A diff. reason to transfer,

[AspenLizzy]

The sentiment that students need phenominal grades to transfer is a myth.  Many transfer students are only top half or so.  Schools can by sympathetic to students with a genuine need to be in a particular locale.

[Susan B. Anthony]

I could be wrong, I have a really hard time imagining that employers wouldn't still want to see your first year grades. If that is the case, then I'd think any benefit to having a higher calculated GPA would be marginal.

Also, what makes you think you'd do better at a new school?

[big - fat - box]

I don't think it's a persistent myth, per se. Most of the people that seek out information on this board about transferring are looking for information on transferring "up" quite a bit. Many people are transferring from tier 2/3/4 schools to top 15 laws schools. For that kind of transfer you DO need phenomenal grades.

The sentiment that students need phenominal grades to transfer is a myth.  Many transfer students are only top half or so.  Schools can by sympathetic to students with a genuine need to be in a particular locale.

[big - fat - box]

Getting a good clerkship is a lot harder than you probably think.

Where I'm leaving and where I'm going can only increase my chances at biglaw.  If it doesn't happen, fine.  I think I'd ratehr clerk for a few years anyway.

[AspenLizzy]

thanks big fat box.  i'll be sure to consult you before I send out my resumes.

[random2341]

thanks big fat box.  i'll be sure to consult you before I send out my resumes.

Don't dismiss that too quickly. A clerkship is as hard or harder to get than BigLaw...(unless of course you're related to a judge).

[sternerstuff]

If its a lateral transfer with or without a compelling reason to change locale, the GPA does not need need to be in the top 15%. 
The OP was an angle for anyone at any level school with grades outside what they would need to get the job they want, presumably BigLaw.

The idea is if your GPA after your 1L year is say top 45% you will more than likely strike out during fall recruiting.  I think we can agree on that.  If the best shot at getting a BigLaw job is GPA then the best thing you could possibly do to help your situation is boost the GPA as much as possible during 2L year, shoot for BigLaw or go for the clerkship en route to BigLaw.

 BATTLING during your entire 2L year to bring your 3.0 up to what it needs to be to get that BigLaw job or clerkship @ top 15% is incredibly difficult.
" a different reason for transferring instead of just climbing US News", is to reset the GPA back to 0.  Compete at your new school on easier curves.  Easier to start from scratch as a 2L than try to do phenomonal (like top 5%) at your original school.

Feel free to take more shots at this idea.  Personally Im serously considering transferring for a few reasons, but it occurred to me that I like the idea of rolling the dice and playing for one of the few biglaw spots that go to 3Ls.  Not to mention a bunch, not all, schools still allow magna titles to transfer schools.

[big - fat - box]

One reason I would caution against rolling the dice for a handful of biglaw spots available during 3L recruiting is because the pool of available 3L biglaw spots available for you, assuming you even do get the grades to get an interview, might be even smaller than usual due to the recent economic downturn. The way 3L biglaw recruiting works is that firms try to fill slots that didn't get filled based on 2L recruiting because they gave offers to people for SA or permanent positions that didn't end up accepting the offers for whatever reason. If less offers go out and more people accept, they don't really have 3L slots to fill.

Right now, there is a lot of talk that less 2L SAs will get permanent offers both this summer and next than before. They will get no offered or cold offered b/c the credit crunch and the poor economy has hit firms hard. This is not pure conjecture either - talk to attorneys who graduated back in 2001 or so - that was not a good time to be a law student. Firms are also likely going to cut back on Fall recruiting for 2Ls. If this is happening to students at top 15-20 law schools where do you think that leaves students at a middling tier 2 or top 50 school? The point I'm trying to make is that your plan isn't well thought out and you are essentially chasing something that probably won't be there for you.

Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't transfer at all. Do it if you must.

Re: clerkships, good ones (read: state appellate and supreme or any federal) are hard to get. And you need top grades for those. Even if you knock it out of the park during 2L, you are competing against a plethora of applicants with better academic records than you. And judges are definitely going to want to see the 1L transcript for your old school.

If you want to clerk for traffic court or some other low level court that is a totally different story, obviously.

[wustl3l]

Everywhere that I know of do indeed reset your grades after you transfer but for the purposes of 2L fall OCI, you use your ranking from your 1L year. However, beginning in the spring of 2L you only use the new school's gpa.

Also would concur that 3L hiring is hit or miss even at top schools. Very few (and when I say very few I mean probably less than 10) get biglaw jobs in their 3L year at WUSTL, for example.