The Depression hits the Education Industry HARD!

I love to report good news.   Career Education (yes, I've never heard of that company either) will be cutting 600 jobs.  Here's a list of their institutions of higher education:


 American InterContinental University Atlanta Campus
 American InterContinental University Houston
 American InterContinental University Online
 American InterContinental University South Florida Campus
 American InterContinental University Study Abroad Programs
 Briarcliffe College - Bethpage
 Briarcliffe College - Online
 Briarcliffe College - Patchogue
 Brooks Institute
 Brown College
 California Culinary Academy
 Collins College
 Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs
 Colorado Technical University - Denver
 Colorado Technical University - North Kansas City
 Colorado Technical University - Pueblo
 Colorado Technical University - Sioux Falls
 Colorado Technical University Online
 Gibbs College - Boston
 Harrington College of Design
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Chicago
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Detroit
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Las Vegas
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Nashville
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Orlando
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Sacramento
 International Academy of Design & Technology - San Antonio
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Schaumburg
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Seattle
 International Academy of Design & Technology - Tampa
 Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta
 Le Cordon Bleu in Austin
 Le Cordon Bleu in Boston
 Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago
 Le Cordon Bleu in Dallas
 Le Cordon Bleu in LA
 Le Cordon Bleu in Miami
 Le Cordon Bleu in MSP
 Le Cordon Bleu in Orlando
 Le Cordon Bleu In Pittsburgh
 Le Cordon Bleu in Portland
 Le Cordon Bleu in Sacramento
 Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale
 Le Cordon Bleu in Seattle
 Le Cordon Bleu In St Louis
 Le Cordon Bleu In Vegas
 Le Cordon Bleu of Online
 Missouri College
 Sanford Brown College - Dearborn
 Sanford Brown College - Grand Rapids
 Sanford Brown College - Hillside
 Sanford Brown College - Indianapolis
 Sanford Brown College - Phoenix
 Sanford Brown College - Portland
 Sanford Brown College - Skokie
 Sanford Brown Institute - Cranston
 Sanford Brown Institute - Orlando
 Sanford-Brown College - Atlanta
 Sanford-Brown College - Cleveland
 Sanford-Brown College - Collinsville
 Sanford-Brown College - Dallas
 Sanford-Brown College - Farmington
 Sanford-Brown College - Fenton
 Sanford-Brown College - Hazelwood
 Sanford-Brown College - Houston
 Sanford-Brown College - Milwaukee
 Sanford-Brown College - Northloop
 Sanford-Brown College - San Antonio
 Sanford-Brown College - St. Peters
 Sanford-Brown College - Tinley Park
 Sanford-Brown College - Vienna
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Ft. Lauderdale
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Garden City
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Iselin
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Jacksonville
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Landover
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Monroeville
 Sanford-Brown Institute - New York
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Pittsburgh
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Tampa
 Sanford-Brown Institute - Trevose
 Sanford-Brown Institute - White Plains
 SBI Campus an affiliate of Sanford-Brown

I know it's not on point, but it's a good start.  Ha.  Reminds me of that joke. What do you call an attorney at the bottom of an ocean?  A good start.

I feel for those 600 people, and I wish that they could keep their jobs if it weren't at the expense of hundreds of thousands of ill-equipped and downtrodden students.  Of course, the real story is that post-secondary education is not as profitable as these super corporations had hoped.  Career Education has good reason for laying off so many employees:

The move follows slowing student enrollments across the private-sector post-secondary education industry and is part of the company's efforts to streamline its organization structure to better align with its long-term business strategy.

Truth is that 600 employees is a drop in the bucket compared to the unemployed students generated by these many campuses.  And, I have more news:

Among others in the industry, Apollo Group, Inc. (APOL: News ), the parent company of the University of Phoenix online school, said in late November that it will cut about 700 full-time jobs in the U.S. amid a sharp drop in enrollments.

In early December, Kaplan Higher Education, a subsidiary of education and media company The Washington Post Co. (WPO: News ), said it will eliminate about 770 positions, or 5% of its workforce. The company said the job cuts were due to lower student enrollments. 

Remember Kaplan's School of Law in D.C.?  Could the plan to open the law school be dead in the water?  I pray this is the beginning of more good news to come.  Hardknocks wrote about University of Phoenix a while back. They enroll half a million students.  Not exactly the cozy college experience at University of Phoenix, is it?  Of course, my hopes are... could it be?  I hate to jinx it by typing it here, but are TTThird Tier Toilets next?

Ironic that people who consider themselves intellectuals (snobby law students tend to look down on those who pursue technical degrees) are still flooding law schools while their intellectual "inferiors" got the memo and see the education scam for what it is.  When will potential law students use their intellect and reasoning abilities to evaluate a higher education for what it is?  It's an investment as pitiful as a Jacksonville McMansion in 2007.  As we disseminate information regarding the law school scam far and wide, only true dolts will continue to enroll in law school.  Eventually, lawyers will be so dumbed down that the reputation of lawyers will sink to that of... hmmm... can't think of any other career where people are so god damn dumb.  Yah, I know I'm not winning any popularity contests with my broadly painted generalizations.  But there is a bit of truth in every generalization.

As my mother says, the more education you get, the more common sense falls out your ears.

I am a Phoenix.  

 

Thomas Jefferson School of Law CELEBRATES...

As you all must know by know, Mr. Wallerstein was prominently featured in the article in New York Times as a Thomas Jefferson Graduate and an unemployed (or underemployed) lawyer:

WHEN he started in 2006, Michael Wallerstein knew little about the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, other than that it was in San Diego, which seemed like a fine place to spend three years.

“I looked at schools in Pennsylvania and Long Island,” he says, “but I thought, why not go somewhere I’ll enjoy?”

If only he was attending the Thomas Jefferson School of Law today, because EVERYTHING has changed since he graduated in 2009. How so, you ask?  They moved to a new and amazing campus! :

"This is the most extraordinary law school campus in the nation," said Rudy Hasl, a school dean. "It is designed to facilitate interactions between everyone on campus in a comfortable, collaborative setting. That is the key to success in law school."

Oh... so that's what the $250,000 worth of debt did for Mr. Wallerstein!  It built the future grads a new and innovative law school!  Good for him!  Surely, he'll reap the benefits of this TTToilet Law School's degree now!
Thomas Jefferson comes equipped with an archeological site:

In February 2009, work on the campus was interrupted by the discovery of an 8-foot-long mammoth tusk, skull and other bones about 20 feet below ground level. It turned about to be the remains of a Columbian mammoth, which roamed the earth about 500,000 years ago.

Several weeks later, bones belonging to an ancestor of the modern gray whale were unearthed.

The Mammoth will definitely propel this school into the first tier.  After all, law firms value students with a science background.

And to top it off, TJSL has a great diner where you can have a meal with your study buddies:

The 178,000-square-foot campus will have two outdoor terraces and a student lounge that looks like a round 50's diner. 

That's great!  So, TJ students can relate to baby boomers.

Epic fail with the timing, Dean Hasl.  This new campus is as sticky and tricky as the tar pit that the mammoth sunk into 500,000 years ago.  Please!  Avoid at all costs, or you will follow in the footsteps of Mr. Wallerstein, a mammoth and a lost whale.

Just Join the Court-Appointed List!

That's a bit of advice that comes from non-lawyers all the time.  When I was laid off, I was told I should just join the court appointed list and I would have an instant client base.  Well, I didn't get very far.  In order to join the list, you must show that you have a certain amount of experience in criminal law, i.e. a trial or two under you belt.  Although I would have loved to foray into criminal defense, I lacked the appropriate experience and I tucked away that bit of advice for a day when I'd feel more comfortable with criminal law.
Now, it's been eliminated as a possibility here in New York City.  There were barely any waves in the news about the latest decision of His Majesty Mayor Bloomberg--perhaps because it will affect lawyers primarily.  Later, it will affect indigent criminal defendants as well.
Basically, here's the article, but I'll summarize:
About 1,100 attorneys in New York make a living through a court-appointed list (i.e. 18-B attorneys).  It's my understanding that you can make a decent living through 18-B assignments alone, but the trade-off is that the hourly rates are low and the Court often slashes the amount of time you've spent on the case.  So, if you defend a rape case and you claim 25 hours, the Court will say, it took you only 15 and you will make a sub-par hourly rate ($75 or $60/hr depending).  Nonetheless, you can up to $100,000 a year with such cases--according to my source.  Of course, there are 18-B attorneys that don't take full advantage of the cases, but supplement their private practices.  Please feel free to correct me if you know better.  The benefit is that the the pay is guaranteed and the source of clients is never-ending--until now.
Bloomberg decided that 18-B attorneys cost too much to be sustainable and would rather set up Legal Aid Offices to represent indigent defendants.  So, like that, with a wave of his majestic scepter King Bloomberg eliminated "jobs" for 1,100 attorneys.
Of course, the Legal Aid Offices that are set up will hire attorneys to deal with the same cases. But how many?  There are 5 boroughs.  I would assume that each borough will have something between 50 and 75 attorneys each--making approximately $45,000 a year.  Once again, feel free to disagree with me.  $45,000 sounds like a wonderful wage for so many of my unemployed readers, but it's hardly a sustainable income in New York Shitty when coupled with law school debt.
So, this story did not make a splash, but I feel it must be noted as another stab to the corpse of the Legal Market.  Don't forget the support staff that these 1,100 attorneys likely employed. Poof!  There goes their jobs as well.  Lastly, we must remember the indigent defendants who are likely to get sub-par work from a understaffed Legal Aid Office and an underpaid attorney.

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.

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.

Step 1: Get Into Law School, Step 2: Graduate from Law School, Step 3: Pass the Bar Exam, Step 3: Sell Your Diploma Because You're NEVER Going to Practice

Doing things differently?  Hmmm.  That's one way to "see it."

Interesting week in the law world.  I know these several things have been covered, but because I think they are all related, I'm going to cover the stories again.
Law Schools have no regard for whether  you'll be able to practice the law when you graduate.  NONE.  My alma mater admitted people with petty crimes on their records and mental illness.  These were issues that were left for the "Character and Fitness" portion of the bar to deal with.

Case in point, Michael Behzadi.  This freak graduated from the esteemed Florida Coastal School of Law.  Haven't heard of it?  Well, that's because it sucks.  And with every psychopath they shove onto the street, their reputation will grow.  Michael pled guilty to making threats.  He had a To-Do list, much like any organized student of the law.  Except his list had some disturbing to-dos:

The first item on the list is to "buy eggs," but the list also includes running guns to Nigeria and killing Behzadi's professor at Florida Coastal School of Law.

According to court documents, Behzadi's girlfriend reported in March that he was planning to kill his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend and her parents.

According to the documents, Behzadi sent his girlfriend an online message that read, "I don't want to kill her with the S&W revolver. Kill her. Shoot her dead. Drive up to Wisconsin first. Kill her family then tell her before I kill her. Dead. It feels good to hurt people."

Oopsie.  Well, how was FC to know that he was unstable?  Well, according to this article, he had a long history of mental problems.  Maybe they thought that law school would stabilize him?  Ha.  Anyone whose been to law school knows that law school, especially 1L year will unhinge you.  So, epic fail.

How about this one?  A blind chick from California was admitted to UCLA school of law.  How nice!  A token disabled person.  Nevermind the fact that she had to SUE to take the bar exam:

Enyart sued the NCBE, ACT and the State Bar of California in California federal court for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and state civil rights laws.

     She asked the court to order the NCBE to allow her to use a computer equipped with ZoomText and JAWS, presenting a sworn statement from her ophthalmologist to back up her software preferences.

     Finding that the accommodations provided by the NCBE were not sufficient to make the test accessible to Enyart, and that she would be kept from pursuing her chosen profession if her requests were not met, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted a preliminary injunction and ordered NCBE to provide the software. He required Enyart to put up a $5,000 bond to cover the costs in case the NCBE eventually proved that the injunction was illegal.

Hmm.  That's a hidden cost of becoming a lawyer if I ever heard one.  During one the injunctions, the poor girl actually took the bar exam and FAILED:

The NCBE appealed, and while the case was pending Enyart took and failed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) and the bar exam. She requested a second preliminary injunction to take the tests again, which the court granted. Enyart has since received a high enough score on the August 2010 MPRE to qualify for admission to the California Bar but she failed to pass the July 2010 California Bar Exam, according to the ruling. 

I'm sure she'll keep chugging along until she passes, but she has yet to conquer the greatest hurdle of all: getting a job.  I'm not even talking about the job market sucking ass.  Anyone who has worked in law firms knows that they are the least likely to have the accommodations needed to employ a blind person.  Even if she managed to get a job at a firm that was willing to deal with her blindness by getting word processing software for the Blind--how is she to do on-line research?  Looking up something like "factors in determining child custody" on Westlaw will result in 200 cases and you can't skim the cases for relevance if you're blind.  Or, if you can, it will take you 800% longer because the software will read every last word aloud.  And what if you're a blind litigator?  How will you present evidence to the Court if you can't see it?  I bumble and fumble through my folder when I'm in front of a judge and I'm sure that's not unique to seeing people.  So, good luck getting a job.  UCLA should be ashamed of selling you a dream that will never be realized or only realized with great difficulty. I'm not saying it's right--it's just the facts.

Lastly, once you have gotten through law school and invested over $100K in getting the degree--sometimes the smartest thing to do with it is sell it on ebay for $200K.

So, what's the moral of this story?  If law schools want to maintain a place of dignity and respect in this Country, they should invest some time and energy into admitting students who can do legal work and give back to their alma maters happily.  Somewhere along the way, alumni contributions have been phased out as a source of income and tuition has increased to fund law school operations.  This model is bound to implode as fewer and fewer alumni look back upon their law school experience as worthy and lemmings grow brains and use a cost/benefit analysis in deciding whether law school is a worthy investment.

Today, I spoke to an older attorney who must be living under a rock.  She expressed dissatisfaction at her alma mater for costing her a whopping $20K.  We're all in the same market.  If she thinks her degree wasn't worth $20K, why do you think yours is worth $200K?  It defies logic.

Local Hospitals v. Local Law Schools: Which is More Necessary

As you know, I live in the Big Apple.  St. Vincent's was one of the few hospitals that serviced the west side of new york, south of Times Square.  It was closed because it was also one of the few hospitals that would give you treatment regardless of whether or not you had insurance.  St. Vincent's took in many of the victims of 9/11 and offered one of the few AIDS treatment facilities in the area.  However, as a money making enterprise, it was unsuccessful.  So, it was closed without regard to the needs of the community.  Trust me, it's only a problem for the down and out right now--but if another 9/11 hits New York City near the most targeted downtown area--we will all feel the pain.
As a point of comparison, Southeast Massachusetts needed a local law school because residents of that remote and relatively unpopulated part of Massachusetts were forced to travel to Boston to attend law school--a horrible inconvenience.  Law schools have become so abundant that every area should have one, I suppose.  So, the capitalist pigs of Massachusetts saw an untapped market that could be served with the establishment of a law school in that area.  Hence, the birth of UMass Dartmouth School of Law.  As you know, I am very against Massachusetts opening yet another law school. I have blogged about it more than once. Even though the Treasurer of Massachusetts was an outspoken critic of the idea--namely because MA couldn't afford to buy Southern New England School of Law--an unaccredited shit bowl.  However, all sense was thrown out the window and the acquisition happened.
Now, just to anger me further, Margaret "MarDee" Xifaras, was named Woman of the Year by some scum shit toilet newspaper for her efforts to advocate on behalf of this additional Massachusetts Commode.  In this video, she discusses the trials and tribulations of having to commute to a law school in Boston.  Shove it, Mardee.
Basically, if large portions of a booming metropolis can do without a community hospital--MA could do without another law school.  I wish we valued human rights to adequate health care over the almighty dollar.