So I just realized my twitter handle's acronym is LSD. Awesome.
Anyways, 1Ls around this time generally get very fearful and anxious about their grades. Rightfully so, I suppose, when you consider that for many top law students, the participating firms at on campus interviews during the beginning of 2L year look at only your 1st year grades. Since 3L interviewing is mostly dead, your 1st year grades can, in effect, determine whether you make it to Biglaw, a prestigious federal internship, or whatever. In general, for clerking, the first 2 years matter.
There's also a strange concern about finding a job for their 1L summer. I find this laughable, for the most part.
Here's 2 quick thoughts I had on 1L grades and the 1L summer job search when I was supposed to be outlining.
1) It's definitely not the end of the world if you don't do well first semester.
While it is true that this can impact your 1L summer job, you'd be surprised at how little your 1L job matters most of the time. The important thing, if you do poorly, is to work hard 2nd semester to counter-balance it. Remember, it's better to do bad 1st semester and to do well 2nd semester than the other way around. Positive trends.... everyone loves them!
Oh, and your post-finals panic? People, you probably didn't do as bad as you thought.
2) STOP WORRYING ABOUT YOUR 1L JOB
Maybe I need to stop lurking on TLS, but it amazes me that people are concerned about 1L jobs right now. At the end of the day, the kid who RA'd for his professor over the summer is not really going to be at much more of a competitive disadvantage than the kid who interned for a judge over the summer. It's just not that big of a deal. It's all about how you present it during the interview. There are plenty of good jobs to be had even if you don't start applying until after finals. Hell, some of my friends didn't find their summer jobs until March or April.
Finding a job for 1L summer is cake compared to the future job search...
