Dear B.U.D.E.R.,
Hi, I'm a writer for the NY Observer hoping to put together a story about the scamblog phenomenon. I wonder if there's any chance you might be able to field some questions and/or point me to any good sources for 1) evidence behind the claims of employment figure manipulation, specifically in the NY/NJ area (I saw your Duke thing which was pretty amazing), 2) first-hand accounts of the post-"TTT" boiler-room document review world evoked by the scamblogs.
Any help much appreciated.
sincerely,
--
John Gorenfeld
www.gorenfeld.net
john@gorenfeld.net
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On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 3:48 PM, Angel the Lawyer
It's BIDER... lol.
Well, I am not one to out myself, but just a look at my blog and the blog roll (other scamblogs) will show you that we are not blowing smoke. We know that the numbers are manipulated, because most of the lawyers around us are unemployed or underemployed.
I will forward your email to the other bloggers and maybe they will speak up.
****
Sorry for the dyslexia :) Anyway I welcome all soul-crushing debt stories and can protect the anonymity of anyone who would like to share their story--appreciate it.
-J
Posts
Its SMB here, you left me a comment to email you back on 8/27 but since then I can't figure out how to do so (newbie incompetence). Anwyay, hit me. almostdebtfree1@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteFreel free to delete this irrelevant comment after you read it.
Sallie Mae's Bitch
www.almostdebtfree1.blogspot.com
angel,
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest for the esteemed reporter the following possible angles, which never seem to get into any of the articles on the subject:
1. Maybe interview actual human resources personnel outside the legal field to get some nice quotes that completely disprove the ridiculous lie that "a JD opens a lot of doors."
2. Track down one or more of the law schools that give their graduates $10 a month "research" jobs to boost up the employment rate; I suspect that those schools' career services offices will automatically incorporate those students into their employment statistics without requiring the students to independently report their employment status, BUT do NOT incorporate the $10 an hour into the aggregate average salaries they report. If they do, that is a clear case of fraud.
3. If you want to focus on specific law schools, contrast the New York Law School's tuition (which has skyrocketed to being the third highest in the country) with the fact that the Dean of the school is the Chairman of the Board of the Access Group, considered one of the most abusive lenders around (clear conflict of interest I would think). Two other law school Deans are on that Board, too.
4. The fact that many law schools apparently are profit centers for their respective universities; meaning those students who are facing 20 years of debt-ridden misery are frequently subsidizing their fellow students.
5. The fact that the ABA, after promoting foreign outsourcing of legal services, and now advocating ABA accreditation of foreign law schools, loudly and vociferously argues that there is no oversupply of lawyers, and that they are obligated to accredit any school that meets their dismally low standards under federal law (both complete fabrications).
Tell him to contact this clown John Farmer, Dean of the Rutgers law school. Here's a post from jobless jd: http://www.notolawschool.com/2010/08/oh-crap-another-dean-speaks.html
ReplyDeleteFarmer says that it is difficult for lawyers trying to find jobs now. But how can that be based on NALP stats that show 88% employment and his school which is probably north of that? That's as close to an employment slam dunk as you can get. What does he mean is hard if 88%+ have a job? Sure some people are going to suck and some people are going to find that law is not for them. That would probably make up 12% of the class. So, based on these stats virtually all normal people would find a job. Yet the good honorable dean says that its tough out there.
He needs to reconcile his statement with the stats. I personally think it was a Freudian slip. But the cat is out of the bag now. He nows the stats are garbage! Ask him. He and his clowns put them together.
BTW, the good dean Farmer also tells us that law is not an entitlement program. Sure its not, its a professional school and the assumption is that when you enter a professional program that you'll get a job when you get out. But I appreciate his honesty and I hope that he will revise his glossy brochures to show that law school is not really a professional school which you should enter to find a job, but a very, very expensive enrichment program that will be funded with non-dischargeable debt.
ReplyDeleteWith Farmer's view of law school in mind, my suggestion is that potential law school students travel around the world for 18 months on credit cards. that would take only 1/2 as long, it would be more fun, it would be almost if not more educational and the debt is dischargeable. CASE CLOSED!!!
Dear John Gorenfeld:
ReplyDeleteI hope you are reading this. Many of us who entered law school wanted to change the world. We were naive optimists who thought we could improve conditions for others while earning a living. Now, many of us are content with providing free advice online so that others will not suffer our indebted fate. Here are some of my thoughts to "change our miserable world":
(1) expand the message to the broader education scam (what is any degree worth these days?) (2) make student loan repayments contingent on income with the schools (not the taxpayers) taking the loss (this will create an incentive for schools to find reasonable employment for their graduates and/or limit enrollment in "worthless" programs), (3) reverse the offshoring trend through the use of tariffs that punish nations that allow companies to exploit workers or the environment, (4) start suing and revoking licenses/aid for schools that mislead or can't place graduates in suitable employment, (5) allow student loans to be discharged in bankruptcy after a specified time (e.g. 5 years after graduation) or number of unsuccessful legitimate attempts to gain suitable employment (why should you have to pay for something that you can't use and is thus defective?), (6) pass legislation prohibiting employment discrimination based on being educated or “overqualified,” (7) start the printing presses and give every American citizen $1 million (Sure it will cause inflation, but so what? The irresponsible will pay off their debts, and the responsible will gain $1 million to more than offset the inflation), and (8) if all else fails, let’s find a nation to flee to that actually values us.
EVIDENCE? How is anyone ever going to have evidence, when the law school can lie and hide the proof? Let's say that John Gorenfeld hypothetically contacts the law schools directly and asks them, "What percentage of all students who graduated last year are working for minimum wage? What percentage of your graduates are working in temp jobs? What percentage of your graduates are still working in temp jobs 3 years after graduation? What about 5 years after?" The law schools know they are caught, they know the jig is up, so the law schools lie, and come up with some oh-so-convenient excuse like "those numbers are confidential information". So, again, how is anyone ever going to have evidence, unless it is obtained via subpeona?
ReplyDelete