I guess they are getting ready for the competition, Belmont, which is opening in the near future to "fulfill the need" in the back country of Tennessee.
Whatever. There's nothing much to say about this topic. You can read my mind, I'm sure. There are much needier causes in the world that could have used that $12.5 million. Haiti, AIDS, World Peace? But it's a charitable deduction to the donors, any way you cut it. It's a for profit business, but it's considered charitable. Even the state of Tennessee and the local government chipped in. It's just a waste. Maybe they should have raised the money to sponsor a free legal education for all those willing to go into Tennessee Public Interest Law. In-state tuition and fees for one year costs a student $28K. So, with all of that money, C. Hump could have sponsored 133 students for three years. I wish they did that instead of building a fancy pants building.
Well, I'm just a scam-blogger. What do I know?
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I see that this article was in the Memphis Business Journal.
ReplyDeleteI was interviewed by Nashville Business Journal back in November, with regards to BelmonTTTTT. There was a related article, where the reporter noted that the school expected to recoup its initial investment and start earning money by the third year of operation.
It goes to show that these law schools are very profitable. Why else would you see so many Porta-Potty law schools opening up, all over the country?
Well they don't have to buy equipment like dental/medical schools. MBA's are probably massive profit machines too. In law school do they even provide you with a computer lab? Actually I believe you're required to provide your own laptop. The tuition costs are absurd. Even public schools are getting out of control in terms of median household income. Just completely out of wack. We can all thank federal loans. It's such a pain in the ass to get a small business loan but everyone seems to get qualified to a massive amount for federal loans.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness, you probably just aren't the type of person to donate (at least to your law school) no matter what.
ReplyDeleteIf you have yet to give a dime, how does that explain the years you were making in excess of $100,000 before losing your job? If you weren't going to give them a dime then, you never were/would.
I just hope you give a dime elsewhere once in a while.
American Bleu, Amish Butter, Anejo Enchilado, Asadero, Asiago, anyone?
ReplyDeleteI was busy donating to charities and my undergrad. I don't give it to my law school on purpose. Even when I had a 6-figure salary, I thought it was despite them, not because of them.
ReplyDeleteI kind of take offense to your tone. Why would you think that I don't give charity? I make a point of giving charity every year.
I don't know anyone who gives to their law school. Didn't they make enough already?
ReplyDeleteLike most places the Tennessee market is utterly saturated, and the addition of Belmont will not help matters. As an attorney in North Mississippi, really surburban Memphis, I am sick of seeing Tennessee lawyers flock to N. Mississippi and charge bargain basement prices.
ReplyDeleteHaving attended Belmont for undergrad, I can only imagine how insanely expensive their law school is going to be. If Belmont is really interested in helping the legal community, they should just purchase Nashville School of Law and get it accredited-not open another diploma mill.
It seems to me that my law school -- and probably all law schools -- are being run more like for-profit enterprises than not-for-profit enterprises.
ReplyDeleteInstead of using their financial resources to make tuition as low as possible, it seems the law schools are jacking up tuition in an effort extract the maximum possible amount of money from each student.
It's especially frustrating what happened during the dot-com boom. There was a shortage of lawyers and attorney salaries rose pretty dramatically. Then the law schools jacked up their tution to transfer this windfall from their students to themselves.
Anyway, if my law school had tried to keep tuition to a minimum, then of course I would donate if I had the means. But why would I donate to what is en effect a for-profit enterprise?
Donating to a law school is like donating to Blue Cross - it almost sounds legit, but it's really just giving extra cash to a profit-generating enterprise.
ReplyDeleteActually, it's probably more like giving a tip to the person who mugged you. At least most for profit enterprises (whether or not their names are similar to legitimate charities) actually provide a service.
So, if no one is thinks that the education was worth it, it's amazing that the schools haven't closed. Instead, with bunches of unsatisfied customers, they keep growing and growing. If you were a satisfied customer of a law school, of course you would give money to it. Right?
ReplyDeleteWasn;t there someone who donated 8 cents to his law school? And the school casehd it? That was a hilarious post!
ReplyDeleteThis idea is universal. In Florida, they needed doctors. The experts said the best way to attract doctors was to fund residences by a wide margin. They built a Medical School. In Florida, they saw that certain minorities were not "adequately?" represented in the FLa Bar. The Experts said by far the best way to solve this was minority scholarships. They funded two new Law Schools. I am not familiar with Tenn. I know Tom the Temps website had an article that legal aid was turning away attorneys because they did not have the time or space to train them.
ReplyDeleteWhat is wrong with you? This is capitalism and law schools are example of businesses that work. if ppl are so stupid to go to law school, then "caveat emptor." we can't knock l.s. for making money. that's what america is all about. if they raised money, good for them. if belmont makes money, great. you have to be careful where you sink $60K in tuition.
ReplyDeleteNo you idiot. IT IS NOT CAPITALISM. The loan money is federally backed.
ReplyDeleteYou think a private individual/company would loan out a 100k money to some idiot that scored a 153 on his LSAT and majored in Classics at a private university.
I'm not an idiot. They are EVEN SMARTER then! They will not suffer a loss because the govt. backs up the money. Good for them!!! That sounds like the safest bet ever.
ReplyDeleteAND people can't get rid of their loans. They found a place in the capitalist economy where they can't lose. How can you blame them for being so smart?!
You just contradicted yourself. You defend capitalism, yet it's crony capitalism you defend. No morals for you!
ReplyDeleteThere's no safe bet in capitalism.
ReplyDeleteI had one of those biglaw jobs once upon a time after finishing a federal appellate clerkship. During those years no, I did not donate a penny to my law school -- I was a a single mother back then and didn't have the kind of disposable income that many of my colleagues did. And I figured that as long as I was paying my loans, that WAS my contribution. Now I work at the law school I attended, in a truly crappy non-law job (PR) that has no purpose but to jack up the students' tuition. The faculty treat me like crap even though I've published more useless law review articles than most of their new hires. I hate, hate, hate it, mostly because of the guilt that this ridiculous position even exists, and plan to quit the second my husband gets a job with health insurance.
ReplyDeleteANYWAY, even though the loans are paid off I will never give this school a dime. Because I see all the ridiculous fat and bloat that our students' overpriced tuition (which very few of them, IMHO, will recoup) is going for. Until law schools get back to basics and provide a rigorous no-frills education, to no more students than can reasonably be expected to find jobs, at an honest price, I would not recommend that anybody else do so either. And even then -- isn't Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, or your local food bank a more deserving recipient of charitable funds?