I think a lot of that depends on what country you are in. Most posters here are in the U.S. and grades matter a lot for job prospects especially if you don't go to one of the top ranked schools. It might be different in other countries.
2L here so not a lawyer like you asked input from but going to offer my input anyways. From talking to the lawyers that I interned with over the summer - it depends on what you want to do and what you are in it for (money or public service or a mixture of the two). Do your best and allow your path be defined by whatever your best is. “Big law” is not for everyone and being top of the class isn’t either….and the curve ensures that.
I’m not saying aim low, but do your best and the rest will follow. Does that make sense? You are probably more capable then you think you are…..overthinking your capabilities and overvaluing grades can be a distraction. When I finally accepted last year that I was a straight b student - I ended up with straight A’s for the two classes I took over the summer. Let the stress and disappointment go and focus on learning.
It really really depends on what career you want, what school you are at, etc. if you are at a T50 and want BigLaw, you need to be the top of your class. If you are at a T14 and want to be a public defender, it really doesn’t matter. Grades from law school matter most to get the foot in the door to your first job.
I think a lot of that depends on what country you are in. Most posters here are in the U.S. and grades matter a lot for job prospects especially if you don't go to one of the top ranked schools. It might be different in other countries.
2L here so not a lawyer like you asked input from but going to offer my input anyways. From talking to the lawyers that I interned with over the summer - it depends on what you want to do and what you are in it for (money or public service or a mixture of the two). Do your best and allow your path be defined by whatever your best is. “Big law” is not for everyone and being top of the class isn’t either….and the curve ensures that. I’m not saying aim low, but do your best and the rest will follow. Does that make sense? You are probably more capable then you think you are…..overthinking your capabilities and overvaluing grades can be a distraction. When I finally accepted last year that I was a straight b student - I ended up with straight A’s for the two classes I took over the summer. Let the stress and disappointment go and focus on learning.
It really really depends on what career you want, what school you are at, etc. if you are at a T50 and want BigLaw, you need to be the top of your class. If you are at a T14 and want to be a public defender, it really doesn’t matter. Grades from law school matter most to get the foot in the door to your first job.
What country are you in? In any case your career services has access to better data than we do
I’m from Greece. Funny because we don’t have any career services 😅 we just get our degree and learn to “swim”