Law Schools

ATL Public Service Announcement: Attention Georgetown Grads – Are You the Victim of Identity Theft?

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Georgetown University Law School Georgetown Law School GULC Above the Law blog.jpgGeorgetown is an excellent law school — “T14″ (top 14), as some like to say — with many things going for it. Supreme Court justices love to visit. Students get to take classes like The Law of 24. The diva-licious Nina Totenberg speaks at commencement.
Perhaps most importantly, at least to readers of ATL, Georgetown grads land excellent jobs. Not surprisingly, in a recent poll, a majority of respondents said they’d need $100,000 to turn down 14th-ranked Georgetown in favor of, say, 51st-ranked Arizona State (maybe ’cause they’d like to be separated from Kumari Fulbright by multiple states).
But GULC isn’t perfect. Mistakes get made — mistakes that could, say, compromise your personally identifiable information (and mess with your credit score). From several tipsters:

“You might want to post this so anyone who graduated during this time but didn’t get the e-mail knows about the stolen identities.”

“I got this warning this morning. Evidently, not everyone is affected, as students next to me in class have not received the email. Just thought I’d forward this along to show the problems at American could be worse – at least their identities aren’t at risk.”

View the email, after the jump.
Update: We have also posted a follow-up to the original message.

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More Tech Troubles for American University

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laptop computer web surfer Above the Law.jpgRemember MacGate, at American University’s Washington College of Law? It was resolved. But technology problems persist at WCL:

Date: January 28, 2008 2:34:20 PM EST
Subject: Wireless at WCL

Dear Student Body:

The following problems have been discovered with the WCL network:

1. All access points in room 101 were either turned off, or nonfunctional for the past two years.

2. All access points on the 5th floor were located in elevator shafts, or other places where they did not provide coverage.

3. Certain points on the 6th floor were assigned the wrong IP address,and so did not provide access.

The Technology department is working to address these problems. If you continue to experience problems with the internet, please inform the Student Services Committee at [xxxx]. You can also file an online trouble ticket, when you find yourself in an area with internet access, at [xxxx].

Regards,
Student Services Committee

At first we thought this was satirical, but we were assured that it’s not: “This is for real — we got it from the SBA today. Our wireless has been terrible recently.”
Your friends at ATL obviously want you to have wireless access in class. But we realize that some professors contend that internet access in classrooms is an impediment to instruction.

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Law School Roommate Lunacy: In re Oneida Silverware

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University of Alabama School of Law Above the Law blog.jpgWe were pretty lucky in the law school roommate department. During our 1L year, we lived with a high school friend who was in New Haven doing medical research. During our 2L year, we roomed with a friend from college: the brilliant Steve Engel, a former law clerk to Judge Kozinski and Justice Kennedy, who currently serves as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel (and who recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in that capacity, on the legal rights of Guantanamo Bay detainees).
Both were highly considerate roommates. Neither tried to purloin our silverware, which is the allegation made in this angry letter from a University of Alabama 2L to his former roommate. It begins:

Dear Roommate:

Oneida Journey Silverware Above the Law blog.jpgThis is a letter regarding your use and possession of my silverware and tableware. I regret that I have to tell you this in writing, but all of my attempts to speak to you in person were thwarted by your unwillingness to speak directly to me.

I wish to be as tolerant as possible so we can live together peaceably. However, your impermissible possession and misappropriation of the bulk of my silverware, as well as my stoneware bowls, is no longer acceptable.

The silverware in question was purchased entirely by me for my use. It is relatively new, bought in 2007, and cost approximately $75. The silverware in questions [sic] consists of Oneida’s “Journey” (4 setting) and also an Oneida Silverplate (2-setting which is coated in actual silver). I did not object to you using it at first (although you never asked for permission), but I reasonably thought you understood that your use had to be within some bounds of reason. You have continually used silverware without returning it to the kitchen. This has meant there is insufficient silverware for me, the owner, to use. This is unacceptable under any condition. Placing dishes and silverware in the kitchen does not waive my right to have reasonable possession or use of it.

The letter gets more over-the-top as it goes along. It culminates with a threat to bring a civil action for the tort of conversion.
Read the rest, after the jump.

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An ATL Exclusive: Kumari Fulbright Gets Saucy With Us!

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Kumari Fulbright small Facebook Arizona law student beauty queen Above the Law blog.JPGSo what’s going on with everyone’s favorite beauty queen turned law student turned alleged kidnapper, Kumari Fulbright?
First, she’s still suspended from the University of Arizona’s law school. As reported yesterday in the UA student newspaper, The Wildcat (yes, The Wildcat — how apropos):

On Jan. 7, Fulbright and her lawyer, Marc Beginin, met with UA officials and Fulbright was placed on interim suspension by the Dean of Students Office, said Johnny Cruz, a university spokesman.

“There’s no designated end date as to when the status will change,” Cruz said Thursday. “Any student on interim suspension cannot be on campus.”

Beginin pointed out that the suspension is a mandatory part of school policy. “It’s only an administrative suspension that is an automatic function when someone’s involved in an investigation,” he said Thursday. “It wasn’t a decision based on merits of the case.”

Second, on a much more exciting note: Kumari Fulbright has contacted us! Since the scandal broke, she hasn’t been speaking with the media, letting her lawyer to do the talking. So we were thrilled and honored to receive this message from her, via Facebook:

You forgot a quote of mine on your blog…..

“God gave you 2 ears and 1 mouth…. Take the hint”

With all that Ivy League education under your belt that should be reasonably self explanatory… but maybe not.

Well, God also gave us two (2) hands, with which to type up blog posts. Anyway, back to Kumari:

Also, where is your country of origin? In the United States we believe in innocent until proven guilty.

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!

We usually enjoy being abused by beautiful legal divas, but for some reason we didn’t take kindly to this. Read our response, after the jump.

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Lawyer of the Day: Jennifer Blum

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Jennifer Blum Jennifer A Blum Jen Blum Jenn Blum lawyer Above the Law blog.jpgIs the complaining about the tough job market for graduates of non-elite law schools overblown? Take, for example, Western New England College School of Law. According to U.S. News, it’s a tier 4 school. But when it comes to career success, its graduates are doing just fine, thank you very much.
Some WNEC alumni make partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. Others attain fortune and fame on television. From TortsProf Blog:

I admit to some hesitation in acknowledging watching American Gladiators, which is not by any rational measure a particularly good show. And yet there it sits on our TiVo, and yet we watch it. Such is the mystery of life, no? But today, I get to tie it in both to my law school and to Torts.

Last night one of the contestants, Jennifer Blum, was identified as a New Jersey lawyer and a professional football player (she plays for the New York Sharks and is an all-time leading receiver). A quick search of our alumni database reveals that she’s a 2002 graduate of Western New England College School of Law! Sources vary; I thought they said on the show that she’s a criminal defense lawyer, but other sites indicate that she’s a civil litigator. Maybe she reads this blog!

Or maybe this one. Hi Jen! If you’d be willing to be interviewed on ATL, please email us.
From her American Gladiators bio:

Jennifer Blum is a women’s football player who grew up sleeping with a football in her bed. When she was 9-years-old, she and her parents sued for her right to be on a boy’s soccer team — an event that was covered in the media nationwide. Always a tom-boy, never afraid to take a hit or hit back, she is ready to jump into the ring with the Gladiators. Blum, a civil litigation lawyer, is 34 years old and currently lives in Franklin Park, New Jersey.

Jennifer Blum Jennifer M Blum Jen Blum Jenn Blum lawyer Above the Law blog.jpgJen Blum sounds tough and tenacious. How did she fare on the show? Find out by reading Professor Bill Childs’s full post (which also includes excerpts from the incredibly long waiver form that contestants must fill out).
Update: A tipster informs us that she used to work for the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. See picture at right.
Lawyers Ready? Gladiators Ready? [TortsProf Blog]
Jennifer Blum [American Gladiators]
Lawyer Profile: Jennifer Blum [Martindale-Hubbell]

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Law School Gunners: Open Thread

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gunner law school gunner.jpgToday’s open thread focuses on someone who is near and dear to all of your hearts: the law school gunner. He’s sitting on your left; he’s sitting on your right; or maybe he is you. If you don’t know who the gunner in your class is, then look in the mirror.
We asked the tipster who suggested this topic to us to provide us with some fodder to kick off the thread. Here’s what we got:

It all begin at Admitted Students Weekend last spring, when this particular individual had to be shushed and told to “STOP TALK-ING” by a professor running a mock class. This was after he interrupted another admitted student and said, “Well, he gave a BAD example, but what he was clearly trying to say was…” There was other bizarre admitted students weekend behavior, but that should give you an idea.

Then, we arrived at school in August and there he was…ready to embark on a semester full of interrupting other students and professors, sharing awkward personal stories, and even telling professors that material they assigned from casebooks was “irrelevant.”

For finals, he decided that typing on his laptop keyboard would not allow him to type quickly enough to get all of his thoughts down in EBB, so he got special permission from the Registrar to use an external keyboard and a stand for his laptop. The whole contraption takes up lots of desk space and looks like he is sitting at the controls of a spaceship. From what I hear, he also used it for the last week of classes to “practice” for the exams.

He also once asked a particularly well-known professor to autograph his casebook…

And, finally, the event that precipitated my message to you. During a lunchtime speaker event, this individual pulled out a set of nail clippers and started clipping and then filing his fingernails! The entire room heard and was staring at him–naturally this got around the law school pretty quickly. Did I mention this individual is older and should know better (not that a 22 year old straight from undergrad shouldn’t…but he’s significantly older)?

So there’s a few examples for you.

Have gunner horror stories of your own to share? Please do so, in the comments (without naming any names, per our standard operating procedure around here). Thanks.
Gunner [Wikipedia]

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The Value of an LLM Degree: Open Thread

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diploma degree LLM degree cap diploma Above the Law blog.jpgBack in September, during our focus on non-top-tier law schools, there was some brief discussion over how much an LLM degree from a top program can help you in the job search if you graduated from a non-top law school.
Let’s return to that topic. Here’s an email we recently received, from a loyal reader of ATL:

I am emailing you to ask if you would do a thread about LLM programs. Specifically, I am a 2L at a top 25 law school, and I’m in the middle of my class. Every semester I improve my grades; however, I am still not in BigLaw range. I am thinking of getting an LLM in Tax from Georgetown, NYU, etc., and I was wondering about career prospects for people like me.

For example, would I be at a disadvantage come hiring time because I will have gone straight through from JD to LLM? Would I need to be in the top 10% of my LLM class? Do firms give progression / bonuses for people who get LLMs? Any other information would also be helpful.

This is a subject we’re not terribly familiar with, so we’ll turn these queries over to the readership. If you have information or advice to share with our correspondent, please do so in the comments. Thanks.

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Law School Dean Hottie Speaks Out About Kumari

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Kumari Fulbright Facebook Arizona law student beauty queen Above the Law blog.jpgIn an earlier post about the Kumari Fulbright situation at the University of Arizona law school, we noted that the UA administration has been fairly taciturn about the whole matter. Perhaps in response to the community’s desire for more openness, Dean Toni Massaro just sent out an email discussing the matter.
It was forwarded to us by a tipster, who commented:

Can you believe this BS? It is a “welcome back” email from Dean Massaro at the University of Arizona Law School in which she “addresses” the Kumari Fulbright situation. But the Dean doesn’t really “address” anything. The school in effect says nothing at all….

With a [student] (Craig Cordes) who allegedly killed a cop in New York, a “beauty” queen gone bad, and other issues, the school needs to step up and make an affirmative statement that not only addresses these issues directly, but also defends from ridicule the few capable students at the school that have BigLaw jobs.

AZWildcat2L

Toni Massaro small Dean Toni M Massaro Above the Law blog.JPGAZ Wildcat 2L, why are you being so hard on Dean Massaro? Longtime ATL readers may recall that she was nominated as one of America’s hottest law school deans. One of her nominators wrote:

Not only is Dean Massaro brilliant, attractive, and self-assured, she’s also a cancer survivor AND a lesbian. It’s easy to make Advanced Con Law sexy, but how many Deans could get 3rd year students out of bed every morning for an 8 am class and have a packed classroom? Moreover, students just LOVE her Civil Procedure classes. I’m not kidding.

Check out the email from Dean Massaro, one southwestern hottie opining on another, after the jump.

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Law School Loans, Loan Consolidation, and Refinancing: Open Thread

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law school student loans debt Above the Law blog.jpgIn case you haven’t noticed, the economy is headed for the toilet (assuming it’s not there already). The White House and the Federal Reserve have declared their intent to rush to the economy’s defense, although it may be too little, too late.
Even if the lowering of interest rates can’t save the faltering economy, it may at least bring good news for debt-saddled law school students and graduates. From one such reader:

It would be super-cool if you could do a post about loan consolidation or loan refinancing, now that interest rates appear to be going down again.

Okay, I know you’ll get a lot of people saying “Slow news day, huh?” But I’m a 3L wondering about this stuff, and it would be a good service.

And from an LLM student, who is not eligible for federal loan programs and is shopping around among private providers:

Are there any particular student loan packages that your readers would recommend?

I managed to get a comparative chart (prepared by Duke University) comparing various private loan packages. Out of that chart, I’ve narrowed it down to the following providers:

* Nellie Mae;
* Sallie Mae / Southwest Student Services Corp.;
* Access Group/National City Bank;
* Bank of America;
* Chase;
* Citibank;
* Wachovia; and
* Wells Fargo.

The chart certainly is helpful in terms of comparing repayment periods, aggregate loan limits, fees, and interest rates. However, I’m at a loss as to the meaning of various terms, such as “prime rate” and “LIBOR rate,” and how exactly they translate into computation of monthly loan payments. I’d greatly appreciate whatever help you and your readers can provide in this regard.

If you can speak to these specific questions, or if you have more general thoughts to share about law school debt — tips, predictions, rants — feel free to chime in, in the comments. Thanks.

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Driven Away By Loyola 2L? Dean David Burcham To Leave Loyola — for Loyola

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David Burcham Dean David W Burcham Loyola Law School Above the Law blog.jpgIn a front-page Wall Street Journal article last year, Dean David Burcham of Loyola Law School expressed a desire to help Loyola 2L with his job search. And it seems that Dean Burcham, himself a Loyola alum, has no shortage of job opportunities. From a just-issued press release:

After eight years at Loyola Law School Los Angeles as the Fritz B. Burns dean and senior vice president, David W. Burcham was named today to the newly created position of executive vice president and provost of Loyola Marymount University. Victor J. Gold, a veteran law professor and a former associate dean, was named interim dean and senior vice president. A national search for a permanent dean will begin immediately.

Eager to entertain complaints from non-top-tier law school graduates about their grim job prospects? This job’s for you. Remember, Loyola 2L hasn’t graduated yet.
Meanwhile, in other non-elite law school dean news, the Orlando Sentinel has this report:

Florida A&M University’s new law school dean was scheduled to start work at the school’s Orlando campus next Monday.

But after a series of phone calls, LeRoy Pernell altered his plans and showed up Thursday to meet twice with students who are upset about grading policies, course offerings and accreditation. He plans a third meeting with night students next week.

“It’s my intention as dean to really be available,” said Pernell, speaking to the more than 100 students who gathered for Thursday’s afternoon session.

How long will this last? In a few weeks, will Dean Pernell barricade himself in his office, with his secretary dumping a cauldron of hot water on the students below?
Update: It seems that our round-up of Tier 2 Law School Dean news is incomplete:

No one wants to hear about Florida A&M (didn’t even knew it existed). How about some love for the Jesuits? Creighton just named a new dean. Press release here.

The press release refers to him as “Eric A. Chiappinelli, J.D.” It helps for your law school dean to have a law degree.
Dean David W. Burcham Named Provost of Loyola Marymount University (press release) [EarthTimes.org]
FAMU dean reassures law students [Orlando Sentinel]
Creighton School of Law Names New Dean [Creighton University School of Law]

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