Smaller market jobs

[DaubertsDaughter]

In several of the smaller markets I'm looking at, local ties seem to be a HUGE deal.  I had one interview over the holiday, and every person I interviewed spent most of the time pushing to see why I was interested in the firm and the area, and my previous ties to the community were a big selling point (I think anyways)

I just got my grades in, and they aren't nearly what I wanted.  They aren't really bad, but they are pretty average.  It definitely puts larger markets out of range.  But I'm still hoping that my home state smaller cities will pull through.  Several of the firms I'm interested in are coming to campus for spring interviews.  Do you think that average grades will overpower my local ties in the end?  I've been in contact with several of the recruiting coordinators since December, and they've already expressed interest in meeting with me during the interview season, but I'm really worried that when it comes down to it, my grades will push me out of the initial interview drop period.  What do you think my chances are at even scoring the interviews, much less the job?

[TPS Report]

It probably depends on the school you go to.  I interviewed with firms in 2 smaller markets over winter break and they, too, emphasized the local connections.  However, it seemed that they required much more (law review, order of the coif, etc.) from the graduates of the local, lesser-ranked (think 60+) schools, while the people from my school who work at those firms hadn't even graduated with honors (granted, I go to a top 10 school). 

[DaubertsDaughter]

I guess I should have added to the original post that I go to a top-25 school.  Not quite T14, but most places won't thumb their nose at the name.  I know many of our alums start out in this market, but I don't know what their performance was like in school to get them the job

[Skallagrim]

I think if you get the interview then you've passed the grade test.

Keep things in perspective. Being average at a T25 means you're average in a group of smart people. That's pretty good. I'm sure if you cast a wide enough net and be persistent you'll get some bites.

[Alamo79]

This may vary by firm.  If possible, check out the firm's website and see if all of their associates are from highly ranked schools, do law review, have latin honors, etc.  That should give you an idea of what they're looking for.  I'd guess many smaller market firms are looking more for social skills necessary for client relationship building than grades, at least in comparison to larger firms where they can stick you in an office and use you for your legal reasoning (or document review prowess) without having to put you in front of clients, at least initially.