tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54520253526962852002024-03-12T07:18:56.129-04:00But I Did Everything Right!Everyday is a cloudy day in the life of a disenchanted lawyer.
Email tips to Angel at angelthelawyer(at)gmail(dot)com or Hardknocks at hardknockslaw(at)gmail(dot)comAngelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.comBlogger531125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-40569394769259701742013-03-04T14:52:00.001-05:002013-03-04T14:52:25.156-05:00Law School Debt Drives Lawyer to Kill Not once, but twice. Wait, if you count him--that's thrice.<br />
Anyone who is as obsessed with ID television as I am knows that there are two motivations for murder (1) financial and (2) passion. In the case of <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2287899/Son-kills-months-moms-suspicious-death-years-fathers-hiking-accident-death.html" target="_blank">John Wagner from Philadelphia</a>--his reasons were likely both as it's speculated that he was driven to kills his mom and pops and self because of law school debts that prevented him from settling down. It makes sense to me. I just wish he directed some of that fire at the law school that he attended instead of his poor parents. <br />
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Okay, no condoning what he did at all! Please don't kill yourself. If you feel depressed about your financial situation, go teach English in China, go be a nanny is Norway... just leave it all behind and start anew somewhere else. Don't take it out on anyone or yourself!<br />
Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-59265867376055739002013-02-07T22:49:00.002-05:002013-02-07T22:49:35.494-05:00All's Good on the Homefront!Well, not really. But for my for my purposes, it has been. Nando called me to let me know that <a href="http://abovethelaw.com/2012/11/a-law-school-finally-does-something-about-decreasing-applications-and-starts-firing-people/" target="_blank">Vermont Law laid off some workers</a>. I know for a fact that my alma mater decreased it's class size by 1/4. Good stuff. We started this ball rollin down the Swiss Alps and it's finally demolishing some brick and mortar law schools at the bottom of the hill.<br />
The reality is that we never sought to fix this situation. The whole "scam blog" movement has been to save some students the grief of attending. For those idiots that insist they have been too smart and successful in their lives to be destroyed by a tuition the size of a mortgage, we have been of no assistance whatsoever. I don't care about those kids anyways. I will kill those kids when I see them in the courtroom. They are stupid. They are dense. They are failures at life.<br />
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Then, there are those of whom that will enter document review hell and, likely, never emerge. For you guys, I am posting this delightful piece. Let me know what you think.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kq0VR62yfvg" width="560"></iframe>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-8282110399070263442012-07-24T21:13:00.002-04:002012-07-24T21:13:51.923-04:00I lost friends who apparently got tired of me saying, "sorry, for the 100th time, I can't go out tonight. I DON'T HAVE ANY MONEY."Gawker published stories from the unemployed and a lawyer's story made the cut. It's truly a fascinating story to those that don't know that attorneys can be poor, on Medicaid and starving. Click <a href="http://gawker.com/5928371/unemployment-stories-vol-two-we-are-the-unseen" target="_blank">here</a> and scroll down to "The attorney" and read about her corner of hell. Honestly, from August of 2010 until August of 2011, her life didn't read much differently than that of an unemployed baby mama from the hood.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-88608496515509875352012-07-03T23:53:00.002-04:002012-07-03T23:53:26.229-04:00Guess Right and Win a Kindle!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/02/Whitney-Houston-Toxicology-Report.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://www.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2012/02/Whitney-Houston-Toxicology-Report.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And I will always love youuuuuuuuuu.....</td></tr>
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Every year, there's some sickos on the web that <a href="http://www.deathlist.net/" target="_blank">predict</a> <a href="http://flymetothetomb.x10.mx/index.html" target="_blank">which</a> celebrities will die in the coming year. There's even a way to earn money by betting on the same--although it feels a little immoral to bet on someone's death. Don't get me wrong, I do have my own personal list: Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen and K-Fed... Russell Brandt is on my list too.<br />
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<a href="http://static.tvguide.com/MediaBin/Galleries/Celebrities/S_Z/Z/ZsaZsa_Gabor/Zsa-Zsa-Gabor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span id="goog_837455050"></span><span id="goog_837455051"></span></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here today.</td></tr>
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Anyhow, based on this concept, <a href="http://lawschoolscam.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">unperson</a> came up with a completely fabulous idea and I am going to push it as hard as my broke ass can: by starting <u><b>The Law School Death List</b></u>. <br />
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As many of you should know by now unless you're flaming, fucking idiots, the number of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/business/for-lsat-sharp-drop-in-popularity-for-second-year.html" target="_blank">LSAT test takers is way down</a> and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-05-01/hastings-law-school-admissions/54662710/1" target="_blank">admissions at law schools are likewise down</a> <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2012/06/26/why-attending-law-school-is-the-worst-career-decision-youll-ever-make/" target="_blank">since the cat is out of the bag</a>. In most recent news, <a href="http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2012/06/26/texas-am-buying-texas-wesleyan-law-school/" target="_blank">Texas Wesleyan School of Law is being sold to Texas A&M</a>. Yah, yah, yah... mutually beneficial, limitless possibilities, joint degrees. I call bullshit. <br />
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Texas Wesleyan was probably having difficulty filling seats and folded. So, the question is (drumroll please) <u><b><i>which school is next</i></b></u>? <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gone tomorrow.</td></tr>
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So, this is how the game works, and I certainly need your help to keep track. In the comments to this post, please guess the name of the next law school that will fold. Fold, for the purposes of this game, is either (1) being sold to another educational institution or (2) closing altogether. If you turn out to be correct and first I will send you a Kindle as a prize. If you have a profile, I will be able to reach you, but if you decide to do it anonymously--just email me your contact info and your guess as well and I will be in touch. But you must list it in the comments or I won't count it. Good luck with The Law School Death List and may the odds be ever in your favor! That's Hunger Games in case y'all didn't know. <br />
If you see the next law school closing and I haven't noticed, please tell me about it. I can't keep track of all the law school news.<br />
Love, hugs and kisses.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-5124669692515167172012-06-23T16:30:00.001-04:002012-06-23T16:30:40.797-04:00Tamanaha's Book: Whistleblowing on the Law School Industrial Complex<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://law.wustl.edu/faculty_profiles/profiles.aspx?id=7287" target="_blank">Professor Tamanaha</a> of Washington University Law School is calling out his comrades in a book entitled "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Failing-Schools-Chicago-Series-Society/dp/0226923614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340481332&sr=8-1&keywords=failing+law+schools" target="_blank">Failing Law Schools</a>." I just ordered my copy, and I urge all of you to do the same (if you can afford it). The fallout from this could be huge for Professor Tamanaha and I want righteousness to win out over evil. Who knows whether he'll be employed or employable after squealing on the Law School Industrial Complex. He's doing what I never had the guts to do, be frank and put his name on it. <br />
As you know, many of the scam bloggers remain anonymous for fear of being black balled in the community. That's a real fear. Fairly recently, an outed scamblogger asked that I take down a post on him because the post ranked high on Google and potential clients were holding it against him. I feel horribly about it. <br />
Back to Tamanaha... He's been a supporter of the scam blogger movement and I commend him on stating the obvious, no matter how much it hurts: law schools are pumping out more graduates than the economy needs AND tuition (the very tuition which compensates Professor Tamanaha) is too high and has increased at rate higher than inflation. <br />
Those of you that followed my <a href="http://butidideverythingrightorsoithought.blogspot.com/2012/06/rip-this-guy-new-one.html" target="_blank">post</a> on Jack Marshall's blog entitled "<a href="http://ethicsalarms.com/" target="_blank">Ethics Alarms</a>" shook your heads at his denseness relating to the alleged versatility of the law degree. Meanwhile, Tamanaha's ground breaking book hits the stores and the issue of overrated and overpriced juris doctorates has been addressed by many esteemed newspapers such as the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/opinion/how-to-make-law-school-affordable.html" target="_blank">New</a> <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/the-bad-news-law-schools/" target="_blank">York</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/business/after-law-school-associates-learn-to-be-lawyers.html?pagewanted=all" target="_blank">Times</a>, the Wall Street Journal, the <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/17/unemployed-lawyers-sue-schools-over-promises-of-jo/" target="_blank">Washington Times</a>--and many, many more. And just this week, the ABA releases statistics that hit you in the gut like the runaway train from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter--<a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202559883779&ABA_Only__percent_of_law_grads_found_fulltime_law_jobs&slreturn=1" target="_blank">only 55% of law graduates have full-time employment</a>. Please note, that does not speak to the quality of employment, benefits and/or lack thereof and how much of those 55% are employed by their law schools until the 1st day of the 10th month, for the sake of statistics. In short, if you don't realize by now that law school is as much a gamble as black jack at the Borgata, you must be nuts. Please don't go.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HpixdTlYlKU" width="560"></iframe>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-6819452899473439742012-06-19T13:32:00.001-04:002012-06-19T13:34:44.734-04:00The American Dream is Dead.But you know that. Here's <a href="http://www.npr.org/2012/05/29/153513153/american-dream-faces-harsh-new-reality" target="_blank">a nice little segment</a> worth listening too while you're at work. It's nice to know that we're not alone. We are standing hand in hand with many Americans living the American Nightmare.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-22000704453492808522012-06-18T20:36:00.001-04:002012-06-18T20:36:07.969-04:00Rip this guy a new one!An anonymous comment pointed me to a <a href="http://ethicsalarms.com/2011/10/26/the-young-lazy-unimaginative-and-unbelievable-i-wonder-why-would-this-lawyer-have-trouble-finding-a-job/" target="_blank">post</a> on another blog entitled "Young, Gullible, Lazy, Unimaginative and Unbelievable: I Wonder Why This Lawyer Has Trouble Finding A Job?" This post is actually calling bullshit on the 99% sign that I posted yesterday (see below). The author goes as far as to say:<br />
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A law degree is the most versatile and useful degree there is. It is just as useful for getting management jobs in business and politics as it is in law. It is considered a credential for consulting, negotiation, public speaking, and lobbying. I once was hired to run a health care organization that required a medical degree: they couldn’t find a doctor they liked, so the Chairman of the Board said, “Eh, a law degree’s just as good,” and hired me. No prospects? None? What’s wrong with this guy?</blockquote>
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Look. I'm as unsympathetic as the next when it comes to people relying on social welfare rather than attempting to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. I come from a family of immigrants and ALL of my cousins and siblings have managed to go on to the American dream (house, job, kids). I'm actually the most educated of all of them and the poorest. But the legal profession is something altogether different. Young lawyers are deserving of sympathy. After all, they weren't lawyers when they decided to go to law school. The Legal Industrial Complex actively defrauds our nation's young into spending over $100K for an education that will be worthless, a dead weight, an impediment to our happiness. That is not a result of our youngs' laziness or stupidity. It's a crime. It's a fucking cartel that should be taken down with RICO laws. <br />
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And these aren't just any kids that are being bamboozled--its our nation's brightest. I thought of my readers when I read this line from Zone One by Colson Whitehead.<br />
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He'd never had trouble with the American checklist, having successfully executed all the hurdles of his life's stages from preschool to junior high to college, with unwavering competence and nary a wobble into exceptionality or failure. He possessed a strange facility for the mandatory.</blockquote>
Of course, the book goes on to discuss a zombie apocalypse, but the same line applies to all of those that go to law school. They aren't losers and should have gotten somewhere accomplishing all the necessary tasks required to succeed in life. It wasn't that hard, am I right? But then, law school comes in and weighs them down, sinking them into utter poverty. We're definitely part of the 99%.<br />
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Please post a comment on HIS blog, not mine, so he knows that the scenario discussed in this sign is common place--and nothing to scoff at.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-5407831777204509092012-06-18T00:13:00.001-04:002012-06-18T23:12:53.577-04:00Family Matters: Guest Post by Esq. Never<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">My post law school life has posed many challenges and humiliations. I essentially have to finance a small mortgage worth of student loans while also paying for rent. After living on my own for several years, I had to spend three years living with my parents. I lost out on three to four years worth of income and work experience. I, of course, had a miserable time finding a serious, professional job after school. While things were difficult for me for a long period, I always had a lot of flexibility to deal with my challenges.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I could stay with my parents. If that option wasn't available, I probably could have couch surfed, or found a tiny apartment in a bad area and strung together enough low level jobs to make ends meet. I held back on most expenses while I was unemployed. I was able to take some low level temp jobs in my attempt to rebuild my resume until I could land something better.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">None of this would be possible, however, if I had a family. Mom and dad wouldn't be so happy to host an entire other nuclear family under their roof. Staying in the apartments of friends would be out. I couldn't have taken a low income temp route to try to build up a marketable skill set. I would have had to probably juggled multiple low wage jobs in order to feed my family. I would almost certainly be legitimately poor - perhaps for a long period of time.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I don't want to belittle the suffering of single people who went to law school - after all I'm one of them. Law school sets everyone back in life - unless they can land a great job and go easy on the debt (a rare combination), but it's particularly a pernicious force when those with families come out ruined. Imagine somebody has a decent job going into law school, and three years later they're in six figures of debt and can't buy a job.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I remember there was one guy in law school who had a job before law school, but was looking for a better career. He said he needed to make about $80k after school because he had a family. I'm not sure if he meant, only $80k would make the decision to go to law school worth it when he had to support a family or if it meant he couldn't maintain a reasonable lifestyle for his family at less than $80k. In either case, I don't know what happened to him, but I doubt he found a job with a salary he wanted. He wasn't a law review member, so it's a wonder if he found any decent legal (or non legal) job. In fact, getting a salary in that range right out of law school is exceedingly rare. Usually, small to mid law starts anywhere from the $40k to mid $60k's with limited room for improvement. Some more insidious roles or non profit positions could pay even less. Big law folks do make six figure salaries, but (aside from doc review) there aren't too many jobs in the middle.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Even if you can land a job, it has to hurt to know that you've set your own family back financially. A $40 or $50k salary doesn't go too far for a family of four particularly if you live in an area with a high cost of living. Plus, when you add in the debt, that's another bite into the family budget.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">To the extent that the law school scam artists seek to justify their misdeeds, they probably have single people in mind. "Sure those kids will suffer in their 20's. Instead of renting luxury apartments and buying brand new consumer electronics, they'll have to sacrafice a little bit to pay back their student loans until they make better salaries. Besides, they have the IBR, so they'll be able to get by even before they make decent wages."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">While singles struggle plenty with employment and debt, it's a lot easier for them to muddle along with $30k salaries. The monthly loan payments could obviously go to better causes, but they won't starve because of them (at least under the IBR). Job hopping and relocating are more realistic for this cohort, so the chance of emerging from this debacle with mitigated damages is more likely.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The cold blooded law school deans, however, either don't think (or care) about the plight of those trying raise a family. If a law graduate who is a parent is locked out of a professional position because of the J.D. what is he or she to do? It's pretty hard to support a family working part time at Home Depot: Particularly since having a family usually requires a mortgage for a home, a larger grocery budget, and more insurance. Do the law schools care that someone like this will go from the ivory tower to the welfare lines with no chance of ever retiring his debt?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If you're single and you're stubborn about your desire to go to law school, you're only digging yourself into a massive hole. If, however, you have a family, just remember, you're not only gambling with your future, you're gambling with your family's as well.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i><br /><a href="http://esqnever.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Esq. Never </a>is a former Scam Blogger, who now runs the blog <a href="http://findinganonlegaljob.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">Finding a Non-Legal Job</a>, which provides law graduates and attorneys with advice about transitioning into non-legal fields.</i></span>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-71323069818473581502012-06-17T20:31:00.003-04:002012-06-17T20:31:56.567-04:00About Time!!Long ago, I said that the only way to save the legal profession is to cut enrollment. If all law schools cut their incoming classes to 200 students, these students (especially from the top 50) will be more valuable and subsequently, more recruitable and employable. Today, I ran across an <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303444204577458411514818378.html" target="_blank">article that states that few law schools that have come to this realization</a>. Bravo to Northwestern and Hastings! I hope that many other law schools re-examine their overly inclusive enrollment and increase the value of their overpriced degrees. Of course, no article is complete without a mention of Cooley--which is single handedly bringing down the legal market with its 3,700 students in Michigan AND in Florida. Of course they aren't considering reducing the size because doing so might adversely affect minorities. I believe "minorities" must be Cooley for "profits." Look, I'm a minority and I am being dead serious when I say that minorities are not better off with a $100,000+ JD and no job. If you think I'm wrong then, feel free to chime in. By the way, nice stat in that article--this is the worst market for lawyers in 18 years. That's pretty intense.<br />
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<br />
On a side note, I called a car service today that I used to use regularly when I was in big law. I got a driver that remembered me and he asked why I don't call as often as I used to. I said, "Dude, I'm broke." He asked me if I'm still a lawyer, and I said yes--working for myself and it's been a rough ride. He said, "OH, but you are a lawyer--I'm sure you make lots of money." I will officially close down this blog when it is common knowledge that lawyers are broke. <br />
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For now, it's Angel--over and out.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-11162495146786232732012-03-28T22:27:00.000-04:002012-03-28T22:27:51.527-04:00The BEST Lawyer Billboard EVER!Driving to Federal Court in Newark, New Jersey, I ran across this billboard and I had to smile:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFnM1K6oTwEPqLmYqj6MOtuurPM8O9m6Vk5UH7b-vyRR7PwiWPzqAY2DlU9c2IgD3i5FfIU20K7NgNl0EHu_nhX6YDv6zs6cgxCObO0j7B_jgxv-PAuN_GpF_4-DYcBmafxiqzGLxijYW/s1600/Brooke+Barnett.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRFnM1K6oTwEPqLmYqj6MOtuurPM8O9m6Vk5UH7b-vyRR7PwiWPzqAY2DlU9c2IgD3i5FfIU20K7NgNl0EHu_nhX6YDv6zs6cgxCObO0j7B_jgxv-PAuN_GpF_4-DYcBmafxiqzGLxijYW/s400/Brooke+Barnett.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't know if you can tell, but this is <a href="http://www.bbarnettlaw.com/">Brooke Barnett's law firm</a> staff (and her) dressed like gangsters. What a way to appeal to your clientele! I think it's brilliant! Or it just goes to show what one must do to get a client, or two. But if she does criminal law in Newark, she's in the right place, with the right zoot suit. You go Brooke!</div>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-40867140795839795202012-02-16T23:30:00.000-05:002012-02-16T23:30:39.822-05:00The End of the the Contract Attorney Era: By Court MandateWe have discussed Robo Lawyers in the <a href="http://butidideverythingrightorsoithought.blogspot.com/2011/03/bottom-falls-out-welcome-to-world-of.html">past</a> and how e-discovery conducted by computers will impact the market place for contract attorneys (a.k.a. <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=document%20review">document review attorneys</a>). It's my feeling and perhaps the general consensus that contract attorney jobs will dissipate gradually with the ebb and flow of the free market. Attorneys in India are cheaper than our lawyers, who are heavily laden with the burden of student loan debt. Then, once clients get the memo that much of contract monkey work can be done by computers, sans attorneys altogether, document review "opportunities" will eventually disappear altogether. However, although covered in 2011, the change did not seem imminent. After all, it takes a long while for the legal market place to catch up to technology, or so I thought.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSib5MOm6JAEYuiMOtu4eiNb7bJTKM4-nuqss_RCpejyoSrKHRWVrZjY5TZa7HL5gEdJp_83EgJ3FBaQtYJ3kB9sHAiIvX1AnW0yTwBN6PI5CHwMwV4jWSmTXb0TbQRXcYP4ZkqDDS0rg/s1600/robot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSib5MOm6JAEYuiMOtu4eiNb7bJTKM4-nuqss_RCpejyoSrKHRWVrZjY5TZa7HL5gEdJp_83EgJ3FBaQtYJ3kB9sHAiIvX1AnW0yTwBN6PI5CHwMwV4jWSmTXb0TbQRXcYP4ZkqDDS0rg/s320/robot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Welcome to tomorrow. <a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202542221714&Technology_on_Trial_Predictive_Coding&slreturn=1">Judge Peck of the the Southern District of New York court mandated robo-attorneys for document review--because it's cheaper</a>. I have practiced in Federal Court and this type of "innovative" idea could catch like wildfire--and spread from one Judge's chambers to the other. Let's determine how many jobs this type of case would have created. Apparently, the issue in the case is as follows: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Whether Publicis Groupe compensated female employees less than similarly situated males via salary, bonuses, or perks; precluded or delayed the selection and promotion of females into higher level jobs held by male employees; and carried out terminations or reassignments when the company was reorganized in 2008 that disproportionately impacted female employees.</blockquote> I'm thinking this type of case would have provided work for 25 or so contract attorneys. So, thanks for putting 25 young, starving and possibly homeless contract attorneys out of work, Judge Peck. I know, it's not his responsibility to make sure that young attorneys are working. But it's also not his responsibility to make watch the litigants' pockets. Next he'll be looking at the attorney's bills and deciding whether the work is administrative or legal in nature before the check is cut. Unless, of course, the legal fees are awarded to the Plaintiff---which could actually be the case here. Then that does fall within his duties as a judge. Whatever. That's not the point.<br />
<br />
Litigation is pricey and that is part of what makes the machinery of the legal system turn as it does. To usurp that premise by dictating methods of discovery is... should I say... reversible error?<br />
<br />
Let's see what happens. Run, don't walk, away from contract work. It's no place to be when the ground splits open beneath your feet.<br />
<br />
Moral of the Story: The government always finds a way to intervene, i.e. ruin, the free market. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thumbs.imagekind.com/member/b22d30f8-94d4-4290-bc32-948837f8f301/uploadedartwork/650X650/a07f2d6b-221e-41e5-af26-866fad5d61fb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://thumbs.imagekind.com/member/b22d30f8-94d4-4290-bc32-948837f8f301/uploadedartwork/650X650/a07f2d6b-221e-41e5-af26-866fad5d61fb.jpg" width="488" /></a></div>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-55876487175918953882012-01-25T16:43:00.000-05:002012-01-25T16:43:13.664-05:00Guest Post from a Recent GraduateTo the class of 2011:<br />
<br />
It was not so long ago that you and I were among the over 40,000 graduates of the class of 2011. In fact it has been about 9 months and I, like most of you, recently received an email from my CSO office asking me to complete the post graduate employment survey. I remembered back to a presentation my CSO director gave first year stating our school's median graduate salary was $63,000 and that we boasted an impressive 86% rate of employment upon graduation. During the presentation, I noticed a footnote on the bottom of the Power Point stating the stats were based on a 35% response rate. I raised my hands, pointed it out, was brushed off and the footnote was removed from the document in the Symplicity library.<br />
<br />
This was my first indication something was wrong. Soon, I discovered blogs like this one and began to spread the word to other law students and 0L's. As I read this blog and others, I learned that the rosy picture law schools paint about employment is affected by the low response rate to the graduate employment surveys and the fact that the "winners" of the law school game are more likely to report their salaries. (according to Law School Transparency, my schools response rate looks to be under 20% last year) Also, since there are few winners, CSO may contact them more aggressively then the grads tending bar and serving lattes.<br />
<br />
What if we all, bad, worse and ugly, reported our employment situation in detail to our CSO offices?<br />
<br />
If you are a graduate of 2011 or know one, please ask them to complete the survey below and email it to their career services offices IMMEDIATELY!<br />
<br />
Are you employed<br />
Where?<br />
How many hours per week?<br />
How much money do you bring home in a month?<br />
What are your monthly student loan payments?<br />
What payment plan are you on? (standard, extended, graduated, IBR)<br />
Are your loans in deferment, forbearance or default? (If yes Which)<br />
Is your job temporary or permanent? (If temporary when will it end)<br />
Does your job provide health insurance?<br />
Does your job require a J.D?<br />
What do you actually do for work? (i.e. Skadden litigator or sandwich artist)<br />
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<br />
Best of luck to you all, I know as you do that it's rough out there.<br />
<br />
RedJ.D.<br />
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****************<br />
I'd like to run my own little tally of where May 2011 grads are today. Drop a note as to what you are doing currently in the comments section. Other scambloggers are doing the same, maybe we can come up with our own sample survey results. Make sure to answer the above questions and post anonymously!<br />
Thanks,<br />
Angel<br />
<div><br />
</div>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-52635490143776829112012-01-22T23:41:00.000-05:002012-01-22T23:41:52.328-05:00LegalMatch: Grease Trap for Solos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blueskybio-fuels.com/images/dirty_grease_trap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://www.blueskybio-fuels.com/images/dirty_grease_trap.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I received a great tip on a scam that all solos should be aware of--LegalMatch. Apparently, according to my tipster, he was contacted by Merrill with an offer of client referrals about 2 years ago. Now, all attorneys know that you're not supposed to pay a referral fee--but lawyers do. Generally it's a percentage of what you earn after you receive it, or the referral agency collects the money from the client and takes their cut off the top before they pay you. So, when he was contacted by LegalMatch because they had a need for real estate attorneys in New York. He was sent the following email:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">Your inquiry was sent over to me for reply. You expressed some interest in our attorney-client matching organization. In order for us to consider any attorney in any given area, we must first have a sufficient number of clients for them to serve in their area. This is done by first getting the answers to the following:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">So if you would please answer the following I can determine whether such factors exist and move forward with you from there.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">1) What are the main areas of law you handle? (list in order of preference);</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">2) What states are you licensed to practice in?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">3) Do you limit the counties that you take clients from? (If so list counties);</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">4) Do you practice full or part time?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #222222;">5) Are you solo or partnered firm?</span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sounds harmless, right? After sending in his answers, he was then set up with a test. Yes, they sent him a test. The email was as follows:</span><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I spoke with Director ___________ and he has not as yet decided to select any attorney out of the several he has interviewed over the past few weeks for the New York Area. And so he authorized me to give you access to our Real Estate Litigation clients to determine whether it will be worthwhile to schedule you to for a teleconference with him. I've included New Jersey as well. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Would you please evaluate at least twenty (20) of the these clients. This will be done by way of having you log on to an Evaluation account. You would have to speak with the Director to determine whether he could present you for more practice areas.<br />
The evaluation account is where you review cases that we have in your area. Our model is to limit the number of attorneys in each area so we do not overwhelm clients with too many choices and can ensure the success of those attorneys who are selected by our Attorney Review Committee to represent those clients. In order to review our current clients please follow the instructions infra: </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please go to legalmatch.com and on the right hand side, below the Supreme Court pillars, click on "Member Attorney Log In" then type in lower case one word "___________" for user name and password "clients" </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get your pen and paper and write 3 columns: Yes, No and ? </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once you log in you well see client cases on the left side. Click on Family Law and this shall give a listing of all cases we have in your region. Next: then click on the first case at the top of the list. This shall open up the description of the case. from there evaluate the case and answer the question "would I be inclined or disinclined to engage this case?" If yes, place a mark in the Yes column, if not inclined, place a mark in the No column. Once you complete review click Next at the upper center then review the next nineteen (19) cases while keeping track of how many you would be inclined versus disinclined to engage.<br />
This will determine whether it would be worth while for me to schedule a teleconference with my Director. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NOTE: Some clients may make the mistake of entering their contact info into the body of the facts. They are expecting a LegalMatch lawyer, so please do not call them if you see such. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, he proceeded to evaluate the cases, which took lots of time. After doing that he was told that he was under consideration for becoming part of LegalMatch, but he needed to go through a selection process and be considered by their selection committee. He started to get really excited. Hell, he'd gladly fork over a third for all of the guaranteed business. He was even directed to a website that showed how much traffic LegalMatch gets verses other referral services.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He then had no less than 5 conference calls with a Director as part of the selection process. Each time, he was told that the pool was slimming down and he was still in the running. Several of these calls took longer than a half hour and he was salivating at the mouth for this unique opportunity.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FINALLY, he heard from the Director with the good news. He was being made an offer. He was selected as THE CANDIDATE for their opening in Real Estate Litigation in New York. He thought it was the answer to his dreams.... after all, getting clients in the door is the number one challenge in running a solo practice. Well, first you have to know what you're doing. But it is the second hardest thing. Then he received the following email to confirm his offer:</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Candidate Membership Application—Confirmation Email<br />
<br />
Membership Applicant Name: ________________, Esq.<br />
Area(s) of Practice/Client Type: Real Estate<br />
Geographical/Client Region: State of New York. The attorney, shall have access to all Real Estate client matters coming to LegalMatch only from within the specified client allocation areas, and seek to engage those who he deems appropriate for Practice’s goals and objectives. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Membership Term and Fee: Three (3) year Membership for <b>$73,795 per year</b>, only if The Committee selects attorney.<br />
<br />
Upon Committee Approval Fee Shall Be Paid As Follows: If attorney is selected by LegalMatch’s Attorney Review Committee, membership shall be extended and $6149 shall be paid followed by membership orientation, creation of home page and the scheduling of attorney to commence review of client matters and sending responses thereto, followed by thirty-five (35) subsequent installments of $6149.<br />
<br />
§1 Reply to this email by typing in §2 infra: “I confirm the details infra/above” in the body of your e-mail reply. Once I receive your reply, we will overnight to you your Applicant Packet which includes a sample profile, Attorney Membership Agreement, and other helpful membership tools for you. By confirming this email you agree to have the $500 Application Fee charged via the billing method you provided and move forward in the application process. If you are not approved for Membership, your $500 Application Fee will be refunded in its entirety. I understand that an Attorney Membership Agreement will be forthcoming for my review and that this understanding of parameters above does not constitute a formal offer of membership with LegalMatch. LegalMatch reserves the right to accept, or reject, my application based on their strict eligibility requirements.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow and wow. Here's the real kicker: <u>they don't guarantee you any business at all!</u> He nearly vomited in his mouth (I'm using artistic license of course) and never wanted to hear from them again. To pay that amount of money up front is insanity!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To add insult to injury, he got an email this week with the subject line "Attorney Needed":</span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am assisting a group of potential clients that have completed an intake and are ready to retain an attorney. I realize your time is limited. Are you available this week for a 10-15 minute conference call?<br />
Please advise.</span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yep, LegalMatch again.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't waste your time with their nonsense. If you have $75K to hand over to this grease trap then you probably don't need the business. </span>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-2594120320311091002011-12-29T22:21:00.000-05:002011-12-29T22:21:21.463-05:00The ONLY Way to Make Law School Affordable.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lukegilman.com/blawg/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/need-a-lawyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.lukegilman.com/blawg/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/need-a-lawyer.jpg" /></a></div>Live on the streets. My jaw hit the floor when I read this article from <a href="http://gawker.com/5871730/homeless-by-choice-law-student-on-the-art-of-bourgeois-homelessness">gawker</a>. I am sure he'll continue to be homeless when he becomes a debt burdened attorney. But seriously though, there's something to this guy's strategy. Once, when I was on a temporary project, I sat next to a guy who clearly shat in his pants and was probably homeless. I complained to the Associate who told him he should go home and clean up and come back, so he went to bathroom--scrubbed up and came back. He still stunk. He could learn a little something something from this anonymous law school student. Apparently the key is to rent a locker at a sports club/gym--actually several. Read on...<br />
<br />
<blockquote>So I have one locker for running clothes and laundry, one for dress shirts, one for dress pants and one for miscellaneous things. And also each locker has a spot for shoes at the top so that's really good.<br />
I had to really reduce the amount of stuff that I had. I had to get rid of everything that's nonessential. I only have, like, five dress shirts, five dress pants, some running clothes that are necessary and then obviously sweatshirts and stuff. Other than clothes I don't really have a lot of stuff, just stuff for shaving and brushing my teeth and books. I have a school locker too, so that helps.<br />
I also have access to my school. Its open until midnight and then opens again at 8 a.m. so I nap there a lot. There's this one room in the library that has couches and I nap there during the day when I have breaks in between classes. At night I try and stay in there as late as possible so I can get the maximum amount of warmth. So I'll leave there at midnight and go find a spot and then NY Health and Racquet club opens at six. So I really only have six hours outside, so its not unbearable.</blockquote>Awesome! And this very realistic youth realizes that he might not have a job as an attorney when he's done. So, he's already contemplating a change in careers. He wants to become a homelessness consultant. I think he's brilliant and my hero of the month!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cache.abovethelaw.com/uploads/2010/03/will-review-documents-for-food-homeless-panhandler-beggar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cache.abovethelaw.com/uploads/2010/03/will-review-documents-for-food-homeless-panhandler-beggar.jpg" /></a></div>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-53499614578896328442011-12-15T20:57:00.000-05:002011-12-15T20:57:07.592-05:00What Unemployed Attorneys Resort To...I received an anonymous tip that deserves some treatment. <br />
When one is laid off from their law firm job or never finds one to begin with, there are very few options. You could put out a shingle, like I did--but that requires experience. If we know anything from the past couple years, law schools don't promise you that you will be able to actually practice when you graduate (nor a job or a prospect at getting one). So, you're usually stuck living in your parents basement and racing to send your resume to various recruiters for temporary projects that pay $22 to $35 an hour with no overtime. Even those are hard to come by. <br />
Another little known option is per diem work. Per diem work entails making court appearances for status conferences and defending depositions for little to no money. The work can be sporadic and stressful as you're often given many conferences in different courtrooms in one county. Imagine you have 4 conferences on in Kings County Supreme Court (all in different court rooms) and then another at Civil Court (a different building) at the same time. It happens. And for all of that running around, my tipster tells me that she gets $75 dollars for the first appearance and $35 for each additional conference, assuming that each conference is an hour. Otherwise, your rate is discounted. Sounds bad, but not horrible---right?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://joblessunite.yolasite.com/resources/Kick%20me%20when%20I%20am%20down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://joblessunite.yolasite.com/resources/Kick%20me%20when%20I%20am%20down.jpg" /></a></div>Well, apparently, there's a guy in New York by the name of D_______ V______ (I'm kinda afraid to use his real name, but the initials are intended as a warning for people seeking employment with him) that makes his per diem attorneys sign a contract that states that they can expect payment in three months--but never after three months. If you make yourself available, he will send you to court every single day to do per diem work for many firms in New York. And you are enticed to go because you could earn $500 a week at a minimum and the catch is that you have to wait to be paid. But, get this, he won't pay you for <i><b>at least</b></i> 3 months. Then, when you ask for the money--he sends you about $300 or $400 dollars! After three months of busting your hump for about $100 a day! So, basically, he carries a balance of thousands of dollars with you and you have to hassle the shit out of him to get paid. <br />
Here's the real kicker. The excuses that he uses for non-payment, according to the tipster, he says that paypal is not working, he's sick, he had a death in the family, food poisoning, non-payment by the firms that contract with him, he's got bills too... the list goes on and on. And every time he pays, you'll only get $300 a pop. And if you stop working for him, God Forbid--you'll never get paid.<br />
Scum of the scum. And the REAL asshole move is his contract, which specifies that any fee disputes must be dealt with in arbitration. It takes about $700 to file for arbitration. So, you've worked hard for 3 months and you're not likely to get that money and you have no outlet to fight for it.<br />
So, we're living in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair for lawyers. The capitalist pigs take advantage of poor underemployed lawyers and they sink deep into poverty. Lawyers are poor. It's sad. I've actually dropped off on posting because I feel like a broken record repeating the message that is now out there. Law school is for suckers. I still cringe when I hear people say that is what they are doing, but I can't fix stupid.<br />
It's out there and it's on you if you think you're so special that you'll be different. Our parents have raised us incorrectly. When I was a child, the star of the soccer team got a trophy. About 15 years ago, I noticed that all children on the team get trophies. We're not all winners. Some people are the cream of the crop, and the rest of us are just trying to make it. Get real, people.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-18624303863448547582011-10-24T23:57:00.000-04:002011-10-24T23:57:02.462-04:00Fucking Ridiculous: Tip of the Day, Decade, Lifetime.If you are so poor that you need to go to a soup kitchen or a <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/10/20/141563700/university-of-georgia-students-open-food-pantry">food pantry</a> for meals, you probably shouldn't go to college just yet.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-90498152261248012162011-10-10T22:17:00.001-04:002011-10-10T22:51:36.334-04:00BIDER's Official UN-Endorsement of Herman Cain!He lost me with these words:<br />
<br />
“Don’t blame Wall Street. Don’t blame the big banks. If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself.”<br />
<br />
How many of you are doing everything you can and still find that you are "not rich"? For those of you that feel that the President should have some compassion for those <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfather%27s_Pizza">less</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquila,_Inc.">fortunate</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabisco">than</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reader%27s_Digest">himself</a>, I implore you never to support this fucking joke of a candidate.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pancakelanding.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/herman-cain-is-a-jerk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="http://www.pancakelanding.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/herman-cain-is-a-jerk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Listen here, token black man. Don't forget where you came from and who you left behind, and stepped on to get where you are.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-65723945146320966262011-10-08T21:49:00.000-04:002011-10-08T21:49:38.785-04:00Barbara Boxer Challenges ABA Again!What does the ABA need to come clean with law students? A letter from President Obama? A letter from the Pope?<br />
<br />
Barbara Boxer <a href="http://butidideverythingrightorsoithought.blogspot.com/search?q=boxer">wrote a letter </a>to the ABA with specific questions in the last year, and she does it again yesterday. Apparently, she didn't write the letter just to appease constituents--<a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202518080272&Boxer_increases_pressure_on_ABA_over_law_school_jobs_reporting&slreturn=1">she wants answers</a>:<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://virtuallyblind.com/images/aba_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://virtuallyblind.com/images/aba_logo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Defending Crooked Law Schools Pursuing Profit</td></tr>
</tbody></table><blockquote>"In my two previous letters to your predecessor, I indicated my strong belief that the ABA should ensure that post-graduation employment data provided to prospective law students is truthful and transparent," Boxer wrote. "His responses appeared to indicate a similar interest, but unfortunately it is difficult to square those previous statements with the section's recent decision." </blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"></div>What decision? She's talking about the ABA's decision not collect data this year about the percentage of new graduates in jobs that require a J.D. and the percentage in part-time jobs. <br />
<br />
She sees through your bullshit, suckers! Answer her, and Senator Grassley's dag gone questions. I posted Grassley's <a href="http://butidideverythingrightorsoithought.blogspot.com/search?q=grassley">questions</a>--and it seems that he and Sen. Boxer and tag teaming these bitches, but I will recap here:<br />
<br />
1. Does the American Bar Association compile data on the number of schools which offer scholarships to more students than can statistically retain those scholarships?<br />
<br />
2. If so, how many schools, and how many total scholarships are affected?<br />
<br />
3. Does the American Bar Association take these “bait and switch” allegations into account in the accreditation process?<br />
<br />
4. Does the American Bar Association maintain data on the dollar amount of merit based scholarships offered each year?<br />
<br />
5. If not, does the American Bar Association plan to begin maintaining this information?<br />
<br />
6. Does the American Bar Association maintain data on the dollar amount of merit based scholarships that are revoked after the offeree‟s first year of law school?<br />
<br />
7. If not, does the American Bar Association plan to begin maintaining this information?<br />
<br />
8. Does the American Bar Association publish data on the amount of first-year merit based scholarships in comparison to the amount of non-first-year merit based scholarships?<br />
<br />
9. Does the American Bar Association plan to begin maintaining this information?<br />
<br />
10. Has the American Bar Association raised concerns with law schools about the practice of awarding more first-year merit based scholarships than they plan to renew?<br />
<br />
11. If so, how has the American Bar Association raised this concern?<br />
<br />
12. Does the American Bar Association have any education programs that aid students in assessing whether or not they are borrowing more than they can reasonably expect to repay?<br />
<br />
13. Does the American Bar Association have a program to ensure borrowers do not-default on their federally-backed student loans?<br />
<br />
14. How many law schools has the American Bar Association provisionally accredited during the last 20 years?<br />
<br />
15. Does the American Bar Association maintain this information in a publicly accessible database?<br />
<br />
16. How many law schools has the American Bar Association fully accredited during the last 20 years?<br />
<br />
17. Has the American Bar Association ever revoked provisional or full accreditation during the last 20 years?<br />
<br />
18. If so, how many law schools lost their provisional or full accreditation?<br />
<br />
19. From 1990 to the present, has the American Bar Association ever placed a law school on probation?<br />
<br />
20. If so, which law schools were placed on probation? 23. Did any of these law schools regain full accreditation? 24. If so, within what time period?<br />
<br />
21. When examining candidates for membership on the accreditation committee, what efforts does the American Bar Association make to ensure that membership is balanced between legal practitioners and academics?<br />
<br />
22. Does the American Bar Association track the professional background of its committee membership?<br />
<br />
23. If so, how does the professional background of committee membership break down in percentage format on committees related to the accreditation of law schools?<br />
<br />
24. If not, why doesn‟t the American Bar Association track the professional background of committee membership?<br />
<br />
25. Does the American Bar Association track the professional background of the officers that approve or revoke provisional or full law school accreditation?<br />
<br />
26. If so, how does the professional background of officers that approve or revoke provisional or full law school accreditation break down in percentage format?<br />
<br />
27. If not, why doesn‟t the American Bar Association track the professional background of officers that approve or revoke provisional or full law school accreditation.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cristyli.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Barbara-Boxer-D-CA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://www.cristyli.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Barbara-Boxer-D-CA.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>No wonder they are avoiding the questions. Obviously, they have to plead the 5th or incriminate themselves. <br />
<br />
Enough fucking around. Let's call for an investigation of the ABA for their complicity in RICO, their anti-trust violations, consumer fraud, etc. Heads need to roll before they come clean with their scam to fool our youth into pursuing the empty dream of a <strike>fruitful</strike> adequate career as an attorney.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://boxer.senate.gov/en/contact/">Email</a> Senator Boxer to express your appreciation for her inquiry and to encourage her to keep on keeping on until she gets the answers that we all need to hear.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-50886190319148679412011-10-06T00:00:00.000-04:002011-10-06T00:00:53.214-04:00Law $chool: a Complete Waste of Time and Money<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://stufffromthelab.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/3-14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://stufffromthelab.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/3-14.jpg" width="335" /></a></div>Abraham Lincoln, John Marshall and Strom Thurmond. What do these great lawyers have in common? They all became first rate, cream of the crop attorneys without stepping foot in a law school. They made their place in history by using their legal skills and careers as a foundation for becoming President, a Supreme Court Justice and a United States Senator. Impressive, right? How would one become a lawyer without going to law school? All three apprenticed with other, more experienced lawyers (also called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_law">Reading Law</a>") to become a lawyer. So, long story short, the best way to fix law school is by eliminating it as a requirement to sit for the bar, and harkening back to those days when working as an apprentice attorney was enough.<br />
<br />
I'm not saying that we must close all law schools down. What I propose is that we allow people to apprentice for a few years, even without pay, then sit for the bar exam. If they pass, spectacular. If they don't, they may have suffered without pay for three years--but at least they didn't pay for thee years of tuition to do it.<br />
<br />
And for those students of the law who suffer from delayed adolescence (a/k/a "fear of the real world"), the law schools should be available to "prepare" you for the bar exam. And to that point, the law schools will have to reform vastly to do this very basic task. Currently, you attend law school for 3 years for $120K, then you must pay an additional $3525.00 for a <a href="http://www.barbri.com/home.html">review course</a> or you won't pass on what you learned in law school alone. Oh, you weren't aware? The law review class that you take after law school better prepares you for the bar exam than any of the classes you took in law school. And this is coming from someone who strictly took "bar" classes. I'm sure that you have run across people who "studied by themselves." From what I've seen, those people fail more often than not. So, under my model, to stay open--law schools will have to more closely resemble Barbri. Or even better, you can skip law school all together and just take Barbri and apprentice with someone.<br />
<br />
Am I being harsh? I don't think so. When it comes down to it, you're not paying law schools to prepare you for the bar exam--Barbri does that. You aren't paying law schools to help you find a job--<a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202517930210&Another__law_schools_targeted_over_jobs_data&slreturn=1">they certainly don't do that</a>. You're paying for the experience--<a href="http://www.top-law-schools.com/one-l.html">which is extremely grueling by the way</a>. I certainly didn't have any fun. Did you? So, that leaves us with paying a law school large sums of money so that you don't have to go out into the world and earn money. My guess is, if capitalism were allowed to reign free, the schools who don't provide the sought after service, a career in the law, will either come down in price or close. The others will improve their programs and produce better attorneys than any apprenticeship program can.<br />
<br />
So, if you're so inclined (i.e. idiotic) to pay for law school under my new-if-Angel-ruled-the-world-model, feel free.<br />
<br />
In case you were wondering, the "Reading Law" way to becoming an attorney is still available in a handful of states: California, Maine, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming and Washington. Let's reverse the trend of eliminating it as an option and bring it back as the primary way of becoming an attorney.<br />
<br />
I have been accused of being a liberal many times. Nothing can be farther from the truth. I believe that there should be as many options as possible for citizens. I believe that the government should not subsidize or provide assistance to students seeking student loans. I believe that the inflation in tuition is a direct result of government programs designed to educate Americans. I believe that banks should bear the risk in lending money to students who choose worthless degrees. And when they loan money to someone with a worthwhile degree, they should charge a substantial amount of interest. Lastly, I believe that all Americans should be entitled to bankruptcy--as it's just as much the creditor's fault as it is the debtors. Both parties should live with the consequences of their foolhardy decisions.<br />
<br />
Lastly, I very strongly hold that college education should not be a requirement to finding a professional job, and that college has become the new high school--since high school so ill prepares our youth to enter the work force.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.3quarksdaily.com/.a/6a00d8341c562c53ef0133f1863aff970b-450wi" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="http://www.3quarksdaily.com/.a/6a00d8341c562c53ef0133f1863aff970b-450wi" width="320" /></a></div><br />
In short, our <a href="http://occupywallst.org/">unique blend of capitalism</a> with <a href="http://www.healthcare-now.org/oct-6-join-us-in-freedom-plaza/">socialist infusions</a> of government guaranteed money is more evil and more detrimental than capitalism or <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/05/politics/occupy-wall-street/">socialism</a>, or even communism, alone. All that we have achieved is plenty of welfare for the rich, and <a href="http://october2011.org/front_page?device=desktop">nothing comparable for the poor</a>. We will all be masters or wage slaves at the end of the day, choose your path wisely. And try walking your path with a crowd. Makes the trip a bit easier. See you out there for the big protest on October 6, 2011! <br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="295" scrolling="no" src="http://cdn.livestream.com/embed/globalrevolution?layout=4&color=0xec38a3&autoPlay=true&mute=false&iconColorOver=0xffffff&iconColor=0xffdef2&allowchat=true&height=295&width=480" style="border: 0; outline: 0;" width="480"></iframe><br />
<div style="font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 480px;">Watch <a href="http://www.livestream.com/?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" streaming="" title="live" video="">live streaming video</a> from <a at="" globalrevolution="" href="http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks" livestream.com="" title="Watch">globalrevolution</a> at livestream.com</div>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-64694269328254507422011-10-03T15:12:00.000-04:002011-10-03T15:12:05.400-04:00Media Coverage of Occupy Wall Street has been Piss Poor.I am so frustrated with the Media's coverage of the Occupy Wall Street Protests. If you're a normal dope-- you watch evening news for a few minutes, read the free paper on the subway and you're in the dark as to what <em>these people</em> want... these tattooed, bridge blocking, hippies... <br />
The news commentary has been horrid. The liberals are like the tea party, but without leadership. There's no clear list of demands. We're not certain if this will become a political party or not. Bullocks! It's clear as day what they want. And if I see one more of my Facebook book soon-to-be-ex-friends postamessage about how those "occupy wall street losers need to quit it," I will go postal. EVERYONE I KNOW HAS STUDENT LOAN DEBT. We're all losers in varying degrees and these hippies (and I've seen them, they're so not) are sticking their heads and necks out for us.<br />
Remember that petition I wanted you to sign? That's part of this movement. They want Educated Indentured Servitude dealt with because it's one of the many symptoms of Corporate Greed. <br />
<br />
So, stop looking down on these people and take up a sign and join them. I did last week and it was invigorating. Here's a small blurb on the issue. You really need to know what this is about and if you don't hear it from me, you'd go to the grave engulfed in your ignorant, holier than though bliss. <br />
Please report back if you grew a set of balls and decided to fight for you own cause rather than leaving it to others far more brave than you.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="83" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/syndicate.php?name=marketplace/morning_report/2011/10/03/marketplace_morning_report0550_20111003_64&starttime=00:02:04.0&endtime=00:03:47.0" title="marketplace_morning_report_2011_10_03_marketplace_morning_report0550_20111003_64s_player" type="text/html" width="319"></iframe>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-41671804160215423242011-09-22T20:03:00.000-04:002011-09-22T20:03:29.879-04:00Troy Davis: An American Portrait of Justice Gone Awry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.angryblacklady.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/troy-davis-suit-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.angryblacklady.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/troy-davis-suit-300x225.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So, yesterday, I was on an emotional roller coaster because of the Troy Davis story. At 7:00 I hear that the Supreme Court had stayed the execution. <a href="http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/21/lawyers-file-appeal-to-stay-troy-davis-execution/">By 11:08, the Supreme Court refused to block the decision of the lower court and he was dead.</a><br />
<br />
For those of you who don't know, Troy Davis was a wayward son of Georgia, that was convicted killing Mark MacPhail, a police officer, on the eye witness testimony of 10 witnesses. Most people who took Crim Pro know that eye witness testimony is <a href="http://agora.stanford.edu/sjls/Issue%20One/fisher&tversky.htm">notoriously unreliable</a>. To make things worse, one of the witnesses was a former suspect in the murder. Seven of the witnesses recanted their testimony claiming that they were pressured by the police to make a faulty id, which is conceivable considering that this was a fallen brother. I'm presuming that his attorney appealed the decision because of the new exculpatory evidence and went on up the line until the Supreme Court, reviewing only procedural error or errors in the applicability of the law, said "too bad."<br />
<br />
And this morning I heard the commentary. The talking heads went into how our Supreme Court is different than that of countries like <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8742951/Amanda-Knox-father-hopes-to-take-her-home.html">Italy where Foxy Knoxy is receiving a whole new trial because the lower court didn't do it right</a>. Here, we only look to procedure and we give great deference to the jury/judge in their fact finding. The fact-finder is the be all, end all. So, we shouldn't blame the Supreme Court.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://emilylhauserinmyhead.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/troy-davis-i-am1.jpg?w=185&h=272" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://emilylhauserinmyhead.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/troy-davis-i-am1.jpg?w=185&h=272" /></a></div>BULL!<br />
<br />
Any Higher Court can upset the decision of a lower court if they committed errors of law, fact, and or procedure. Failure to consider exculpatory evidence, even if it's after the conclusion of the trial, is an egregious error. I am sure that a motion was brought before the lower court, the one that convicted Troy Davis, asking the court to reconsider the sentence or the verdict on the basis of subsequent exculpatory evidence. That was an error. It's the same error that has freed hundreds of convicted murders when DNA samples are later tested and determined to NOT be the defendant. This is really no different. Except that the lower court refused to consider the recanting witnesses and the appellate level and the supreme court refused to consider that error as well. Then, finally, the Supreme Court rubber stamped the three or four courts below it when they also rubber stamped the lower court's refusal to consider very important and pertinent information that could have freed Troy. Clearly, Jim Crow still lives in Georgia. This man was convicted and killed without regard to the actual evidence because he was a "bad dude" and his death would be no big loss to the state of Georgia. And many men and women in robes refused to do the right thing. <br />
<br />
Relating it back to the <a href="http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Facts_on_PostConviction_DNA_Exonerations.php">Innocence Project</a>, a hypothetical man convicted based on eye witness testimony, direct and circumstantial evidence, propensity to commit a crime and failure to have an alibi, are FREED because DNA proved all of the evidence wrong. One scientific fact disproved all of the other evidence that the jury heard. <a href="http://thecollegianur.com/2011/09/22/ur-amnesty-community-hold-vigils-for-ga-inmate/21923/">In Troy's case, he was convicted primarily on (conflicting) eye witness testimony</a>, and 7 of 10 witnesses recant with credible reasons for perjuring themselves, with risk of being convicted of perjury--and that's insufficient to commute a man's sentence to life? Could that have been done just in case? Isn't that an error? What about the error that he was convicted on conflicting eye witness testimony? Is that not an error???<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2304221/">Here</a> is a very impressive article from Slate about what was wrong with the testimony that put a lethal injection in Troy's arm. Here's a sample of (some) of what went wrong in Georgia's race to kill Troy:<br />
<blockquote>...a perfect storm of botched eyewitness-identification procedures. Police did show photo arrays to most of the eyewitnesses—eventually. Although police made up a five-photo array with Davis' picture in it, they waited five to 10 days before using it to test the memories of any eyewitnesses. Why wait? Eyewitness memory decays rapidly. But in the meantime, police plastered wanted photos with Troy Davis' image—the same photo they put in the photo array—all around the neighborhood, and it ran widely on all of the local media outlets. Witnesses did not miss those wanted postings. Witnesses also described feeling pressure to identify Troy Davis. For example, one testified at trial about being told that "if I don't cooperate with them, that I'm gonna be in prison for ten to twelve years."</blockquote>What do you think? Does that sound fair to you?<br />
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From where I sit, as a trial lawyer, I believe the appellate process to be extremely flawed. I have no trust, no faith, in the lower court--nor the higher courts. Certainly not the Supreme Court, where political motivations may taint the decisions of the Supremes (Death Penalty, Pro-Life, Gun Rights, etc.). <br />
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Just last week, a decision that I appealed came down and it was so... so .... so wrong.<br />
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The lower court erred in it's application of the law. There wasn't a credibility determination made or anything. The appeal was simply about the lower court's error in its application of the law.<br />
The law was statutory. There wasn't a lot of wiggle room for interpretation. It really seemed like a slam dunk. What did the appellate court do?<br />
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Their decision read like a list of "what not to do" in appeals:<br />
They considered documents outside of the record.<br />
They made an initial assessment of credibility.<br />
They argued a point of law in the Respondent's favor that was never preserved on the record. Wait a sec, never asserted by the Respondent, never cited as a reason for the lower court's decision... NEVER BROUGHT UP. Not even at the oral argument before the appellate court.<br />
They based their denial of the appeal on inaccurate facts that were not part of the record--material facts.<br />
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As lawyers, which I presume that most of you are, you understand why the appellate court's decision was not only wrong--but fucked up.<br />
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So, I have no faith in our wonderful justice system.<br />
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One of the abuses I endured this week was a verbal lashing out from one of my divorce clients. She said, "Do you think that you have a noble career? What you do isn't noble, it's bullshit!"<br />
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I concur.Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-1382979479124743722011-09-19T23:34:00.000-04:002011-09-19T23:34:34.002-04:00University of Illinois: Lying Scumbags<a href="http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x827642497/University-of-Illinois-law-school-posts-corrected-data">They posted inaccurate information</a> to look like hot shit on a pile of shit. <div>Here's the info off of their website:</div><blockquote>The accurate, independently verified data for the class of 2014’s Law School Admission Test (LSAT) scores and grade point averages (GPA) are as follows: median LSAT, 163; median GPA, 3.70. Information originally posted on the College of Law website last month inaccurately listed the median LSAT score as 168 and the median GPA as 3.81.</blockquote><div>This is a curious development. For a while now, as the economy has tanked, the law schools' GPA/LSAT stats have increased as the lemmings have flooded in with nothing better to do. I always took this trend to mean that students who would be better served entering the work force cannot find jobs, thereby artificially inflating the stats of law schools. Let's be frank, when I went to law school, a 160 was a golden ticket to most law schools. I received a scholarship with that LSAT score and a 3.767 GPA (but a 4.0 in my major, toot!). Today, I don't think I could get into my alma mater, let alone score a scholarship. You really don't need more to pass the bar--which I did on my first try. Now, with this lie, I'm thinking the lemmings--the smartest in the bunch--have heeded the warnings and decided to stay away. Therefore, the stats have gone down.</div><div><br />
</div><div>What do you think about this? </div>Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-83761043130924251232011-09-19T21:57:00.000-04:002011-09-19T21:57:08.206-04:00Sign this Petition NOW!I don't actually believe that student loans should be forgive. I do believe they should be dischargeable in bankruptcy. However, this is close enough. What could stimulate the economy more than freeing up large amounts of former student's incomes to .... well, realistically, pay rent and buy food. But hypothetically, to spend on consumer bull shit.<br />
I'm actually in this predicament right now. I have a 40 inch old fashioned TV. It's as wide as it big and takes up 1/3 of my small New York apartment. I decided that I should invest $99 bucks in an Apple TV so I can cancel cable. I didn't even realize, that to save money, I need to buy a fucking new TV. It's hopeless! I could buy a really nice TV with the $600 I fork over to Access monthly. You can't even save money without spending money I don't have.<br />
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Aside from that, for an update. My practice is busy, thank GOD. My hourly rate is shit though. But that's how you get the clients. But I'm doing lots of family where I'm constantly subjected to abuse by my clients, judges and opposing counsel. JOY! I'm trying really hard and I know I do a good job, but I may burn out soon. I am one of the lucky ones. I would do Real Estate closings except I lost lots of money on closings that didn't go through because the buyers failed to get funding. As we all know, you have to mold your practice to the work that's available. I count my blessings I have any work at all and pray that I can pay my bills from month to month.<br />
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Sign <a href="http://signon.org/sign/want-a-real-economic.fb1?source=c.fb&r_by=525506">this petition now</a> and make a difference! I hope the deadline didn't pass. Sign it anyway!Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-16258819223554965292011-07-22T00:47:00.002-04:002011-07-22T09:38:05.228-04:00Finally, a State Representative and a Senator That Get It!Totally hijacked this story from <a href="http://alleducationmatters.blogspot.com/2011/07/rep-hansen-clarke-congress-should-cut.html">Crynn</a>, but this is a case where more exposure is better. He says, "Forgive Student Loans!" No joke! <b>Call him and voice your support! (202-225-2261) </b> I just left him a 5 to 10 minute rambling message about how I'll move to Michigan to show support... or something. I'm drunk. So, who knows what it sounded like. I think I was nice and appreciative.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ovZGbpeik5g" width="425"></iframe><br />
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Here is another video where he elaborates on his plan and insists that we cut up our credit cards. Consumer debt is killing us.... I tend to agree.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ySdbchxVbV8" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Then, Senator Grassley, God Bless his Lovely Soul, put the ABA on the spot with a crazy long and detailed <a href="http://grassley.senate.gov/about/upload/2011-07-11-Grassley-to-ABA.pdf">letter</a> where he asked HARD questions about why they are totally fucked up (i.e. accredit law schools at the rate that bees germinate pansies). LOVE HIM. Here are the questions from the letter:<br />
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<blockquote>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does the American Bar Association compile data on the number of schools which offer scholarships to more students than can statistically retain those scholarships?</blockquote><blockquote>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If so, how many schools, and how many total scholarships are affected?</blockquote><blockquote>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does the American Bar Association take these “bait and switch” allegations into account in the accreditation process?</blockquote><blockquote>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If so, how?</blockquote><blockquote>5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If not, why not?</blockquote><blockquote>6.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does the American Bar Association maintain data on the dollar amount of merit based scholarships offered each year?</blockquote><blockquote>7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If not, does the American Bar Association plan to begin maintaining this information?</blockquote><blockquote>8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does the American Bar Association maintain data on the dollar amount of merit based scholarships that are revoked after the offeree‟s first year of law school?</blockquote><blockquote>9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If not, does the American Bar Association plan to begin maintaining this information?</blockquote><blockquote>10. Does the American Bar Association publish data on the amount of first-year merit based scholarships in comparison to the amount of non-first-year merit based scholarships?</blockquote><blockquote>11. Does the American Bar Association plan to begin maintaining this information?</blockquote><blockquote>12. Has the American Bar Association raised concerns with law schools about the practice of awarding more first-year merit based scholarships than they plan to renew?</blockquote><blockquote>13. If so, how has the American Bar Association raised this concern?</blockquote><blockquote>14. Does the American Bar Association have any education programs that aid students in assessing whether or not they are borrowing more than they can reasonably expect to repay?</blockquote><blockquote>15. Does the American Bar Association have a program to ensure borrowers do not-default on their federally-backed student loans?</blockquote><blockquote>16. How many law schools has the American Bar Association provisionally accredited during the last 20 years?</blockquote><blockquote>17. Does the American Bar Association maintain this information in a publicly accessible database?</blockquote><blockquote>18. How many law schools has the American Bar Association fully accredited during the last 20 years?</blockquote><blockquote>19. Has the American Bar Association ever revoked provisional or full accreditation during the last 20 years?</blockquote><blockquote>20. If so, how many law schools lost their provisional or full accreditation?</blockquote><blockquote>21. From 1990 to the present, has the American Bar Association ever placed a law school on probation?</blockquote><blockquote>22. If so, which law schools were placed on probation? 23. Did any of these law schools regain full accreditation? 24. If so, within what time period?</blockquote><blockquote>25. When examining candidates for membership on the accreditation committee, what efforts does the American Bar Association make to ensure that membership is balanced between legal practitioners and academics?</blockquote><blockquote>26. Does the American Bar Association track the professional background of its committee membership?</blockquote><blockquote>27. If so, how does the professional background of committee membership break down in percentage format on committees related to the accreditation of law schools?</blockquote><blockquote>28. If not, why doesn‟t the American Bar Association track the professional background of committee membership?</blockquote><blockquote>29. Does the American Bar Association track the professional background of the officers that approve or revoke provisional or full law school accreditation?</blockquote><blockquote>30. If so, how does the professional background of officers that approve or revoke provisional or full law school accreditation break down in percentage format?</blockquote><blockquote>31. If not, why doesn‟t the American Bar Association track the professional background of officers that approve or revoke provisional or full law school accreditation</blockquote>Whoa, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that letter! In other news, ABA Pres. Zach responded, blah blah blah--bullshit. If you're really concerned with the extent of the lying, here's that <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Zackletter.pdf">shit</a> response. He didn't respond to a single question. NOT ONE.<br />
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<a href="http://grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm"><b>Contact</b></a><b> Senator Grassley and tell him how much you love him.</b><br />
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We have to thank these guys or they will forget that we matter. If you think you matter, and if your life could be made better with people like this looking out for you, then <u>make it your business to CALL or EMAIL THEM TODAY!</u><br />
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Stop it with the apathy. It's very ugly on you!Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5452025352696285200.post-89637917611075739222011-07-18T12:28:00.000-04:002011-07-18T12:28:43.905-04:00NYLS: Slammed!David Segal of the New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/business/law-school-economics-job-market-weakens-tuition-rises.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=BU-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-LSE-071711-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click">sliced and diced law schools over the weekend</a>, with particular attention to my fave local school to hate: New York Law School. His scathing indictment of law schools generally, and Dean Matasar's hypocrisy was as refreshing as a cold Mike's Hard Lemonade on a New York Shitty 95 degree summer day. Honestly, if he had thrown in the words "commode," "toilets," "steaming pile of cow dung," etc. I would have to think that <a href="http://thirdtierreality.blogspot.com/">Nando of Third Tier Reality</a> doubled as a reporter for the esteemed New York Time. Please read what Mr. Segal, my new crush, had to say about Dean Matasar's schizophrenic attitude towards law school reform:<br />
<blockquote>For a sense, take a look at the strange case of New York Law School and its dean, Richard A. Matasar. For more than a decade, Mr. Matasar has been one of the legal academy’s most dogged and scolding critics, and he has repeatedly urged professors and fellow deans to rethink the basics of the law school business model and put the interests of students first.<br />
“What I’ve said to people in giving talks like this in the past is, we should be ashamed of ourselves,” Mr. Matasar said at a 2009 meeting of the Association of American Law Schools. He ended with a challenge: If a law school can’t help its students achieve their goals, “we should shut the damn place down.” </blockquote><blockquote>Given his scathing critiques, you might expect that during Mr. Matasar’s 11 years as dean, he has reshaped New York Law School to conform with his reformist agenda. But he hasn’t. Instead, the school seems to be benefiting from many of legal education’s assorted perversities. </blockquote><blockquote>N.Y.L.S. is ranked in the bottom third of all law schools in the country, but with tuition and fees now set at $47,800 a year, it charges more than Harvard. It increased the size of the class that arrived in the fall of 2009 by an astounding 30 percent, even as hiring in the legal profession imploded. It reported in the most recent US News & World Report rankings that the median starting salary of its graduates was the same as for those of the best schools in the nation — even though most of its graduates, in fact, find work at less than half that amount. </blockquote>Pitter, patter--my heart. Oh, be still. <br />
Wouldn't you think this bit of common sense, no nonsense would come from a scamblogger? Dare I say it, is our opinion becoming common place? <br />
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Of course, the rest of the article is quite good as well. It's what needs to be said. Law school is a no-lose proposition for the capitalist pigs in higher education.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://rantbastard.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/pigface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" m$="true" src="http://rantbastard.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/pigface.jpg" /></a></div><br />
At this point, with mainstream media covering the law school scam in such a matter-of-fact manner, who is still considering law school? Can you just imagine the rag-a-tag group of people that are piling into the halls of NYLS next month.<br />
I am presuming that one must be able to read to go to most law schools. I presume, in the age of the Internet, one should also be able to research. So, who would still go to law school with the flood of information available on the web? If you type "law school" into Google, and press "News"--this is what appears:<br />
<blockquote>Add "law school" section to my Google News homepage<br />
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Search Results <strong>The Times 'Unearths' The Law School Scam, But Still Can't Explain It</strong>You +1'd this publicly. Undo<br />
Above the Law - Elie Mystal - 1 hour ago<br />
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Over the weekend, you may have noticed that the New York Times suddenly figured out that law schools are cash cows despite offering <strong>dubious</strong> ...<br />
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Blog: Law school tuition, in graphic form Minneapolis Star Tribune (blog)<br />
<strong>New York Law School Law Dean Hits Legal Ed, But Hikes Class Size 30%</strong> ABA Journal<br />
all 3 news articles » <br />
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►Pistons' Wallace headed to law school?<br />
You +1'd this publicly. Undo<br />
Yahoo! Sports - Mark J. Miller - 4 hours ago<br />
For now, Wallace is at his home in Virginia researching law schools, the Detroit News reports. "The thought has been brewing for years, and he even spoke to ...<br />
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Highly Cited: Pistons' Ben Wallace has a future in, not on, court The Detroit News<br />
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all 6 news articles » <br />
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Law School Economics: Ka-Ching!<br />
You +1'd this publicly. Undo<br />
New York Times - David Segal - 1 day ago<br />
<strong>Legal diplomas have such allure that law schools have been able to jack up tuition four times faster than the soaring cost of college.</strong> And many law schools ...<br />
Law Schools Pump Up Classes and Tuition, Though Jobs Remain Scarce Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) (blog)<br />
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all 10 news articles » <br />
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<strong>Cooley Law School sues over online postings</strong><br />
You +1'd this publicly. Undo<br />
Lansing State Journal - Matthew Miller - 1 day ago<br />
LANSING - The first post on a blog called The Thomas M. Cooley Law School Scam billed itself as a public service for anyone who might have thought about ...<br />
Highly Cited: Thomas Cooley Law School Sues Kurzon Strauss Law Firm Over Job ... Bloomberg<br />
Blog: Law School Sues New York Law Firm For Defamation Wall Street Journal (blog)<br />
Cooley Lawsuit Update: One Of The 'Cooley Four' Responds To The ... Above the Law<br />
The National Law Journal - Inside Higher Ed <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images0.cafepress.com/image/8974430_125x125.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" m$="true" src="http://images0.cafepress.com/image/8974430_125x125.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A standard no longer applicable to most law students.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> all 26 news articles » </blockquote><br />
Hmmm. Issue spotting anyone? The emphasis is all mine. To an average schmo--shouldn't the first few articles that come up on Google cause a tiny bit of concern? Law schools are suing for defamation? Tuitions have increased 4 times faster than college tuitions? Class sizes increase by 30%??? Dubious and Law School in the same thought???! <br />
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So, are we left to think that these students that the class of 2014 are idiots? Or illiterate or neophytes? <br />
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Well, I have the special privilege of passing by New York Law School at least once a week on my way to Court. I always take note of who is grabbing a ciggy outside of their newly built, state-of-the-art building and who is loitering in the lobby. Actually, last week, when I walked in front of it--some construction workers were out front with a banner that read "New York Law School is Bad for New York City." I flashed them a thumbs up for an entirely different reason than they stood for--but the premise is the same. So, what's my impression of the students that I see there? I guess... I would have to say they look like rich kids. I'm certain they aren't actually rich though--but they are just arrogant enough to think they will be rich one day and spend accordingly. I pass by their school with the same Kenneth Cole canvas brief case I've carried since 2002 and the girls at NYLS role up to Civ Pro with a Louis Vuitton tote. Some of the boys appear to be hipster types. Not really sure how that goes down in the courtroom. In any event, arrogance abounds when I pass this school and make eyes with a few of the students. <br />
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I think they look down their noses at me as a lawyer who is running to Court--rather than cabbing it. Sometimes I stop and bum a ciggy from one of them. In any event, it must take a really arrogant bastard to see all the news regarding the future of lawyers in this Country and somehow think that it won't apply to you--because you're special and you'll be the one to make it. You're better than everyone else.<br />
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Well, there's one thing the scambloggers cannot do. We can't change stupid. Angelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07820446523257638689noreply@blogger.com32