Discussions on CC tend to be more about how to get admitted to schools than anything else. For all of the prospective law students out there, I want to share some information that is well known among law students, and discussed at length on other law school related internet forums, but not typically discussed here on CC.
When you start law school, it is really important to get very good grades your first year, if you want to find a high paying job with a “big law” firm after you graduate. First, second, and third year law students are called 1Ls, 2Ls, and 3Ls, respectively. The typical path to getting hired at a “big law” firm, is to work at that firm as a summer associate following your 2L year. A very high percentage of 2L summer associates are offered permanent associate positions. (The numbers will vary based on a number of factors, but it’s typically like 90%.)
The hiring process for 2L summer associate positions starts at the end of the 1L summer with on campus interviews, before the second year of law school has even begun. At that point, the only grades available are your 1L grades.
Your permanent job prospects are much worse if you didn’t get a 2L summer associate position. Getting good grades during the 2L year doesn’t make up for a bad 1L year.
So, students who are considering law school should try to become as well prepared as possible during undergrad. Take classes that involve a lot of reading and analysis of complicated material and a lot of writing. The general level of rigor of your undergrad also comes into play here .
Agree with everything until the last paragraph - I went to law school, my husband went to law school, my eldest S went to law school and my D is in law school. The only topic on which we have consensus is that nothing in undergrad prepared us for law school exams. Yes, it’s good to read and write, but law school exams are a breed onto themselves. It’s almost impossible to predict if you’ll be good at it or not, and virtually no way to prepare. Also, unlike even undergrad, in most 1L classes there is only one assessment to determine your grade - one 3-24 hour exam; sometimes proctored in class, sometimes take home; sometimes open book, sometimes closed book; sometimes no page/word limit, sometimes a strict page/word limit. Everything depends on the professor. Also, grading is blind and at most schools there is no class participation/attendance/quiz component. Law school is a whole new breed for most students, as far as assessments go.
Runnersmom is correct. Law school exams are nothing like anything you will take as an undergraduate. They are usually graded on “issue spotting,” and there really isn’t any particular course of study you can take as an undergraduate that will give you a leg up on the competition in law school.
Many law schools will keep a few high scoring answers from previous years on file for larger classes (i.e. your first year classes and some of the larger 2L classes). Studying these high scoring answers can give you good insight into what a top scoring answer looks like.
Yes, 1L grades are key for landing that first job, but the chances of you remaining in that first job are slim. Don’t slack off in your 2nd and 3rd year. If you want to make a lateral move, those grades can come back to haunt you. They stick with you longer than you can imagine.
After the 1st year, I rather liked law school exams. Sort of like placing all your bets in one roll–that said, I get why they could be a source of consternation for some. But, yes, 1st year grades do set the table for those summer jobs.