@Demosthenes, where did you go to law school?
In mine, people got plenty of job offers with Biglaw each year, even after the first semester of 1L year (which I did) and even as 3Ls (which I did). Plenty of people don’t wish to return to the law firm where they spend their 2L summer, and so they re-interview. So at least in my law school, hiring isn’t based largely on school name and 1L grades. Grades at all times up to the time of hiring, and undergraduate school name, were the two largest factors in placement success in my law school, as supported by studies that were published in the law school newspaper. How about yours?
So to recap your position:
Law schools focus on GPA/LSAT when admitting applicants, to the near-exclusion of other factors, because law schools value\ the US News rankings very much. Even though placement counts for double what GPA/LSAT numbers count for, for purposes of determining US News rankings, placement-related factors are not really considered by law schools for various reasons.
If I’m not understanding your position correctly, please advise.