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I’m Facing Two Large Problems - Should I Continue Going to Law School?

published July 30, 2015

By Author - LawCrossing
Published By
( 10 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
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Question: I am a student at a Top 25 law school who has just finished the first year. I have two rather large problems:

1. My first-year grades placed me in the bottom 10 percent of my class.


2. I have been involved in a disciplinary matter where the sanction includes both a one semester suspension during my second year, and an official reprimand that is placed in my academic file but not noted on my transcript.

 
I feel this situation is so bad that I would have been better off not attending law school. I'd like to work in a big city, such as New York or Washington, DC, but I have my doubts I'll ever find a job. I was able to obtain interviews at large firms during the Christmas break, but once the grade reports were issued, those opportunities became unavailable.

If I return to school after the suspension, how should I handle the gap in the transcript? Do I have an obligation to inform employers that I was involved in a disciplinary matter? It seems a no-brainer that if I were to be asked directly concerning this then I of course would need to let them know. It is a matter that is law school related only.


Answer: I certainly understand why you are troubled. To add insult to injury, I don't think you are going to like what I have to say.

Quite frankly, I am not convinced that your time and money are worth spending on law school at this point. The bottom 10 percent of your class at a Top 25 law school is not going to distinguish you among the firms in the cities you have listed. In fact, I suspect that you will not be asked in for many, if any, interviews for a 2L summer job. The 2L summer associate classes will be smaller next year and the employers will be extremely selective. It is never good to be in the bottom 10 percent of your class, but the uncertain state of the economy right now makes it even worse.

And now, to make it even more hopeless, on top of having very low grades you have been involved in a disciplinary matter where the sanction includes both a suspension for the first semester of your second year at law school and an official reprimand in your academic file.

A reprimand and a one-semester suspension are serious punishments that invoke very negative connotations. Generally, this type of action by a law school suggests that you were found guilty of cheating on a test or plagiarizing a paper. Even though this suspension will not show up on your transcript, you need to accept the fact that you will be asked by a potential employer to explain your absence during the first semester of your second year. At that point, it will be necessary for you to provide full disclosure regarding the reprimand and suspension.
 
Even without the reprimand and suspension, you are in a rough situation with such low grades. I suspect it will be next to impossible to get a summer in the cities you have chosen. I am afraid that your hopes of a great career in the law may be a bit unrealistic. You have already experienced the effect of your transcript on the interviews you had during the Christmas holidays. It certainly will not get any better during the next round of interviews.

During various boom cycles in the legal profession you might have found one or two firms that were so desperate to hire associates that you possibly could have squeaked through the system. However, times have changed and firms are hiring fewer summer and first-year associates.

It won't even do you any good to drop out of law school, wait a year or two and start all over again, since you will need to disclose these matters at one point or another. This is a nightmare for you and I know that you must be devastated. The only thing you can do is pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes, try to focus in on your skills and find a new profession to pursue. It is very painful for me to tell you that you should quit law school. However, I would be doing you a disservice if I told you to stick it out based on your specific situation.
 
I hope I will hear from some of my readers as to whether or not they agree with my thoughts here. If my advice turns out to be a minority decision, I will let you know. In the meantime, try to keep your spirits up and think about what other professions or careers might be appealing to you.

published July 30, 2015

By Author - LawCrossing
( 10 votes, average: 4.5 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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