Yes, We Can and DO Shape the Legal Profession! Scambloggers Are Credited in Law Review Article

Check it out!  Lucille Jewel writes a law review article entitled: "You’re Doing It Wrong: How the Anti-Law School Scam Blogging Movement Can Shape the Legal Profession."

It feels good to get some credit.  It feels even better that we may be making a difference.  Read it when you get a chance!

The NYTimes Epic Article on the Law School Scam

We've made it to the big leagues! This article is probably the most comprehensive piece on the law scam movement that I've seen since I started blogging a year ago. It's seven pages long so you just have to click over to the New York Times and read all of it.

The only issue I have with the article is that BIDER and The Jobless Juris Doctor aren't listed and we've been a part of the scam movement from the start. Well, I'll forgive the author this time since the piece was so well-written. I hope these articles in the mainstream media forces the archaic law school system to change for the better, but I'm not holding my breath. At the very least these articles are helping us spread our warning to prospective law students.

On an added note, BIDER reader Jess sent me a link to Bloomberg's list of 20 colleges with high tuition and low return on investment (ROI). It would be interesting to see a list of the top 20 law schools with high tuition and low ROI. However, I've always wanted this blog to be more than just a warning about law school. The majority of colleges and graduate schools in the United States are overpriced bad investments. Paying over $100k for a college degree is a travesty. Parents and students should take note of the scam at all levels to save themselves from our fate since the scam blogs and mainstream media articles weren't around when Angel and I were applying to college and law school.

Apologies for not blogging recently. I've been busy, so personally it's not exactly a bad thing that I'm not sitting on my ass venting and reading blogs all day like I was earlier last year. I wish everyone a busy and successful new year. I love our readers but my greatest wish would be for each of our readers to be busy working, traveling, or dating. Hope your new year is off to a good start.

Should I Be Insulted?

The scambloggers are gaining in power and recognition.  The AmLaw Daily wrote an article about all of the scam blogs that are popping up on the Internet:

Malan spoke with the authors behind blogs like First Tier Toilet, Third Tier Reality, Esq. Never, and The Jobless Juris Doctor about the employment prospects for students outside the country's top eight law school, as well as student loan debts reaching six-figures for some graduates.

And that's just scratching the surface. The Am Law Daily had a quick look at more than a dozen similar blogs out there, such as Exposing The Law School Scam, Highest Education, Legal Nihilist, Outside Lies Magic, Rose Colored Glasses, Scammed Hard!, Shilling Me Softly, Subprime JD, Tales of the Fourth-Tier Nothing and, dare we say, Fluster Cucked. No doubt there are countless others.

Ya.  There are others, like BIDER!  What the eff?  So peeved.  I know that we have readers.  What gives? I want a little recognition!!!!

New England College School of Law professor Bill Childs, who told Malan he follows blogs that decry the law school experience as a scam, doesn't take offense to what they're saying, but also doesn't think that law schools are fraudsters.

"Law school is not the best idea for everyone in the world," Childs said. "Some of these blogs are coming from an honest place and are saying, 'Think about your choices carefully.' I can't argue with that. I think that's good."

Yah.  You better believe that it's good.  We are exposing the dark side of a higher education.  Someone has to do it.  Just call me Geraldo Rivera.

Why ScamBloggers Are Important: The Media Isn't Doing Its Job

Angus the English Bulldog knows to run away from student debt. (I love this photo!)

We let the other scambloggers respond to yesterday's NY Times' "news" that legal jobs are being outsourced to India. Angel and I are frankly too tired of being told "news" that we reported many times earlier this year. Just check out our list of links covering Indian outsourcing below:

Canary in the Legal Coal Mine: T14 Temp Jobs in India
Job Offers Galore in Bangalore
I'm Green With Envy
You Are Not Alone. England Suffers Tooooooooooooooooo!
I Borrowed This From Another Scamblogger
Stop Legal Outsourcing on Facebook. Join Now!

If things couldn't get worse, I came across the article, 7 Reasons To Go Back To School Now, at the San Francisco Chronicle website. Unless you are a rich retiree in the Bay area with nothing else to do with your millions other than go back to school, for goodness' sake do not listen to this type of advice. Just yesterday, Scammed Hard reported on another one of these types of articles on AOL that listed attorney/lawyer as the #2 job in their list of 10 jobs that paid $50 an hour. Are these writers simply clueless about the state of the nation or are they working for a loan company or for-profit website like Gina Pogol?

None of these articles mention a single thing about debt and the average amount of loans one must take out to get a graduate or professional degree. Do they realize that there aren't enough new jobs being created to match the thousands of new graduates each year or that Paul Krugman and serious journalists are worried about "Japanification" and a lost decade? Do you want to take the risk of taking out $150k in student loans when there aren't any jobs guaranteed by your school or our government when you graduate? A BIDER rule we use a lot here is to not buy things you can't afford because credit cards and student loans are akin to death. A $150k degree counts as something you can't afford without taking out loans for most people. Don't gamble with your future.

And shame on journalists who write shit like this.

BIDER Reader Moves to Canada!

I received some wonderful news from a long-time BIDER reader who took my suggestions to heart and was looking for an out from the law (and loans) in a foreign country. We exchanged emails for months, exploring options which included teaching in China. Little did I know that this BIDER reader is a U.S. and Canadian dual-citizen. I received an email soon after my post on the Globe and Mail's "Broken Europe" series that this BIDER reader is finally going to take advantage of his dual citizenship to move to Canada. Congratulations you lucky bastard!

Hi Hard Knocks:
Just a quick note. I have basically decided to abandon the China plan I once had. But, the reason I am likely going to do so is because - in reference to today's post on your site regarding Canada - I'm a U.S. and Canadian dual-citizen, as well as a graduate of a Canadian college, and it seems that in addition to a relatively humane health care system and much, much more responsible bank regulation, it still has a functioning economy. This, I did not know until recently, and I've decided that I am moving (likely on credit and couches) in about four weeks.
...
Canada's better in a lot of ways. I don't think that has always been true. But, at this point, I'm really very tired of the U.S. I was born here. I lived most of my life here. I've known for months that I was going to have to leave, but until the last few weeks, I didn't really want to. Obviously, I've got over that.

By the way, ever hear The Clash song, "I'm So Bored with the U.S.A."?

Good luck to this BIDER reader's job search in Canada. Be sure to update us on your new life there. I didn't think I needed to state the obvious, but for any BIDER readers out there who are unemployed dual U.S. and Canadian citizens, go to Canada. Their economy is doing much better than ours and you will have health care. It's a no-brainer. And don't forget your friend Hardknocks when you're watching the Titanic U.S. from your workplace or doctor's office in Canada.

Prof. Tamanaha and My Place in the Higher Education Scam Movement

Much has been said throughout the law blogosphere about Professor Brian Tamanaha's thoughts on the law school model and the "vulgar" law scam bloggers. I recommend taking the time to read all of the responses from Jobless Juris Doctor, Exposing the Law School Scam, Outside Lies Magic, and Shilling Me Softly under our blogroll. I especially recommend reading Jobless Juris Doctor's very powerful post, "Student's Pay So Professors Can Play", in response to Professor Tamanaha's admission that he is perfectly fine earning as much as he can with lots of time for research and conferences, even if those costs come from charging students with little job prospects hundreds of thousands of dollars. No mention of actual teaching said students, but never mind that. We all know a passion for teaching is not the main reason why law professors do what they do.

In doing so, Tamanaha recognizes himself and his colleagues on the side of the ruling class who have little to no concern about the masses that struggle to survive in order to make sure that they remain well fed. These accommodationists know they are part of an unjust system and, to his credit, Tamanaha is the first to acknowledge his role in it. The condescension dripping from his admission came at no surprise. This feeling is common for the elites when they are forced to admit that their riches come at the expense of destroying (or being part of a system that destroys) thousands of lives, both literally and figuratively.

Like the BP executives and their chairman who "wants his life back", they care enough about the "small people" to acknowledge that we exist, that they make lots and lots of money off of our existence, but that our lives aren't important enough for them to make any significant changes that could jeopardize putting even a dent into their wealth and fine living. Do I expect much to come from Tamanaha's admission? Not really. But it's a step in the right direction if we get more of the "serious people" talking about the problem, if only to give our blogs more traffic and make more people aware that we exist as a source of support and awareness for prospective law school students as well as unemployed graduates and attorneys.

This is why Angel and I continue BIDER. We aren't "vulgar" and we aren't "angry, unemployed graduates and bloggers trying to write their way out of debtor’s prison". Elie Mystal of all people should know this. He wrote a post in January admitting that he graduated from Harvard Law School with $150k in student debt:

I graduated law school in 2003, owing Harvard University just under $150,000. At the time, I had no idea what starting my professional career $150K in the hole would do to my life. I figured I’d work hard, make money, and pay my loans out of my general non-disposable income funds — kind of like my cable bill.

Seven years, two careers, numerous deferments and defaults, and one global economic meltdown later, I still owe a ton of money. Now, however, I pay it to various debt collection agencies and lawyers. When prospective landlords run a pro forma credit check on my application, they come back looking at me like I’ve been convicted of multiple war crimes. Every raise I’ll ever get will be eaten up by the collection agencies until sweet death allows me one everlasting and satisfying default. And, oh yeah, I don’t even want to practice law anymore — I quit my Biglaw job because, despite the debt, I really wanted to have a job that I enjoyed. So I essentially purchased a $150,000 disposable good. My time working in Biglaw was kind of like a very expensive vacation that I debt financed.

I mention all this because I am the cautionary tale prospective law students never want to think about. I mention all this because it is noble to crush false hope. I mention all this because there are way too many people poised to follow in my financially ruinous steps.

And isn't that what the scam bloggers have been doing all along for little or no compensation? Warning people each and everyday that law school and taking out $100K+ in student loans is a really bad idea, especially in a jobless era? So, it's only cool to leave the law profession entirely with $150k in debt if you attended a top law school. But if a similar fate befalls others, either willingly or unwillingly, we are angry bloggers trying to write our way out of debtor's prison? Sure, whatever.

Here is a little recap. Our regular readers know that I attended a T14 law school and Angel attended a top 30 law school. We have both interned or worked at NYC law firms. Angel was laid off from Biglaw. Maybe I wasn't smart enough to decide against law school, but I was smart enough to have most of my college education paid for with scholarships and financial aid. I owe less than $50k in private loans with low interest rates. I have been underemployed for most of 2009 and 2010 and have a non-law related, full-time job offer that starts in several months. Plenty of my friends and classmates from law school who graduated from both the bottom and top of their class are unemployed. In the end, it didn't matter that they went to Harvard undergrad or graduated magna cum laude from a prestigious T14, because they are still in the same horrible position as the rest of us. Go figure.

So sorry to disappoint the law school cartel and ATL who like to generalize all of the scam bloggers as bitter TTT losers, but a lot of us are quite accomplished, at least on paper. Which goes to show our readers that unemployment, underemployment, and life destroying debt can happen to anyone regardless of law school rank. Debt is debt regardless of who you are or where you went to school. It doesn't matter if you go to Harvard Law or Cooley Law, $150k in student debt will destroy your life unless you are one of the few graduates today who will go on to make Biglaw partner or become part of the law school scam. Don't want to hate your life at the expense of making a Biglaw salary? Then don't go to law school, even if it's a T14. You will never be able to pay off your debt otherwise.

This is why Angel and I continue to blog and maintain a place for the unemployed to vent their frustrations. Get used to us because we are making a positive difference and we expect to blog for a very long time considering that the economy is not expected to get back on track until at least 2015. There will be thousands more joining us in the coming years. At least we know we're on the right side of the fight.

Update From a BIDER Reader...

Success!  She will be one, that is, since she decided not to go to law school.  You may remember, our anonymous reader whose mother was dead set on her attending law school.  I advised her against it and even explored some options with her on gchat.  She sent me an update:


Angel,

I hope you are doing well.  I am writing to update because I sent you a letter you posted on your blog.  I asked for advice for dealing with my immigrant mother who desperately wanted me to go to law school.  After taking the LSAT and researching schools, I found the scam blogs and decided against law school.  Instead, I found a new job and I will start in a couple of weeks.  My new employer offers a higher salary than my old job, better benefits and will fully fund my education if I decide to pursue a degree at night.  I have a couple of friends taking the law school plunge this fall, but I am glad I will not be joining them.  They will leave jobs in order to pursue JD's at second tier schools in the hopes their career paths will be much betterafter obtaining a JD.  I sincerely hope it works out for them, but knowing that they're taking out 60k+ in loans at least within the next few years, I am not envious of their position.

In my previous e-mail I mentioned my cousin who just graduated from a third tier school and how my mother was convinced she would have a great career after graduation. My cousin is now working at a small law firm and only gets paid when there are cases for her to work on.  She goes weeks with any paychecks and has to quickly learn how to drum up business to stay afloat.  After learning about this situation my mother has quieted down a bit about my decision to skip law school.

I want to give a thank you to the scam bloggers for getting the word there.  I'm sure that pursuing a J.D. is a great thing for people who end up having great luck, but as for me, I consider myself lucky to have a job with a decent salary, minimal debt and the prospect of a free graduate degree if I decide to pursue one in the future.

Best of luck to you,

Anonymous

Best of luck to you BIDER reader.  You, unlike me, certainly did do everything right and I'm sure you will shine in your industry and rise to the top.  Maybe you should take me out to dinner when you're in my area, since I sure as hell can't afford to treat you!!!