Any attorneys who were in the lower half of their class and are successful now I would love to hear from you.

me! big law and big law adjacent was
closed to me. focused on small firm and plaintiff/consumer work where my soft skills being able to connect with ordinary people is a strength. Developed a reputation as a smart worker and strong negotiator. i make $500k per year now. It was a slog at first where my first legal job was volunteer for legal aid—>$25 per hour-> $50k —>$100k and so on doubling my compensation every couple years. i’m 14 years out now.

Went to what was then a Tier 3 law school. Not even close to Law Review, more like I was on the Low Review. Basically no scholarships, because my school reserved those to recruit "attractive" candidates and handed them out to the top 10%.

Started off working for a solo because that was my only option.

Here I am now, Partner in Biglaw, running a practice group. Married for 20+ years. In good health. Student loans paid off years ago. Have 3 houses, 7 figure liquid portfolio. Travel like you wouldn't believe. Like, have spent 8 weeks in Europe so far this year kind of travel.

My takeaway from my journey is: it's not the school, the class rank, the clerkships, or the firm, it's about the individual. Everyone's got their own special super power. My super power is being able to make people comfortable around me, and then they really like me. That's led to me getting hired over others with a superior pedigree, getting promoted, and generating business.

Figure out your super power, don't compare yourself to others, set your goals and be laser-focused on acheiving them, don't hesitate to self-assess and pivot when you're missing the mark, and go out and crush it.

Hello! 10+ years out here. Lower half of my class because I simply did not push myself enough in law school and didn’t realize (read: care because I was a 20-something party girl) how important grades/rank were. Started at a big city DA office - jumped at every opportunity presented to me (trials, warrants, investigations, presentations, you name it) and crushed it - now am at a big law firm doing big things around the country for big name clients.

Rank means nothing if you stand tall and hold yourself out as a confident advisor to your clients. Fake it till you make it. Truly no one knows what they’re doing, especially those at the tippy top. We’re all waking up every day trying to figure it out one step at a time. Be easier on yourself, learn to love yourself, grow into your skill set, and you will undoubtedly soar!

I was in the 61st percentile at a second tier school. Single mom of a baby and a pre-schooler, worked in law school, second career law student etc baggage and crap no one cares about when looking at my transcript except pretty sh*tty grades. Not whining about competing with 20-somethings with no real responsibilities outside of school, its just how things are.

I was nowhere close to grading onto Law Review but published 3x anyways while I was a student. No one on the Journal or Law Review can say the same. I proved I can write and care about the subject matter.

I'm working exactly in the industry I want and doing cool stuff. I'm only four years out and have already nearly tripled my salary from graduation. Smallest firm I've ever been with is 600 attorneys. Largest was 2000.

Honestly its because I had pre-law career experience that dovetailed into my law practice. I had a vision and stayed true to it. Joined every organization I could meaningfully participate in and developed a strong circle of mentors. I work my ass off because I have no safety net, no parents to live off of, etc. Being hungry, open to criticism, and passionate about what I want helped. And honestly, some luck, too.

You are not your grades.
You are not your school.
Your story is far from over.
When you make it, pay it forward to others who need the encouragement. I learned more from people who fought uphill.

My school didnt do rankings past a certain point but I'm pretty sure I was in the bottom 20%. I'm a 7th year now working in an industry I love in big law. It took me a bit to get here, but I did.

Me! Did terrible in law school, now am in big law. I job hopped- started with a government job for a year, law firm for 2 years, another law firm for 2 years, and now at current firm for about 2 years. My current firm reached out to me on LinkedIn presumably because of my prior experience. I didn’t give them my transcript until after my first interview (which is also what I did for the prior firm). My trick was make them like me before they saw I was an idiot in school and it worked 😊🙈

Gotta avoid the dead-end roles, you’ll never escape them and then the stigma won’t be grades, but your resume.

Unranked law school and bottom quarter of the class. Got a full ride and I knew I wanted to do personal injury so grades didn’t matter that much. Concentrated on internships and working as opposed to studying. 6 years later I make $450k as a personal injury lawyer and am planning to go solo over the next year or two. I’m a hustler and this life isn’t for everyone, but other than those big firm jobs, grades/where you went to school take a back seat to being good at your job.

I was in the bottom half if not at the very bottom of my class (horrifying for this once over-achiever). By the time I went to law school at 26, I was severely undermedicated for depression and severe anxiety (I also did not know at the time I was autistic and ADHD) - but doctors and therapist kept telling me there was nothing wrong with me essentially. I studied as hard as I could, but I did not learn the way law school taught. I always felt behind. I lived across town, worked part time to pay the bills, and rarely ever socialized, b/c I had to work/study. That said - I scored extremely well on the bar exam (that my school told me I would not pass), passed another bar the next year. I started with solo practice, then did a lot of years of doc review/project work, more solo practice, spent a year at a non-profit. The last 4 years I've been in creditor's rights at firms - I actually love it. I have moved up, gotten a huge raise, I have great relationships in my firm and in the legal community. It's not fancy - but it sure feels like success to me. I've been interviewing for new roles with even better salaries, more responsibility recently. I work mostly remotely with a very flexible schedule. Currently very satisfied, but also planning my next moves!

Bottom of my class. HYS. Still in big law… for now.

At a certain point in your career, where you went to school and class rank don't matter. The only thing people care about are your work success, bar activities, board roles, etc.

Went to a tier 2 law school. Not sure my percentile but probably graduated in 1997 below 50%. Started working for the same IP boutique I clerked for my 3rd year. Left after one year for a perceived better opportunity. Got fired from law firm #2 (a larger IP boutique) because I popped off towards partners and kept telling them what they were doing wrong. Got fired from law firm #3 (GP firm) around 2002 because work was slow. Was on baby #2 and I remember going home to my wife and telling her maybe I was not meant to be a lawyer.

Eventually landed at law firm #4 (another GP firm). Got a phone call from a partner at a BigLaw firm that remembered me as an associate at firm #2. In his opinion I was the reason the case went well for our client. Job offer came shortly thereafter. I sat on that offer for 5 mos because I wasn't sure I wanted to work for a 1,000 attorney firm.

Took the job. Busted my ass. I mean in the office at 7am and leaving at 7pm busting my ass. Traveling across the country as a patent litigator. Eventually became partner. Brought in clients. Starting making 7 figures. Peaked at $5MM per year. That was 12 years ago. Been with the firm over 20 years. Still making 7 figures. However - all the billable hours took its toll. Got divorced as a result. Still have a happy family (kid-wise) and am remarried. But there is always a price to pay. That being said - I love my life. And I love getting paid as much as I do for as little as I do (now). It's all about being a rainmaker.

It’s possible to be successful with that background

Graduated just below the 50th percentile at a low T1 school (which has now fallen to high T2, unfortunately). I wasn't prepared for just how hard & no nonsense law school would be and was struggling with mental health stuff throughout my 20s. I went in house at a no-name tech company in the bay area as a glorified contracts manager and went up from there (I'm a director now at a Pubco). Find your strengths and push hard on those. Showing up, understanding strategy, building relationships counts for a ton. Plus a mediocre lawyer still functions at a higher level (in terms of responsiveness, ownership, quality of work product) than many other white collar professionals. It's shocking how many people never learned how to write (or read) a coherent sentence.

Bottom 20% at the lowest of the tier 14. Been practicing for a little over 5 years now. Seems to be working out so far. There are certainly smarter folks around me, but if you are even semi interested in your work and take ownership of tasks, you will be able to make atleast 5 years in BL.

Yup! I graduated from a somewhat poorly rated law school and did okay, but graduated with a gpa under 3.0. I am now in big law and excelling at my job. Don’t try going straight into big law - try to get your feet wet at smaller firms before (if you’re wanting to wind up in big law). This should help avoid rejections based on your law school transcripts which, in my opinion, are almost entirely irrelevant to your capabilities as an attorney.

I hope firms eventually realize you can be a great attorney despite not doing so great in law school and make hiring decision accordingly.

F

I was squarely in the middle (probably slightly lower) if the general consensus on class rank was right (I went to HLS and didn't have traditional grades). I'm IHC at a floundering pubco, but I've been able to make enough after big law to be comfortable. I will need to find a new job within the next 6 months, however.

Had crippling anxiety for the first year of school and an alphabet of grades. Failed a first year course because I had an anxiety attack in the final exam and didn’t write more than a paragraph or tell anyone. Always believed I wasn’t the type to work for big law and put myself down. Left law for a few years but then came back to work in a practice area I love and care about. If you are passionate and care, you will be successful and your clients will recognize it. Never had to spend a dime on advertising because I had more work than I could take on. Be scrappy and make connections - help and mentor people who are coming up. The best jobs I’ve gotten are through real friendships with colleagues telling me about roles opening up. All that hustle + good social skills = success. I’m proud of myself and send love to the anxiety-ridden, fearful first year who just wanted to fit in. You can be yourself and succeed - just be patient. Sometimes I am still amazed I work in big law but the knowledge that I can leave it at any time and rely on myself is what keeps me happy.

I started as an evening student and shortly after my sister's first husband died, leaving her a 21 year old widow with a 3 week old. Rank never mattered to me and I'm a first generation college and law school graduate. I had an exact area I wanted to do and I got to be a partner in a small indie film company 2 weeks after getting admitted to the NY bar after starting out as the CEO's Executive Assistant after I'd applied for an internship on the advice of my Entertainment Law professor who'd said if you want to work in entertainment, you should get an internship (paid or unpaid). She said if you do a good job, you'll move up very quickly. I wasn't even just "the lawyer" but also got opportunities as an executive and a creative professional. I was there for 9 years as the entire in-house legal department, a member of the executive team and even wrote a solicited web series + got invited to audition for an acting role. Then I worked as general counsel in another entertainment company until wage theft happened, did some appearance work in between in areas unrelated to entertainment, had creative representation including an exclusive agent and manager at one point, modeled in fashion shows and pursued lots of creative things to where nobody would EVER shove me into a lawyer box. While I wish the financial rewards were greater, that time is coming and I occupy a space a lot of lawyers do not since creatives really built my career.

Sometimes it's just a matter of figuring out what room you belong in and finding people who care about who you are vs. what school you went to. I don't consider it an accomplishment to get high marks in a system where getting ahead is all about how rich you are so ranks never mattered to me. I was also being compared later on against 1Ls who started in the day section and got support that us evening students never got so that made rank even less relevant to me. It also matters how you define success. I define it as far more than mere money since no amount of money can buy you true love, class, legitimate friendships or people who stand by you in the darkest times among other things. It can certainly help but nobody is a bank account number or a credit score. Believe me, there are far more respectful rooms and employers than BigLaw.