Applying to law firms with bad academics

Lmao I wouldn't worry too much OP.

My A Levels are CDE.

Edit: As someone said, you can get in to regional/national firms with your grades.

but you're still a dreamer? 😕

Yeah, because I have mitigating circumstances for that time. A lot has changed since then, and now at uni I have achieved firsts in all my modules so far (I'm 3rd year). If firms count me out for my A Levels then that's just how it is - I can't stop them from doing so. It certainly isn't going to stop me from being a dreamer

Having mitigating circumstances for poor a levels,, followed by an incredibly good academic record at uni puts you in a very different position than someone with bad a-levels and a middling academic performance at uni.

The main reason law firms care about a strong academic record is the consistency it shows. Law firms don't want to recruit someone who is only good 10% of the time and more importantly, don't want someone who won't pass their gdl/lpc modules the first go around as this ****s up seat planning and having the right number of trainees at the right time. Being a candidate who had a bad time for personal reasons that are transient (death of a family member, illness, etc.) is very different than someone who just couldn't be bothered to study or isn't smart or hard working enough to do things right at every stage of their academic career.

Johnny and I are trainees at "top" City firms. Everyone has a sob story, myself included, however some people have a sob story and still have good grades. Ignoring the fact that firms do care about academics is more delusional than motivational.

I personally think its really detrimental to pat people on the back and convince them to keep going when their grades will keep them from getting into the firms they target. This leads to thousands of people spending a lot of money on the GDL and LPC with nothing to show for it on the other side. More power to you to continue following your dreams, but having a realistic understanding of your circumstances alongside your determination is important.

I mean I’m more concerned about employability & employment in general rather than specific firms, if any. I think OP wants to connect with anyone in a similar position and circumstances, and have the assurance that she/he/they aren’t a lost cause (in life or in future employment), so looking for hope I guess. It’s why I stick around forums like these. I also don’t think that OP’s denying the importance of grades at all. Unfortunately, not everyone is on the same learning curve and smart/hard-work doesn’t negate this fact or phenomenon almost completely at all. Even telling people that, because of this, they shouldn’t do law in the first place isn’t the way to go either (not that you’re implying this; just talking in general about what some people tend to say). I think the fact that OP has worked up to mid-high 2:1 shows that she/he/they are capable to do the work and that she/he/they cares about academics too.

Though I do agree on your point that people should know when to give up on a specific route (LPC, top firms, etc.) and do alternatives instead. It could be an entirely waste of time or money, and there isn’t a one-way track to do things. But at the stage where OP is at, I don’t think that it’s a complete lost cause either. Of course it’s on them and what route they’d want to take, but you can’t be certain of anything unless you try in the first place.

Putting that aside though, how’s your work life been at the firm you’re at? How stressful is it? Don’t know much people that’s already working in these firms

I'm at a firm that's generally considered pretty friendly, and my experience has tracked with that reputation. Everyone has been really nice barring the odd standoffish person and my supervisors have been great at making time to explain things and work around the limitations of wfh. Its obviously stressful, but its hard to say how much of that is down to covid related issues vs what it would actually be like at the office.

How’s the hours and workload? I heard from some that there’s almost always over time till 11pm to 2 am

Its differed by practice area. My last seat was in the M&A team and the hours were somewhat erratic, and I had a few nights working until 1 or 2am. But that wasn't near the norm. I'd say most of the time I'd be done around 7 or 8. Right now Im in a litigation seat and its been pretty consistent 7pm finishes with a few early days around 6pm. Loooooooooooooooooots of doc review though which has been boring, but at least the few matters Ive done something other than admin work for have been fairly interesting.

I'm fairly good at managing my time and pre-TC was always doing a lot, so I'm not sure if I'm able to work more efficiently as a result and my experience is outside the norm.

Oooo that’s interesting.

May I ask how’d you built up that stamina? N any tips on that?

I find it hard to concentrate or do work when I get extremely anxious (prone to crying and blacking out in some way). Long story short I’m prone to get extremely affected by my emotional state.

How’d you get by such long hours regardless of any kind of personal/emotional disturbances? If you don’t mind answering ofc