There are a group of people, namely professors, who, from-time-to-time, try to make you believe that your grade point average (GPA) does not matter. Sometimes they mean it, and other times they are just trying to make you feel better.
Wait a minute. Before I go on, I need you to stop laughing. Really, it is not that funny. Calm down, and put that rib back in its place. Seriously, you will hear people say these words to you (they might be your friends, other students, or lawyers). For some reason there is always one person that likes to remind us just how much grades do not matter. Her name is mom.
Then there's another group that have no problem whatsoever reminding us of just how important grades are – those are the people who seem to believe that they, someday, might be our employers. For some strange reason, employers think grades are not only important, but an indication of how well you will perform in the position for which you are applying.
Are their assumptions correct? I don’t know. I don’t if there is any merit to the employer’s contention. I do not know if there are any surveys out there to support their beliefs. I just don’t know, but I don't need to know that information.
And, I don't care, either.
I know only one thing, and that is that an employer’s decision-making still includes a review of a student’s grades. That is all I need to know to determine what I (or, we) need to think about during this second year, first semester of law school. Yes, the value or worth or weight taken into consideration to make a hiring decision may have shifted some, but I do not foresee a tangible shift in considering grades as a barometer for employment, anytime soon.
Right now, we have to deal with the hand we were dealt with, so that means whatever grades we earned in the first year (and we did earn them), those are the grades that we have to work with this year. Those are just the cards on the table; we can’t go looking for another deck.
So, what do we do? We have our courses that we registered for this semester. As I think about all of you throughout the United States, I would guess that most of you are sitting in at least one required course, one elective course (which, I hope, is related to a topic on the bar exam in the jurisdiction where you plan to sit), and one paper course. That’s three classes, and most of you are enrolled in at least one, and maybe, two more courses. Again, maybe you are enrolled in a required course and an elective, or a required course and a paper course, or an elective course and a paper course. A good number of you are at law schools that require you to enroll in at least one clinic before graduation, or allow you to take clinic courses as electives. So, some of you are enrolled in a clinic, too.
Well what do we do to give ourselves the best opportunity to increase our grade point averages so that we can do better this semester than last year? It is important to keep up with courses where there is an exam at the end of the semester. I want you to consider, however, putting a great deal of effort into the clinic for which you are enrolled or the course that requires a written paper as your final grade.
Why?
Well, these courses end long before finals and reading period, and once the course is over, you cannot go back and try to create a grade. Also, if you put a good deal of now time into the clinic/paper course, it will make you feel better about your chance at a higher grade in an exam-related course. Now, it is true that your grades in an exam course will not soar just because you have done all that you were supposed to do in the clinic or paper course. It just means that you will have that work behind you & you will feel better about your chances to do well in the exam-related course.
The Clinician: (If you are in a clinic, work on these goals.)
(1) Recordkeeping - make sure that you keep a good record of your hours (a good record includes a note about what you did during a certain time period – use verbs to describe what you did and the work that was done on behalf of the client - do not embellish);
(2) Minimum Number of Hours Performed For a Satisfactory Grade - be certain that you and your attorney advisor agree on the number of hours you have completed thusfar, so that there won’t be any confusion about the number of hours you need to complete to finish the course (do not be tempted to pump up your hours - you would be surprised who's watching you);
(3) The Mid-semester Evaluation - if you receive(d) an okay/lukewarm, mid-term evaluation, don’t balk at the professor, which is most often the kneejerk response and easiest thing to do. Immediately ask the professor what you must do to turn lukewarm into smoking hot – and do it! Did you hear what I said? Do it. You can control the grade if you allow the ship to sail in the direction requested/required by the professor. No, you do not have to always go along to get along, but ask yourself if this is constructive criticism. Or, is this a situation where you are uncertain whether the professor likes or dislikes you. If the professor does dislike you, then you will have to toe the line and do what he or she says in order to get the grade (anyway). So, in the end, it does not matter how you feel or what you think; you will have to perform to maximimize your grade. End of story. Maybe, consider one of Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “begin with the end in mind.”;
(4) Writing and Portfolio Requirements - If the clinic requires you to prepare a portfolio for clinic, then you had better not be spending time trying to get the portfolio prepared during finals. That is too late. The game is over. Ask and you shall receive. Ask the professor what documents would actually qualify as part of the student portfolio, and work to get those writings out of the way now, before Thanksgiving;
(5) Outgoing Memorandum – There is a student advocate who will be responsible for picking up your caseload next semester. You have a duty (negligence – got it!) to inform the next person what you did, what you did not do, and what needs to be done. Do it. This is part of your total grade, as well; and
(6) Recordkeeping; Part II – make copies of your stuff as allowed by the clinic rules. Your timesheets, yes; confidential parts of the file, no; redacted memoranda that is approved by the clinic, yes. The grade challenge is probably available to you, but do you really want to go through that minefield if it is not necessary. Do you? Then try to keep your record straight so you will not be required to do so.
We will talk about the paper next time.
BTW: there is a book, entitled, “Scholarly Writing for Lawyers.” Look for it on reserve in the library. If it is not on reserve, ask the director of legal writing (or, your writing clinic) to order it for the purpose of helping you write that 25 page paper.
Remember, we do what we have to do, to get where we want to go.
Prof. Smith
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