First!

lat, come on... you could have included a bit more meat in this story...

lazy!!!

THE INTERNET REALLY IS A TYPE OF HELL!

Only $170 for a ZJ?! The woman must have been part of the ring's B-squad

At least now he'll have more time in his life to stop and smell the glove every once in a while.

You guys are being really obnoxious. The poor man clearly resigned because he has a bad case of scrott rot and needs to seek treatment. Can't you just leave him alone?

This is the classic ATL formula now: Step 1 - publicize trivial embarrassments as 'scandal; Step 2 - report on adverse consequence (firing, shame, etc.) for figure at center of faux controversy; Step 3 - post report absolving ATL of any blame for those adverse consequences ("we humiliated him, but he was fired for other reasons.").

Guh, this site has gone downhill in a hurry.

Wow, what a fall

So, I'm on the post-July 4th "start bar study program." I've been to about 20% of the barbri classes but no studying after class. What is the minimum I need to study per day? I'm taking the NY bar. I hear the essays are a joke, and I only need to get about 65% of the multiple choice right. about 6 hours a day???

Number 8 - you're an idiot. He was the dean of a CATHOLIC law school. Head of a CATHOLIC law journal. TRIVIAL EMBARRASSMENT? You clearly must be his son. way to give yourself away.

Wait till it comes out that the Dean was doing another guy. It must have been his Catholic upbringing that pushed him over the edge and into the grip of the Devil. I think this might be the end of his career, sort of like all his graduates this year.

Wow 10,

You've done even less than me. Impressive.

BLARF!

10 --> 14 hrs/day.

i hope it was worth it.

mark sanford is unimpressed

It is a well known fact that 99% of attorneys have the social grace and charisma of a misanthropic sloth. Thus, it should be no surprise that folks like Sargent resort to brothels to fulfill their male/female contact quota. When cornered by the authorities, it is no surprise that Sargent gave up the owner of the brothel to save his own neck. This is a unique quality that is inherent in attorneys. However, I am surprised that Nova kept him on as Dean for as long as they did. Now that he resigned, Sargent is free to go to Brazil or Hong Kong where the best prostitutes and brothels are located.

i guess PE was unable to get a summer gig.

If you are not studying for the bar 12 hrs a day with a 1 hr lunch break YOU WILL FAIL. What is so hard to understand about this concept? Is it overkill? Perhaps but who cares? Just do it - you'll never have to do it again.

4 = Dean John

What a scumbag. I didn't think my law degree could lose any more value. Is there a cause of action for devaluing a law degree by the school's own dean?

Please tell me comment 20 is flame. Please?

Elie Mystal might think so -
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/05/pls_hndle_thx_9.php#more

- 10

22 - I hope so.

- Ave grad.

Geez, what a way to go

Embarrassing. If there's any silver lining to this it's that Sargeant is now gone. As an alum, I think he took Villanova as far as he could. Hopefully the new Dean has a little more vision.

The 20th comment is BS.

If you have read the long outlines to insure you understand the material and have attended the BARBRI lectures and spend 10 days before the exam memorizing the short outlines you will be fine.

The main trick in passing the bar exam is keeping your cool.

The main barrier presented by the bar exam is psychological. Daily exercise helps.

Stay positive, and don't take any stupid demoralizing practice tests.

10,

20 is a clown; 27 has it right. I took the PA bar, probably went to 15-20% of the classes, and spent about 2-3 weeks cramming for the exam (about 5-6 hrs a day). Above all else, don't panic.

The bar exam is a MINIMUM competency test. You will be fine. People that need to study 12+ hours per day to pass should not be practicing law.

I second 20, but with the caveat: if you're in a state with a tough reputation, you might need to invest a moderate amount of time preparing for the essays.

To reiterate: watch out for the practice tests. I found the bar/bri practice questions to be substantially harder than the real ones, and in any event you only need to get about 2/3 right. One of the worst things you can do is let the MPQs or full-lengths freak you out.

THINGS ARE WORSE THAN EVER!

http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/63aee3f3eb48e3be307ed125dd868067

http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/63aee3f3eb48e3be307ed125dd868067

20 here - not a flame - just trying to impart some wisdom - I don't understand the big deal? Haven't you heard the old saw: "Treat it like a job?"

Well?

It's later than you think kiddies - this market is a shitshow and the least you could do after pissing away money you'll spend the rest of your life paying back 5 or 10 fold - is STUDY.

5 years ago I rented an apartment in Newark just to get away from the shore/friends. I was up at 8 and at a desk at 9. I broke for lunch at 12 or 1 and got right back at it till 9 or so.

GET TO WORK SHITBAGS!!!

Isn't Nov. 25 Thanksgiving? I guess Sargent was getting his own turkey carved. . . heh heh heh

Aha! So that's what he does on his lunch breaks! And I thought was was pigging out at Applebys during their shrimp scampi specials. Now I get it!

in France, they would give him a medal for sleeping with a prostitute.

Isnt there a joke that goes "a catholic lawyer visits a prostitute one day . . .". Does anyone know the punchline?

It's goes like this: did you hear about the catholic lawyer and the prostitute? He's a Blank Rome partner (drumroll)

Bruce Castor is his private attorney and the prosecutor is a Villanova Law grad?! That doesn't smell right...

I guess there's no law in PA that says it's illegal to buy sex, just to sell it. Poor prostitutes, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time!

No, it goes like this "The economy is so bad for lawyers that Villanovas own dean Mark Sargent gave himself a budget cunt"

"The economy is so bad, the only job that ex dean Mark Sargent can find is a blow job"

"The DA had to look up Mark Sargents rights in the Penal Code". Yeah go shepardize that doozy.

"The seminal case of Sargent v. Hooker"

He can work for Italys Berlusconi, I hear he likes to roll the STDice too

VLS alumnus here -

i already stopped sending any money to the school because of the waste of the money on worthless faculty (read dean james and the whole career services dept) and the school's use of funds to throw elaborate parties. this seals the deal.

40, 41: The two of you must also be suffering the consequences of a bad economy --- you'll are sitting home enjoying ridiculing other people. Have some heart...

45: I resent that comment. I'll have you know that dean James is a very committed ann. He's committed his life to finding the leprechaun that stole his Lucky Charms.

Herpes is a kind of hell.

And Dean James is useless.

46 is definitely not Doris Brogan, who is laughing her
ass off on her way to the bank. Way to set Sargent up, you snitch. We have a name for people like you in Attica.

Wow. Didn't take long for VLS to take Sargent off the website.

http://www.law.villanova.edu/academics/faculty/biographies/deans/sargent/

I wish the tech department was that fast at fixing the constant internet outages in the (old) law school!

I can't believe they already took him off the website... awesome.

They took him off the website COMPLETELY:
http://www.law.vill.edu/aboutvls/deanswelcome/

i heard a rumor that the new building won't be finished as a result of this scandal - true? If not, what is the new building like? Anyone know? And what does everyone think about Brogan as acting Dean?

Sargent's current research and teaching interests are principally in the area of Catholic social thought and the law, the law school's Web site said.

In 2004, Sargent authored an article in the Villanova Law Review titled "Lawyers in the Moral Maze," which focuses on why corporate lawyers often engage in behavior that violates their own ethics.

Quick to take him off the website, but they haven't even owned up to their students. Where's my "Going Forward" email?

55 - It's coming right after your tuition refund. Good luck.

Poor guy, given the state of the economy he'll be lucky to even land pro boner work

Does the A. in Mark A. Sargent stand for anal, assloving or arivederci?

22: good luck with that. in the alternative, I suggest a little remedy called "get over it" mixed with a dash of "who cares" and/or "stop overreacting".

52: he resigned before this news broke anyhow -- he's not the dean, q.e.d. no dean's welcome from him on the webpage.

59: I know he's not the dean anymore, so they would have removed it eventually regardless- but they never would have done it so fast- things on the website are ordinarily updated at a pace that can charitably be described as "glacial."

The hooker had a pretty good hourly rate-.

Between Noon and 1 p.m., Sargent was at the home and paid a woman, Cara Martin, 32, $170 for 35 minutes of pleasure, according to a police report. Sargent saw an ad on Craigslist, was curious and responded, the report noted.

His bio is still up on the "old" website (which they should probably take down at some point!)

http://old.law.villanova.edu/facultyandstaff/facultyprofiles/deans/sargent/sargent.asp

Look on the bright side. At least he isn't a Biglaw partner becuase he would also get in trouble for falsifying billables, as he would have billed his hookering time to some unsuspecting client.

Let me get this straight....

So concerned was he, that word of his poor tennis skills might leak out, he chose to offer you his wife as some sort of mediaeval sexual payola?

Is anyone else disturbed by the outrageous rate the hooker charged? What does she think she is, a Morgan Lewis partner? I wonder if hookers have billable hour requirements and if they do, do they also claim 500 hours of ass pounding to be 2000 hours? How do you get away with something like that?

Speaking of hookers, has anyone heard from Erin Elmore lately?

Congratulations to the VLS IT staff for taking the time to pause World of Warcraft and edit the website.

All three of you are useless.

67 - Don't be so hard on them. All the university gave them to work with was a box of paperclips and some ducktape. They were screwed from the start. But I probably could have kept it running with just that...

53. Building seems fine
http://www.law.villanova.edu/campaign/thebuilding/webcam.html

53. Building seems fine
http://www.law.villanova.edu/campaign/thebuilding/webcam.html

Some background on the case Dean Sargent is involved with....

http://www.phoenixvillenews.com/articles/2009/02/05/news/srv0000004628068.txt

And this

http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2009/05/07/news/srv0000005279322.txt

is this the reason behind the departure of Professor Michelle Anderson, an activist against human trafficking and the exploitation of women for money? I wonder. . .

gee I thought the women were exploiting the men for money. silly me

I use to look up to Mark like he was Santa Claus, now whenever I think of him, all I see is a naked Santa getting his rocks off with two hookers at the same time, one of which has serious mental issues and 3 kids. Someone please put an end to these images!

54: Another example of a truly useless legal article. The author was clearly unqualified to write on the matter. He has never been a corporate lawyer for one microsecond of his life, and he clearly has no morals. Why do lawyers often write on subjects with which they have absolutely no experience? They should stick to what they do best, whatever that is.

PE is a big faghat- show your identity you clown. No, youre not a circus clown, a sword swallower-

You're posts reveal what a phony lawyer you are; fuck you and youi're mother- if she still is alive- she's a bitch
too.
This site has to end; it's over ; lawyers suck and he;s the worst example of who we are.

PE is a big faghat- show your identity you clown. No, youre not a circus clown, a sword swallower-

You're posts reveal what a phony lawyer you are; fuck you and youi're mother- if she still is alive- she's a bitch
too.
This site has to end; it's over ; lawyers suck and he;s the worst example of who we are.

77=78=Dean John

Can someone help me interpret this dream I had last night? Mark Sargent was in it and he was nailing two hookers, except one of the hookers was that possessed girl from the exorcist and the other girl was the girl from the ring. As he's giving these pyschotic lunatics the asspounding of their lives, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg start jamming it out to Thriller by Michael Jackson. Does anyone know what this all means?

yes, it means the ship be sinking.............

What's the difference between a lawyer and a prostitute?the prostitute quits after you're dead.

82: The prostitute quits SCREWING you after you're dead. That's the correct punchline you trogladite. Anyway, wasn't it Jesus that said "May he who has never screwed a hooker throw the first stone"? That rules me out.

That;s what you get for going to a shitty school like Nova. I'd rather go to Temple...

@84 - fuck off.

Thanks to Mr. Sargent for once again embarassing Villanova law. I'm glad that he is finally gone and I hope that Dean Brogan will do a better job than he did. I never liked him and never respected him and always felt like he didn't represent us well. He owes an apology to all the students, faculty, and alumni who he has embarassed.

Also, interesting how he didn't resign until this news broke - not when he was caught by police back in November. The school could probably have handled a better transition if he didn't resign so suddenly. Selfish and unprofessional.

Serious question - if you get busted for patronizing a hooker, can that have character and fitness consequences for passing the bar?

As a Villanova Law grad, I, and I am sure every other "registered alum", received two emails from Dolores Brogan regarding Dean Sargent. The first one said that Sargent resigned, we wish him well and I am now in charge-not to worry. (Sort of like Al Haig after Reagan was shot.)

Then, on Friday of last week, there is an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer which laid the ugly out. At about 7 PM Friday, we alum received yet another email from Brogan referencing the facts that she left out in the earlier email-that Sargent was involved in a criminal investigation.

What appears to have happened is the "pimp" called the press to complain that he and his gals were locked up for up to 2 years but Sargent was not charged and was given great "deference" during the investigation.

In her email, Brogan again referenced the "new building" Villanova Law is opening in the fall as something for us all to be excited about. It amazes me, still, that Villanova Law just does not get it. When I attended the school, it catered to only the to the top 5% of the class-the students slated for spots at Morgan or Wolf Block (RIP). It was affected then and it is still affected. Bragging about a "mortar and brick" project after your Dean has just resigned because he informed on a prostitution ring he patronized is not the way to inspire the alumni to further support the school. The Law School and President of Villanova University owes each alum an apology for this national embarrassment. Enough with trumpeting the new building. Get a grip and hire a Dean that cares for all students (by the way, that is not Brogan).

Hmmm... I'm a recent VLS grad and I haven't received Dean B's second email. Could someone possibly cut-and-paste it here? I'm curious...

I also read Dean Brogan's email, and I think she did the best she could with the situation. She has always been running the place anyway, so it makes sense that she now has the title. I hope she becomes the permanent Dean. Unlike Sargent, she could probably name a handful of students.

The new building is exciting. Anyone who sat in the library at the old building and had bugs drop from the ceiling onto their books knows that the new building is not just a building. It's exciting that we have the alumni support to fund the new building. It's exciting that we will attract better students and professors because of it.

88, your comments are spot on. I, too, am a VLS grad and had the exact same experience. VLS is a joke and plummeted in the rankings under Sargent's watch. Hopefully Dean Brogan can turn it around. The irony of this story is overwhelming, however. The only reason Sargent got the job in '97 was because the most highly qualified candidate (Henry Perritt) was openly gay and the University wouldn't allow it. Now it's clear that the heterosexual candidate who is married and frequents prostitutes was a much better choice. VLS deserves this and it is why I will never give a dime to that goddamn place.

88 and 91 -- your comments are really, actually, not "spot on". VLS isn't a "joke" any more than any other non top 20 law school. The faculty is loaded with many lawyers and educators who have literally written the laws they are teaching. Beyond that, there are many members of the faculty who bother to make a real connection to the students and sincerely care about their lives as well as their career aspirations. The school has launched the careers of countless lawyers, businesspeople, politicians, and other integral members of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and national communities at large.

The dean goes to a prostitute and then resigns, and you're freaking out as if the entire organization is somehow tainted now.

What's a joke is the constant stream of people like you coming on blogs like this bashing your own alma mater. Grow up, get over it and get over yourselves, too.

92--tell me you're joking. I assume you are an alum, but there is no way you attended the same VLS as 88, 91, and myself. Yes, in fact, the school's name is tainted because it suffered a tremendous national embarassment, as does any organization who's leader must resign under the pretense of misdeeds. I notice you didn't have a direct answer for several of the facts laid out by 88 and 91, so I'll leave you with another example. If VLS is so incredible, why won't one of its most prestigious alums (Gov. Rendell) have anything to do with the institution? It is, in fact, VLS that needs to get over itself and try to reclaim the 30 or so slots it fell in the rankings under Sargent's tenure.

93, I am a VLS alum. If you truly think this is a "tremendous national embarassment", I'd suggest you at least google the story first, to put things in perspective.

http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&ncl=dIgD2ExKbfqO4qMyT-ImwWnvH34_M&cf=all

It's hardly the lead story on Meet The Press. As for the rankings, I'm nearly positive the highest ranking it's ever attained is about 47. For that matter, the school has the exact same ranking it had 4 years ago. Maybe your classes had something to do with the (non existent) rankings nosedive -- the students being admitted now have the school's highest ever GPA/LSAT figures.

I entirely support 92 and 94. Sargent is a joke and a disgrace --- BUT one person does not make up the entire institution. No one person is powerful enough to make years of respect and history worthless. By giving up on VLS and laughing at one of the few Catholic institutions around, you are all giving Sargent way more importance than he deserves.

Have some pride and loyalty. I am a VLS student and damn proud to be.

91: I recall Professor Perritt. One of the more approachable professors and he knew what he was talking about in Admin Law. It is just like Villanova Law to pass him over and end up with Sargent. Given the number of gay Catholic priests, it seems odd that Prof. Perritt's sexuaity would be a reason not to make him dean.

In response to #95, its not that anyone wants to "laugh" at one of the few Catholic institutions around. I am not laughing at their predicament.

What I do find off the wall is that in one breath the alumni is told that the Dean just resigned in a sex scandal and in the next breath, Acting Dean Brogan has to, again, bring up the new law school building as if that were some kind of tonic .Candidly, I could care less about the building the school is housed in. It is a waste of resources and was dreamed up when the economy was booming. Better to have spent the money on the faculty/administration and built a more modest building. But, that is not what happened. I guarantee you that this episode will drop Villanova a few more slots next year. Each year, Temple Law gets stronger and Villanova law gets weaker. That is just the way it is.

96 -- your notion that an openly gay person would be made head of any Catholic institution is rich, and pretty much invalidates any point you've got here. The separate and unrelated fact that there are (clearly) gay priests is really beside the point.

94: I am not exactly sure why I am taking the time to respond to a post so riddled with inaccuracies, but here goes. First, Google "Dean Mark Sargent" and you will find articles in first 5 pages from outlets you may have heard of (ABC News, MSNBC, AP, ABA, etc.) You get similar results if you type in Villanova Law, or Villanova Law Dean--not sure if you typed in mickey mouse or something unrelated to get the results you posted. Second, VLS was ranked as high as 40 in the mid 1990's. It slipped all the way to 73 during Sargent's tenure. If, in your fantasy world, this is not a big slide, good for you. (as a point of reference, GW slid only 8 slots this year and there is a huge uproar) This year we are tied for 61st (which, in fairness, is actually up from last year's 68th) with powerhouses like Brooklyn, Lewis & Clark, and USD. Third, great comeback about my class. Frankly, you are probably right--it was full of stupid, rich punks whose parents didn't quite have enough influence to get them into an ivy league school. Finally, since none of the VLS-lovers will respond directly to prior examples laid out, I will leave you with a few more: Professor Palm, Dean James, the Tax Clinic, and so on.

On a side note, I do agree with 95 that one person does not make an entire institution. There were actually some good people there that don't deserve to be lumped in with that jackass.

97: There is no prohibition on being a gay priest or nun. There is no prohibition on being a straight priest or nun.

Gay and straight religious take vows of celibacy. So, Catholic rules for the religious are simple: your orientation can be gay or straight, you just can't have sex.

As for naming an "openly" gay (I thought we were beyond distinguishing "closeted" and "openly" gay people- but I guess not) person to the Dean of a Catholic law school, I am not sure whether you support the idea or not.

Is it your argument that an openly gay person should not be in charge of a Catholic law school because he or she is not adhering to Catholic teaching by living a gay life?

If so, point taken.

But, I also know that there are many deans and faculty members at Catholic law schools who support abortion rights. It is a fundamental position of the Church that abortion is murder- the position is non-negotiable. The abortion issue transcends all others (i.e. gay rights; death penalty etc.).

So, I am curious, should all Catholic law schools refuse leadership positions to individuals who support abortion rights?

Which brings me back around to the point (as inarticulate as I may be in getting there) I raised in the initial post: It seems to me that if a Catholic institution can appoint and/or hire deans and faculty members who maintain beliefs about abortion that are at odds with the Church's teachings on abortion, an issue that transcends all others, it should be able to find it in them to hire a gay dean.

98: You are right. The school's ranking has slipped.

Why anyone would think this does not hurt the law schools' reputation is beyond me. It does.

For the forseeable future, people are not going to think about the new building when they think of VLS. They are going to think about the Dean's lack of judgment and his role in this sordid tale.

Having said that, what's done is done. I hope that Mark Sargent can sort all of this out and move on.

98: You are right. The school's ranking has slipped.

Why anyone would think this does not hurt the law schools' reputation is beyond me. It does.

For the forseeable future, people are not going to think about the new building when they think of VLS. They are going to think about the Dean's lack of judgment and his role in this sordid tale.

Having said that, what's done is done. I hope that Mark Sargent can sort all of this out and move on.

http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/35f6249659ca09692c3560381197c333

Mark Sargent is a pretty good guy. I am a current student, and I can say that he is not the biggest problem at our school. The school is, how shall I say, "inbred". There are whole families working there, which means that there is no accountability for any mistakes that are made for any reason...Chris James (son of Dean James) needs fired, stat! He watches cartoons all day and collects between 30-50k....thats a real travesty!

Dear Mark Sargent:

Hi! Well, this most certainly could not have happened to a more deserving person! You had a reputation for being extraordinarily disloyal to Maryland Law, and your ego most certainly did not fit your competency level or height (Despite your 2" heels, you were still 5'6" or something, eh?)

But I do feel very badly for VLS. Your poor character and lack of morals will not be missed by them or anyone for that matter. And to pull this crap whilst a dean at a CATHOLIC institution!? You indeed are a joke. Funny, you left MD, and they broke into the top-50; you jumped over to VLS, and they fall out. Coincidence?

And I feel very sorry for the shame you have brought upon your family. They did NOT deserve your inability to keep yer 2" airsoft holstered, eh?

I heard a rumor that you were applying, or had already applied, for a position at MD as their Dean prior to this news going public. Bahahahaha!! I suppose that's out of the question now, huh?

So is this the start of new & exciting life for you? I wonder if we're all going to see you more & more in the public eye! http://tinyurl.com/72l4e