Should I drop out? Forum

[TheRedKing]

Okay, so I just got my grades for my second semester of 1L four days ago, and I have basically been going through the stages of grief (hah). Here are my grades:

First Semester

Contracts- B+
Torts-B
Constitutional Law-C
Legal Skills and Values I (memo class)-C-


Second Semester

Criminal Law-B
International Law-B
Civil Procedure-C-
Property-A
Legal Skills and Values II (memo class)-C-

What happened was that I was a total retard for my first semester and I had no idea what I was supposed to be learning or even why it would be useful. The second semester, I started to get the handle on what I was supposed to be learning and I applied a bunch of different study methods. It worked out really well for property (got the book award, yay CALI!), but my GPA is SHIT. Its a 2.7. I'm pretty confident that, now that I know how to study properly, I can get solid B's with one or two A's. But I won't get a C ever again. Something to note, I go to a school that's ranked at ~100 (give or take a few places) and I'm not sure about the median/mean GPA. I'm pretty sure that C's are common in my school.

I actually like what I'm doing (studying law) and find some parts of it fascinating. I left the Property Law exam feeling like my balls weighed 20lbs and were coated in brass, and I even wrote compliments on the "trickiness" of questions to my professor (the author of the test). I feel like I can make what happened in Property Law apply to all my classes. Its like a switch came on and I can see the forest for the trees, and what specific trees I will be graded on (haha).

But my GPA is now a 2.7. So now I'm torn. I don't want to be a shitty lawyer or fall into the "average unemployable" crowd, but I don't know if I should drop out. For one, there's nothing else I know how to do or even see myself doing. But, even though neing a lawyer is something want to do, I don't think I'm good enough. I planned to work BigLaw for a year or two and then open up my own practice with family (also lawyers), so to some extent the grades don't matter (I guess I can always skip right to my own practice if I can't get a job in BigLaw). Tuition and debt are non-issues as well (the tuition is dirt cheap). I just don't know what to do and I'm super frustrated/stressed/depressed about it. Please, denizens of TLS, free me from thought and responsibility. What should I do?

[FascinatedWanderer]

I think if BigLaw was a goal, you should maybe drop out. I don't see that happening with those grades/school rank combo. But if you want to do actual lawyer things (PD etc.), no need to drop out.

[Mr. Peanutbutter]

You have attorneys in your family? You should probably talk with them about potential career prospects.


Big law is almost 100% foreclosed to you, though.

[TheRedKing]

I think if BigLaw was a goal, you should maybe drop out. I don't see that happening with those grades/school rank combo. But if you want to do actual lawyer things (PD etc.), no need to drop out.

The idea was to get experience at BigLaw in order to know how to run a firm: to apply it to the practice I would eventually run myself. Not being able to be employed by BigLaw hampers the experience I would need to run my own firm, but I guess I could get the equivalent in small firms or a trial by fire (solo practitioner, right out of law school), but those are much less favorable options. I don't mean this as a brag or anything like that, but I don't have to worry very much about finances because I come from a wealthy family--so I don't really need to make a living off of my firm for the first couple years if I had to pursue that path.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Only one account per person is allowed, so I'm banning this username. If you prefer to keep this account PM me from the other and I'll switch you to this one.

[Foghornleghorn]

Be careful, A nony, or he will call you a "little shit."

[TasmanianToucan]

A rude little shit.

[raven1231]

Be careful, A nony, or he will call you a "little shit."

And rude ones at that

[TheUnderperformer]

I love that how after insisting that this forum was credible, and giving it another chance under an alternate account, the moderator outs my alternate account, bans it, and then allows other people to flame the thread.

This is NOT a credible forum, its satire.

[Foghornleghorn]

This forum is credible; your GPA is not.

[heythatslife]

This is NOT a credible forum, its satire.

says the man with the alt. The rules here are what they are, and maybe if you want some actual advice you shouldn't call people rude little shits.

[lavarman84]

If your family is giving you a job, stick it out. You can be a good lawyer and not do well at law school. The reverse is also true. Biglaw isn't happening. Although, I'm not sure what you expected to learn about running your own firm from biglaw. You'd get better experience seeing how to run your own firm at a smaller firm. You'd be dealing with the partners, especially the managing partner, more often and could hopefully build up a relationship where you could pick that partner's mind as to all the administrative BS that goes into running your own firm.

Do the best you can through the rest of law school, pass the bar, and work for your family or use your family connections to work at a small firm if you want to be a lawyer.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I love that how after insisting that this forum was credible, and giving it another chance under an alternate account, the moderator outs my alternate account, bans it, and then allows other people to flame the thread.

This is NOT a credible forum, its satire.

Alternate accounts are against the rules. I didn't identify anyone. If other users did so, that's on your posting. (It wasn't exactly mod wizardry to connect the two accounts.)

[rpupkin]

I love that how after insisting that this forum was credible, and giving it another chance under an alternate account, the moderator outs my alternate account, bans it, and then allows other people to flame the thread.

This is NOT a credible forum, its satire.

I just can't understand how someone with such impressive argumentative skills ended up with poor grades at a bottom-tier law school. It's a real head scratcher.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Be careful, A nony, or he will call you a "little shit."

It was actually "fucking pathetic," thank you very much. I'm not swimming in the bowl with you rude little shits.

[stego]

Petition to have the mods change TheRedKing's username to TheRatKing.

[Foghornleghorn]

Be careful, A nony, or he will call you a "little shit."

It was actually "fucking pathetic," thank you very much. I'm not swimming in the bowl with you rude little shits.

Looks like we're going to have to resuscitate the A Nony is a 1% TLS poster debacle .

[pancakes3]

You should absolutely drop out. C-'s are a red flag in general but the fact that you got them in Legal Writing is pretty much a kiss of death. Nobody is going to hire you, no matter how hard you hustle and network. I wouldn't hire friends/family if they don't know how to research/write.

Also I think it's amazing that you think your only grade above a flat B is somehow indicative that you now "get it" rather than perceiving it as the anomaly that it really is. I would say you actually did worse your second semester than the first semester, even with the A factored in. You didn't get better at writing and whatever changes you made to your study habits resulted in as-bad or even worse grades in 80% of your attempted credits. An A in property is not an upward trend when you went from 1 C- to 2 C-'s.

It's also a pretty big red flag that you don't know what your school curves to. Seeing as how shitty you did your first semester, you should have done your due diligence and figured all this shit out.

You're also very delusional as far as your career aspirations go. You were shut out of big law already last semester. You could have nailed straight A's in the Spring and you still wouldn't have been competitive. Academia was shut out even earlier - like when you decided to enroll in a TTT.

You also write like an idiot ("free you from thought and responsibility?" wtf does that even mean?) and the fact that you thought it was a good idea to compliment your professor on the trickiness of the questions in your property exam makes you sound like a massive tool.

[Johann]

You should absolutely drop out. C-'s are a red flag in general but the fact that you got them in Legal Writing is pretty much a kiss of death. Nobody is going to hire you, no matter how hard you hustle and network. I wouldn't hire friends/family if they don't know how to research/write.

Also I think it's amazing that you think your only grade above a flat B is somehow indicative that you now "get it" rather than perceiving it as the anomaly that it really is. I would say you actually did worse your second semester than the first semester, even with the A factored in. You didn't get better at writing and whatever changes you made to your study habits resulted in as-bad or even worse grades in 80% of your attempted credits. An A in property is not an upward trend when you went from 1 C- to 2 C-'s.

It's also a pretty big red flag that you don't know what your school curves to. Seeing as how shitty you did your first semester, you should have done your due diligence and figured all this shit out.

You're also very delusional as far as your career aspirations go. You were shut out of big law already last semester. You could have nailed straight A's in the Spring and you still wouldn't have been competitive. Academia was shut out even earlier - like when you decided to enroll in a TTT.

You also write like an idiot ("free you from thought and responsibility?" wtf does that even mean?) and the fact that you thought it was a good idea to compliment your professor on the trickiness of the questions in your property exam makes you sound like a massive tool.

50% of people at a TTT will probably have a C or C- based on the curve at some point their first year. doesn't mean they aren't hirable. lots of people with Cs get government jobs which i would consider a great outcome. plenty of people with Cs get shitlaw too. you dont know how TTTs work, so stop talking about them.

[pancakes3]

You should absolutely drop out. C-'s are a red flag in general but the fact that you got them in Legal Writing is pretty much a kiss of death. Nobody is going to hire you, no matter how hard you hustle and network. I wouldn't hire friends/family if they don't know how to research/write.

Also I think it's amazing that you think your only grade above a flat B is somehow indicative that you now "get it" rather than perceiving it as the anomaly that it really is. I would say you actually did worse your second semester than the first semester, even with the A factored in. You didn't get better at writing and whatever changes you made to your study habits resulted in as-bad or even worse grades in 80% of your attempted credits. An A in property is not an upward trend when you went from 1 C- to 2 C-'s.

It's also a pretty big red flag that you don't know what your school curves to. Seeing as how shitty you did your first semester, you should have done your due diligence and figured all this shit out.

You're also very delusional as far as your career aspirations go. You were shut out of big law already last semester. You could have nailed straight A's in the Spring and you still wouldn't have been competitive. Academia was shut out even earlier - like when you decided to enroll in a TTT.

You also write like an idiot ("free you from thought and responsibility?" wtf does that even mean?) and the fact that you thought it was a good idea to compliment your professor on the trickiness of the questions in your property exam makes you sound like a massive tool.

50% of people at a TTT will probably have a C or C- based on the curve at some point their first year. doesn't mean they aren't hirable. lots of people with Cs get government jobs which i would consider a great outcome. plenty of people with Cs get shitlaw too. you dont know how TTTs work, so stop talking about them.

1) Sure 50% of people at a TTT might have C's on their transcript but also 50% of people at a TTT are unemployed 9 months after graduation. I understand that stat doesn't doom TTT grads to a life of permanent unemployment but a C on a transcript at a TTT is, as I said, a "red flag" for hiring.
2) C- is a much bigger deal than a flat C, I don't care where you go to school, and C's in general make it an even bigger uphill struggle for already an uphill struggle in general.
3) A C- might not mean you're not hirable but 3 C-'s 1L year, 2 of which are in legal writing means you're not hirable.
4) Let's not play the "lots of people" game here. Probabilistically this guy is not going to be hirable.
5) I don't think he's competitive for municipal government given his consistently low LRW grades. I only say this because the only 2 times my references were checked were both to my 1L LRW prof (once for a city gov interview, the other bigfed) and I actually had good LRW grades.

Shitlaw is the only way to go for the OP.

[clshopeful]

I love that how after insisting that this forum was credible, and giving it another chance under an alternate account, the moderator outs my alternate account, bans it, and then allows other people to flame the thread.

This is NOT a credible forum, its satire.

lmaooooo. makes new account, posts same thing, we all know instantly.

[HonestAdvice]

They say contracts is the most predictive of how you do in other classes. I don't know where I heard this or it's true, but your highest grade was in contracts. Depending on the school you may not be a great bet to pass the bar exam, which is something to consider.

[rpupkin]

They say contracts is the most predictive of how you do in other classes. I don't know where I heard this or it's true, but your highest grade was in contracts. Depending on the school you may not be a great bet to pass the bar exam, which is something to consider.

Who is "they"? I've never heard anyone say this, and I seriously doubt that it's true.

[lavarman84]

They say contracts is the most predictive of how you do in other classes. I don't know where I heard this or it's true, but your highest grade was in contracts. Depending on the school you may not be a great bet to pass the bar exam, which is something to consider.

Who is "they"? I've never heard anyone say this, and I seriously doubt that it's true.

Agreed. Contracts is the worst grade I've gotten so far in law school.

[Foghornleghorn]

50% of people at a TTT will probably have a C or C- based on the curve at some point their first year. doesn't mean they aren't hirable. lots of people with Cs get government jobs which i would consider a great outcome. plenty of people with Cs get shitlaw too. you dont know how TTTs work, so stop talking about them.

Coming from the dude who talks out of his ass about the Texas legal market. Pot, meet kettle.