Lawsuit of the Day: A Class Action for DOJ Honors Rejects?
If the allegations in the recent Justice Department Inspector General report are true, some left-leaning lawyers were, because of their political or ideological views, denied the opportunity to litigate for the Department of Justice.
So now they’re litigating against the Department of Justice. From Courthouse News Service:
Top-ranked law school graduates whom the Department of Justice refused to hire for political reasons, as documented by the DOJ Inspector General’s recent report, demand $100,000 damages for each injured class member, plus declaratory and injunctive relief. The federal complaint claims about 190 prospective attorneys and 170 prospective interns were injured in 2006 alone.
In other words: “Please compensate us for being forced to take lucrative law-firm jobs that pay several times the pittance offered by the feds.”
Named plaintiff Sean Gerlich, a U.S. citizen who now lives in Belgium, says he and other highly qualified graduates of “top-tier law school(s),” were not hired in the Justice Department’s Honors Program, for attorneys seeking careers in the Department of Justice, because of ideological bias against applicants with presumed “liberal” tendencies.
Hmm, Belgium. How do you like dem waffles, Sean? And will you move back to the United States for an Obama administration?
It might be tough for Gerlich to establish he would have gotten a gig but for political bias. From the Legal Times:
Finding no job upon graduation from the University of Georgia law school, Gerlich moved to Belgium last year. He now works as an associate for a law firm in Brussels
Our gut reaction, sans legal research, is that this lawsuit may not lend itself well to class-action status (and don’t be surprised by a challenge to certification). Questions affecting only individual members may predominate over questions common to members of the putative class. Some rejected applicants — e.g., the Harvard Law Avenger, and others who got anonymous but obvious shout-outs in the IG report — may have much stronger claims than others.
Class Of Attorneys Sues DOJ Over Job Denials Based on Ideology [Courthouse News Service]
Ex-Honors Program Applicant Sues DOJ Over Politicized Hiring [Legal Times]
Gerlich v. U.S. Department of Justice (PDF) [Courthouse News Service]
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Comments
First!
"Finding no job upon graduation from the University of Georgia law school, Gerlich moved to Belgium last year. He now works as an associate for a law firm in Brussels."
ZOMGROFLCOPTER has landed.
University of Georgia as a "top tier law school." Wha......?
It's quite possible that his decision to file this case as a class action, which almost certainly cannot be maintained as such, demonstrates that he was not qualified for a position in the Honors Program.
http://img460.imageshack.us/img460/5479/roflcopter4co.jpg
I GOT DA BOOTAY JUICE!
If I was truly committed to serving America, but the government agency that I *most* wanted to work for would not have me, I would do the next most patriotic thing - move to f*cking Belgium!
what a douche
Seeking damages from the Federal government...isn't that another can of worms (I'm not familiar with all the exceptions to sovereign immunity)?
UGA = TTT
Knowshawn Moreno rocks! Go Dogs! (What up Knowshawn- see you at the Heismans)
Neither UGA's football players, nor its attorney grads have a candle to hold to their counterparts at UPenn State - possessor of the best law school *and* the best football team in all the land.
Go Lions!
I love how he couldn't get a job anywhere at graduation. I wonder if the other 100 firms he applied to were ALSO ideologically biased against him?
And way to go, American, in giving a prof to represent this tool.
To those who are mocking the legal merits of this lawsuit, his attorney is Daniel Metcalfe, "who worked at Justice for more than 35 years and retired in 2007 as head of the department's Office of Information and Privacy." So let's assume that his attorney knows a little bit about the Privacy Act, which is one of the statutes he's suing under.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422700580
Isn't Penn State still in the fourth tier?
Why do have a feeling Phil helped cook up this class action idea?
If he chains himself to the front steps until he gets his settlement, he will fulfill the prophecy upon which the DOJ rejected him in the first place.
Irony is spelled T-R-E-F-E-L-Y-A-N (or something like that)...
2:59(2) - Not every lawsuit is brought because the plaintiff / plaintiff's counsel thinks they're going to win.
Some cases are brought to make a point, or to advance some other goal - like generating publicity, or forcing disclosure of defendants' identities (see AutoAdmit).
DON'T FEED THE TROLLS!
He's from University of Georgia Law, which is NOT one of the 20 law schools used by the Inspector General in determining whether liberal applicants were discriminated against.
His suit is going nowhere.
2:59(2), pwn3d by 3:06
They should have chosen a better lead plainitff. An UGA grad who was forced to move to Belgium to find legal work probably has other issues that make him an inadequate representative of this class. Couldn't find a liberal loonie from Yale to step up to the plate?
The complaint looks like it was written by a first-grader.
"Plaintiff was grossly disappointed by this action, to say the least, inasmuch as to him and to those around him it was greatly at variance with what was reasonably anticipated. It adversely affected his search for post-graduation employment as a new attorney at the outset of his legal career . . . and it further caused . . . loss of reputation and professional standing, loss of confidence in his government, disruption of planning and other inconvenience, and similar personal harm in multiple respects. As a consequence, as he ended his third and final year of law school he approached graduation without an attorney position . . . ."
He was rejected on November 15. Did he really not interview as a 2L, or a 3L in the fall, until that rejection arrived? How could a non-journal student at Georgia "reasonably anticipate" getting in at DOJ Honors? Are we all "winners" now?
"Some cases are brought to make a point, or to advance some other goal - like generating publicity, or forcing disclosure of defendants' identities (see AutoAdmit)."
Last time I checked, bringing frivolous claims "to make a point," even if "some other goal" seems noble, was still unethical.
See, e.g., Ciolli's SLAPP suit as a result of the "point" of the AutoAdmit suit.
3:12 - only at Nixon Peabody.
3:01, U. Penn St. has always been a fourth tier law school. I think U. Penn and Penn St. merged a few years ago to create one mammoth 4th tier law school.
3:01, U. Penn St. has always been a fourth tier law school. I think U. Penn and Penn St. merged a few years ago to create one mammoth 4th tier law school.
"Plaintiff was grossly disappointed by this action, to say the least, inasmuch as to him and to those around him it was greatly at variance with what was reasonably anticipated."
- Pompous verbiage? Check.
- Improper tone? Check.
- Lack of precision? Check.
- Improper use of passive voice? Check.
Grade: F
here here 3:12. I can't believe none of the people to whom he whined (you know there were many) didn't have the guts to say that to him. Instead they let him move forward with this ridiculous suit which will only further cause "loss of reputation and professional standing." I blame his support group for blowing smoke up his ass by telling him that he "like totally deserved that job," etc.
I can't WAIT for discovery to reveal his class rank.
If UGA is first tier, how is that not "top tier"? And yes, I went to UGA.
Oh, I get it- that's why UPenn St has so many campuses.
3:23. Three top tiers exist: top three, top fourteen, and technically top tier. If you are not in the first or second, you are not top tier.
Why should someone have to show they were discriminated AGAINST? Anyone who wasn't hired can say they might have been hired but for discrimination in FAVOR of conservatives.
3:23 - UGA is Totally Top Tier, which is why everybody refers to it as TTT. Duh.
3:23(2) - look, it's just not. Are you happy with your job/options? Then good for you--get over it. UGA is not what people regard, colloquially, as a "top-tier" law school.
3:23
Seriously?
Tiers within tiers, man. Tiers within tiers.
3:23-
On this site, anything mentioned in any post automatically becomes eligible for TTT designation. To take this story as an example, any and all of the following would be acceptable:
DOJ = TTT
UGA = TTT
Belgium = TTT
Courthouse News Service = TTT
This comment = TTT
You get the idea.
3:29 - according to what/who?
3:23- UGA is Totally Top Tier, which is why everybody refers to it as TTT. Duh.
3:23: Just be happy you're not on the NPO (no particular order) tier.
3:30 - Actually, no, I'm not. I'm stuck in Belgium and I don't speak French, Dutch OR German.
3:23 - it's all Emory grads have. They overpaid for their education, but at least they get the bragging rights of being technically top dog in GA, which, is kind of like being the least fat broad in the fat sorority, but I guess it's something...
3:27 - exactly. u. penn st. is slowly emerging as a possible 2nd or 3rd tier law school - some would say they're advancing in the rankings. probably because they are close in proximity to some other northeastern schools. i think u. penn st. reputation is getting better probably because of penn st. and their football team. and also when u. penn merged with penn st. it was a good process.
How glad am I that I took a few practice LSATs? Very.
(i) T14, (ii) top regional in special circumstances, (iii) job lined up with daddy, or bust.
3:43 -- Did people get their LSAT score back today? I have an ex girlfriend that took it. Here's to her getting into a top tier school like UGA...
3:43 = Addington's son? (Duke legacy = acceptance to T14 and top regional school in "special" circumstances, and a job at BB).
does anyone else thinks its not a coincedence the Avvo ad at the top has a black as the extreme caution?
I'm not a prestige snob... but seriously the kid should be realistic and realize that he only had a *shot* if he was coif and law review. the fact that he had months after rejection to find a job but couldn't speaks volumes about his qualifications.
kids in my high school used to get rejected from jobs and move to belgium all the time. It was no tbig deal.
Guys at my high school used to mess up "guys at my high school..." all the time. It was no big deal.
whats with this guy? his school and resume are just not doj level. the dude is some lib complaining its not fair. hey stop looking at everyone else and be yourself. with such a lib outlook its good for him (and us) that hes in europe
3:32 = funniest post of the year.
Haza!
Oh come on. My post was funnier than that one!
- 3:23(2)
3:32 said what we all wished we would have thought to say - he/she just got their first.
agree with 4:32. maybe not of the whole year though
You can say what you want about the plaintiff (why Belgium!!!?!) but his attorney just recently retired from DOJ last year with over 25 years experience. He was a very senior official. If anyone knows what went down, it's probably him.
What are the chances that this kid is actually the all-time greatest UGA troll? I can't think of a better way to trash the school's reputation.
I posted this on ATL yesterday.
I got rejected by the DOJ... racist! Or it could be my belching during the phone interview.
I'm really glad the U. Penn State trolls are back.
3:32 is TTT.
I am no defender of the bush administration. but i do wonder about the complaint, at least across the board at DOJ. my resume screams liberal, as i worked for the kerry campaign for two years, however, I recieved a summer honors program internship with a prestigious department in the criminal divisions, which I was unable to do that summer as I had another offer with a judge, and which I did complete the following spring. I hate to be mean, but perhaps these people had bad interviews? I think it might be more important at the DOJ that they sense you have a passion for what you do, versus a firm, which I admittedly now work at myself.
@3:36
Belgians speak Flemish and French, not Dutch or German. You must be a UGA grad.
UGA pwns UVA and its softball playing homos.
6:43(1) - or GULC.
What does UGA stand for?
Couldn't there be a conflict for the atty?
Unless your state school outside the T8 is named Texas, you aren't "top tier." UGA is Tier 1 but like the Midwest public schools, that's not enough to have a true national brand where you decide who you interview with and they don't get to look at your resume until afterwards.
Yeah, it has regional power, but that's true for most law schools, as law schools have something called alumni, and big state schools have huge alumni mafias in general.
Woo hoo! I'm joining the class!
3:32 for comment of the year.
Gerlich is a major tool. Not even a top tier stuent at UGA.
Also, is this just a kneejerk reaction to the old story that the Justice Dept was hiring a ton of Regent graduates? Pretty lame.
Keep his severe underbite in Belgium, as I recall he bragged for a long, long time about how sweet that gig was.
The UGA Class of 07, way to represent in notoriety. Pilie, now this King of Douches.
Gerlich is a major tool. Not even a top tier stuent at UGA.
Also, is this just a kneejerk reaction to the old story that the Justice Dept was hiring a ton of Regent graduates? Pretty lame.
Keep his severe underbite in Belgium, as I recall he bragged for a long, long time about how sweet that gig was.
The UGA Class of 07, way to represent in notoriety. Pilie, now this King of Douches.
This guy is not from Georgia just so everyone knows. We don't claim him.
Behind the UGA Law diploma you will find an attention seeking, privelaged, delicate young lad that only a New England prep school could produce. That's right.
He's an elitist just like you.
Nooooooooooo
He may not be the best person to represent the class, but this is certainly a lawsuit worth bringing. They dropped a third of the people who had been chosen by the respective divisions within DOJ and didn't even give them a chance to interview. And this was all based on political affiliation. There are many, including myself, who would love to see those jerks get dragged into court.
He may not be the best person to represent the class, but this is certainly a lawsuit worth bringing. They dropped a third of the people who had been chosen by the respective divisions within DOJ and didn't even give them a chance to interview. And this was all based on political affiliation. There are many, including myself, who would love to see those jerks get dragged into court.