- JD McNugent
- 32 Comments
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According to some of the haters out there this blog has turned into nothing but a “stupid friday open thread that no one cares about. ugh.” So here’s another Friday Open Thread, you guys! All smugness aside, as most of you know this blog is run by two lawyers who don’t get paid by the post. The only payment we get is your love, unless you count the 38 cent donation that Law Dawg will be receiving sometime in the future. Honestly, we do our best around here, but we’re busy and our jobs take priority (most of the time) over the blog.
That said, this morning I received my ABA Journal e-mail of the week, and this was the number one answer to a question that I didn’t read (I’m guessing it has something to do with why we should love being lawyers):
Posted by Becca: “I have on a shelf in my office a shoebox in
which I keep all those things that remind me, on the bad days, why my
job really doesn’t suck. It contains thank-you letters from clients,
copies of particularly satisfying judgments, newspaper clippings in
which my name is actually spelled correctly and I wasn’t misquoted,
pictures of children whose adoptions I handled, and notes from
colleagues I admire. The best item in it: a heartfelt letter from
clients (a married couple), whose case was lost at the summary judgment
stage, thanking me for all my hard work on their case and for believing
them even when it felt like no one else did.”
Interesting. The only things I keep in a shoebox on my shelf are my old toe-nail trimmings and a sculpture I made out of rubber bands and paper clips. Maybe that’s why I’m so depressed at work. So here’s a question to get you started for the day: What is it that you love about being a lawyer? Do you need to remind yourself that your job isn’t that bad? If you’ve changed careers to become a lawyer, is it better than your previous career? Have at it.
-JD
I like – no make that love – the practice of law because it is endlessly interesting and challenging. Our dispute resolution system with all its flaws is elegant, principled, and designed to produced correct resolutions, to the extent such a thing is possible, of disputes that otherwise would lead people to vendettas and vengeance. I love the history and the elegance of the law of evidence and the principles of due process on which it rests. And on and on. Seriously . . . I do.
I know I am smarter than most judges in this state.
Yes, please send the $0.38 post haste. I could really use it this weekend.
I just got an email from an exiled African prince. I'm not entirely sure if he needs legal advice from me, or something else entirely. Either way, from the looks of it, I think I'll be quite wealthy soon. As a "thank you" to the administrators of this blog, I'll forward you 20% of my net recovery once the check clears.
Hey JD– tuck your ears in rabbit.
Here is what I keep on the shelf of my office: All of those editions of the ABA Journal, Communique and Nevada Lawyer that I would love to find the time to be able to read.
With that said, I love the practice of law. Its greatest virtues are its greatest vices. The joy of helping people tempered with the disappointment of those who you cannot help. The thrills of victory coming at the risk of defeat. The satisfaction of helping people find solutions, and disappointment when they will not follow such common sense.
I didn't have the great privilege of attending UNLV for law school. Who is this comment in reference to? Are most of the professors at UNLV oblivious to the job market and the fact that UNLV's tuition in no way reflects the actual value of a law degree?
http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot.com/2012/05/using-legal-process-to-silence-critics.html
Anonymous Anonymous said…
I just had to write about my experience the other day at the Richmond Airport. I arrive on a late night flight from Atlanata and I'm waiting on my bags at the baggage carousel. I stand their and I see two somewhat older ladies having what appears to be a brief spat. Eventually one of them takes off her jacket And she has on a ratty looking gray T shirt that says UNLV Law. The ratty shirt matched her otherwise ratty appearence. So me being the father of an attorney I jump on the opportunity to speak with her. Our conversation goes something like this:
Me-areyou an attorney? Did you go to UNLV?
Her- No I actually teach there
Me- have you heard of the Law School Scam movement?
Her- no I have not, what is it.
Me- I tell her to,Google,Inside the Law school scam and tell her about Prof Campos.
Her- she scrunched up her face as if she smelled something bad and says oh yeas I have heard of him.
Me-I tell her briefly what the scam is about, bad number, schools,too many attorney and all that shit.
Her- oh yes I have heard some schools do that
Me- there are too many attorneys and not enough jobs.
Her- it's the economy
Me- it's not only the economy. Google it you might learn something.
I walk away and she yells to me It's the economy.
I yell back Google It!
So I look her up on the UNLV Website, not hard to find because she says she was at Florida State before. I just walked away and though this lady has her head up her ass and she is a Law Professor.
Her
I'm assuming he's referring to Professor Lazos. He seems like a pleasant man to deal with.
Right now, the day has already gone bad, and I don't have the emotional fortitude to even dredge up my version of the shoebox. Sometimes, the practice of law sucks. I will say, to all those detractors of this blog, that I love it, with all its foibles. The blog and the law.
I'll take this opportunity to praise the two lawyers who keep this blog alive despite the carrying on, and even after being bashed themselves, so we can all have a place to vent – thus leaving a little more room in our personal 'shoe boxes' for the better things in the life of a lawyer. cheers!
Yes indeed. Thank you for taking the time and effort. Please ignore the "Blog is dead" douche.
Agree with the last three posts. Eff the complainers – let them leave and start their own blogs if they don't like it. Elle put a huge amount of effort into it and look what that got her. I'm glad there someone who manages to find the time to run a gathering place, even if the posts are not frequent, witty and/or compelling enough to satisfy some complainers.
There was a consumer rights law professor at the state law school I attended who made nearly $200K. During his first three years, tuition increased by about 75% while his students' job prospects tanked. He was just appointed to some federal agency to protect consumers. Seems a bit hypocritical to me. I actually really like him and he was a great professor. Still, can't get past the irony.
And thanks for keeping the blog running. I'm happy to contribute 38 cents or whatever.
And my job is tolerable.
Few professions pay more while requiring less work that makes even less contribution to society than law professors.
Most law professors either don't care about the hardships their students will face or are willfully blind. Either way, I despise them.
aaaaaaand this blog is still a stupid friday open thread that no one cares about. and a wednesday blob of 10 different things.
aaaaaand you still come here to complain about it. Why do you even bother to leave comments? Go read another blog.
I care about it. Bye bye 9:19, thanks for playing.
what is it about this "blog" that you like?
Just saw a Glenn Lerner ad that included a QR code. There's a catch, though. In order to capture the code, you essentially have to take a picture of the Heavy Hitter's crotch.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy lives to keep this blog going! I personally appreciate it!
http://www.lvrj.com/news/hoa-defendant-jailed-until-sentencing-151638385.html
Oh how I love Phillip Pro
Didn't Boyd have a huge problem with late grades? Looks like Columbia is fining profs for turing in grades late:
http://abovethelaw.com/2012/05/top-law-school-finally-commits-to-getting-grades-in-on-time-will-fine-late-grading-faculty/
As a Columbia grad, it was hell waiting for grades. These profs think that just because they're set they're students are. Good for dean Schizer for addressing this.
They're = their ivy league guy. You clearly aren't a good lawyer. Good luck in Vegas.
I'm sure the Columbia guy knows the difference between there/their/they're. This is a blog, not a fucking Hemingway novel. I sincerely hate when anonymous bloggers get on their (or should I say there???) high-horse about capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. Anonymous internet posts are not supposed to be perfect.
I understand that people who are less than perfect may need to rationalize they're failures however they can.
6:40 AM = lol. Also, lol at being awake at 6:40 AM. Rough night?
@ 9:00 p.m. — While a blog is not expected to be Hemingway, when a poster decides to get on their high horse about their Ivy League education, they make themselves fair game to be knocked off of said horse and down with the rest of us schlubs.
I don't think he was getting on his high horse about his education. I think his point was that he had personal experience with the problem that is now being resolved
10:27 must have not gone to BYU
Good grammar are hard
He said "As a Columbia grad" it was hell waiting on grades. As compared to, say, an UCLA grad, or a Boyd grad, or a BYU grad, or a Tulane grad, or any other law student who has ever had to wait on their grades. At Columbia, it appears he was never taught that words that are superfluous to your argument or sentence can bite you in the ass.