have noted. i would also say you made it easier to obtain certain outcomes like an article III federal clerkship

[Res Ipsa Loquitter]

Gonna be completely honest I know how bad it sounds but I had a lot of the same feelings as OP when I got to my V10 and saw the - not always super impressive - credentials of the people around me. I borrowed an unbelievable amount of money to go an awesome law school and then worked as hard as I possibly could on grades once I got there. Whatever, I get to have the awesome pedigree and the degree follows you for life, but there was definitely a part of me that was a little upset that I strived so hard in law school admissions when I saw that people who had good but not great grades at schools I wasn't even seriously looking at got the same job as me.

i wouldn't look at the benefit as solely reducing risk, as others have noted. i would also say you made it easier to obtain certain outcomes like an article III federal clerkship

If you ever need to lateral, though, a degree from a top law school is helpful. Is it worth exactly what you paid? No idea but it’s worth something

[jotarokujo]

Gonna be completely honest I know how bad it sounds but I had a lot of the same feelings as OP when I got to my V10 and saw the - not always super impressive - credentials of the people around me. I borrowed an unbelievable amount of money to go an awesome law school and then worked as hard as I possibly could on grades once I got there. Whatever, I get to have the awesome pedigree and the degree follows you for life, but there was definitely a part of me that was a little upset that I strived so hard in law school admissions when I saw that people who had good but not great grades at schools I wasn't even seriously looking at got the same job as me.

i wouldn't look at the benefit as solely reducing risk, as others have noted. i would also say you made it easier to obtain certain outcomes like an article III federal clerkship

If you ever need to lateral, though, a degree from a top law school is helpful. Is it worth exactly what you paid? No idea but it’s worth something

yeah exactly, so the benefit wasn't just reducing risk at OCI