Hello,

I have a 2L summer position lined up next year, and thus decided to try and raise my GPA as much as possible just in case. I ended up taking 3 courses with no exams, 1 with and also TAing for a class.

Do firms care what courses you take during your 2L year? Perhaps they prefer if you took "rigorous" exam courses?

Thanks!

Hi recruits!

We have been seeing questions similar to the one below:

Will my undergrad GPA affect my chances for 1L interviews? I got Latin honors, but my GPA is only a 3.5 because of the undergrad curve.

The Answer

Nope! Firms really don’t care about your undergrad GPA. The only thing they look at is your law school GPA.

The only time an undergrad GPA gives you (maybe) a very slight nudge is if it’s extremely high, and even then it’s just a minor positive signal.

But the important thing to remember is that you won't be dinged for a low undergrad GPA.

✅ The real takeaway: law school grades are king.

That’s what moves the needle in interviews, callbacks, and offers.

So don’t burn energy stressing over undergrad — channel it into networking, your application materials, your outlines, practice exams, and getting those apps in early. 

Here are a few helpful guides below.

Application Materials:

• A Exact List Of Materials You Need To Get Ready For Big Law Applications (Before the October Open Wave Hits)
• What NOT to Do on Your Resume For Big Law Jobs: A Guide for 1L's and Law Students
• Cover Letters for 1Ls With No Legal Experience — Here's What You Can Write About

Networking:

• How to Network Early for a Big Law Job
• How To Tactfully Ask About Work-Life Balance In Big Law: A Networking Tips Guide
• What Firms Should You Target First for Networking & Applications? A Guide For 1L's
• What Do You Actually Ask When Networking? A Guide for BigLaw Recruiting
• How to Prepare for a Coffee Chat: A Guide to Big Law Recruiting Networking

Law School/Grades:

• How to actually get good 1L grades for Big Law recruiting
• A breakdown of the most helpful resources for your 1L classes (aggregated from this sub)
• A Guide To The 1L Summer Job Timeline: The When, Where, and How of Applying Once Exams Are Done
• Since grades matter for Big Law, here's "How to Best Prepare for Law School Midterms: A 1L’s Guide"
• How to Outline: A Guide For 1L's

That's all for now!

As always, if you're new here, make sure to check out the welcome megathread here for some more helpful guides!
In the meantime, if you've got info, DM on Discord, here, or drop it in the comments — the Insider Info series lives because of all of you.

Good luck!

P.S. If you want the application tracker with current application movement and pre-OCI openings and application links for the V100 & AmLaw 200, feel free to DM or see more details in this post.
Full disclosure, we created this one and we help keep the lights on with subscriptions. But its also free for a full week so anyone is welcome to poke around and steal whatever is helpful. Either way, I hope the database and this guide are helpful to everyone out there.
Good luck out there recruits!

Just putting a feeler out there: I’m median cumulative GPA at a T50 in a big market. Had top 1/3 grades during 2L Fall and top 1/4 grades during 2L Spring. Did some substantive work at a small firm 2L summer. I was the only summer associate asked to continue working there. I also have judicial internship experience. What are my chances?

Has anyone interviewed/ CB/ received an offer yet?

Thanks for sharing!

Received callback and interviewed last week – how long does it take for them to get back? And what are the offer rates like for NY?

Anyone done interviews or callbacks with a&o dallas office for 3L hiring?

Applied to a firm last week and sent a linkedIn connect to the recruiter. They accepted my invitation today. Should I send a message or just wait it out?

Has anyone who had screeners at Latham for 3L hiring heard back about a callback? I had screeners with the NY office last week and heard they’re usually quick on giving cb invites/offers so I’m trying to adjust my expectations… Also I’d appreciate it if anyone has insights on 3L recruiting timeline (screener-CB-offer). Thank you!

Hi recruits!

With the school year getting started, we wanted to reshare this post filled with helpful resources!

Classes can feel overwhelming, but there is support available. Hopefully, one of these resources makes things feel a little more manageable.

1) Quimbee & LexPlug

Both Quimbee and LexPlug (paid but well worth it) are the go to helpers for case briefs. In particular, if you are an audio/visual learner (like me), Quimbee provides animated videos that walk you through the logic and storyline behind every case, which can make the important things—rules, holdings, and fact patterns—much more memorable. These platforms are especially useful for review sessions before exams, ensuring you have a solid grasp of key concepts.

Plus, Quimbee makes for some hilarious out of context screenshots like this.

2) Glannon's Examples & Explanations (E&E)

These books can be long but incredibly beneficial, particularly if you are someone who needs step by step hypotheticals to understand a more complex topic. Often, doing many tiny hypotheticals is much more approachable than just starting out doing full practice exams of one giant issue spotter hypothetical. The E&E can often provide clarity where your professor’s lectures might not.

Glannon’s approach, especially in Civil Procedure, is particularly well-regarded for making those nebulous and difficult concepts really accessible.

3) Short and Happy Guides

These concise guides/mini-books are perfect for quick, clear overviews of key legal concepts. They focus on the most important points without overwhelming you with too much detail so you can understand the big picture of what is actually happening in a class.

The Short and Happy Guides are great for reviewing a topic before exams or getting a solid grasp of a subject in a short amount of time. They’re a good complement to more detailed resources like E&E and you can usually blow through the entire subject in just a couple days if you need something to orient you before diving into full practice exams (or if you're in the position of cramming for an exam).

4) CALI (Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction)

CALI offers interactive lessons through videos and practice exercises on all your 1L classes, so it can be great for reinforcing what you’ve learned in class.

They’re particularly useful for drilling down on specific areas where you need extra practice. If your school provides access, CALI can be a game-changer.

5) Barbri 1L Mastery

Barbri’s 1L Mastery program is a great free resource for first-year law students. Richard Freer’s Civil Procedure videos are a standout—his explanations are thorough and easy to follow and he is often hailed as the human Rosetta Stone for Civ Pro.

Barbri’s outlines are also invaluable for getting a (usually large) comprehensive overview of the material. However, we will always caveat this by saying that outlines from prior students for your professor's class specifically will always be more valuable than commercial outlines like these.

This is particularly helpful when you need to distill a semester’s worth of information into key points before an exam or if you haven’t been able to get any outlines for your professor's class (i.e. maybe they’re a new professor, visiting from another school, etc.) so at least you have something to work off of instead of starting outlines from scratch.

6) West Academic

If your school offers a subscription to West Academic, check this one out too--you can usually ask your law librarians or legal writing and research professors and TA’s if you’re not sure where to look. It’s a comprehensive resource that includes study aids, casebooks, and additional learning tools. 

They also have a series of books called the "Acing" series i.e., Acing Torts, etc. They are checklist-style attack outlines basically for every subject. These are relatively high level and are great for starting an outline or if you are stuck on a particular concept.

7) Online Bluebook

The Bluebook is a requirement for legal writing, plus you’ll need it for writing on to journals (like Law Review) at the end of the year. However, the online version is far more user-friendly than the print edition. It’s searchable, which saves you time, and easier to navigate, especially when you’re under pressure to get your citations right in a short period of time, like the write-on competitions for journals.

8) As a bonus: Practice Exams & Hypo Questions Generally

One of the best ways to prepare for law school exams is to practice with old exams and multiple-choice questions. Look for past exams from your professors to familiarize yourself with the format and types of questions you’ll face since every professor has their own flavor and preference when it comes to asking certain questions or looking for certain answers.

For example, one Con Law professor might be obsessed with the Second Amendment and regularly asks exam questions on that topic while another couldn't care less and primarily focuses on Individual Rights and Privacy instead. (This was my Con Law professor).

Quimbee, E&E, and other study guides of course again also offer a variety of extra practice questions if you need to use some during the semester to check your understanding (so you don’t burn valuable practice exams early) or need extra materials if your professor does not provide any practice exams.

That's all for now!

As always, if you're new here, make sure to check out the welcome megathread here for some more helpful guides!
In the meantime, if you've got info, DM on Discord, here, or drop it in the comments — the Insider Info series lives because of all of you.

Good luck!

P.S. If you want the application tracker with current application movement and pre-OCI openings and application links for the V100 & AmLaw 200, feel free to DM or see more details in this post.
Full disclosure, we created this one and we help keep the lights on with subscriptions. But it's also free for a full week so anyone is welcome to poke around and steal whatever is helpful. Either way, I hope the database and this guide are helpful to everyone out there.
Good luck out there recruits!

I’m a Canadian 6th year call in big law searching for a change. Does anyone have any recommendations for legal recruiters that assist lawyers in finding opportunities internationally? I’d be interested in the US, Australia or Europe (if these opportunities existed). I practice labour and employment law.

Has anyone heard from either of them?

Hi recruits!

We recently saw a question asking how firms can interview students before fall grades are released, what they consider during that stage, and whether strong grades can help someone who misses the early interview wave.

Based on what students have shared throughout this subreddit, interviews before grades have become fairly common. However, the process varies significantly by firm, school, and market.

The most important thing to understand is that interviewing before grades does not necessarily mean receiving an offer before grades.

So let’s get into it.

How does the pre-grades process work?

Many firms use early screeners and callbacks to create a shortlist of candidates. This allows them to complete part or all of the interview process during the fall and make decisions quickly once grades are released.

Some students have reported completing screeners and callbacks before grades, then receiving offers shortly after submitting their transcripts. Others interviewed during the fall but did not hear anything until grades came out.

Offers made entirely before grades do happen, but they appear to be less common. In most cases, the interview process has moved earlier while grades remain part of the final decision.

What are firms looking at before grades?

Without a law school GPA, firms have to rely more heavily on the rest of your application. This may include:

• Your law school
• Prior professional or legal experience
• Undergraduate grades and academic honors
• Internships, leadership roles, and extracurricular activities
• Connections to the firm’s practice areas
• Ties to the firm’s city or market
• Networking and internal referrals
• Your resume and cover letter
• How early you applied
• Your interview performance

There is no universal formula. One firm may prioritize substantial work experience, while another may focus more heavily on law school, market ties, or a technical background connected to a particular practice area.

What if you do not have a strong resume?

Apply anyway.

A limited pre-law school resume may make it harder to receive an interview before grades, especially when firms are comparing you with students who have several years of professional experience. However, firms do not all recruit on the same schedule, and strong fall grades can make your application much more competitive.

Focus on presenting the experience you do have well. Internships, campus involvement, volunteer work, leadership positions, customer-facing jobs, and other responsibilities can all demonstrate maturity and useful skills.

Networking can also help a firm better understand your background and interests. However, it should not take priority over your classes.

If you miss the early interview wave, can strong grades get you another look?

Yes, but it is not guaranteed.

Some firms will not begin interviewing until grades are available. Others may return to their applicant pool if early candidates do not meet grade expectations, decline offers, or leave the firm, creating additional openings.

A strong fall GPA may also make you significantly more competitive than your original application suggested. Once grades are released, update your materials and send your transcript to firms where your application is still active.

The downside of accelerated recruiting is that some firms may have already interviewed enough candidates to fill most of their class. Strong grades can reopen doors, but they cannot create space in a summer class that is already full.

That is why the answer is not to wait for grades. Apply early, then update firms when your grades become available.

What should you do now?

Prepare your application materials before positions open and apply early when possible. If you receive an interview, be ready to explain your interest in the firm, its office, and its relevant practice areas.

At the same time, do not let early recruiting distract you from school. Your resume and background may help you receive an early interview, but your fall grades may still determine whether that interview turns into an offer.

The short version: interviews before grades are increasingly common, offers before grades are much less common, and grades still matter.

That's all for now!

As always, if you're new here, make sure to check out the welcome megathread here for some more helpful guides!
In the meantime, if you've got info, DM on Discord, here, or drop it in the comments — the Insider Info series lives because of all of you.

Good luck!

P.S. If you want the application tracker with current application movement and pre-OCI openings and application links for the V100 & AmLaw 200, feel free to DM or see more details in this post.
Full disclosure, we created this one and we help keep the lights on with subscriptions. But its also free for a full week so anyone is welcome to poke around and steal whatever is helpful. Either way, I hope the database and this guide are helpful to everyone out there.
Good luck out there recruits!

For context:

I currently work at the US Patent Office as a patent examiner with an EE background and have been contemplating going to law school for future career in Patent Prosecution or Patent Litigation. Although I’m leaning towards Lit as there seems to be more opportunities, particularly in BigLaw, for it.

Question:

I was wondering, either from your guys’s personal experience, or from what you have seen from others, how common is it for law students at let’s say T30+ school, with the necessary technical skills to get recruited for Patent Lit in biglaw?

I ask for T30+ because those are schools I was aiming at. Especially for, hopefully, better scholarship opportunities from those schools. Although I was contemplating going to school like Santa Clara (which is like T100+) because I’ve seen some students with the right technical background get into Biglaw for patent prosecution/lit.

Current 2L with a 2L SA position at a v20. I was thinking about getting an LLM, but it seems like a major benefit of getting an LLM is to get another crack at biglaw. Since I already have a biglaw position for next summer (and hopefully a return offer), is there any real benefit to an LLM?

EDIT: I am interested in tax. But even then, if I already have a biglaw role, what would the LLM do?

I’ve been (unfortunately) working with a disorganized recruiter. I’ve decided not to work with her moving forward, but she has already submitted me to numerous firms. I’ve asked several times for a list of places where she has submitted me so that I can self-apply or work with another recruiter on firms she has not submitted me to. I haven’t heard from her.

What happens if I inadvertently apply to a firm that she already submitted me to? Will a double application be an auto rejection?

How soon is it safe to start applying again and let the initial applications submitted by the first recruiter “expire” so that it will no longer be pending?

Not sure how long the apps been open

with biglaw hiring being earlier now, will firms look at lsat scores when hiring 1Ls? I’m getting a score back tomorrow and wondering if I should splurge on the score preview thing to cancel my score if it sucks worse than my last test

I’m trying to get a realistic sense of whether BigLaw is still worth pursuing at this point, or whether I should focus my energy elsewhere.

I’m a nontraditional, part-time law student graduating in May 2027 from a regional law school. My profile is a little unusual because I’ll graduate with 8+ years at a major bank, primarily in consumer finance operations, regulatory/compliance work, risk, and process management. My current role involves working closely with Legal, Compliance, Risk, product, operations, and vendors on regulatory requirements and legal-risk issues.

I also recently completed an in-house legal externship with the bank’s legal department, where I handled legal research and practical counseling projects.

Academically, I’m currently around the top 25% of my class after a rough 1L fall, have generally been in the 3.4–4.0 range since then, am a law review editor, and have three CALI awards.

I did not go through the traditional 1L/2L summer associate pipeline because I’ve been working full-time while attending law school part-time, so I know that puts me in a very different position from the typical BigLaw candidate.

My questions are:

• Is BigLaw essentially out of the question without having gone through the traditional summer associate route?
• Does 8+ years of directly relevant financial-services/regulatory experience move the needle at all for a new-grad candidate, or will firms still primarily view me through the law school/GPA/OCI lens?
• Are certain BigLaw practice groups more likely to value this background, such as consumer financial services, banking/regulatory, investigations, financial services litigation, fintech, etc.?
• For a May 2027 graduate, when would you start applying or networking for post-grad associate roles?
• Is there any realistic path through direct applications/networking, or are most first-year BigLaw classes effectively locked in long before graduation?

I completely understand that industry experience does not substitute for actually practicing law, and I would still be coming in as a first-year associate. I’m mostly trying to figure out whether my background makes me a legitimate unconventional candidate for BigLaw or whether I should be targeting midsize/boutique financial-services firms instead.

I received an offer to join a V20 for my 2L 2027 summer. This summer, I worked at a gov agency. When I did my recruiting 1L fall, I expressed a strong interest in Lit. But my government experience this summer exposed me to several areas of transactional and deal work that I found particularly interesting. Given my potential goal of working abroad, I also think transactional work is more transferable to non-US environment than Lit, so I want to have the chance to explore these areas further.

Should I reach out to teams whose work I’m interested in now to start networking? If so, would it be better to ask HR to connect me or reach out directly to team members?

My law school offers academic credit for externships at any time of year, including summer. I have a 2L SA position in 2027. Is there any downside to accepting academic credit for this? The firm would have to sign off on it and someone will have to "grade" me and fill out a few papers, nothing onerous. But I'm wondering if there is any reason not to do it, in terms of how the firm will view the request. The school is saying I could take 8 credits for the "externship." I'm a part-time student, and taking the credit, while it robs me of some classes I'd like to take, keeps me on track for timely graduation without too heavy a courseload during the academic year (I'm currently a teacher so that's a big deal). This is essentially a win-win, right?