Adorable Valedictorian Speech Critiques Schooling

What a refreshing change to see a good student understand that school isn't the only path to becoming enlightened. This bright young woman's valedictorian speech is an insightful critique of a flawed education system. I hope Erica will continue to question authority and speak out against injustice and incompetence. Just don't go to law school.

...Some of you may be thinking, "Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn't you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contest that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer - not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition - a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I'm scared.

...For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, "You have to learn this for the test" is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.

For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

CLEO Pre-Law Institute for Minorities is a Cooley Law Ploy

I see unemployment in your future

Cooley Law School and the ABA have developed a pre-law program called CLEO that brainwashes and swindles disadvantaged minority and low-income college students into believing that their future will be brighter with a degree from the laughingstock of all law schools, Cooley Law, or at another third tier institution. The Cooley and ABA pr machine have made this disgraceful ploy look like a gift to the African-American and Hispanic communities when it is really just another way to oil the billion dollar law school machine.

CLEO’s six-week summer institute is for college graduates attending law school in the fall. The program is $2,000 and covers room, board, and instructional materials. Classes in classical philosophy, contracts, civil procedure, professional responsibility, legal writing, and appellate advocacy are also taught by Cooley faculty members. In other words, it's a $2,000, six-week crash course of your high school civics class.

Another of their programs is the Sophomore Summer Institute (SSI), a four-week pre-law program “designed to prepare students to become more competitive law school applicants”. The SSI is free and the students in the program receive a $750 stipend to cover travel expenses to Detroit and lost income from potential summer employment. Students are eligible for two academic credits. Twenty-five seats in the program are available to Oakland University students, also the site where the institute is held.

Though students have no obligation to apply or attend Cooley Law School, who really believes that Cooley isn’t trying to recruit these kids? The institute is held in Michigan and targets demographics that make up a large percentage of Cooley’s student body: college students who attend lower tier local colleges such as Oakland University as well as low-income and minority students from the Detroit area.

If the ABA wanted to help these students, they would place them in judicial clerkships or paid internships with local law firms. Low-income and other disadvantaged students with little chance of attending a T14 school should not waste their summer at a pre-law summer camp. They’d be better off making money in an internship that could help them make connections, gain real world skills, or help them land a job after graduation. Or better yet, they shouldn’t go to law school in this recession if it isn’t Harvard, Yale, or Stanford. Unfortunately, law school was always meant for the rich and the few prestigious jobs that are left in this country are meant for the rich and well connected too. Attending a summer program sponsored by Cooley won't change those sad facts of life.

Cooley Associate Dean John Nussbaumer had this to say about the CLEO summer program, which he has taken a sabbatical to direct with the assistance of E. Christopher Johnson, Jr., Cooley professor and director of Cooley's Corporate Law and Finance LL.M. program (feel free to laugh out loud at the fact that Cooley has a LL.M program):

At a time when nearly two-thirds of all African American and half of all Hispanic and Mexican American applicants to law school are being totally shut-out from every law school they apply to for admission, programs like this one provide reason for hope that one day the legal profession will reflect the diversity of the clients we serve.

Oh, please. Stop lying and pretending that this institute is about helping poor minorities and not about lining your pockets with their money and luring them into getting a useless JD from your sorry excuse for a law school. Minority unemployment is a serious problem, but having more minorities attend Cooley Law School will only make the unemployment numbers worse. "A Law School Victim" at Life's Mockery, is an African-American law scam blogger who has documented the high unemployment statistics in the legal field as well as the unemployment crisis in the African-American community which has reached a 25-year high. Please stop by and check out Life's Mockery's long list of articles that discuss the plight of the African-American community in this recession. The statistics are frightening. It's a disgrace that Nussbaumer uses the educational inequality in low-income communities to his advantage to spread the law school scam. The CLEO program is just a means for Cooley to recruit unsuspecting students, many of whom are likely first generation college students. First generation college students are the easiest to con into believing that a law degree, even from Cooley, will open doors to better job opportunities.

The students who attend CLEO have overcome so much adversity to get a college education. I sincerely hope that they don't ruin their lives and go into debt to attend any law school outside of the T14 (not that a T14 degree guarantees a job anymore either), but especially not Cooley Law School or their $2,000 sham pre-law institute.

Video Credit: JD Underdog

Fleeing the Country, Part II

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post because some of you wanted more info on resources that can assist in your search for job opportunities abroad. Yes, it is becoming more difficult to move to a foreign country, but the internet has made it easier for us to find those opportunities.

Some of the programs I've listed have become increasingly competitive when a few years ago it would've been a piece of cake to get in. I've done a lot of research on several of these programs and applications have doubled in the last year alone. Guess we're not the only ones planning to leave the country. That doesn't mean you shouldn't apply.

Most of the opportunities are to teach English. This is probably one of the easiest ways to get a work visa. As I've said, use the opportunity as a stepping stone to get yourself started in the country you want to live. Many of these programs allow you to renew your contract for a second, third, or fourth year. That gives you time to learn the language, network, meet people (to marry?), and interview for jobs in that country and in nearby countries. I don't know how you'd be able to use your law degree unless it was with an organization like CUSO-VSO which can match JDs and MBAs with NGOs in foreign countries. These jobs won't make you rich, but many offer health care and free housing. You may qualify for Income Based Repayment and loan forgiveness too.

Asia probably offers the most teaching opportunities for Americans. They are also some of the most lucrative after the Middle East. Apparently, Disney (yes, as in Mickey Mouse) has an English language institute in China. The best place to start your search is Dave's ESL Cafe. Tons of reputable recruiting companies post jobs there. The Daily Kimchi is a good blog to read if you are interested in teaching in South Korea. Footprints Recruiting places people in Chile, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

South Korea wages are from 1.8 million won to 2.5 million won/month (approximately $1600 to $2200), Japan - 230,000 to 250,000 JPY monthly (approx. $2400 to $2600), China - ranges from 3200 to 10000 RMB monthly (approx $468 to $1500). Take into consideration Japan has a high cost of living. Most teaching jobs in Asia include housing, health care, and reimbursed airfare. You only need a Bachelor's degree from an American university. You could get paid more if you have teaching experience, a Master's degree, or a TEFL certificate. Sorry, the JD won't get you an income bump.

In Europe, there is the Teaching Assistant Program in France and the North American Language & Culture Assistants in Spain. These programs pay less than teaching opportunities in Asia and you are responsible for airfare and finding your own housing. The French program pays around $1,013/month and the Spanish program pays around $985/month. You are qualified for health insurance. The 2010-2011 program is closed but you can read more at the French and Spanish Embassy website. Also check out the Guide for English Language Assistants in France.

The Work and Holiday visa in Australia is for people 18 to 30 years of age to work and travel for up to 12 months in Australia.
http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday
http://www.visabureau.com/australia/working-holiday-visa.aspx

New Zealand Working Holiday Visa
http://www.visabureau.com/newzealand/working-holiday-visa.aspx

Several other countries offer Working Holiday Visas - not sure how many of these are available to U.S. citizens:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_holiday_visa

If you know of any other programs or jobs for Americans overseas, please add to the list in the comments.

Should You Flee the Country?

Anyone who has read this blog since I started writing here knows that I am an advocate of leaving the country, either to start a new debt-free life or just to find a decent paying job that will sustain you for a few years. This is what I wrote in February:

My suggestion is if you don't want to spend the next 10-20 years unemployed or temping, learn a foreign language and a skill that is transferable anywhere in the world, then consider leaving the country if you can. If you refuse or can't because of family or financial reasons, be prepared to suffer for the foreseeable future.

My opinion hasn't changed. I don't care what the nightly news says about signs of improvement. If you are unemployed or underemployed and reading this from your parents' basement, things haven't improved. Suprime JD wrote a post yesterday which listed good reasons for some recent grads to consider moving away for good. I recommend reading the entire post at his blog.

We have been caught in a trap. The injustice against us is severe. We owe all this fucking money with no reasonable means of paying it back anytime soon and having a decent standard of living. Student loan repayments coupled with rising energy prices, rising healthcare costs, low wages and high rents spells hardship for many JD's. The stronger the injustice, the stronger the response. Leaving the country is a reasonable solution for many. Just as other immigrants fled their native countries due to economic discrimination (because in the end all discrimination is in essence economic) so must we. This is one option that exists. If the system is so stacked against us, with banks, government, public sentiment not willing to help us, then we must help ourselves. Who is willing to make a move in order to better his life? Is moving to Germany, Brazil, Singapore, Italy, South Africa, Australia, wherever, worth it in the end? You start a fresh new life, meet new people, and have 0 debt at the expense of leaving loves ones behind. Many others have done the same thing. My parents left world war 2 wrecked greece behind for a better life here. They said goodbye to relatives, friends, and loved ones in order to have economic freedom. For many JD debt slaves in america, fleeing the debt burden is a most viable option. With interest, many will pay back $312,000 on a $150,000 student loan over a period of 25 years. Imagine being able to consume $312,000 over a 25 year period as opposed to paying back debt which did not further your life, but only burdened it. Many american JD's think it to be absurd that they should have to leave their country for a better lifestyle. Heres the reality: it is NOT absurd to leave, but it is absurd to STAY. This is what the lenders want, for us to stay and pay back the loan, with interest.

Millions of others have emigrated for a better lifestyle. The fact that JD's are leaving and other graduate school debt slaves are emigrating from America shows that the USA standard of living has fallen over the course of the past 2 decades. Millions around the world have also gotten professional degrees only to drive cabs and busses, but at least they are debt free as most schools are publicly financed. We JD's here are in a world of trouble and pain. But this can go away rather quickly. Get some type of employment, save your money, work under the table if you have to. Pick a country, get the visa, and split. Learn the language just as so many immigrants here learned our language.

The perception that we american lawyers are so special needs to change. According to the system we are NOT special, but just pawns to be exploited. We studied and gave up working for 3 years in order to pursue a law license to better our lives. We incurred +150k in debt to achieve this goal. For many it has been a fruitless endeavor. We must MAKE OURSELVES SPECIAL. Fleeing the nation is not for everyone. Some will be able to find nonlegal employment that will pay them well. Others have wealthy parents that will support them. But there are thousands of others that will not find alternative employment, do not have wealthy parents, and are working for $15 per hour while owing 150k in debt. Its time to make a move.

While I wholeheartedly agree with Subprime JD's thoughts on leaving the country, my opinion differs slightly that the education scam, whether you're talking about the college scam or the law school scam, is in the same category as the subprime mortgage crisis:

The fact of the matter is that the unemployed JD is a tiny, miniscule percentage of the population. There are over 10 million homeowners in default, whereas less than 200,000 JDs are getting crushed in debt, more or less. Our plight will most likely not be recognized by the majority of people. In addition, lawyers are universally hated by the general public. Ive posted about new lawyer woes on other financial blogs and people cheer our suffering. We will not get much support from the general public, nor from the gov, nor from the ABA. We are on our own.

The higher education scam will have much deeper consequences for our nation than the downfall of Lehman Brothers or the housing crisis. The issues the law scam blogs write about apply to a much larger population outside of the legal community. The higher education scam is a generational crisis affecting millions of people between the ages of 18 and 30, as well as their children and their aging parents. This is why Angel and I cover the college scams because more people need to realize that rising tuition costs and non-dischargeable student loans isn't just a problem affecting JDs. It will have serious affects on our nation's long-term economic stability and ability to remain competitive on the world stage.

A third of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are unemployed in this country. Young, able-minded adults who should be having families, working, saving up to buy a home or for their children's education are now moving back in with mom and dad to survive. I see daily advertisements for college educated graduates to work for $8.75 per hour as office assistants. No benefits. Who can survive on $8.75 per hour let alone pay off your student loans? You'd be better off on welfare and Medicaid. Guess where these employed college graduates are living? Yep, back home with mom and dad too. This problem is not going away and it will likely get worse. Subprime is right in that we are alone in this, not because our problems our minuscule, but because the law school scam blogs aren't enough to fight the student loan industry and their friends in Washington.

Secretarial jobs were once relegated to high school graduates. An older lady who worked as a secretary at my high school never attended college and she has health insurance, a nice 401k plan, and makes nearly as much as the attorneys doing document review in NYC. Oh, and she's debt free and owns her home. Internships used to be a thing kids did during the summertime or the summer before starting college. Now, college students and graduates are paying thousands for a chance at an unpaid internship. The high school educated secretary with a 401k is our past. The $8.75 per hour college educated personal assistant living in her parents' garage with $100k non-dischargeable student loan debt is our future.

You do have a choice and that is to leave the country. I am not saying this as someone desperate to leave the country because of my exorbitant student loan debt. I mentioned in a previous post that even with my interest accumulating over the last year, my private loan debt is manageable and can be paid off in less than five years. The question you have to ask yourself regardless of your debt is how do you want to live your life. Do you want to spend the best years of your life semi-homeless and leeching off of your parents' dwindling retirement plan with Aunt Sallie ringing your phone every hour? Other countries, Asian countries in particular, are experiencing rapid growth. Some of these countries will be more likely to appreciate your advanced degrees than employers in the United States who take us for granted. There are programs, as I noted in a post several days ago, that provide housing, health care, and salaries that range from a small stipend to more than enough to put into savings and pay off those loans. Some of these programs will also qualify you for Income Based Repayment for your federal loans and even loan forgiveness if you work for a non-profit abroad. Living abroad is not for everyone, but if you are single and childless it is something to consider. Isn't working with health care and a small savings with the incentive to travel better than being depressed, unemployed, and tied down to student loan debt for the rest of your life?

More Bad News: Unemployment Rate is Going to Remain High For a While

Read Dan Peck's article at the Atlantic titled, "How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America". That's right, folks. This is only the beginning of the jobless era, or what the New York Times columnist and economist Paul Krugman fears to be a lost decade, and it's gonna last for a long time. The first half of the article focuses on young people like us who are just beginning our careers or were laid off mid-career and whose lifetime earnings have been greatly diminished, as much as 25 percent in the first year of employment, compared to luckier graduates who get their jobs during boom times:

People who entered the workforce during the recession “didn’t switch jobs as much, and particularly for young workers, that’s how you increase wages,” Kahn told me. This behavior may have resulted from a lingering risk aversion, born of a tough start. But a lack of opportunities may have played a larger role, she said: when you’re forced to start work in a particularly low-level job or unsexy career, it’s easy for other employers to dismiss you as having low potential. Moving up, or moving on to something different and better, becomes more difficult.

“Graduates’ first jobs have an inordinate impact on their career path and [lifetime earnings],” wrote Austan Goolsbee, now a member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, in The New York Times in 2006. “People essentially cannot close the wage gap by working their way up the company hierarchy. While they may work their way up, the people who started above them do, too. They don’t catch up.” Recent research suggests that as much as two-thirds of real lifetime wage growth typically occurs in the first 10 years of a career. After that, as people start families and their career paths lengthen and solidify, jumping the tracks becomes harder.

Graduates in the unfortunate position of not being able to find work since they've left school understand that they are viewed as less marketable with every jobless month. You become so desperate that you apply to $10/hour jobs even when you're worth at least $30/hour in a good economy. If you're lucky enough to get a job with benefits you stay there for the next 5 years making $10-15/hour because the $30/hour job just isn't there. Your lifetime wage growth is thus completely ruined. You stay in your dead end administrative or temp job when you should really be making six figures at a larger corporation or firm, except now you're considered "overqualified" damaged goods. Your chances of getting the job you want is permanently destroyed. Unsurprisingly, this can lead to long lasting damage on one's mental and emotional health (let's not forget those six figure loans you took out to get a degree you thought would guarantee you a job that pays more than a fast-food worker).

Strong evidence suggests that people who don’t find solid roots in the job market within a year or two have a particularly hard time righting themselves. In part, that’s because many of them become different—and damaged—people. Krysia Mossakowski, a sociologist at the University of Miami, has found that in young adults, long bouts of unemployment provoke long-lasting changes in behavior and mental health. “Some people say, ‘Oh, well, they’re young, they’re in and out of the workforce, so unemployment shouldn’t matter much psychologically,’” Mossakowski told me. “But that isn’t true.”

Examining national longitudinal data, Mossakowski has found that people who were unemployed for long periods in their teens or early 20s are far more likely to develop a habit of heavy drinking (five or more drinks in one sitting) by the time they approach middle age. They are also more likely to develop depressive symptoms. Prior drinking behavior and psychological history do not explain these problems—they result from unemployment itself. And the problems are not limited to those who never find steady work; they show up quite strongly as well in people who are later working regularly.

The article goes on to discuss how this recession has affected graduates as well as lower-income families, minorities, and men laid off from their manufacturing jobs. I believe a significant percentage of our generation has been forever damaged by these lost years compounded by taking on thousands of dollars in debt because of misinformation about the value of higher education. The toll this recession will have on our own families when some of us have children while only just beginning our careers and paying off massive amounts of student loans is unthinkable. I also believe that the economic and social damage our children will have to fix will be a daunting task near impossible.

What is the solution? Even Krugman doesn't have an answer. This isn't just something we can fix in a few years and everything will be back to Clinton-era employment levels. Not. Gonna. Happen. This is only the beginning of a very long decline for the United States and we may never recover within the next two decades considering that the the two major political parties in Washington have no interest in real change to our nation's infrastructure, economy, education and health care system.

I'm sure many of you won't agree with me on this. My suggestion is if you don't want to spend the next 10-20 years unemployed or temping, learn a foreign language and a skill that is transferable anywhere in the world, then consider leaving the country if you can. If you refuse or can't because of family or financial reasons, be prepared to suffer for the foreseeable future. Hopefully some of you out there will have an idea to fix America or create a grassroots network of people in your community who will come up with solutions to local economic problems. But if you aren't willing to wait, the only solution I have is to marry a Canadian or someone from a country that will provide your children with better opportunities to obtain an affordable education and quality health care and leave until things get better. If anyone has better ideas feel free to list them in the comments below because I'd sure like to know how we can get out of this mess.

Ready or Not, the World is Going Solo!

THIS POST IS PRIMARILY FOR LAID OFF ATTORNEYS WITH LEGAL SKILLS OR A PRACTICE AREA.

So, I've been out of work for a good long while. I can't say that my job search has been intensifying. It's been dwindling. Partially from my own doing, but also because of the type of job search that I decided to do. I only apply to jobs that I'm qualified for. I'm not in the business of wasting my time or an employer's time. I pride myself in honestly saying, "I am the best candidate for this position." Consequently, I am running out of jobs to apply to... after applying to nearly 400 or so. At this point, I'll spend a solid 20 minutes on an on-line application to find out that I have already submitted a resume for that same position. I'm also tired from hours and hours of document review. I'm at a point now, where I need to move on mentally from the idea of finding "full-time employment."

Timing is certainly my forte, so no surprise that I ran into this article which speaks to my point. As the economy tanks, more and more people will find themselves "freelancing" or "consulting"--or in legal terms going "solo."

I know... going solo is the LAST thing that many lawyers want or can do. But this article has some good advice for those that are going to stop putting their lives on hold, waiting for the great job that lurks around the corner, and start to live life from this point forward:


"Too many freelancers see their condition as only temporary—one that will go away as soon as economic conditions improve. It's just a stage between jobs, they figure."

"Some of them may be right. But the odds are that most are wrong. They're going to be on their own for a long time. So freelancers need to think in terms of the long haul, preparing for a marathon, not a sprint."


When I read this, I think about all of the attorneys I know that are doing document review all over the country, waiting for the next best thing when they can be out there establishing a business. You have to stop thinking of this as a temporary condition, so you can free yourself to do what's best for your future. Just think? What if this is your forever? I don't think document review is a horrid existence. It's better than nothing, but do you always want to be subject to the ebbs and flows of the market???

Btw, I know I'm referring to the document review as being synonomous with freelancing. Unfortunately, there are some bright line distinctions; the main one is that you are considered an employee of the temp agency when you do doc review, whereas you are an idependent contractor when you freelance. W-2 verses a 1099. But, like in freelancing, you are moving from one project to another and you have no stability and no benefits. You're not paid for sick days. It's a tumultuous existence. I would argue that doc reviewers would benefit from becoming independent contractors, but alas... the pimp daddy agencies won't have that. In any case, I think that this is the closest to being a consultant that any lawyer gets. And for the purposes of this discussion, they are similar enough.

What if this is all there is???

Why are you doing document review for $28/hour when you can be coupling that with per diem depositions for $50/hour? Or writing motions for $65/hour? This is how you start your business and get good experience at the same time. Don't think that this is something you're doing for the short term. Let's assume that you'll never ever find a full-time job. Throw yourself into per diem work and you will get more and more business--and one day a client will be entirely yours. I know per diem work is elusive, but not so much as a full-time job. I have my finger on the pulse of the legal industry... and I will tell you that small firms are not lacking work. But they are having commitment issues. They need someone to do the work, but they don't want to pay for benefits. So, drop in on some small law offices and tell them that you're willing to help for an hourly rate. You will get the appropriate experience that way, and it may serve as a segue to getting your own clients.

Or, even better, don't do document review and think that you're just one interview away from the ultimate job. If you always dreamt of having a cafe or a child care business, why are you holding yourself up in that dream. Take steps to pursue something else. There are people who have bene unemployed since May 2008 and this time could have been used to do a start-up company. I know it sounds crazy and unattainable. But thinking that you're going to land in BigLaw when this storm dies down sounds just as crazy to me.

But, back to doc review attorneys... the article says:

"Most successful consultants are in a network or community of consultants. These networks are important sources of new clients; most consultants, in fact, say they get as many clients from these networks as they do from client referrals. What's more, an increasing number of consultants share work, taking on bigger projects that require more hands. In this way, teams of consultants can function like a small boutique firm."

Just last week, in my room of doc reviewers... we were discussing our practice areas before the bottom fell out :

Real Estate!

Tax!

Estates!

Worker's Comp!

Family!


Isn't it apparent the we essentially have the resources of a full service law firm at our fingers? I'm not saying that I'm signing partnership agreements with anyone. But if anyone were to come with me, in search of a will and a trust... why wouldn't I draft the will and send the trust to the estates lawyer to do??? I hate lawyers just as much as the next guy, but this is a case of brotherhood and comradery. I think that we can accomplish much more together than we can apart.

Time to take this bull by the horns and control your own fate. Yah, it sucks to be 100% in charge of what you're paid and when you're paid it. But it's not worse than being subject to the whim and will of inconsiderate partners. They screwed you before. Do you really want to be caught with your pants down if they do it again?

Look. I know we're not going to make a ton of money doing this stuff. I've kissed the American Dream good-bye. I don't look at solos with envy. I think that it's a hard life and very few make it. But, times are desparate, and I'm just looking to pay my bills and make it. It's foolhardy to sit by and watch the legal industry take a new shape... and hope and wish that it has a place for you in it.

That American Dream is looking more and more like an illusion than ever before and I'm trying to hustle to make a buck.