Who Would Have Thunk It? Success at Last!

When I started this blog in September of 2009, I had no idea that the subject matter would go viral. I think it's safe to say it has.   Well, I might have had a bit of an idea, or more of a hope.  The intention was always to get the message out.  It seems as though we are successful.

My personal goal was and remains making the sorry state of being a lawyer common knowledge.  Rather than nods of approvals when I say I'm a lawyer, I won't rest until I get a more realistic reaction like "oh, you must work your ass off and have no life" or "how much did *that* cost?" or "the market's not so great for that, huh."  Or until I stop seeing stories like this, that tear me up inside.  Also, May is a very hard time for me because I feel the pain of 45,000 graduates looking into an empty future.  November is even worse, because that's when these kids have to start paying on their loans.  I take all of this to heart and it fuels me to keep BIDER going.

As our readers know, I went to law school when the Internet was not widely used.  When I decided to spill my guts on the blogosphere, my intention was to put information out there for those capable of critical thought.  I started blogging and around the same time other blogs like Third Tier Reality by Nando and Jobless Juris Doctor and others emerged.  We found each other--realizing we're not alone, we linked to each other and sought to grow as a movement.  Unfortunately, we lost some of our strongest bloggers along the way, like Big Debt, Small Law and Esq. Never.  But for the most part, we kept trucking--trying to get the message out.  I know we weren't the first lawyers ever to say that we're disappointed with our career choice, but we may have been among the first to do it so publicly.

Here's to your future!  

Unfortunately, there is and remains much shame with outing the law profession.  That's why I don't respond to innocent emails asking me which school I went to, or which big law firm I worked for in the hey day.  I don't intend on coming out of the closet like Kimber Russell from Shilling Me Softly.  Contrary to  what the critics say, not all of the scam bloggers are so down and out that our professional reputation is beyond salvation.  I have a decent reputation as an attorney, but the salary is not commensurate.

In the beginning, there were more than a few days when a mean comment would bother me for hours at a time. I even recall someone making me cry with their mean comment.  Do you guys remember Doug of "Just Another JD to be"?  I hated that bastard.  I hope he rots in TTTToilet Hell.  People loved to pipe in with the mantra "NO!  You didn't do everything right."  Geez, thanks.  It's just a name.  Today, I would do things differently--I admit.  But I doubt that would involve pursuing a law degree.

I feel slightly validated by the NY Times Article about the shitty legal market.  But, more than that, I feel like the message is finally out there and people have all the information they need, the most important bit of information being that the law schools DO NOT provide legitimate statistics when enticing you to apply with those glossy brochures and prize course selection.  Caveat Emptor?  Maybe.  But it shouldn't be that way when you're dealing with Educational Institutions entrusted with the future of our youth and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.