Staving off sheer panic.

[Mischka]

Most people here know that I'm in law school and that I've done pretty well. I graded on to the school's top law review; two of my articles were accepted for publication; I was chosen for a national appellate court team; I was elected to the Executive Board of law review.

Before law school, I worked for three years in the litigation department of an international law firm. I averaged 75 hours a week, and frequently topped 100 hours a week. I worked directly with the head of the litigation department in one office, and with the hiring partner in another office (I traveled constantly between the offices, depending on trial dates). When I left for law school, they told me that as long as I made law review, I had a standing offer to return as an attorney.

After I made law review, I submitted my transcript and resume to them. Shortly thereafter I received a phone call from the hiring partner. Terribly difficult decision, but they were no longer interested in me. My GPA fell 0.06 short of their mandatory cut-off. No exceptions. However, he'd be happy to serve as a
reference to any other firm.

I shook myself off and applied elsewhere. I was offered summer positions at two other highly reputable firms, including one of the largest in the world. On Friday, I received a call from the hiring partner of the first firm, asking me to call him back and saying that he was looking forward to talking to me. I tried several times this weekend to reach him, finally getting through this morning. Turns out he was "looking forward" to rejecting me. Despite every
attorney I worked with recommending that they make me an offer, my GPA fell 0.02 short of their mandatory cut-off. No exceptions. However, he'd be happy to serve as a reference to any other firm.

I already know I'm facing the same fate at the firm I'm at right now. I spoke with the recruiting coordinator this morning, and after dancing around a bit, she admitted it. I've earned top scores on every assignment I've completed for them, but again my GPA is too low, given the current market. There is literally nothing I can do to earn an offer. Why on earth do they even bother hiring us for the summer if our potential as attorneys is solely determined by our GPAs?

I am a good person. I am intelligent, driven, and capable. I know this. Friends, professors, and colleagues have all said the same thing. And yet, here I am, jobless and clueless. For the first time in my life, I really don't know what to do.

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[Guest]

The intelligent CB has beaten me. She's right. I worked with several non-profit orgs. that were begging to legal help. I'm not sure what you would be interested in, but if you need any urls for grass roots programs, please let me know.
No worries. It will work out, as it should.

 

[Sandia]

Mishka,

Why would you want to work a hundred hours a week anyway?

I'm not saying this to be unsympathetic; I am sympathetic. It's scary. I know that.

But why would you want to work a hundred hours a week?

 

[Sandia]

The intelligent CB has beaten me. She's right. I worked with several non-profit orgs. that were begging to legal help. I'm not sure what you would be interested in, but if you need any urls for grass roots programs, please let me know.
No worries. It will work out, as it should.

Were they begging, or paying?

 

[Siren]

 

[Problem Child]

Mischka, maybe REDWAVE will hire you when he gets over his "disability". After all, I hear he's top-notch.



j/k You'll do fine. Don't sweat it.

 

[Guest]

Were they begging, or paying?

They were begging and paying. I could not say as to what amount, but I'd guess it wouldn't be comparable to corporate law offices.

Mischka will be fine.

 

[sexy-girl]

my sister is having trouble getting rehired for a computer job after she had an excellant job working in north england

shes working temp as a shelf filler in a super markert at nights (shes working now) ... so least you havent gone that low mischka


but seriously i dont fully understand all the system over there and GPA but i wish you luck ... keep your dreams and aims set for what you want ... im sure you will succeed ... its pretty obvious you are the brainbox of this operation at lit

 

[Mischka]

CB and raindancer - thanks for the suggestion, but non-profits pay less than what I'll owe in tuition repayments. I would actually be losing mnoey by working at one of those.

Sandia - I'm already working 100 hours a week, between my summer job and law review. It's not an uncommon thing for me. I come from a family of people that have always worked around that much, no matter the profession.

Siren - I've already made an appointment with the school's career services office, so I can look into the options you recommend. With the tightening of the market, however, the smaller firms have already hired their new associates, so I doubt I'll find anything there. And I'm afraid I beg to differ on your assessment of me - it's been proven I'm not an asset to three firms already. I know there's more out there, but I'm at a pretty low point right now. I've really never felt this way before.

 

[Guest]

I understand. I am still paying my college loans. Non-profit work is not for pay, that is for sure. I really can't offer any other advice because I am ignorant of law prospects.
Slap me if I sound illogical and full of rainbows, ok? But, maybe this is a time for you to slow down. Time to take care of some things before you get out there and work yourself to death. I really believe a job, just for you, will come along. Please don't get too discouraged if it doesn't happen quickly. Hang in there.

 

[Dillinger]

Stupid fucking rules.

Not sure what you're most interested in - or where you may be willing to earn some war wounds and then apply to some different firms, or the same ones again in a couple years with some more notches on your belt but...

Along with the possibility of non-profits have you considered working for a corporation for a while in their legal department? The larger corporations have some very impressive legal talent. I recently found out that my company only uses our own internal lawyers for all legal work.

 

[morninggirl5]

I wish i had the words to help you feel better about things. No matter what the recommendations were and even though you know it was mainly because of an arbitrary GPA cut-off, the rejection still hurts.

Siren has some good advice. Trust her to help.

 

[Siren]

 

[Cheyenne]

And I'm afraid I beg to differ on your assessment of me - it's been proven I'm not an asset to three firms already. I know there's more out there, but I'm at a pretty low point right now. I've really never felt this way before.

Damn it! That is NOT true and you know it. Don't let them make you think you aren't great. Look at your first post and see all the things you've accomplished already. The economy is NOT your fault! You are the same great person you always have been- the economy is shit.

There is a job out there with your name on it. You just need to find it. Go to your school's career services office like you have planned and let them help you. It is what they do! Get ideas and follow up with them. They have a vested interest in getting their good students into good jobs, too. Keeps the reputation of their law school intact.

You may have to shift gears away from the "big name" companies. And I don't believe that all the smaller firms have their hiring done now already for graduation next year. Don't give up yet- this is just a bump in the road. Everything happens for a reason. The job you are meant for may just take a bit more time and a bit more work to get to.

 

[Weird Harold]

And I'm afraid I beg to differ on your assessment of me - it's been proven I'm not an asset to three firms already.

Nope, all that's been "proven" is that three firms, one of which knows you and your work ethic, have stupid and abitrary hiring policies that bear no relationship to reality in determining whether someone is an asset or not.

 

[Siren]

 

[lavender]

 

[Cheyenne]

Cheyenne..............

copy catter.

I just read yours. You typed faster than I did! Ha!

We're still right though.

I know from my own career that there were things I needed to do, things I had to go through, to get me where I am today. The road isn't always easy, and you don't understand some of the twists and turns as they happen. But in the end, I can see why things happened as they did. Of course, I'm not THAT old, and there could be lots of twists ahead that I don't even know about. Whatever they are, I am ready for them now.

 

[Siren]

 

[Siren]

 

[Rubyfruit]

Mischka, I know how incredibly disappointing these rejections must have been. You are a woman who is used to succeeding. You have probably never experienced any sort of failure before.

As everybody else has stated, you are an amazing woman, and you will get a good job, I'm sure of it.

Don't you have one more year left of school? Don't they consider those grades at all?

 

[lavender]

 

[Siren]

 

[lavender]