GPA trends

[Tina Tina]

First-year grades matter only for those who pretend to go to biglaw. Most law students don't have a job offer until they graduate.

[Brisco]

I think that for the most part, the summer associate position for a 1L is just that. See most firms realize that 1Ls don't really know that much just yet. So it doesn't matter too much how great the relationship was b/c they will still choose someone that has a great cumulative GPA and has tailored his classes to the firm needs over someone who seemed like a good kid. Sure it doesn't hurt that you worked there, but I don't think that it's such the "in" that everyone makes it out to be.

Now, in the second year...that's a different story.

I'm pretty sure he was talking about 2L OCI jobs which only have 1st year grades to go on. Large firms typically do all their hiring through 2L OCI and have very few spots for 3L students. Offers are extended to nearly 100% of the 2L summer class so in essence if you have high first year grades and get a job 2L OCI (which occurs at start of you second year) then you're set. Firms don't typically revoke summer offers for a drop in GPA your second year and its not an issue for getting a permanent offer.