This is a stupid rationale.
Seriously, I would rather go to an attorney that has a 4 year history of doing well in undergrad school and is serious student rather than someone that can get lucky on a non-law based single day logic exam.
Perhaps this is what is wrong with the law profession, they have weeded out too many good candidates with a meaningless test and rewarded those that did well with an admission ticket.
What next, will the educational institutions test how well you can juggle three balls with one eye closed to determine who will gain entrance to law school or medical school.
I wonder if other countries base so much weight on these obscure tests.
you obviously grossly misunderstood. Just because the lsat is weighed more heavily, doesnt mean gpa isnt a factor. In fact, for the top schools you need both. But if deciding between a person with a slightly higher gpa or a slightly higher lsat score, considering all else is relative, they will take the higher lsat score. Its. Better tool to differentiate between students, gpa is too subjective and dependent on many other factors as i previously pointed out.
And for your notion about youd rather have an attorney that did welll in undergrad instead of getting lucky on the lsat. There may be people that got a higher score due to luck, but without work ethic, youd never survive the beast that is law school. I could care less if someone slacked in undergrad and had a good time, managed to get into law school because he was a good test taker, then worked tremendously hard to graduate and worked even harder to pass the bar. I really wouldnt care what they got in their astronomy class when they were 20.
As to x3skier, you took my post about current practicing attorneys (which was a direct response to a previous poster talking about current salaries) and made it about current grads looking for work (and not surprisngly ignored my post pointing out you having no clue what youre talking about regarding the lsat) Sure, it used to be kids had secured jobs before they even graduated and took the bar. Now, about half of the kids are employed 9 months after grad, but consider they dont even take the bar for months after grad, and anywhere from 10-25 percent dont pass and couldnt work as an attorney yet regardless if a job was waiting for them. Also, those figures often dont include solo practioners. Its true though, the job market is tougher, thats true with many industries.
Did you know more than half of college graduates lack full time work within 12 months of graduation? And even a larger percentage of the ones that are working are in a field unrelated to their degree? 43% of those that are employed are in a position that doesnt even require a college degree? This is not a unique phenomena for the legal market.
It also depends where you go to school, looking at the current data for my law school, over 90% were employed at graduation, with a median private sector starting salary of $160,000
Also consider when you are looking at attorneys average salaries, there are many that work in the public sector, such as government jobs and public service positions to help those less fortunate, these bring down the averages. These are people that arent doing it for the money, and believe me, a prosecutor or public defender can transition to the private sector and make a bundle with his experience.
My mentor after graduation went to a tier 4 school, worked as a federal prosecutor for nearly a decade, now does white collar criminal defense among other things. His rate is $1200 an hour, and he recently had a case where his retainer was over $3 million.
Also, in Chicago, there are many judges on the bench froma reputable tier 4 school in the area, in fact they produce the most judges in the city.
My advice to somene going to a tier 3 or tier 4 school, is go where you want to practice, so you can network. Because doors wont open themselves for you like when your in a tier 1 school, or a t14 school.
Also, even if I got paid less then a plumber, I wouldnt go back and change anything. The feeling of someone putting their life in your hands, and the rewarding feeling of making a difference for that client, whether it be keeping them out of jail, preventing financial ruin, or even fightingi for their right to see their kids, etc. is worth more then the paycheck, that of course is my opinion.
Also, all you law and order watchers, and people that "know a guy" or "have a brother" thats an attorney, or read an article on forbes about the legal market, really need to take it easy with your "advice." You havent graduated law school, you havent taken the bar, you have no idea what it takes to get a job, and you have no idea what its like to be an attorney. And thats precisely why you pay us the big bucks and pray we save your behind when you need us. I would say your advice isnt worth the paper its printed on, but we are in the digital age. That is all, over and out.
