Law School Grades or Work Experience Importance

Law School Grades or Work Experience ImportanceLaw School Grades or Work Experience ImportanceThere are certain jobs youre only going to get if you have excellent law school grades, preferably from a highly-regarded school. These include Supreme Court clerkships, other types of federal clerkships, many BigLaw jobs, and competitive, prestigious government opportunities, such as the DOJ Honors zum besten vongram. What surprises many people is that certain public interest opportunities fall into this category as well Yes, many successful law students are willing to work for very little money to do work they believe in. However, grades will only get you so far, even if theyre excellent. Even in the rarified realm of great grades from prestigious law school, other factors come into play. For the fruchtwein prestigious clerkships, for example, you really need a professor whos on your team to pick up the phone and make calls for you. Failing that, at a minimum, you need several laudatory le tters of recommendation. Getting good grades is nice, but I hope youve been nice to your professors, too Youll need their help. Why Work Experience is Critical For the 99.9% of law students who arent thinking about where theyll reside during their Supreme Court clerkship, lets discuss work experience, which can include paid legal work experience, internships, externships, clinics, and pro bono work. Does it matter when it comes time to look for full-time work? In short, yes. When employers do decide to hire, thats not a decision theyre taking lightly. In most cases, they need someone who can come on board and get to work on day one. How do you show youre that person? By pointing to specific things youve done in the past that are directly relevant to what theyd be hiring you to do. If your legal work experience is limited, how will you be able to convince an employer youre the one they want to hire? No one has time for extensive training - you need to be practice ready when you show up for your first day of work. Getting work experience in law school helps you make the case that youre going to be able to perform, from day one. You Need the Experience to Stand Out Most law students show up with the best of intentions, of course. They think theyll pound the pavement for summer jobs, volunteer for interesting pro bono assignments, and so on. But what happens within a few weeks is that most start to focus wholly on their classes. This is understandable - law school is tough, and theres a lot of work to be done. However, its a serious mistake to focus all of your energy on trying to get good grades. Why? Several reasons What if your grades end up being average? With the forced curve in most law school classes, a lot of very smart, hard-working students are going to find themselves with average grades (or below). With only a handful of people in the top 10%, is it worth it to put all of your eggs in that basket? Maybe. Maybe not.Law school is a time of expl oration. If you never experiment with different areas of the law, how will you know what practice area is right for you? In the ideal, law school (and the summers between each year) are a time for exploration of different career paths. Far better to do it in school than to realize several years out that the path you chose isnt working Working is how you meet people. In a crowded job market, you need all the help you can get. Whos most likely to help you? The people who have already worked with you (assuming you did a great job). Youll rely on these contacts throughout your career, but especially when youre looking for that first job. If youre totenstill in law school, its time to examine how youre spending your time. If most/all of it is spent on classwork, youll likely find yourself at a disadvantage in the job hunt. Time to pick up a pro bono project or two and get to work Your resume will thank you later.