The Grindfather
If you’re getting ready to start law school and are worried because you have a below-average LSAT score, you need to read my new ABA blog post. In it, I explain data about the correlation between LSAT scores and first-year grades, which is weaker than most people realize.
While LSAT scores correlate with success for some students, they do not reliably predict success or lack of it for any individual student because the LSAT does not take into consideration many key ingredients to success, including “grit.”
Look at the Memphis Grizzlies. They’ve made the NBA playoffs for six straight years without any superstars. Their motto, coined by Grindfather Tony Allen, is “grit and grind.” Now, Professor Angela Duckworth has authored a bestselling explaining her research that shows “grit”–perseverance and single-minded determination–is at least as important as native intelligence in predicting success.
Check out over at ABAforLawStudents.com.
40 years ago, the one thing I learned in law school about human character is that grit and perseverance are indeed higher predictors of success there than anything else. Not that I was particularly gritty, but I certainly observed it in others.