Do I Take P/F Option as 2L? Forum

[curiotdls]

2L here at a T30 school with an SA lined up at a V10. My school is still considering grading policy changes for this semester thanks to COVID-19, but it’s a possibility that they’ll either go mandatory P/F or optional P/F for all classes. If they go optional P/F, my understanding is that they’ll give the option to anyone, no questions asked.

This whole thing is affecting my life some, but certainly not to the point I can’t study. What I want opinions on is whether anyone thinks this will have any substantial effect on me, since I already have the SA? I’m already locked into my Latin honors (am probably not going to be able to go up to the next level).

If I have the option for an easier semester, I want to take it. But I don’t want it to be seen as being lazy or in any way hurt my prospects of getting an offer from the firm after the summer. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[lawdude31]

2L here at a T30 school with an SA lined up at a V10. My school is still considering grading policy changes for this semester thanks to COVID-19, but it’s a possibility that they’ll either go mandatory P/F or optional P/F for all classes. If they go optional P/F, my understanding is that they’ll give the option to anyone, no questions asked.

This whole thing is affecting my life some, but certainly not to the point I can’t study. What I want opinions on is whether anyone thinks this will have any substantial effect on me, since I already have the SA? I’m already locked into my Latin honors (am probably not going to be able to go up to the next level).

If I have the option for an easier semester, I want to take it. But I don’t want it to be seen as being lazy or in any way hurt my prospects of getting an offer from the firm after the summer. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

A lot of law schools have switched to p/f grading, so I find it hard to imagine that your firm would hold your p/f semester against you when so many of your fellow SAs will be graded in the same way. Furthermore, while I have heard of a few firms including some language about maintaining your grades in the offer letter, I have not heard of anyone losing their offer because of that. I am far from the most experienced person here though, so others can weigh in too.

(It also seems like you will be receiving honors anyway, so I really doubt it would matter.)

[janereacher]

It won't affect whether you get an offer at the end of the summer. Many (most?) law schools are doing some version of this. If your goal is biglaw, I wouldn't sweat it. I'm not convinced that it won't have any effect on law student outcomes when it comes to things like clerkships and other competitive positions. For example, some people will lose potentially good grades in "important" classes. If I was in a position where I had the option and I had goals like that, I would take the graded option. I trust myself to do well in law school more than I trust, e.g., a judge to be understanding about what happened during COVID-19.

[nixy]

I think judges are *incredibly* attuned to what's happening right now and would be understanding. Courthouses have been closing left and right and judges are deeply involved with figuring out what to do to both protect everyone's health and ensure the justice system still functions. And I don't really agree with the idea that there are "important" classes - while you want to avoid a schedule that looks filled with fluff, different judges have different expectations about what courses people should take. And as people have noted, lots and lots of schools have already gone to mandatory P/F, so you're not going to stand out/look like you've taken the easy way out.

So short version, if your school has in fact given you a choice and hasn't just decided to go P/F and be done with it, choose whichever you like. One P/F semester isn't going to make or break anyone under these circumstances.

[Lurk2020]

It won't affect whether you get an offer at the end of the summer. Many (most?) law schools are doing some version of this. If your goal is biglaw, I wouldn't sweat it. I'm not convinced that it won't have any effect on law student outcomes when it comes to things like clerkships and other competitive positions. For example, some people will lose potentially good grades in "important" classes. If I was in a position where I had the option and I had goals like that, I would take the graded option. I trust myself to do well in law school more than I trust, e.g., a judge to be understanding about what happened during COVID-19.

Judges are issuing stays, limiting parties to emergency motions, and even having clerks work from home... if you come across a judge that isn’t going to be understanding about you taking a P/F class during a global pandemic, you don’t want to work for them anyway.

[Anonymous User]

It won't affect whether you get an offer at the end of the summer. Many (most?) law schools are doing some version of this. If your goal is biglaw, I wouldn't sweat it. I'm not convinced that it won't have any effect on law student outcomes when it comes to things like clerkships and other competitive positions. For example, some people will lose potentially good grades in "important" classes. If I was in a position where I had the option and I had goals like that, I would take the graded option. I trust myself to do well in law school more than I trust, e.g., a judge to be understanding about what happened during COVID-19.

Judges are issuing stays, limiting parties to emergency motions, and even having clerks work from home... if you come across a judge that isn’t going to be understanding about you taking a P/F class during a global pandemic, you don’t want to work for them anyway.

As a current law clerk working from home, I totally agree with the above.