Small Law Firms

Lawyer Who Doesn't Believe In The Bill Of Rights? HAVE WE GOT A JOB FOR YOU!

This is a bad way to run a firm.

By  
on

‘I’m sure nothing will go wrong with this ad…’

Do you have serious qualms about people exercising free expression to protest the deadly acts of government agents suppressing law-abiding citizens? Awesome! Would you prefer there be naked religious tests for employment? Cool! Do you have one year of bankruptcy experience? No? Well, then get lost, buddy.

That’s not an entirely fair parody of this real-life job listing — one year of bankruptcy is only preferred.

Tipsters sent in this listing available on Reddit for any lawyers willing to engage in all the intellectual gymnastics required to square the amorphous etiquette of kneeling.

Professionals enjoy a few end-arounds when it comes to labor law, and this ad only outlines what the firm would prefer to see in a job applicant so this listing may not raise a red flag for anti-discrimination authorities, but it should terrify any client looking to get a fair shake in legal services. If you’re Jay Sekulow’s firm and writing half-legal gibberish about abortion for the Supreme Court for the sole purpose of ginning up donations to enrich your lifestyle, then this sort of religiosity makes sense.

But here, a firm is advertising to the market that they will artificially restrain its pool of available candidates — which is bad enough — in ways that evince a hefty Constitutional Law fail. And while acing Con Law isn’t necessarily bedrock to a bankruptcy practice, this fact proves too much because it’s also a good question why anyone thinks a zealous commitment to silencing dissent over police brutality key to a competent read of the Code.

Sponsored

On the other hand, why should anyone care? Firms like this are hoping to take advantage of a segment of the population who get jitters whenever they have to work with someone who might not share their cloistered worldview. It’s part of the strategy for building this business — however problematic — that the firm caters to that bundle of views. And if those people want substandard legal services by limiting their options… more power to them. Just as they should have their bacterial infections treated by people who don’t believe in evolution, let these clients make irrational hiring decisions to help them sleep at night.

Alas, that’s not how this profession should function. Serving clients should require providing them the legal service they need rather than the happy fun-time fundamentalist small talk they may want. When firms waver from this, they let clients down.

That’s why the existence of this ad should trouble attorneys everywhere.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

Sponsored

Topics

, , , ,