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Will circuit and/or district court judges care about a 0.3 grade drop my last semester of law school? For context, I had around a 3.8 in the fall, and besides my first and last semester, my term GPA never dropped below a 3.8 (and was a 4.0 or close to a 4.0 most semesters). This last semester, however, I maxed my classes out and received the typical curved grades in some hard doctrinals.

Is there any reason to explain this gpa drop in a cover letter or during interviews? I had two family members pass away, so I had a legitimate reason for the drop, although it's ultimately on me for the drop in performance.

Any advice/help would be great.

I’m sorry for your loss. With the caveat that every chambers is different, I don’t think I would have even noticed that. We review grades as an initial screener, sometimes paying attention to particular classes if a current clerk is an alum and knows how that professor is. I wouldn’t preemptively bring it up in a cover letter, though you could. The more effective way I’ve seen this covered is asking your recommenders to provide that context. Some people really, really go to bat for their students, and their input is very helpful. Good luck!