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mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 2:56 pm

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Tuxedo · Post by **Tuxedo** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:02 pm

A friend of mine who's a partner at a 501+ in town said that the value of an LSAT score instantly vanishes on the first day of class. After that, it's all about grades and your class ranking.

This seems to be true from what I've learned not only about summer positions and hiring during/after 3L, but also for transferring.

UVAIce · Post by **UVAIce** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:03 pm

Not one firm ever asked for my LSAT score.

I mean, it doesn't really matter. Now, I do know that at least some firm recruiters look favorably at named scholarships, but you still need the output (grades) at whatever school you attend to be top notch to get big law.

dowu · Post by **dowu** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:04 pm

mornincounselor wrote:I suppose this thread title is a bit of a flame; for, of course a high lsat score is important. If one's goal is to attend a top law school a high lsat score is practically a required assumption. This thread is about the effect of a high lsat score in some other contexts, specifically, lets take take the following two examples:

Let's say Candidate A gets a 180 on the LSAT and for whatever reason chooses to accept a full ride + stip to Notre Dame. What effect, if any, will a high lsat score have on Candidate's A chances of netting big law? What effect, if any, does just having the resume point / talking prompt of getting a 180 on the LSAT have on a person's employment prospects? For example, does a person who finishes top 20% at a given non-t14 law school, who has also scored 180 on the LSAT, have better employment prospects than a person who finishes top 5% at the same school? Is there a measurable boost simply based on a person's LSAT score independent of their choice of school and any other factors.

Essentially, do legal employers look towards LSAT score at all or just the school, grades, etc?

Candidate B also gets a 180 (they were just handing them out this cycle) and after looking at the costs of law school decides against going. She instead chooses to pursue a investment banking job / similarly competitive-intense job on wall street. What effect, if any, does the resume point / talking prompt of getting a 180 on the LSAT have on her employment prospects?

Essentially, do non-legal employers (but many of whom also are or at least considered becoming attorneys) look towards LSAT score at all?

Lol no dude.

Why would any employer care about how you did on a standardized test? Law schools only care because if affects rankings and rankings equal prestige and prestige equals students who are willing to pay more for the same education as any other school.

anyriotgirl · Post by **anyriotgirl** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:10 pm

When I was applying for jobs senior year of UG, the occasional law firm would ask for your LSAT score if you had one for paralegal jobs. Not exactly prefitgious, but I guess it could help you with one of those jobs.

tomwatts · Post by **tomwatts** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 3:47 pm

The occasional clerkship app asks for an LSAT score. I haven't the foggiest idea what they do with it, though. They might not look at it at all, for all I know.

I do know one job where my LSAT score was helpful: being an LSAT instructor. Other than that, I'm pretty sure no one will ever care.

Christine (MLSAT) · Post by **Christine (MLSAT)** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 5:02 pm

Not one firm ever asked about my LSAT score. There was never a single opportunity for me to drop in my LSAT score into conversation in interviews where I wouldn't have looked like a socially inept braggart.

In fact, even during law school, it seemed that to even discuss LSAT scores seemed rather gauche. I had exactly 2 conversations about LSAT score throughout the entirety of law school, and those conversations were with two friends that I had become extremely close to (interestingly, both conversations were started by us listing the schools that had rejected us).

It has zero bearing on any law firm employment that I've ever heard of, and (with the possible exception of a few clerkships) likely has zero bearing on the rest of your life - unless you end up working for a Test Prep company. :p (Since I work for one, everyone and their mother knows my score and it's always an open conversation to have.)

Clyde Frog · Post by **Clyde Frog** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 8:34 pm

Basically a high lsat score will you give a great opportunity for success, but once you step through those law school doors you're not a special snowflake anymore.

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 9:21 pm

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rpupkin · Post by **rpupkin** » Tue Apr 01, 2014 9:32 pm

mornincounselor wrote:Thanks for the informative responses!

So the consensus seems to be that law firms are just as prestige-obsessed as law schools.

Law school aren't really prestige-obsessed; they're numbers obsessed. Note that, in general, someone with a 3.9/170 LSAT from a generic state school with a social sciences degree will get into much better law schools than a 3.3/165 LSAT from MIT with an engineering degree.

I'd say big law firms are a little more prestige-obsessed than law schools, in that they care more about the school you're coming from. Some of it is prestige--i.e., their clients want to see firm bios full of lawyers with degrees from top schools. But some of it is just efficient filtering; the best candidates generally go to the best schools, and it's more efficient to interview only at a few law schools.

banjo · Post by **banjo** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 12:42 am

I applied to a 1L SA that asked for an LSAT score. Other than that it never came up.

By the way, it's a HUGE faux pas to put your LSAT score on your resume or bring it up in an interview. You will seriously get rejected.

xisnotx · Post by **xisnotx** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:53 pm

I don't know...but I'm guessing it's like every other thing in life. It matters insofar as getting you to the next step.

After that step, it doesn't.