Desperation

And This Is How We Turn Good People Into Unethical Lawyers

By

This cheese isn’t a good deal.

Today’s story about a law student bound for prison has me thinking about how regular people become criminals. The story of Marc Gersen is the kind of thing books are made of; it’s big and bold and colorful.

But on the smaller scale, people are pushed into unethical decisions all the time, and it rarely comes with the stark choices of, “Should I, or should I NOT, start a meth ring?” People, especially the kind of risk-averse people who end up in law school, don’t make one big decision to “become a criminal.” It’s a bunch of little decisions that incrementally take you from “normal, law-abiding citizen” to “bad actor.”

Today, we got an email from a person who is thinking about making an unethical choice out of desperation for a job. Why don’t you read her dilemma for yourself and tell her what you think she should do….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “And This Is How We Turn Good People Into Unethical Lawyers”

31 Comments

An Interview With the 2L Who’s Advertising Himself on Google

By

Yesterday we brought you the story of a 2L at Cardozo Law School who has taken out Google ads promoting himself, in an attempt to find a summer associate job. Here’s what his ad looks like (as displayed to an Above the Law reader who alerted us to his campaign):

We reached out to Eric Einisman to ask him: What was he thinking?

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “An Interview With the 2L Who’s Advertising Himself on Google”

42 Comments

One 2L’s Innovative Approach to Job Hunting

By

A reader alerted us to the following Google ad, which showed up in a Gmail sidebar next to a law-related email chain:

Whoa! Is this for real? Is a second-year student at Cardozo Law School actually advertising himself via text ads on Google, promoting himself as “[a] great choice for Summer Associate”?

Are Cardozo law students truly this desperate? Is this why the career services dean quit to teach yoga? Should Cardozo focus less on teaching students how to walk and more on teaching them how to conduct job searches?

Or is this too harsh an assessment? Let’s learn more about the 2L behind this unusual ad.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “One 2L’s Innovative Approach to Job Hunting”

114 Comments

From Laid-Off Lawyer to… Cleaning Lady!

By

A Dealbreaker reader was out and about on the Upper West Side, and something caught his eye. He moved in for a closer look, snapped a photo, and sent it to Dealbreaker. Our colleague Bess Levin has been having a grand old time ever since.

Me? I just want people to see it before they go to law school. I want people to see it before they write television shows about the lavish lifestyle of lawyers, or complain that young lawyers feel a sense of entitlement.

But mostly, I want somebody out there to get me a wide angle shot of the photo — I’m in the market for these services…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “From Laid-Off Lawyer to… Cleaning Lady!”

33 Comments

How Much Would You Pay Somebody To Give You A Job?

By

Are there any cynics out there who are sick of all this good news about how the legal economy is recovering? Hell, even a supposed teen porn purveyor is counting on a full recovery sometime in the near future.

If all this happiness and roses makes you feel a little bit ill, look no further than Craigslist for your daily dose of sadness. Check out this out, it’s the saddest kind of barter deal…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “How Much Would You Pay Somebody To Give You A Job?”

28 Comments

Here’s One Job Brooklyn Law Students Are Definitely Qualified For

By

The Good Wife is one of the few legal dramas out there that is worth a damn. The writing is good, the situations are believable yet not so realistic as to be boring, and the acting is quality.

The producers of the Good Wife brought their show to the campus of Brooklyn Law School this week. There was much gawking at the show’s stars: Julianna Margulies and Chris Noth. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports:

The TV show was filming on the Brooklyn Law School campus this week on Joralemon Street, as well as outside Brooklyn federal court. Students reportedly not only witnessed the legal drama being filmed, but also had a spread of snacks and treats set up for them by the show’s producers. Refreshments had attached notes saying, “Have a good day?” according to the Daily News.

Don’t take candy from strangers. Don’t take candy from strangers!!

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Here’s One Job Brooklyn Law Students Are Definitely Qualified For”

35 Comments