Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every week.

Q: It seems, in reading these archives, that you may believe something like the following: A person whose grades rank him or her in the bottom half of the law school class will have great difficulty finding a job, perhaps may not be cut out for the legal profession, and although this may be distressing, that person should have worked harder in law school.

My question is this: Given the curve grading system, one half of all would-be lawyers will be ranked in the bottom half of the class. Do you really think, or do you believe a large number of lawyers would say, that fully half of all people who spent $100,000 and toiled for three years to earn a degree should cut their losses at or before graduation, and pursue, perhaps, a career for which they may be more suited? It seems ... odd ... that such a system would be allowed to endure. Especially when you consider that a letter grade can turn on a paragraph, and top-half ranking can turn on a letter grade.

I realize legal education provides convenient cutoffs necessary for the sorting of large groups of people who are similarly qualified. It's just that it still boggles my mind that half of the profession appears to be discarded at such expense. The bottom half of the class will pay $1,500 a month for the next 30 years for the privilege of participating in what seems to have been a large game of musical chairs. Why does there have to be a bottom half to every class? Does it really mean anything?

Dear Meaningful: Why does there have to be a bottom half to every class? I really don't know how to begin to answer that question. It actually defies an answer as far as I am concerned. I supposed if there isn't a grading system then you don't need a bottom half to a class. Or if everyone in the class gets the same grade, then there wouldn't be a top and bottom to a class.

However, even if you gave 1/2 of the class an A and the rest of the class an A-, you would still have a bottom half of the class. Those people receiving the A- would be in the bottom half of the class. Does it really mean anything? Yes. It means that the other half of the class had higher grades. And if there are only two grades for the entire class, then the rest of the class had 50 percent higher grades than the bottom half. It's all relative.

But you see, when you were reading the archives concerning grades, you missed a major point. I wasn't talking about "all would-be lawyers." I have written about this time and time again but since I feel it is an important enough point, I want to discuss it once again. I am referring to only a very particular population of attorneys, specifically those who enter into the world of BigLaw firms and/or legal search consultants. It is within that world that grades, transcripts and where you fall within your law school class matters.

And yet, I find it difficult to believe that outside of that world it doesn't matter, if only on a personal level, how one does in law school. Obviously 50 percent of the class is going to be in the bottom half but hopefully you don't wind up being there intentionally (and yes, we all know the stories about the greatest lawyers ever who practically flunked out of law school). No matter, what is the point of spending all that money and time if you aren't trying to learn something? Was it really only a game of "musical chairs" to you?

I really must take exception at your statement that half of the profession is "discarded" upon graduation. It simply is not true.

The bottom line here is if your goal is start out your legal career at one of the AmLaw 100 law firms or to transfer over to one of those firms during the first five years of your practice, you need to be concerned with your grades. And if you end up in the bottom half of your class, then you do need to start thinking about pursuing a career for which you might be better suited.

Now, that does not mean a career outside of the practice of the law. It simply means that more than likely you are not going to a viable candidate for a firm such as Sullivan & Cromwell or Simpson Thacher. Get over it. If your grades suck then you have to figure out where else to apply.

Especially NOW. This is a tough economy and it is no longer a candidate's market. The law firms are only going to hire the top students from the law school classes because THEY CAN. They don't need to hire as many first-year associates as they did a few years ago and so they can afford to be very picky.

The same goes for the lateral candidates out on the job market. The employers are looking for the top candidates in the job market pool. They don't have to settle for second best right now and looking at a transcript is one way to weed out candidates. It is one factor among many. Sorry about that ... it just is. Grades may have no meaning to you but to an employer who has his or her pick of many potential employees in this market right now, they may be the determining factor.

There are many other avenues to go with a law degree other than traveling to an AmLaw 100 law firm or lateraling to a new job through a recruiter. There are many legal opportunities where grades are not the determining factor for being hired. In fact, you may be asked for your transcript simply to prove that you did graduate from law school. But if you intend to be a BigLaw lawyer or want to be placed by a headhunter, be prepared to be asked for your transcript to show where you graduated in your class. You asked if it really means anything...well, that's when it will have meaning.

I still stand by my statement that when you enter law school you need to work as hard as you possibly can and be the best you can possibly be. Actually, I believe that applies to everything one does in life -- who can ask for more? Stop worrying about the top or the bottom of the class because the system is what it is -- just be the best you can be.

Best wishes!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates