Halberg was founded in 2005. Thomas A. Rothstein was in charge of his small firm's finances. He had several partners, each owning 25%. A annual distribution would be made to the partners and every time Rothstein cut a check, he would write an extra check out to himself. I guess he thought the few extra thousand would go unnoticed.
In 2006, "he also used the company credit card for unauthorized purchases, including $562 at iTunes, $230 at a car wash, $824 at Pilgrim Cleaners, $2,875 at Continental Diamonds, $527 for flowers and $2,500 at the Trent Tucker Poker Tournament." In 2007, Rothstein used the company credit card and spent "$767 at iTunes, $403 for Pilgrim Cleaners, $347 for flowers, $506 at Continental Diamonds and $1,250 for personal trainer Judy Beyers."
That's a ton of music. I'd love to have access to his iTunes library. I certainly hope he's got a nice body too, with all of those personal training sessions. I'm wondering if the jewelry and flowers were for a Mrs. Rothstein or for Ms. Beyers--since he was her best customer. And, why poker? I guess the money he was swindling wasn't enough. He needed to gamble as well. And he needed to have some CLEAN and pressed clothes on while he gambled. Also, I'm sure he showed up to his personal training session with flowers and a shiny ride every time.
What strikes me about this selfish slug, was that he didn't steal to pay for anything that could arguably be considered necessary. I guess he was doing okay as an attorney. He wasn't struggling to make ends meet. But he needed to steal to live glamorously???? I guess this can be considered an Angel's Fable. You know, like "The Fox and the Grapes," "The Tortoise and the Hare" or "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." I'll call it, "The Lawyer and the Luxury Lifestyle." And the moral of the story is: Lawyers that have glamorous lifestyles are probably swindling someone; clients, partners, employees... someone.
The Glory Days for our profession are over. Most lawyers I know are living paycheck to paycheck. Even the ones that kept their big firm jobs. The lure of the glamorous lifestyle will cause you to spend money you don't have, when/if you land that big firm job. And for the other 95% of lawyers that never get the Big Firm job, it's very hard to reconcile attorneys' reputation for excess with your bank account. Everyone out of law school thinks that they should be at least as well off as their parents, with a nice home, two cars and yearly vacation. Meanwhile, with such a tremendous debt on their backs, they are hardly paying their rent. Not to mention that everyone around an attorney thinks that they "can afford it." The situation is only made worse. Most lawyers can't afford very much at all. A quick perusal of the worn soles of shoes and frayed hems of suit pants at the courthouse will speak volumes about an attorney's lifestyle.
I'm a member of the generation that was supposed to be the first to do worse than its parents. I think it's my generation, and the next few as well.
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Starving Artists exist in the legal profession as well as in the artistic profession.
ReplyDelete"they are hardly paying their rent" I'm an unemployed attorney with no family or community help and am two weeks late for rent. I'm contemplating which day I'll literally be out on the streets...
ReplyDeletemaybe cities will start opening lawyers' communes, instead of artist communes, so we can afford to do our art.
ReplyDeleteOther than my current stay-cation, I've taken a combined three weeks of vacation since graduating college in 2003. Two of those weeks were with my parents. When I worked between college and law school, I would cash out my vacation and put the extra cash towards savings for a rainy day fund (was not expecting a MONSOON!).
ReplyDeleteThe entitlement to fun vacations always puzzles me. People look at me like I'm insane when I tell them the few places I've been (even though I've had the privilege of visiting a few cool places that most of the world never will).
What's the deal with these Minnesota attorneys? Then again, it's one of the most crowded states for lawyers. They'll do anything to make ends meet.
ReplyDeleteDoc review was the only thing keep me away from destitution, but I had to jump from project to project. I was lucky to be on one that lasted a year and a half! The agency had a special incentive for those who worked there more than a year...they were eligible for 401k and health benefits. I also got vacation days and overtime. However, that's an extremely rare case. From the original group of 15 or so, only 2-3 of us lasted more than a year. I still keep tabs on some doc review mates and they're going into their fourth year!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aBo8DnfekWZQ
ReplyDeleteI can't do worse than MY parents or even my sister. At least when you don't have any legacies to live up to, you have to do a lot to be considered a failure.
ReplyDeleteFilm Co.--I am very happy that you feel that way. However, both of my parents were blue collar and it's shocking to them that their daughter who was educated for over 7 years longer than they is not yet a "success." I think that I speak for many lawyers out there when I say that.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 8:41 PM... I read that article. It's absolutely hopeless. I have a little fantasy that one day, indian lawyers will give tips to friends and family akin to insider training. They will be outside the reach of our legal system and the law firm that hired them will be fucked!!! I can only pray. They don't have out ethical training and they have no obligations to follow our laws. Wouldn't that be lovely???
ReplyDeleteSaddest part as I'm unemployed and fighting for shelter two people who know my current state tell me that they or a family member wants to go to law school. I said do you not see what I'm dealing with? It's like blinders-full-steam-ahead. I told them I would send them an advisory email with lists of these blogs and and email i wrote in 2006-yep-in 2006 with news articles back then, when someone my relative knew sked about law school. I said if you go after reading this information it's your fault.
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