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Is it worthwhile to get really good grades, or is it okay to get respectable grades because they matter less in general? What if your 1L grades were low -- is it worth it to try and get high grades later to make up for it?

I hear you can just skip the last two years and take the bar.

Geat27 wrote:Is it worthwhile to get really good grades, or is it okay to get respectable grades because they matter less in general? What if your 1L grades were low -- is it worth it to try and get high grades later to make up for it?

in the first scenario, it probably depends on your clerkship ambitions, no?

What do you mean by worthwhile? What would you sacrifice to get really good grades? If you are in law school full time without a family, I don't see why you would not put everything you have into getting good grades.

helfer snooterbagon wrote: If you are in law school full time without a family, I don't see why you would not put everything you have into getting good grades.

um....because you have other interests and hobbies too?

helfer snooterbagon wrote:What do you mean by worthwhile? What would you sacrifice to get really good grades? If you are in law school full time without a family, I don't see why you would not put everything you have into getting good grades.

Because we, as law students, only do the bare minimum to get what we want. We are not here to actually enjoy what we're studying; we're here to collect the Benjamins. The entire educational process is a clever device to trick us out of our time. Never lift more of a finger than you have to.

Connelly wrote: Because we, as law students, only do the bare minimum to get what we want. We are not here to actually enjoy what we're studying; we're here to collect the Benjamins. The entire educational process is a clever device to trick us out of our time. Never lift more of a finger than you have to.

No. There's a significant difference between (a) trying to maximize my educational experience while keeping a balanced lifestyle (maximizing my happiness, you might call this) and (b) busting my ass to get good grades at the exclusion of all else.

It'd be great if (b) coincided perfectly with (a), but I'm skeptical of anyone who claims that it does.

1. They matter a lot if you intend to clerk.
2. They matter somewhat less if you're going to a firm directly after law school, but CW suggests they may play an important role if you attempt to lateral as a junior or early mid level associate.

Honors are a separate matter. Although I don't have any real data to back it up, I think having magna cum laude/coif (and to a lesser extent, cum laude) on your resume is almost always worth the effort if you're within range by the end of 1L.

One addendum to edcrane's post: unfortunately, ITE, no-offers happen.

If you have the misfortune to get no-offered at the end of your 2L summer (or if you didn't get the job you wanted for your 2L summer to begin with), you better be able to show improvement from mediocre 1L grades during your 3L job search.

DelDad wrote:One addendum to edcrane's post: unfortunately, ITE, no-offers happen.

If you have the misfortune to get no-offered at the end of your 2L summer (or if you didn't get the job you wanted for your 2L summer to begin with), you better be able to show improvement from mediocre 1L grades during your 3L job search.

I was under the impression if you don't have a job by 2L summer, you never will

You can still get a job in that case, but it'll be after the bar exam.

So I think it's either 1L or 1L-3L that matters.

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