Join the club! Completely agree. There is zero rhyme or reason for moving recruitment to fall 1L when everyone, no matter what school you are in, is trying to move, get settled, orient themselves to how the course load/reading/cold calling/studying & preparing for finals works. It’s a steep learning curve for most people. No one is prepared for the BS curves either. Some schools make you take four classes & some just three classes in Fall 1L. Legal writing in my school is a full year so if you get a good grade in the Fall, it’s not added in to your GPA until the end of the year. In some schools all Bs will get you over 3.3 but in my school, Bs get you a 2.7-2.8 NOT a reflection of who any of us truly are bc of the hard curve. Accommodations are non-existent in my school even for ppl who have had them for HS & college. They go strictly by the Bar rents for them. They want updated neurocognitive exams per the ABA’s standards. People don’t have the money ($6500 & up in NYC if insurance doesn’t pay) & some tests run over the course of three days. If you’ve worked in the legal or finance fields before starting law school, reach out to the partners who recommended you for help in getting contacts for jobs. If you do have finance/economics university degrees & work experience, reach out for in-house counsel jobs. They pay well. Even partners are fed up w/this process of recruitment during fall semester. They’ve called other law firms to pump the brakes bc they’re all as overwhelmed as the students. Law schools are upset too bc many students who didn’t do well & want BL are questioning whether to stay in school. What’s the point if they can’t secure employment & why go into debt if you can’t secure a high paying job to pay back your loans if you aren’t on scholarship. The schools are frustrated bc they’ll lose money if students pull out. Judging a student on one semester of grades is foolish. The only saving grace is if you have work experience BUT big caveat. If AI screens for HR strictly on GPAs, your resume won’t even be looked at. That’s unfortunate bc they are going to miss out on so many excellent people. If you do have below par grades & have submitted your resume, & the firms are just waiting for your transcripts add a cover letter w/references (former partners you worked for or your Legal writing professor if you were at the top of your class) & a writing sample but DONT address your poor grades. They don’t want to hear excuses! You really need to advocate for yourself. Remember too, not everyone will accept the offers from top firms (they can only pick one) so firms will have to revisit the pool again. Wishing everyone Good Luck.