Layoffs, Reality TV, Television

Former Clifford Chance Attorney in the Cast for This Season's 'Apprentice': Laid-off Edition

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Donald Trump knows what it is to be down but not out. We’ve lost track of how many times he’s filed for bankruptcy. But he is a phoenix, who always arises from the Chapter 11 ashes, his flaming reddish hair unruffled.

Now Trump wants to offer the same opportunity to other high-flyers who were knocked down by the recession. The upcoming season of “The Apprentice” has a cast of those left jobless in the recent economic collapse.

When they were casting for the show, the producers reached out to Above the Law in the hopes of nailing down a laid-off lawyer for the cast.

The show was taped this summer. And it appears they found themselves a shiny, new laid-off legal eagle (UPDATE on July 23: Two of them, actually.) The producers haven’t released the official cast list yet, but our tipsters recognized one of the contestants in an ad plugging the show (via Popwatch):

So who is the lawyer, and what does his résumé look like?

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His name is James Weir. He’s the one in the promo who says: “I never thought I would be jobless.”

Which is a perfectly reasonable statement. He’s a fellow Duke grad (’02), who went on to Georgetown Law Center (’06), and then to Clifford Chance. According to his LinkedIn profile, he left the firm in 2009 and hasn’t had a job since.

Well, until this little Apprentice gig. Regardless of whether Weir gets a job offer from The Donald or not, being on the show should be good for his career. Ask Erin Elmore.

We reached out to Weir hoping to score an interview, but got this response back from the show:

Thanks for your interest in The Apprentice. Please submit any Apprentice based requests through [NBC representatives]. We have not announced the cast yet and can’t confirm any contestants at this time. Will keep you posted on when that will happen. Would love to work with you this season.

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Hopefully we haven’t pissed off yet another network.

We wish Weir luck on the show, and we wish The Donald would consider employing a few hundred more laid-off lawyers.

Earlier: Reality Television Can Be Good For Your Career, Says Apprentice Loser
Career Alternatives for Laid-off Attorneys: The Apprentice Wants You!

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