The study used two sets of data. The first set consisted of comparisons of class rank and grades in the negotiating achievement portion of a clinical negotiating course during a total of 8 years at two law schools: University of California at San Diego and University of Illinois. No significant relationship existed between these two types of data. The second data set came from the students who completed a negotiations exercise in a trial advocacy course in the 1982-83 and 1983-84 academic years at the University of Illinois. The 51 students who had previously taken the author's course in negotiations received significantly higher grades than the 187 students who had not taken the negotiations course. Law firms may need to reconsider their degree of reliance on class rank in the hiring process and to place more emphasis on the applicants' performance in clinical courses. Data tables and 16 footnotes.