Friday, March 19, 2010

War between Mercer Law Students and Faculty Spill Over Onto Facebook

Mercer University students, faculty, and staff are in open war against each other and themselves over rankings, hiring decisions, and even the school logo. We have uploaded the facebook argument between Professor Donal Christopher Wells and Mercer Law students on Mercer 3L Charlie Grimsley's facebook page. Below we have included a bit of background on Mercer Law's challenges in the last several years in the USNWR rankings as well as the highlights of the current student backlash against incompetent professors and faculty. Angel and I applaud Mercer Law students! This is a must read post!


Mercer Law Facebook Fight



A little background:


In 2006, Mercer Law School was ranked 87 by US News and students generally felt that the University was on the right path. However, over the past three years, Mercer has fallen from 87 to a three way tie for 100 in 2008, and was most recently off the top 100 list entirely. As a result, students and faculty have been angry, frustrated, and actively seeking drastic changes at the school. The only problem is that everyone has disagreed about the way that these changes should be accomplished and the fight is spilling over into the public.


The highlights provided by an anonymous tipster:

The first indication of trouble at Mercer was a 2008 rant against the school posted across several law student forums. The posts resulted in an online skirmish that included SEVERAL HUNDRED posts from Mercer students, faculty, alumni, and amused onlookers. The general gist was that a student was upset at the direction the school was taking and his perceived waste of money and the impending plunge into tier-3 toilettedom. The students split into groups defending or attacking the school. Those students who attacked the school were attacked online and often had their online identities publicly exposed. The Mercer Law administration eventually got involved and somehow most of the posts have disappeared. However, you can find some residual posts at:
http://www.qfora.com/jdu/thread.php?threadId=965
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=22907&start=25


Then, Mercer Law did drop off of the top 100 list in 2009. Students immediately circulated a petition calling for sweeping changes. The petition was signed by more than half the student body and was also embroiled in controversy since the text of the signed petition was substantially changed before it was delivered to the University President. Again, debate raged on through school-wide emails and public forums. One month later, the dean resigned. In a Macon Telegraph article about her resignation, University officials noted, “Some students have been active the last few months with things like petitions, but I can assure you this has nothing to do with that.”


When students returned to school for the fall semester of 2010, the situation continued to worsen. Every minor disagreement between school policy and student desire has turned into a major debate. When the University changed it law school logo, students were quick to attack the seventies style logo and the process for creating it by creating a new petition and formed a SBA committee to address the issue.


Incident Earlier in the Semester Involving 3L Charlie Grimsley and a Professor Who Refused to Turn In Grades Until February:

Then, in an already desperate job market and facing a lowered perception of their schools, students were denied their current GPAs and Rankings because one professor refused to turn in his grades until late in February—a class with a term paper due in early November. The following exchange occurred between third year student Charlie Grimsley and the Dean of Academic Affairs:


Dear Deans,
I am writing regarding the grading deadline. Today is 10 days after the January 15th grading deadline for professors to turn in fall grades. One professor has still not turned in his grades. In fact, this professor habitually violates the grading deadline (I don’t think he has turned grades in on time a single time since I have been a student here). This professor’s actions are disrespectful to students, to the registrar’s office, and to the other professors who regularly turn grades in on time. This habitual violation of the grading deadline makes the registrar’s job harder and makes it difficult for students who are applying for jobs, clerkships, and LL.M. programs.


I want to be clear, this is not a situation where a professor occasionally misses the grading deadline and has a good excuse for doing so. This is a situation where the same professor always misses the grading deadline and usually by more than a week. Rizza Palmares, Dan Hines, and I had a meeting with Dean Mary Donovan about this issue on Friday, January 22, 2010. My questions to Dean Donovan were this: (1) has anyone ever spoken with this professor regarding his lack of regard for the grading deadline; and (2) to whom should SBA officers direct complaints of this nature? Dean Donovan did not directly answer either question, but, instead, suggested that a group of students try talking with this professor. Frankly, this is not the students’ job—this is the administration’s job. Dean Donovan pointed out that other law schools have professors that habitually violate grading deadlines. We are not students at other, cheaper, higher-ranked, law schools; we are students at Mercer Law School and most of us pay $34,000 a year to attend this institution.


Personally, I do not think it is too much to ask for the administration/deans office to address a situation where a professor always violates the grading deadline placing students at a disadvantage for jobs and clerkships. At the very least, I think the students deserve a better
explanation. Now here we are, a week from February and the registrar is still waiting on this professor’s grades. Finals were finished over a month ago. Do you think this behavior is acceptable? Has anyone in the dean’s office addressed this professor’s lack of regard for the grading deadline? To whom should SBA officers direct complaints of this nature? The students at this law school deserve a higher level of respect than that the dean’s office and this one professor have displayed in this matter. The main question isn't, is this a problem. This has repeatedly happened and we are past that point, the main question is what is the administration going to do about it on behalf of the customer/student?


Regards,
Charlie Grimsley



The response:

Dear Mr. Grimsley,
Thank you for sharing your concerns about the late grades. The Dean's office is aware that one set of grades has not yet been turned in. As we do every semester, the Dean's office continuously reminded faculty about the grading deadline and monitored which faculty were meeting the deadline. When faculty did not meet the deadline, the Dean's office communicated with them to remind them about the reasons for the grade deadline and the negative repercussions for the students caused by missing the deadline. As in past semesters, the Dean's office has communicated those concerns on several occassions since the deadline has passed to the faculty member who has not yet turned in his grades. Hopefully, the grades will be turned in shortly.

Sincerely,
Steve Johnson


The final reply before a formal censure bill was passed by the students:

Dean Johnson,

Thank you for your response.

I mean no disrespect, but I must ask: Do you, or the other deans, feel that your response is adequate? This professor is always late; do you think a simple reminder is sufficient? At this point shouldn’t someone be standing by his office door until he gets the grades done? What is the purpose of having a grading deadline if the dean’s office does not hold professors to it?

What if a student missed a deadline? Would the dean’s office simply remind him/her that they were late and delay everything else until they got a response? If the dean’s office does not have the authority to address this problem then who does? To whom should the students complain? Are you telling me that we are all (students, registrar, administration, etc…) at the mercy of one professor who can turn grades in whenever he feels like it?

Do you think an 11 day delay is acceptable? How would you feel if the university held your paycheck for 11 days? How would things work if each and every student missed the tuition deadline by 11 days? This problem needs to be addressed in an adequate way. A simple reminder is insufficient at this point. This professor is a habitual violator and everyone knows it, steps need to be taken to rectify this problem.

Sincerely,
Charlie Grimsley


Professor Tony Baldwin posted his grades the following week. Good job Mr. Grimsley and shame on you, Professor Baldwin for not posting your grades sooner!



Current problems and the Spill Over onto Facebook:

Two weeks ago, Mercer’s new Dean Search Committee unveiled their first candidate for Dean, Gary Simson from Case Western. General chaos ensued after an article was found that said “Gary Simson has agreed to resign" from Case Western after “students posted some of the lowest bar passage rates in the state."


Most recently, the same student, Charlie Grimsley, who wrote the petition against the Dean, sent the emails about grades being late, and who uncovered the article about the prospective new Dean posted on his facebook wall, “A decline in rank, plummeting bar passage rates, and alumni giving up on the school, this sounds eerily familiar.” Obviously frustrated with the constant attacks from the student, Mercer Professor Christopher Wells quickly replied, “Wonder why Mercer Law's applications are up 70% and alumni has risen so dramatically this year? I don't think the answer is bad-mouthing.”

Valentine Leppert, a 3L and currently ranked #1 in the class, responded, “I wonder how you are the head of a ranking committee that has been in existence for nearly a year but has not done anything. I wonder how you could oversee the admissions process and allow theincoming LSAT scores to drop when the school was already ranked 100th. I wonder why you have been an associate professor for roughly twenty years. I wonder how you can drive a Porsche while none of the students have decent jobs."

Note that David Hricik and Theodore Blumoff who join in on the Facebook fight are both Mercer professors.

What a disaster! Good luck to Mercer Law Students and keep on fighting!

46 comments:

  1. "I wonder how you can drive a Porsche while none of the students have decent jobs."

    I nominate this for best quote of the week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Woah, check out the one below that:

    "If academic administrators and professors want to promote social justice, they should do it with their own money, not the tuition money of students."

    That is a very weird statement to me.

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  3. When I was in law school, we didn't have access to emails and social networking sites, but i don't think I or any of my peers would have had the balls to attack the admin of the school. I don't know whether to admire these kids or fear them.

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  4. I have a reality check for the Mercer students. If you did not go to Yale, Harvard or Stanford you are in "tier-3 toilettedom." The facebook posts just look like a bunch of delusional Gen Y'ers finally meeting reality.

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  5. I kind of agree. I think their anger is misplaced. The reason why the administration/dean/professors don't understand where the students are coming from, is because a shit law school is a shit law school at any number. No one cares if you're 80 or 130. Both rankings suck. They are delusional if they think that a ranking at this level matters.

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  6. Wow. With tuition that high in a state with two good schools, it is no wonder that the only students they can get are these delusional crackpots; even their best student is a lunatic.

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  7. Why hate on students holding faculty and admin accountable? Once you make the mistake of attending law school, you have to make best with what is given to you. Regardless of the school's rank, students are paying the salaries of faculty and staff. They have every right to question why the law school has fallen from 87 to 100 in the rankings. I agree that it doesn't make much of a difference in terms of the job search but shouldn't every law school strive to do better rather than worse in the rankings? I have read about professors who turn in grades late at other law schools so I know this isn't only happening at Mercer. But seriously, these profs work less than 10 hours each week and give two exams each year. There is no excuse to spend more than several weeks grading exams. I wouldn't call the students delusional at all.

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  8. Interesting post, but lets face it outside the Top 20 schools rankings simply do not matter. I seriously doubt a legal employer in Atlanta cares if Mercer is a top 100 school or not. There are elite law schools, national in scope and then there is everyone else.

    I could care less where my alma mater is ranked, as it is a state supported regional law school. Do you really think Big Law anywhere cares about the likes of Mercer or even my school, Ole Miss for that matter.

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  9. If rankings outside of the T14 or T20 do not matter, then we need to eliminate rankings altogether. I agree that rankings do not matter outside the T20. It's used as a ploy by lower ranked schools to entice applicants who think the T100 is good enough or somehow better than third tier schools. But as long as we DO have the ranking system and students base their decisions on where to go to college/law school/graduate school on US News rankings, then it is an issue every school needs to address. If rankings aren't important, then a school shouldn't participate in the ranking system and risk losing the bragging rights of being called a Tier 1 school. If they do choose to be a part of the ranking system, then they open themselves to criticism if they fall in the rankings.

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  10. Tier 1 keeps getting bigger. When I was in school Tier 1 was 50 schools. Now its 100. Trust me, we did not increase the number of law schools 100% in that time period. It's BS.

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  11. I'm struggling with this one. On the one hand students have an absolute right to question the actions and decisions of the administration, but the manner in which these students have gone about it is appalling. Valentine Leppert's behavior is not appropriate in any scenario. When he is concerned about the way his law firm is being run, will he fire off an email questioning how much the senior partners make and personally attack junior partners? Based on what I have seen, I woul never hire him at my firm, and I imagine many other larger firms would feel the same way.

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  12. The reality of the situation is this: it simply does not matter whether the school is ranked 87th, 100th, or splashes into the third tier. Nor for that matter, does it matter if a law school is ranked 45th, 53rd, or 61st. They are toilets - bottom line. End of story, with regards to that!

    Now, what no one has mentioned is this: the guy who is ranked FIRST IN HIS CLASS sent out an email alleging that none of Mercer's students have decent jobs. It seems plausible - via his tone - that this young man is unemployed or has nothing lined up.

    Seriously, do not go to law school - UNLESS you get into a truly elite law school, or are paying nothing to attend LS.

    On a side note, you have inspired me to feature Mercer Sewer of Law on "Third Tier Reality." We will try to scrub this toilet clean - and let it air out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your act has become boring. Please go away.

      Delete
  13. It makes absolutely no sense to say that the rankings don't matter. Especially those of you have said that the rankings don't matter unless you're a top 20 school. They do matter for the simple reason that they exist. Do I think the world would be better off without these rankings? Yes, definitely. But, as long as the rankings exist, prospective law students will use them in deciding what law schools to apply for and which to choose. And, many employers consider the rankings and/or overall reputation of a school before deciding to hire its alumni. Besides, it seems that those of you who are arguing that the rankings don't matter are the quickest to jump to the conclusion that only those schools at the top of these rankings are decent schools, while all those that don't make the top of the list are "shit law schools" or "toilet" schools. Are you not basing these opinions on the rankings?

    Further, the students of Mercer Law are not "delusional." They are frustrated with the economic climate and with their school administration's perceived methods of handling it. There is nothing "delusional" about wanting to voice legitimate concerns to school administrators or about holding faculty and staff accountable for meeting deadlines and for working to improve the school's reputation and ranking.

    Many of the comments in the facebook debate are certainly inappropriate and even misdirected. But, overall, I don't see anything wrong with fighting to make your school better. Not everybody can go to Harvard, after all...

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  14. Wow.... I'm so upset that I'm not at a "truly elite school" where I would have no friends, and I would be miserable.

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  15. 5:22, why would you have no friends if you went to a truly elite school? Is it because you're ugly?

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  16. If you are a Mercer student, don't feed the fire. Honestly, do you think your internet ramblings are going to help? Get back to searching for pictures of Tiger's various mistresses.

    All you've got to do is pass the bar, get up early, report to work, and not cheat your clients. That will build Mercer's reputation much more than anything you write in a public forum on the web. It is almost always wiser to criticize in private and praise in public.

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  17. My life is so horrible now that I have come to the realization I didn't go to Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Why me? By the way have you read this http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/article/the_crimson_h_jobless_harvard_3l_wonders_why_me . The legal hiring market right now is making it difficult for all law school graduates to get a job. Seriously who cares, why should this even be receiving attention? A Mercer students calls out a professor for getting involved on someone's facebook wall feed and it becomes national law school chatter. The professor shouldn't have a facebook account, and should have seen these remarks coming, considering he inserted himself into a public arena of frustrated debate amongst students. The rankings certainly matter, it's what potential law students look at when applying to schools. Further, today's applicant pool is extremely competitive considering no one can find a job with only an undergraduate degree that doesn't pay more then 30k a year. Hence, the reason many of us have to settle for law schools ranked outside of the top 25.

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  18. Speaking as a Mercer law student, I would like to say two things:
    1) I agree that there have been comments by some of our students (both on Facebook and within various emails circulating amongst the student body) are inappropriate and unprofessional.
    2) I also think that, barring this unprofessional response, we do have a right to be concerned about the welfare of our school. We might not be in the Top 20 law schools in the country as a whole, but we have the #1 legal writing program, plus many other things about which to be proud. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's certainly not a "toilet" school either. I personally was admitted to schools which were ranked much higher, yet I chose to come to Mercer for reasons other than my ability to get a job at the biggest of the big firms once I graduate.

    In my opinion, this dialogue should not have taken place on such a public forum as Facebook, but the concerns are very real.

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  19. I like the little battle between the post at 5:22 and 5:33. The guy at 5:22 is obviously at Mercer or a school like it, and although they may not be able to work in biglaw, they clearly like to party. In contrast, king of retorts at 5:33 probably goes to a top 20 law school and might get a job at biglaw, however really does have no friends to party with, and instead spends his time refreshing this page for recent shit talking posts to respond quickly to (11 minutes). I will eagerly check back to this blog for more "my glass is half full" posts followed by second grade cutdowns (e.g. "is it because you're ugly").

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  20. you pay these schools all this tuition money and they turn around and act like they don't owe you anything. they (the academics) talk about all that feel-good social justice, but where's the justices for the defrauded students who are doomed to a life of debt that they'll never pay off?

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  21. 8:20, 5:22 and 5:33 are in all likelihood a group friends from Mercer jostling each other. I have other information that leads to that conclusion. Besides, everyone knows the girls are hotter at schools like Mercer--it's the South.

    Georgia has seen its population rise continuously for the last 50 years, especially the last 10-15. Georgia is also the largest state, land-wise, East of the Mississippi River. Due to these factors, there are ample opportunities for a young lawyer in urban, in suburban, and in rural Georgia, for practice growth and decent wages. Anyone, anywhere, who expects to go to law school and be able to cast gold ingots within the five years after graduation is "delusional."

    Most Mercer graduates will remain in the Southeast and be significant in the school's sphere of influence--the South. More so than other schools, the Georgia judiciary is composed of Mercer graduates--the trial and appellate courts throughout the state often have Mercer Bears presiding. I don't think you're going to see a graduate of Mercer on the Supreme Court, nor do I think you'll see many of them disbarred.

    As a Georgian, graduate of a prestigious school in another state, and a Mercer Law Student, I can tell you I never consulted the US News when applying to this institution. I consulted with the Chief Judge of my county, who emphatically said, "Do you want to go law school or learn to be a lawyer?". I wanted to learn to be a lawyer and that is why I will always be proud of my school.

    In my reasoned opinion, the biggest factor leading to the general public's dissatisfaction are the recent graduates of the so-called "Top-tier" schools. Many of these people are egotistical maniacs in a society obsessed with money, good looks, the perception of success, and instant gratification.

    The legal profession is a service industry and smart people with a negative net worth might have a difficult time dealing with the fact that they busted their butts in school just so they can watch every minute pass and bill someone for it. As a junior and senior associate, it is likely disconcerting that a guy with guts and a high school diploma is worth millions because he took financial risks in life while you were taking the safe route by attending law school. Get over it and get back to work.

    Right now, there are more lawyers than demand calls for; if the people choosing to attend law school weren't watching so much Law and Order, maybe they'd decide to do something else. Who knows, who cares? There's always another spot open at the IRS.

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  22. I'm a Mercer Law student, and I chose Mercer over the likes of Georgia State, UGA, University of Alabama, Tennessee. The hate against Mercer is silly. It's a great school. I feel like I am getting a fantastic education. I went to Emory undergrad, and I have learned far more at Mercer than I ever did at Emory. Rankings aren't everything. If they were, I wouldn't be at Mercer. Some things are more important, like location (and by location, I mean location near family--because let's be honest, Macon is no bustling metropolis), availability of scholarship money (one of my major deciding factors was that I was offered a full tuition scholarship to attend Mercer Law), the great legal writing program, the quality of life, the small class sizes, the accessibility of faculty, the lack of a eat-or-be-eaten competitiveness, etc. I have been pleasantly surprised by Mercer Law, despite the decline in rankings. I decided that if I wasn't going to go to a top-20 law school, it didn't matter where I went as long as I performed well while in law school, and I was right.

    Right now, big law firms aren't hiring. I had just as good of an opportunity to get a job at a big law firm as a student at UGA or Georgia State. I interviewed in the fall with about 10 big Atlanta law firms. Every big firm in Atlanta and in every other major city (which, by the way, is not the end all, be all of legal employment) has cut back hiring across the board. In the summer of 2009, Alston and Bird for example hired 4 Mercer Law students as summer associates (from what I have heard). This year, I believe they only hired 1. That's the result of the economy. And to be honest, I'd rather be paying $0 a year in tuition and have a slight chance at getting big firm employment than paying tens of thousands of dollars a year in tuition for a slightly better chance at getting big firm employment. As it stands, I have a job as a summer associate for the summer of 2010. It's not in the place I thought it would be, but I'm extremely happy with it and grateful to have a job.

    Basically, all I'm saying is that it's not all about rankings. Don't judge Mercer because we are not in the top tier. There are a lot of things that go into those rankings. I truly believe, for example, that if Mercer were located in Atlanta rather than in Macon, it would be firmly rooted in top tier.

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  23. Dear 9:07:

    Punctuation and grammar are usually taught for free at public elementary schools. Your school of higher education owes you nothing more than to provide a heated/cooled building and the courses required for graduation. If you or someone you know is relying on career services to get a legal job, that person should have his/her head checked by a licensed psychologist.

    Please explain to me how you or someone you know was defrauded. You might have defrauded yourself with delusions of grandeur and material wealth in your post-law school school idealized self, but Mercer Law School did not defraud you. I'm sure that some government agents would love to know about fraud at an ABA-accredited law school.

    Debt is simple math. Take out loans you can afford, pay them. If you can't afford law school debt, don't go or don't attend a private institution. That seems like a reasoned way to prevent being "doomed to a life of debt that [you'll] never pay off".

    Maybe all prospective law students should spend a year or two working in a law firm before they go to law school. That'd probably increase the quality of applicants significantly. I know a guy who withdrew his law school applications after two months of time entry and dealing with non-paying clients. He's now making more than $100K at a cell-phone company. I'd rather be learning about the law. To each his own, I just hope I'm not doomed.

    With Love,

    A Happy Law Student

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  24. The root of all these problems is Mary Donovan and Daisy Floyd. Half of the problem is now gone. Floyd's lackadaisical approach to her job as dean and her steering of resources to her husband's public service program have hurt Mercer Law a great deal. Public Service is great, but it should be student driven, not forced upon students by the dean's husband. Floyd's departure alone will improve Mercer's rank/reputation. When Floyd took office, Mercer's Median LSAT score was 156. Today, Mercer's Median LSAT score is still 156 (last year it was 155).

    Mary Donovan is probably a bigger problem than Floyd ever was. Donovan does nothing! She ignores problems until they develop into a s**t-storm. Donovan hinders communication between the students, the faculty, and the administration. If she spent as much time working as she does worrying about alcohol she may get something done. Hopefully the next dean will dismiss Mary.

    Great jobs are out there, just keep looking!

    Sincerely,

    Mercer Alum

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  25. Some of those posts read as though they were posted by the Mercer recruiting department.

    Here is my proposal for a new ranking system:

    First Tier: Top 20 schools
    Second Tier: Schools 21-40
    Third Tier: Schools 41-60
    Toilets: All other law schools

    Sludge Pits: A special designation reserved for particularly vile law schools, such as toilets that charge $35,000/year for tuition while offering students atrocious employment prospects.

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  26. I agree with 10:31. Mary Donovan is half of the problem. When Dean Floyd is gone, Dean Donovan will still be most of the problem.

    The rest of the problem lies in the placement office. Only one of the three career counselors is licensed to practice in Georgia (or any state for that matter). Another counselor graduated several years ago and has yet to successfully pass a bar exam. I am currently "assigned" to her, but she is completely ineffective. When I expressed a desire to speak to another counselor I was told no. I feel like there are no competent resources to help with the job search.

    If the new dean were to dismiss Mary Donovan and the entire placement office, the school could easily reach Top 60 within five years.

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  27. Don't forget to dismiss the students too, if Mercer got rid of all the students who are complaining, they would be better off too.

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  28. 6:47 - Relying on Career Services to find you a job is foolish no matter what law school you attend.

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  29. 11:38 - Very true, but there is a lot to be said about having an EXPERIENCED career counselor at a mediocre to poor law school were job prospects are horrible. In fact, all of the toilets would benefit by having their highest paid and most qualified person be the career counselor.

    My parachute is red, btw.

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  30. I wonder how the blogger got emails from Mercer's email system (emails between Dean Johnson and Students). It seems like a Mercer Law student started this mess before the facebook fight broke out. nice job

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  31. Somebody forgot to lock their computer when they got up to go to the bathroom. That's how I got these emails. :) You guys certainly are an interesting bunch. Never heard of a bunch of students with so much personality and fight.

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  32. Dear 10:22 - The students who are complaining are doing so because things at Mercer are f-ed up. Most of these complaining students want the school to be better. They aren't complaining just for fun.

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  33. On top of a student body that, apparently likes to bitch on public websites, the students are stuck in Macon, which is possibly the worst city I have ever set foot in. The arm pit of Georgia is fitting to say the least.

    "Besides, everyone knows the girls are hotter at schools like Mercer--it's the South." Yeah...right...Mercer Law "girls" leave a lot to be desired.

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  34. I blame the administration and the former dean (which they have removed) for the drop in ratings.I also see that the other Georgia schools are in a turf battle to boost their own egos. The fact that the legislature several years back created a public law school in Atlanta for "work-experienced back to law school students" in Atlanta,Ga., has created a low cost alternative to private law school. The irony is Ga. State school was created to replace the unaccredited schools in Atlanta.The state wanted rid of these night schools. Ga. State has never had a particularly good undergraduate program but the low cost of the law school and its availability to Atlanta residents who do not wish to relocate makes it an attractive alternative for the "return to law school after work experience" student. In truth, there is very little difference in the "numbers" and ability of the students in most of the law schools outside the top 20.. It becomes a turf battle for local bragging rights.I think that the students at Mercer are overreacting and should work within. A new dean should help. Mercer is a fine old law school. One of the smallest so it can't pull on its own numbers to be "jingoistic " in the rankings.I went to Mercer before there was a Georgia State and it was a fine school then. My Mercer law education has served me well and I have never come up lacking in that department. I have opposed Harvard grads, Duke grads, Vandy grads,Tulane grads,Ole Miss grads,Emory grads,just to name a few and have never come up short in education or ability . Lawyers have such fragile egos that they have to "look down on some other school" to boost their egos.. The previous commenter was right. Go into practice, serve your clients and do a good job.Your reputation in the community is worth far more than a ranking most of the public knows nothing about. Where you attend law school does not change your intellect or ability one bit. How good a lawyer you are depends on you and your core ability-- not a school alumni membership. Cowboy up and go get them. You wont have the opportunities of a Harvard grad but you will have excellent opportunities. Big law is not all its cracked up to be and in my opinion large law firms are oppressive and ,I dare say, amoral.
    The obnoxious little nerds who want to call Mercer a toilet school are just that. With personalities like that I don't care if they went to Harvard; they are losers.
    When I attended Mercer the recent deans of Emory,Georgia and Vanderbilt had all been Mercer graduates. Not to mention Professor Hodge O'Neal at Duke and Attorney General and Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Griffin Bell. So get to work and show them who is better..Bragging about a piece of paper on the wall will get you nothing. The rankings will take care of themselves. The administration definitely needs to address the real and perceived problems and the rankings will take care of themselves.

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  35. I hope there really is "no such thing as bad publicity."

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  36. Don't be put off by the tuition. Mercer provides generous financial aid so the tuition number is not so daunting.Check it out.I think there is an unwarranted attack on the school. There are much worse schools that do not receive such attacks. The ratings game is dirty.It seems schools are more concerned with the ratings of a news magazine than it is with eduction. The truth is the ABA should have limited the number of lawyers long ago. The market can sustain only so many. Every other profession does this. Our wonderful ABA does nothing.

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  37. I am a recent Mercer grad....very active in the on goings with the student body and administration and I would just like to add something to this convo....

    1) Mercer PRIDES itself as a public interest focused school....of course, some students do end up doing biglaw...but to come to a public intrest-centric school and complain about not having biglaw job opportunities is like going to fat camp and complaining because there are no skinny girls there. To me, it seems to be a perfect example of a dumb ass being faced with the reality that they made a dumb ass decision.

    2) As a whole, Mercer students are lazy when it comes to the job hunt. And believe me, it pains me to say that, but it's true. As a whole, they expect to apply for jobs online or have big firms come to the school and conduct interviews....and if they can't secure a job either of those ways, then they blame Career Services. I graduated in the middle of the class and had a job secured 4 months before graduation....a job that I went out and found for myself instead of waiting for CS to drop something in my lap. In a thought, Mercer students don't have trouble finding jobs.....they have trouble with jobs finding them. And the only way you will have a job find you is by getting into the Harvards and the Yales and Stanfords

    3) On a national scene, Mercer has no profile whatsoever....yeh we have the #1 Legal Writing Program, but that is largely because there are only 2 or 3 "Legal Writing" programs in the country. (Note: Legal Writing program refers to the school's certificate program, not the basic legal writing class that all schools have).

    That being said, in the SE and more specifically, Atlanta, Mercer's reputation is sparkling. It's graduates are known to do great work, by and large. And employers don't doubt that Mercer graduates have received a high quality reputation.

    4) Also, I find it amazing that half of the students complaining are actually the reason for Mercer's drop in the rankings. The school began dropping in the rankings right around the time these students began getting admitted....

    ReplyDelete
  38. Mercer grads.....is any curious as to why Grimsley only called out Baldwin for turning in grades late.....Watson does the same thing....and when he does turn in the grades, the papers have no marks on them......

    ReplyDelete
  39. Watson, Cole, and several others are always late by a couple of days. Baldwin, however, is usually late by two weeks or more. This, I suspect, is the reason Mr. Grimsley called out Professor Baldwin.

    "is any curious"? I truly hope you are not a Mercer Student/Graduate. If you this is a great example of why Mercer is in decline.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Val Leppert ended up getting a job at King and Spalding. They clearly have no access to the internet. Can someone please forward this to them?

    ReplyDelete
  41. MERCER 39TH IN RANK
    To conclude the series, I present here Princeton Review's Top 50 Law Schools, determined by (1) focusing on those five categories with reported scores in the 60-99 range (thus excluding the study hours category), (2) combining the Professors: Accessible and Professors: Interesting categories into a single category, and (3) adding the scores in the resulting four categories:
    • Academic Experience
    • Admissions Selectivity
    • Career Preparation
    • Professors: Accessible & Interesting:




    1 Stanford 393 /// 27 W &L 354
    2 Chicago 389.5 /// 28 Wm & Mary
    3 Virginia 389.0 /// 29 USC 350.5
    4 Boston U 383 /// 30 Illinois 349.5
    5 Texas 381.5 /// 31 Ind-Bloom
    Vanderbilt 381.5 /// 32 Cardozo 347.5
    7 Michigan 381.0 /// 33 Wake Forest
    8 Northwestern379.5/// Iowa
    9 NYU 377.5 //// 35 Arizona 344.0
    10 Geo. Wash 375 //// Tulane
    1Pennsylvani //// 37 Yale 342.5
    12 BYU 373.0 //// 38 Rutgers- 342.0
    Boston College 373 //// 39 Mercer 339.0
    Georgetown 373 //// 40 UC-Davis
    15 Duke 371.0
    16 UCLA 368.0
    17 UC-Berkeley 367.5
    18 Fordham 367.0
    19 Chapman 361.5
    20 Loyola-L.A. 360.0
    21 Emory 359.5
    Georgia 359.5
    23 Notre Dame 358.0
    24 Columbia 357.5
    25 Pepperdine 356.5
    26 Harvard 356.0

    ReplyDelete
  42. To conclude the series, I present here Princeton Review's Top 50 Law Schools, determined by (1) focusing on those five categories with reported scores in the 60-99 range (thus excluding the study hours category), (2) combining the Professors: Accessible and Professors: Interesting categories into a single category, and (3) adding the scores in the resulting four categories:
    • Academic Experience
    • Admissions Selectivity
    • Career Preparation
    • Professors: Accessible & Interesting



    1 Stanford 393 /// 27 W &L 354
    2 Chicago 389.5/// 28 Wm & Mary
    3 Virginia 389.0 /// 29 USC 350.5
    4 Boston U 383 /// 30 Illinois 349.5
    5 Texas 381.5 /// 31 Ind-Bloom
    Vanderbilt 381.5 /// 32 Cardozo 347.5
    7 Michigan 381.0 / 33 Wake Forest
    8 Northwestern379.5/// Iowa
    9 NYU 377.5/// 35 Arizona 344.0
    10 Geo. Wash 375/// Tulane
    1Pennsylvania /// 37 Yale 342.5
    12 BYU 373.0 /// 38 Rutgers- 342.0
    Boston College 373// 39 Mercer 339.0
    Georgetown 373 /// 40 UC-Davis
    15 Duke 371.0
    16 UCLA 368.0
    17 UC-Berkeley 367.5
    18 Fordham 367.0
    19 Chapman 361.5
    20 Loyola-L.A. 360.0
    21 Emory 359.5
    Georgia 359.5
    23 Notre Dame 358.0
    24 Columbia 357.5
    25 Pepperdine 356.5
    26 Harvard 356.0

    ReplyDelete
  43. First, no decent law firm gives a crap about this stuff. Anyone who thinks a law firm wouldn't hire the # 1 graduate because he spoke out against an incompetent administration is an idiot. In fact, I would be HAPPY to hire such a student at my firm. The law is about controversies, not being passive about things that are important.

    Second, Mercer's reputation will improve instantly now that Floyd is gone. I was at lunch the other day and heard a few high profile law professors from Emory discussing how impressive Mercer's new dean, Gary J. Simson, was.

    So in the long run, Mercer will be fine. As a Mercer graduate, I am just happy the Floyd reign of terror is over. I may now actually consider sending them some money.

    ReplyDelete
  44. E-mail dated Monday, June 13, 2011:

    Students,

    On behalf of the Dean's Office, I wanted to apologize for the delay in posting the grades for Professor Baldwin's Jurisdictions and Judgments class. We have been in touch with Professor Baldwin throughout the grading period and believe that he will submit the grades within the next few days. We realize the problems that a delay in posting grades creates for students (as well as the anxiety) and we routinely communicate those concerns to faculty to encourge them to comply with the grading deadline. We will continue to work with Professor Baldwin to get the grades posted as soon as possible. Again, I'm very sorry for the delay, especially in light of the delays during the administration of the exam.

    Sincerely,
    Steve Johnson
    Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

    ReplyDelete
  45. A new world just pops up inside you and creates a new personality that will eventually overcames your old self. Quite scary. Attorney Macon

    ReplyDelete

 

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