University of Texas School of Law - Peregrinus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Interview season both sweet, bittersweet Interviewing season finds law students dusting off their suits or purchasing new ones and trying to put their best feet forward in anticipation of receiving a summer clerkship or permanent law position. The big question, the one most frequently asked, is What do they look for? Different firms look for different qualities. One thing is certain however; grades matter. They figure prominently In selection primarily because grades arc the only objective indicator of success available. Being from a particular fraternity, a specific hometown or having an attorney father may do the trick. But grades arc in there somewhere. Second and third year students interview from late August until mid-November, while frcshlaws interview during early spring. The interview lottery is run by computer, so at times one person gets five interviews while another person gets one. Students may also drop-file into employee folders and get interviews that way. Those whose credentials look less impressive on paper rely more heavily on the lottery. The system does work for some. Students get flown out, wined and dined by eager firms from New York to Malibu. Thus the Placement Office process is the most efficient way to get one's name out and find a job, while at the same time minimizing costs. The first taste of the real world is often sweet for some law students, bittersweet for others. John Fox«-oott MkHtUt Rufabmon Left, students leaf through firm resume sheets to list choices for the interview lottery. Below, a first-year student utilizes the placement office library to learn more about his interviewing law firm. Getting a Job Getting a Job — 11

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Getting a Job Grade curve factor decides legal future The way a student falls against the Law School s numerical curve will dictate his future at Texas, his job offers, his choice of where to live and even his psyche. The struggle for good grades is handled in different ways by each student through careful outlining or maybe last minute cramming. All to get coveted honor grades that will sell in the job marketplace. If grades weren't important, law firms by now would not pay attention to them, said Professor Guy Wellborn. Firms continue to look at grades, but not to the exclusion of other factors; so they must be important. And it is the law firms who know what measures future performance. “Professors certainly believe that things we test are relevant to what lawyers do, but I don't think anybody considers testing skills comprehensive,” Wellborn continued. Grades are certainly a factor, but how large a factor must be very mysterious.

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Student Life Law school means studying, studying When you think of law school, the inevitable first word to come to mind is studying. By the third year, studying has become a four-letter word. Studying not only means learning the law, but getting to know new friends in the library, gathering study groups for en masse cramming, and taking frequent study breaks for caffeine and chocolate. The law school is full of places to study besides Tarlton Library, including a variety of nooks and crannies in the basement, in classrooms, in the lounge, in the student publications library and even on some of the comfy couches around the school. No matter where you hide, the dreaded finals will ultimately arrive — and find you. Patricia McClung, below, speeds up legal research with a Wcstlaw computer terminal. Link Newcomb, bottom, uses more traditional study methods in the Student Publications Library. Photo by MithfUc Robbcoon 12 — Student Life