Bad First Semester Law School Grades?

Many people search this blog based on the question I have bad first semester law school grades, should I drop out?  



First, you have bad law school grades in your first semester.  So what?  So does a good quarter of the class.  That does not mean that you should drop out.  Instead, that means you know that your study habits were not on par with what they should be.  In other words, you need to step it up.  I think that those who have bad grades in law school and who end up quitting law school as a result are selling themselves short.  You worked hard to go to law school and you should not give up right at the beginning.  You have two and a half years to get your grades up and many people who have bad first semester grades climb the rankings later.  To be honest, I have found its those people who do really good during their first year that kind of start to slide in the later years.

While first year grades are important, so is job experience.  Just because you got bad grades in your first year of law school does not mean that you won't find a legal job.  First of all, first year summer jobs are easy to get.  Think about it for a moment.  No employer in his right mind is going to say no to free labor.  If anything, law school is legalized slavery for small firms.  However, by becoming a slave for a summer you will get the legal experience that future employers want.  High grades or low grades, many employers want you to have work experience.

If you are considering dropping out, ask if that is what you really want to do.  I know that a lot of people are telling students with bad grades to drop out, but I don't agree with them.  Why sell yourself short in life? 

Law School does a lot more than merely giving a student a chance at a legal job.  Law school is great for getting a non-legal job.  It provides the chance to network with professors and business people who possess excellent credentials.  It teaches students to think, speak, and write analytically.  It is a rite of passage that few people get to take, and the reality is that employers are impressed with law school graduates.  Non-legal positions are often filled with law graduates who show an interest in working outside of the law.  Why?  Many legal employers know that law school is perhaps the biggest test in discipline.  If you can get through law school, you can get through anything.  Having a law degree, in short, is impressive.  Ask yourself if you want to give that up.  I don't think you really do.