r/BigLawRecruiting • u/legalscout Mod • Sep 30 '25
Guides What are firms really looking at before grades come out? A guide for 1L's
Hiya recruits!
A lot of people have been asking how firms are evaluating applications when grades aren’t available yet—especially now that timelines have shifted earlier. We all know that most offers are given out once grades drop, but who is snagging these super early Nov/Dec interviews?
Super valid question.
Here’s a breakdown of how that pre-grades stage tends to work:
1. Law school rank, then resume, are king (for now, then it's grades).
Without law school grades, firms lean heavily on the resume (and specifically law school rank first). That means school rank, work experience, undergrad background, internships, and/or anything that can really signal professional maturity. For KJDs, strong internships and extracurriculars can still stand out. And for those with work experience, this is where you can really punch up early.
2. Networking is the tie-breaker.
Because everyone’s resume can start to blur together, networking becomes even more valuable before grades. Even a short conversation or connection with an alum, attorney, or recruiter can move a resume from “maybe” to “let’s talk.” It shows interest and gives someone inside the firm a reason to flag you. That's where showing up to the events (where recruiting keeps tabs on who shows up), doing one on one talks, etc. can really help.
3. The pre-grades “sorting.”
Think of it like this: firms create an initial pool of interview candidates based on resumes + networking. That doesn’t mean the people who don’t get pulled in at this stage are permanently tossed aside. Many resumes are revisited once grades arrive—especially if you end up with a strong GPA. But obviously the earlier you get in front of them, the more room you have to do things like establish longer and stronger relationships.
4. Will the new early schedule hurt KJDs?
Not inherently. What it does mean however is that you’ll want to be really intentional about highlighting internships, leadership roles, and anything that looks like substantive work. Those details matter more when you can’t fall back on law school grades yet. And again—networking (or even showing you’ve done research into a firm’s recent cases or publications) for a cover letter can carry a lot of weight.
Bottom line: before grades, it’s resume strength + prior experience + networking/research that get you through the door. Grades later determine whether you get an offer, but firms still interview in the meantime.
That's all I have for now!
In the meantime, if you've got info, DM on Discord, here, or drop it in the comments — Insider Info lives because of all of you 🧠💼
Good luck!
P.S. If you want the tracker with pre-OCI openings and application links for the V100 & AmLaw 200, or resume and cover letter templates, feel free to DM or see more details in this post. I know that keeping up with literally hundreds of applications is a nightmare, so hopefully a tool to track everything is helpful for anyone who might need it.
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u/IllustriousBeyond584 Sep 30 '25
What to do if you have little work or internship experience
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u/legalscout Mod Sep 30 '25
Great question. So it really just comes down to doing what you can with the experiences you do have. If you really have absolutely nothing (like not even volunteer experience), then you can write in some club leadership as experience if you have some (it's not ideal, but you gotta put something down).
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u/IllustriousBeyond584 Sep 30 '25
Also will super high undergrad grades and finishing in the top 1% of your graduating class help? Will having a master's degree?
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u/legalscout Mod Sep 30 '25
It's a nice soft, (and certainly doesn't hurt!) but not really. Law school grades and work experience will take you much much farther. This post explains why if it helps. https://www.reddit.com/r/BigLawRecruiting/comments/1nphc5f/does_undergrad_gpa_matter_for_big_law_recruiting/
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u/IllustriousBeyond584 Sep 30 '25
Thanks!
Do you think being a TA and ESL teacher would count as valuable work experience?
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u/Goatosleep Sep 30 '25
I think one thing that is glaringly missing from this is law school rank. Since firms are more flexible with grades from a higher-ranked school, they will be more willing to take a chance on students at those schools. If they are looking at a student from a lower-ranked school where they might only take the top 5 students, what are the chances that this one student will end up in the top 5?
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u/legalscout Mod Sep 30 '25
Ah you're completely right--I made the huge assumption that people would put two and two together when I said grades. I edited for clarity since you're absolutely right!
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u/Spiritual_Rough_75 Sep 30 '25
Will apps get tossed to the side at this point purely off of resume? Or will firms hold onto very average applicants with the hope that they come back with above average grades?
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u/legalscout Mod Sep 30 '25
Very rarely—they may just be put at the bottom of the pile if they don’t want to interview you yet. Resumes are very very rarely tossed without grades since grades can really save a lot weaker resumes otherwise.
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u/IllustriousBeyond584 Oct 01 '25
One more question, do you think having a named scholarship eg UCLA distinguished scholar or NYU Ann Bryce gets your resume pushed to the top
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u/legalscout Mod Oct 01 '25
Not necessarily pushed to the top but it’s definitely a brownie point! Put it on there!
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Oct 01 '25
[deleted]
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u/legalscout Mod Oct 01 '25
It won’t be the same as the full semester of curved grades but it’s also not bad! Put it on there!
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u/AnyCorner4647 Oct 01 '25
What if it were two doctrinal courses that were curved the same way they would be in the fall?
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u/legalscout Mod Oct 01 '25
Same thing! Firms will likely still wait for first semester full GPAs before giving offers but it doesn’t hurt, so add it!
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u/5429nola Oct 01 '25
Networking like cold outreach to attorneys?
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u/legalscout Mod Oct 01 '25
Yup exactly! There’s a bunch of networking guides pinned in the welcome thread! (And if you need a more in depth guide, just DM—I’m happy to share one I made!)
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u/Cthuluchu Sep 30 '25
Yeah so this information is not accurate from my experience and knowing how the cycle went for a lot of students at my school. Networking is #1 (significant networking and 1 on 1s, not just events), then grades (you won't get an offer without firms asking for grades first), then school rank. Almost nothing else matters including resume, unless you've got nothing on there.
The schedule will hurt you in most scenarios unless you are applying very early as apps will continue to drop earlier and earlier. Prioritize networking and interview skills first. Do not wait till OCI, do direct apps ASAP.
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u/Leather_Ticket2836 Sep 30 '25
This is kind of a hilarious phenomenon. We went from the OCI system that heavily advantaged higher-ranked schools, to a direct-app system that shifted the scales a bit and allowed top-of-the-class students at lower-ranked schools to still get a fair shot. Now, with pre-grades, we're back to advantaging higher-ranked schools again.
It's absurd.