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Wicked Karma

At TempJob today, I got to speaking with an '06 Grad about her law school experiences, and found out she was interested in immigration law. I told her I had quit a job at a small immigration firm just a couple of weeks ago and she was curious to learn more. After a couple of minutes questioning back and forth it became clear that it was the SAME firm that she was scheduled to interview with next week. After I availed her of all the experiences meticulously listed at this post and this one too, she, in horror dashed off an email to Sweatshop LLP telling them thanks, but no thanks.

It was wickedly gratifying. But there's more. The other coders were also shocked by my treatment by Sweatshop LLP (especially the withholding of the first week's pay, which they all thought HAD to be illegal) and did quick searches of their Career Services job listings to find that my position was listed on each and every one. One by one, my fellow temps called up their Career Services and anonymously tipped them off as to the work environment and their paycheck policy. One of the postings was removed and there were several other assurances that they would make a call over to Sweatshop to question them about it.

A good feeling, to be sure. At BigLawFirm where I'm working, there's a sense of misery, as if the axe is going to drop at any time, and this is evident in the permanent employees as well. The legal profession is in trouble. With outsourcing to India already prevalent, the Indian Legal Market is poised to boom and even Time Magazine has caught on.

A telling quote from Dallas attorney Mark Alexander:

"When a client pays me a $25,000 retainer and I can save them money, I will do so," says Alexander. Handing off the work to a $225-per-hr. junior associate is not an option. "They don't even know where to stand in the courtroom," he says.

A poster at the misery-and-gripe-fest law board JD Underground has it absolutely right:

Author: Igor
Time: April 10, 2008 - 12:50 pm

Baby boomers eating their young

My god, it's true. Think of the generation our parents have left us. It's a pitiful state.

And for the fresh lawyers reading this, think about all the crap you had to go through to get your law degree. You went to undergraduate school for four years, okay, sure. You had to take the LSAT and send off a dozen applications with essays. Then you paid tens of thousands (if not more) in tuition for the privilege of sitting in on classes that had no practical legal application. Many of you got graded on a silly curve meant to elevate the "elite" of your class. You suffered through underpaid internships. And yet, you graduated.

But wait. It's not over. There's a bar application. And a bar exam for which you have to take two months off in order to take more classes to prepare. And a fitness and character application. And interviews! And more fees! But that's not it. You have to sit through a bullshit MPRE to prove that after all that, you're still an ethical attorney. Because the 14-hour test wasn't good enough.

And yet, you "don't even know where to stand in a courtroom." How sad. And your job is going to be outsourced to India, where all they have to do is take an undergraduate course in law for three years. Three years TOTAL. Disgraceful.

Full post as published by Wicked Words on April 10, 2008 (boomark / email).