baby , due that summer . Around that time , a couple I knew was struggling to conceive a child and asked me for any tips . “ Lose your job ,” I said . “ Stress and financial hardship really help your chances of getting pregnant .”
I rebooted my business and began finding new clients . UGA ’ s name opened a lot of doors for me .
At the end of spring 1L , grades seemed even less important as they arrived the day after my daughter ’ s birth . She was in the NICU for a week . Thankfully , UGA students set up a meal train for us . Then a professor , hearing I was a single credit short from qualifying for a student summer loan , offered me a one-credit independent study with him .
That summer , I wrote my on-campus interview ( OCI ) letters while rocking my newborn daughter . My grades had improved , but I didn ’ t land any interviews with the firms I had applied to . I think it ’ s easier for a felon to get interviews during OCIs than a “ B- ” student , because at least a felon has some legal experience .
A 2L summer role with a big law firm did serendipitously appear but then they had a hiring freeze . Meanwhile , I was able to pull my GPA up over a 3.0 , all the while growing my business . We no longer needed food stamps .
Towards the end of 2L , my oldest daughter became an inpatient at Children ' s Hospital of Atlanta . I had no choice but to stop chasing a summer internship . We were a one-car family and the logistics between my business and family obligations were too much . That summer my business grew substantially , but I still wanted to find a job in the legal field before graduation . I met with as many Atlanta lawyers as I could . My business experience was a huge help when it came to meeting busy professionals . “ I believe you ’ re good at business development ,” a partner at a big firm told me , “ but with these grades , how do I know you ’ re intelligent ? I mean , my grades weren ’ t great either , but I went to an elite law school .”
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The grade I am most proud of though is a “ B ” in corporate finance . This and accounting were the most math-heavy classes in law school . I wanted to learn the subjects and I came to law school to stretch myself , so I took them simultaneously . Although I am not in the top 20 % of my class , I am in the 1 % of law students nationally who hired a math tutor during law school . Initially I was disappointed by my “ B ”. Then my professor said , “ You offered some stellar class participation . Moreover , I could tell you truly understood everything . A lot of people go through law school avoiding challenges , but you ’ re not doing that . That ’ s good .”
I went to Virginia for undergrad . For years , I convinced myself that it proved my intelligence . I see now how stupid that was . No alma mater is proof of intelligence , any more than having the surname “ Einstein .”
Despite everything , I never regretted the decision to go to law school . I believe the return on investment is there . I came to the right place , for the right reason . My grades in law school have pained me , and the job rejections sometimes felt unjust . Bitterness has tempted me , and even gotten the better of me .
I ’ ll tell my daughters this story someday , and how at first what happened bothered me , because I started law school with an external scorecard , but learned to use an internal one . “ Do hard things , and care about external results ,” I ’ ll say , “ But in the end grade yourself ."
“ Grades ”: six letters that say more to a law firm than the whole alphabet . There ’ s that old joke about grades : “‘ A ’ students become professors , ‘ B ’ students become judges , and ‘ C ’ students become rich .” With a family and two kids , financial stability was essential . Maybe lowering my GPA was the answer ! www . atlantabar . org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 31