Top Law Schools

I attend a very regional t50. Think State U. I have a full tuition+stipend deal at my school, and I have savings to cover COL. I'll have no debt coming out of school.

Anyway, I had an awful 1L in terms of grades. I'm ranked near the bottom of my class (like, bottom 20%). Straight B's in all my classes. I was lucky to get a public defender internship in a city close to where I live, and I absolutely LOVE the work. I've seen depos, trials, wrote motions, etc. and I really enjoy it. And I'm also networking. My fear is that grades/class rank will hold me back. I'd love to work for the same PD office next summer and when I graduate, but is it worth sticking around even with such low grades?

My plan is to go the PD route. I'm itching to try out for mock trial, moot court, etc., but I know how grade-sensitive legal hiring is in general. I don't want to stay in school only to realize that no one will hire me b/c I was ranked bottom of my class. Any advice would be appreciated.

Never heard of a PD office that cares about grades.

Legal hiring is primarily grade-sensitive with regards to first jobs in private practice, clerkships, or the federal government. Public interest jobs (particularly public defense) generally care much more about your work experience and dedication to the field.

Yeah, I know numerous people who went to work for PD offices who never provided grades in any form at any point in their application. Continue to intern for the PD, love what you do and work hard, and you should be fine. If people you work with like the actual real life work you do for them, your grades won't matter. (Plus, your grades may well go up next year.) There are also doubtless lots of State U grads in the local PD's office who won't have any concerns about your school.

Look at it this way - in many ways, you're in a better position than people who love/ace law school and find out they hate the practice of law.