I’m a 3L in an “ok” NY law school. However, due to a series of family traumas, my GPA is pretty low. But on the upside of things have managed to land some pretty impressive internships with NGOs in Manhattan and in Asia. I got those jobs by sending my resume, not hearing anything, resending the resume with a flowery cover letter, calling to make sure they received my resume, etc. Finally, I got an interview and because they were impressed with my tenacity, personality, resume (the whole package) I was hired. I also received a fellowship with that low GPA and was selected to represent my school for a semester abroad in a new international program. (I was one of only two students chosen). I have also worked for an NGO during the school year. I have been able to beef up my resume and collect some awesome recommendations. I would continue to work for the NGO I am with now but there is just no funding in their budget for another staff attorney. So great things can be accomplished with a lower GPA.

I’m not really dismayed about employment prospects. I have many attorney friends who have graduated from top schools, bottom school, within the to 10% and the bottom 10%. All are currently gainfully employed. (However a couple of them aren’t completely satisfied with the type of law they are practicing). Some started their own firms with classmates, other are in small, medium, and large firms while others are in government or NGO positions.

Coming out of school with lower grades sucks but you will have your JD and you will get a job. Networking is certainly the way to go. Everyone cannot be at the top of their class. You would be surprised how many attorneys I know who had fantastic large firm jobs out of school but who only lasted in that atmosphere about a year. It’s not for everyone. I don’t know where I will end up (hopefully in the arena of human rights) but the job will come.

Good luck to all of us!

The good news is this: you are still in school, and while in school, employers will adore you. This is for several reasons, but most often it’s because students are willing to work for cheaper wages than licensed attorneys (we do have to pay our loans, after all). So look for internships and fellowships and volunteer positions if you have to at firms where you can see yourself working after law school. You want to do immigration law, so send your resume to every immigration law firm you can find. A part-time student in my class (graduated after me by a semester) ended up working one summer at a law firm downtown and now has a firm offer there after graduation, and I know her grades weren’t the best. I had two offers of employment post-graduation from the two places I clerked for, but chose to turn them down to move back to the city I loved. But my school’s reputation was largely regional (85% of graduates stay in the city and suburbs), so I don’t have the opportunity to network with alumni here as well. I’m struggling with the alumni network of my graduate program, because it wasn’t law related, and I will likely end up taking a non-lawyer position in my first graduate school field.

Long story short: if you are at a lower-ranked school and fall below the median class rank, you can start your own practice (a viable and respectable option, but it will take years to become profitable), or you can network your butt off while in law school and make connections to people who know your work so well that they will offer you a job after graduation. It’s not easy, but at least you are aware of the reality of the situation now, and not post-graduation. Good luck!

People sometimes confuse being in the top 10% of your class at law school with being a great lawyer. This is simply not true. While some of the top 10% may be great lawyers, it is not solely because of their class rank. All being in the top 10% signifies is that you are a great *law student*. There is much more than academia to being a great lawyer.

So if your only goal is to be a great law student then by all means rest on you laurels if you are in the top 10%. But if your main goal is to be a great lawyer then continue striving to do your best in school, because this will prepare you to really shine when you are finally practicing. If you are good with people and have a nice personality clients will not care what your rank was. Of course they will care if you have no idea what you are doing

I think the most helpful thing I am doing right now for my career goals is working as an intern at a small law firm. The firm has only two attorneys and I kind of knew one of them from my previous job. No one I talk to has ever heard of the firm, but since it is small, I get hands-on involvement in almost everything. I’m just going to hang onto this job and hope building my skills will get me a job that I like.

This is a great way to meet practitioners. I have met some great people by serving on bar association committees and attending events. I wished that I had started doing this when I was in law school.