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NYU 3L Takes Unemployment Plight to YouTube

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Readers have been begging for a follow-up on the NYU 3Ls who threatened Mayer Brown with “Public Relations Disaster.” One reader suggests we set up a pay-per-view event:

ATL should sponsor a cage match, pitting the UT 1Ls against the NYU 3Ls, in a fight to the career death.

Well, boy do we have a follow up. The student we dubbed “Rosencrantz” sent out an email to the NYU Law School listserv.

Subject: Response to Your Comments About Me on AboveTheLaw…
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
Due to the overwhelming requests that I make a comment about the atrocities committed against me on above the law, I have decided to respond. I have however decided to make my response a video response as I’ve learnt that emails can be more easily misconstrued than audiovisuals. Below are the links for my response:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RHha6fYzhY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xHbMHh9XDk
I hope you enjoy them, and please do feel free to leave comments.
Cheers,
[Rosencrantz]

The videos (to say nothing about the email to the entire listserv) make it impossible to keep up the “Rosencrantz” artifice, so I guess it’s time to start calling people by their given names….


The NYU 3L who wants everybody to know about the difficulties facing unemployed law students is Chuck Egbuonu. Check out his heartfelt introduction:

Obviously, I totally understand these interviewees. Almost every day we hear, and often write about, how difficult things are for law students looking for work. These kids got into NYU Law, thought they were on the right track with their careers, and are now being told that there is no space for them. It’s tough.
In part 2 of the the Egbuonu video, we get to a topic I take particularly seriously: student debt.

I imagine most people don’t have a problem with the views expressed in these videos. These students do a great job of describing the hurdles arrayed against them.
But what is the solution? Threatening prospective employers surely isn’t the way to go. It’s not the fault of Biglaw that there are too many lawyers.
Chuck, however, seems to be the kind of person who aggressively goes after institutions he feels aren’t behaving appropriately — and not just Mayer Brown. Chuck also sent a threatening letter to the NYU SBA after they declined to sponsor a party he was organizing:

I’m so sad to hear this news because it will unfortunately end up costing NYU Law several thousand (or several hundred thousand) dollars in legal fees. Here’s why:
1. We will sue the SBA and the School for breach of contract because we have a written commitment from your executives
2. We will sue for discrimination because it is clear that you are refusing to keep your promise simply because it is two black guys co-hosting the event
3. We will sue for all sorts of emotional distress and defamation related to your pulling out, and for having a competing event
The list goes on and on and on…..

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(And so does his message to the SBA. We’ve reprinted it in full at the very end of this post.)
Chuck definitely has the “adversarial” part of the system down. But you could spend a lifetime trying to bully people and only end up with a black eye. The threat about becoming NYU’s “worst critic” is eerily similar to the threat about making a “Public Relations Disaster” for Mayer Brown. When you are dealing with an institution as big as a law firm or a law school, threats like these don’t work — and they tend to make people very angry.
We reached out to Chuck, and he sent us this message about the letter:

I wrote it and I’m not backing away from it. … I sent that letter at midnight before the party, after working all week towards the party and the documentary and also after getting word the day before that my dad only had days to live, so yes I was under A LOT OF STRESS when that letter was sent.
Cheers,
Chuck.

The man just lost his father; obviously it’s a difficult time for him. And we know it’s a difficult time for the vast majority of law students, with many of them staring out towards an uncertain and unsettling future. I know many law students who feel powerless.
And they are powerless. There’s nothing one law student can do against the larger economic forces at play when it comes to Biglaw offer rates, first-year salaries, or attorney job security.
It’s no fun to be powerless, but law students really have to try to keep it together. Just take a deep breath, have a drink, and try to ride out the wave.
I’m sorry you guys have to learn this in the middle of a recession, while you are still in school. Most Biglaw types got one or maybe two weeks at the firm before they were forced to confront their utter insignificance in the Biglaw machine.
Earlier: Mutiny at Mayer Brown?

EMAIL MESSAGE FROM CHUCK EGBUONU TO NYU LAW SCHOOL STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION
I’m so sad to hear this news because it will unfortunately end up costing NYU Law several thousand (or several hundred thousand) dollars in legal fees. Here’s why:
1. We will sue the SBA and the School for breach of contract because we have a written commitment from your executives
2. We will sue for discrimination because it is clear that you are refusing to keep your promise simply because it is two black guys co-hosting the event
3. We will sue for all sorts of emotional distress and defamation related to your pulling out, and for having a competing event
The list goes on and on and on. My beloved NYU Law has done a good job training me and I’m ready to use it against it them. Unfortunately for you, we have inside sources at the SBA that have sent us documented evidence of your racism so that doesn’t help you. The even sadder news is that this event was going put NYU on the map and raise our law school rankings. This school has been so nice to me, and this was going to be my first way of paying the school back (creating the ALL NYC Law/Med/Biz/Grad-Schools coalition and giving NYU Law credit for it). I’ve also signed up to be on the class gift committee so I can use my legendary fund raising skills to make this school rich. However, on the flip side (if you pull out of this party), I will now be NYU Law’s worst critic and make sure the school drops to 20 on the U.S. News ranking by emailing above-the-law and all who care, and stressing how racist the system is here, especially using statistics that show how career services manages to ensure that black students have the worst offer rates and retention rates.
Trust me, and ask those who know me, I don’t say things I won’t do. That said, you should consult with your executives and Dean Revesz (who I will forward this email to if you pull out) to confirm that it would not be in NYU Law’s best interest to pull out of the party. The law school retains lawyers that cost $1,000 an hour and by virtue of the suit I will file in the SDNY on friday morning, they’ll spend $20,000 off the top just in responding to that suit (as required by law). Finally, I just want to let you know that I’m NOT hosting this event just to make money. The SBA was only going pay $600 but the drink tickets cost $5 each, and Joe and I told the manager we’ll cover the remainder of what it will cost to get you 200 drink tickets. Thats the kind of guys we really are, regardless of what the idiots at your meeting said. We’re doing this to help the professional and social lives of the unfortunate kids at NYU who continue to have little or no options for meeting other students who could be future business partners or clients.
You really want to talk to Revesz and your board before you do anything, as they will not forgive if you make the mistake of trying to butt heads with me. Ask those who really know me, I can be very friendly but can also be very unfriendly when my patience is tested. By the way Dean Revesz, by virtue of your age, you should that people like me ALWAYS end up rich and famous, thus NYU Law does not want to get on my bad side now, they’ll be missing out on A LOT of financial and moral contributions I always intended to repay the school with.
Also, you also failed to outline your concerns about co-sponsoring the party. You need to do that, and I can also assure you that they are NOT real concerns because you can un-officially co-sponsor the event and be indemnified from any of the stupid potential catastrophes which were mentioned at your meeting. Finally, you CANNOT have a competing event tomorrow even if you only un-officially co-sponsor the event or we will still sue. And furthermore, our event will become a monthly event which you will always unofficially co-sponsor and not compete with or you will still be sued. Trust me man, you don’t wann go there. I’m going stop now as this email is getting too long, but you should really think about the best interests of your school before you pull out of your commitment.
Mr. Chuck

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