Calling All Disgruntled Law School Graduates: Will You Ring in the New Year By Suing Your School?

Back in October, we brought you the news that Jesse Strauss and David Anziska intended to sue 15 more law schools over their post-graduate employment rates, in addition to their already pending class action suits against Cooley Law and New York Law School. As mentioned during their October 5 media conference, Team Strauss/Anziska will not sue a law school unless they are able to gather three named plaintiffs to represent the class.

Now that it’s mid-December, we’re still waiting for these lawsuits to be filed. What’s the hold up? These crusading lawyers say that they are ready, willing, and able to sue all 15 law schools, but there’s just one teeny, tiny problem. Here’s where our loyal readers come in.

Are you a disgruntled law school graduate? Did you rely on your law school’s employment data, only to find that you are now unemployed or unemployable, despite your law degree?

If so, then consider heeding this call, if you want to help crowdsource a lawsuit against what Anziska calls the “law school industry cartel”….

When we last spoke about this in October, the schools potentially facing lawsuits were as follows:

  • Albany Law School;
  • Brooklyn Law School;
  • California Western School of Law;
  • Chicago-Kent College of Law;
  • DePaul University College of Law;
  • Florida Coastal School of Law;
  • Hofstra Law School;
  • John Marshall School of Law (Chicago);
  • Pace University School of Law;
  • Southwestern Law School;
  • St. John’s University School of Law;
  • University of Baltimore School of Law;
  • University of San Francisco School of Law;
  • Villanova University School of Law; and
  • Widener University School of Law.

Sponsored

We interviewed a member of Team Strauss/Anziska yesterday about the state of these potential class action lawsuits. We learned some interesting facts about the lawsuits to be filed and also talked about the media coverage of the issue.

In our conversation, David Anziska informed us that because the law school litigation squad had received so many calls from graduates of Golden Gate University School of Law, they decided to substitute that school for Villanova Law. The full list of schools facing lawsuits is available here.

We spoke briefly with Anziska about future plans for this lawsuit movement, and he noted that after the first round of lawsuits was filed, the team planned to “lock, load, and sue 25 to 30 more schools.” But where?

Law schools in Massachusetts better get ready to rumble. (Uh oh, that’s where I went to law school… but don’t worry, WNE, I still love you. I don’t have any intentions of being a named plaintiff.)

When speaking of the media coverage of the planned lawsuits, we delved into the various criticisms that have been made against Team Strauss/Anziska’s movement. We noted that the Cooley Law and NYLS motions to dismiss (prior coverage here and here) both stated that the schools were simply following the American Bar Association’s marching orders.

Sponsored

People want to know why Strauss and Anziska didn’t sue the ABA from the get-go. Here’s what Anziska had to say:

We didn’t sue the ABA right off the bat because law school graduates paid money to their law schools. They didn’t pay money to the ABA. These law schools are using a Nuremburg defense. In the law, this isn’t a valid defense. When they try to make this argument saying, “oh, everyone else does it,” it’s just an absurd argument. Ultimately, we may sue the ABA, but right now we want to hit the primary tortfeasors and bad actors.

Anziska also provided us with an update on the potential filings against all of the law schools discussed above. He informed us that at least three named plaintiffs had been secured for 11 out of the 15 law schools on their target list. They expect to soon have the requisite number of plaintiffs for Golden Gate Law as well. Anziska mentioned that they intend to sue all 15 schools on the same day in order to minimize any publicity burden that any named plaintiff might shoulder.

So which law schools are preventing Team Strauss/Anziska from filing sooner rather than later?

Paging all graduates of Hofstra, Pace, and St. John’s Law! Three isn’t just a magic number in Schoolhouse Rock. Anziska told us that while they have secured named plaintiffs for each of these New York law schools, they’ve yet to reach their self-imposed requisite of three.

(If you need to be further convinced to step up to the plate and become a named plaintiff for one of these schools, just check out the results of our “Worst Law School in New York” poll.)

If you went to any of these law schools and believe that they’ve done you wrong, why not consider giving Strauss and Anziska a call? Heck, you can even make it your New Year’s resolution, because that’s what Team Strauss/Anziska intends to do. Here’s Anziska’s take on 2012:

We have the potential to go global on this. Our strategy in the next six months is to make this the year of law school litigation. We want to sue as many law schools as we can to bring them into the fray. Eventually, we’d like to force a global settlement through the ABA.

Instead of complaining about your useless law degree, consider doing something about it. Your law school might have crushed your hopes and dreams of gainful employment, but that doesn’t mean that others have to follow in your footsteps.

Screw the 99% — here’s a better movement for you to join. Help Team Strauss/Anziska make 2012 the year of law school litigation.

Earlier: Fifteen More Law Schools to Be Hit with Class Action Lawsuits Over Post-Grad Employment Rates
Cooley Law and NYLS Hit With Class Action Lawsuits