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TheodoreSmith-SecondPaper 7 - 14 Apr 2008 - Main.EbenMoglen
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The Role of Grades in Law Firm Hiring | |
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< | -- By TheodoreSmith - 04 Apr 2008 (Fixed an errant paragraph break that had been cut out after deadline on Apr 5)
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> | -- By TheodoreSmith - 04 Apr 2008 | | | Table of Contents | | | Conclusion: But Do Grades Matter? | |
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< | Although the above analysis may provide be a plausible explanation of the use of GPA in firm hiring practices, it is important not to overstate the role that grades play. Regardless of the substantive or functional characteristics of the grade, firms may simply be looking for some quantifiable metric in order to make their jobs easier. Indeed, it seems inconceivable that a firm would miss its hiring target simply because it could find students to meet a grade cutoff. While it is probably not accurate that grades have no substantive meaning to law firms, and while they likely perform some functional role in the process of attracting and retaining associates, it is important to note that these characteristics are largely the result of the role of grades in the hiring cycle itself. The actual value of the grade is not a fundamental, or even largely significant, factor in the overall purpose of the firm hiring process: to acquire associates able to produce a standard product at a fraction of their billing cost. | | | \ No newline at end of file | |
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> | Although the above analysis may provide be a plausible explanation of
the use of GPA in firm hiring practices, it is important not to
overstate the role that grades play. Regardless of the substantive or
functional characteristics of the grade, firms may simply be looking
for some quantifiable metric in order to make their jobs
easier. Indeed, it seems inconceivable that a firm would miss its
hiring target simply because it could find students to meet a grade
cutoff. While it is probably not accurate that grades have no
substantive meaning to law firms, and while they likely perform some
functional role in the process of attracting and retaining associates,
it is important to note that these characteristics are largely the
result of the role of grades in the hiring cycle itself. The actual
value of the grade is not a fundamental, or even largely significant,
factor in the overall purpose of the firm hiring process: to acquire
associates able to produce a standard product at a fraction of their
billing cost.
- I've little to say in substantive criticism of this essay. I presented something of the same analysis myself along the way, as your headings demonstrate, so my skepticism may be underperforming in this context. You didn't, in my view, make a sufficient effort to show why "insecurity" is a character advantage to the leveraged law firm, though you suggest the answer at several points. The use of grades to substitute for personal recommendation in an elite society outgrowing face-to-face relationships and the death of the old-boy network might have gotten a moment's attention, as might the particular incentives of the low-quality intermediaries--once placement bureaucrats rather than deans, professors and partners begin doing the bulk of the diplomatic business of brokering employment. But in general, given that you're a non-repeat player at the start of your acquaintance with the system, I think you've gotten to most of the accessible insights.
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