Do people get 1L SAs without showing their grades? Forum

[lawhopeful10]

I will be attending a regional school in the south where it seems a fair amount of firms hire 1Ls. Is it common for them to wait until first semester grades are in, or if you know someone is there a chance you might be given an offer before that? Thanks in advance.

[bk1]

I don't know about the South specifically, but some people do get 1L SAs before grades. I'm not sure what is the norm. My suspicion is that most 1L SA offers are made after grades but I don't know that for sure.

What I can definitely say is that you are putting the cart way before the horse. Even if your regional school gets a "fair amount" of 1L SAs, it is almost undoubtedly less than 20% of the class, probably far less. You really shouldn't be thinking about something that has such a slim chance of happening.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

I don't personally know of anyone who has gotten this, but I don't think it happens without either a huge connection with the firm, T6 or better school, or both. The % of T14 1Ls who get a 1L SA is much lower than those who get a 2L SA. I think it's lower than 20%.

[lawhopeful10]

yea I agree the chances are not good but even so obviously I want to give myself the best chance of success. I used the guide to job hunting strategy on TLS and compiled a list of over 50 lawyers spanning 14 mid to large firms in my market who are alumni from the law school I will be attending. Ideally I intend to establish some connection with a couple to help me get my foot in the door. Even if people do get offers without grades I would still work just as hard anyway, but I guess it would be nice knowing that networking alone can get you a gig if you are good enough at it.

edit: the firms I researched are only the ones who hire 1L SAs or have in the past. After 1L, I would recreate a spreadsheet including all target firms.