2017 T-30 Grad With Awful Grades Forum

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2017 T-30 Grad With Awful Grades

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Jul 20, 2018 6:35 pm

I graduated from a t-30 law school with an abysmal 2.9.I made the mistake of starting law school without addressing some academic obstacles, B minused the hell out of 1L year, and had some major hiccups all the way into 3L year. To add insult to injury, I failed the bar. Twice. Since graduation, I've been taking the odd doc review job here and there that doesn't require bar passage. As you can imagine, I feel like I'm at the bottom of the barrel, and am pretty depressed about my future. I want to turn things around, but don't know how. I've been applying for Law Clerk positions and plan on volunteering once I do pass the bar with some legal non-profits. I'm also looking into doing some legal research. Right now, the only thing that I have going for me is that I don't have any debt, and that I am in the same city in which my law school is a powerhouse. My biggest fear is winding up in a permanent doc review type job doing menial legal work for the rest of my life.Does anyone have any advice as to:

1)What I should be doing now?
2)Whether or not the relatively good reputation of my school in the city I currently live in will slightly make up for such an awful GPA?
3)Whether or not my GPA has permanently closed doors for certain jobs (by no means BigLaw, or even higher paying Mid Law) jobs in the future if I choose to lateral up?

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floatie

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Re: 2017 T-30 Grad With Awful Grades

Post by floatie » Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:16 pm

Anonymous User wrote: 1)What I should be doing now?
2)Whether or not the relatively good reputation of my school in the city I currently live in will slightly make up for such an awful GPA?
3)Whether or not my GPA has permanently closed doors for certain jobs (by no means BigLaw, or even higher paying Mid Law) jobs in the future if I choose to lateral up?
Put every effort into passing the bar. That's probably holding you back more at this point than anything else. Your GPA has closed a lot of doors but not all, and if you pass the bar, it'll open a few doors back up. The good reputation of your school will help some, but it won't be enough to make up for low GPA + no bar. I'm assuming you're taking the July bar - after that, network your ass off. Reach out to career services, and any connection that you have to let people know you're on the market. Then, massmail the shit out of your market.

ladybug1989

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Re: 2017 T-30 Grad With Awful Grades

Post by ladybug1989 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 8:52 pm

Not passing the bar is def. holding you back. Unlike many others in your shoes, you're at least taking on doc review jobs, so that's good. You have to figure out why you're not passing the bar. If you are self-studying, you need to invest in a good bar prep course, especially since you're not in debt. You also need to start networking with partners/associates at small firms. Eventually you'll land something and move up as you gain experience. I've seen people in much worse situations that "made it." Just stay motivated.

FLBAR0718

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Re: 2017 T-30 Grad With Awful Grades

Post by FLBAR0718 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 11:13 pm

I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you’re a BC law grad (top-30 powerhouse?).

If it makes you feel better, I knew two people in my class with sub-3.0 gpas and both ended up finding legal employment after passing the bar. I also heard of someone with a 2.7 or something getting a biglaw offer after a few years.

It helps that you went to bc, but at the end of the day, you need to pass the bar first. You failed twice and many employers will not want to risk hiring someone who is unable to pass the bar.

Good luck.

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