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Bottom 15 percent, T30, no debt, going to be 3L in fall, knew I wanted to be a lawyer early on, love the courtroom.

Interested in real estate, torts, criminal defense, family law, trusts wills, hopefully some sports and entertainment long term

Worked unpaid 1L and 2L summers(which sucks)...really hoping to get 40-50k coming out or at least a year out of graduation(I don't mind working unpaid for a few months after graduation, but I really want to get paid soon)...maybe at a small firm somewhere doing any of the practice areas listed above. I know my first job will suck because of my grades, but it's all about upward mobility. Hopefully grades won't matter too much after my first job?

What should I really do now knowing my grades suck and OCI is coming up? Do 3L's really go all out during OCI? Should I even bother considering I struck out 2L OCI? I have several connections through friends and family, but nothing has really paved out in the past. Any other job advice is greatly appreciated.

Should I worry about the BAR after 3L graduation? Is that enough time to study between graduation and July test date(knowing my grades weren't good)?

Of course you should worry about the state bar exam. A license to practice law may be all that you'll get out of law school in your situation. I'm not sure I understand your question with respect to the bar, however.

AntiHuman wrote:I know my first job will suck because of my grades, but it's all about upward mobility. Hopefully grades won't matter too much after my first job?

No one will ask you 10 years out of law school what your grades were.

Sorry I meant to say...should I START worrying about my BAR exam after graduation to focus on my finals or should I start studying for the BAR during my 3L year?

Finals first, then bar review, in my opinion.

grovevilleroad wrote:

AntiHuman wrote:I know my first job will suck because of my grades, but it's all about upward mobility. Hopefully grades won't matter too much after my first job?

No one will ask you 10 years out of law school what your grades were.

Especially if you work at a local bank because you couldn't get a legal job.

grovevilleroad wrote:

AntiHuman wrote:I know my first job will suck because of my grades, but it's all about upward mobility. Hopefully grades won't matter too much after my first job?

No one will ask you 10 years out of law school what your grades were.

A or B+ grades in all classes that required just a paper...including legal research and writing. I do well when I can take my time.

B- and C grades in BAR classes that required a timed exam...I'm not so hot at timed exams. I need to work on my test taking abilities.

I think the best you can hope for now is to work part-time during the year for some small firms and try to get yourself in a position to be hired on by that firm or someone they forward your resume to. Of course go through all the "formal" hiring channels, OCI, midlaw, local firms, state court clerkships, local DA/PD, Legal Aid, etc, but plan for not getting anything since half your school or more will be doing this as well.