Some gratifying news for me and my ilk!  News of law grads from lower rung law schools climbing the ladder at top-tier firms makes me immensely happy, and possibly many more like me. Too long we were crying ourselves hoarse at the law firm managements’ obvious discriminatory tactics while recruiting these students.  

Now, law students starting their summer jobs at prominent national law firms are a mixed bag.  No longer are they an inviolable community from top law schools. People like Keith Marlowe of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, and Josh Kleiman, a student at Brooklyn Law School have broken age-old barriers. They now rub shoulders with the crowd that flocks from usual places like Harvard, Yale, Columbia, New York University et al.  

Top drawer firms have decided to look beyond the gloss to recognize talent among the lower rung schools too.  It is indeed a welcome change. On their part these law schools too have worked hard to gain a foothold in the race to secure a berth for their kids on the national scene. Had it not been for his law school, which arranged the private interviews with top-notch firms such as Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP, Keith’s story line would have been different today. His fortune stands changed largely because his school saw him through with a job that will fetch him about $3,000 a week besides other benefits.

The U.S. law firms’ world is strapped into its own stratified norms.  Here, educational pedigrees, than merit often overshadows recruitment. The firms want to show their clients that they hire only the crème de la crème of the top schools. However with the mushrooming of law firms, the need and competition for promising junior attorneys have also increased simultaneously.This results in the fancy law firms dropping their blinkers to look around for plausible talent suitable to the firms’ needs.

Also credit goes to the untiring efforts by smart-thinking deans such as Detroit Mercy’s dean, Mark C. Gordon, whose artful marketing brought in successful results. Today, thanks to him, top students at his school find a foothold in the big leagues. Most big law firms now include Detroit Mercy in their select on-campus interview circuit.

Gordon sought help from top lawyers from big firms improve its third-year curriculum by creating a required set of courses that simulate real-life practice. This was a direct offshoot of the law firms’ criticism that law grads are only theoretical experts churned out from law schools. They do not have any practical knowledge. These lawyers helped Gordon remake the school’s coursework but also inspected his top second-year students during private interviews. 

The results are indeed sparkling and are there for all to see. The turf has just been cleared. There are more to follow. 

May many more of such dean Gordons continue to enlighten the legal arena with bright but unsung stars!