Re: My Story
Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 3:44 pm
Great story. Thanks for sharing.
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https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=199587
This is where you lose credibility.Anonymous User wrote: By way of comparison, consider a premedical student who graduates with a 3.7 and a 98th percentile MCAT score. I don't know exactly how the percentile correlates, but let's assume that it equates to a 41. 3.7, 41 MCAT—this person is essentially guaranteed to not only get into an elite medical school, but also to have a stable career as a physician provided that he/she is willing to do the work, etc. The same applies for your 3.7 / 98th percentile (780?) business school applicant: this person, provided that he/she has solid WE, will almost certainly go to a top5 MBA program on scholarship and will invariably have a career in banking, consulting, etc. provided that the desire to put in the work remains. There are no such guarantees with your prototypical 3.7 / 98th percentile LSAT graduate.
Fucking hate this. Any job can be gone tomorrow, doesn't mean you shouldn't take it.sadsituationJD wrote:Don't sweat not taking the insurance defense gig. Insurance defenders are so sorry & pathetic its literally beyond words. The carriers of late flat fee nearly every file regardless of the hours, cut billing at whim, and are now outsourcing routine pleadings like answers and interoggatories to Indian LPO shops for like a nickle an hour.
Even funnier, the "attorneys" (ROTFL) have to drag the adjuster to court or mediations with them on any case worth more than nusiance value. I had a settlement conf. this morning with an elderly insurance defender (like 55 yrs old). He sat there staring at the floor while the adjuster and judge got into an argument about what the file was worth, and the adjuster said "no problem we're suing the subcontractors and then doing motion to consolidate" blah blah. The judge thought it was hilarious how the adjuster does all the talking and even told the old fart ID lawyer "boy, things sure have changed, they should just dump all these turds into arbitration."
He's right. Tons of stuff nowadays that used to go to court is now getting sent to arbitration, as the judges don't want to be bothered anymore with this garbage. Used to be you could fight the arb clauses, but no longer. The insurance companies just send the adjusters to the arbs to argue the turd cases so they save legal fees there. In some states like NY the adjusters even take depositions. ID shitlaw is a dying industry for sure. Bet in 5 years there is no such thing anymore. Good riddance.
Give us all a break with the law vs. medicine nonsense. In terms of income, lay prestige, and all around "coolness," medicine blows law clear out of the water. That's because med schools have real standards and, gasp!- pre-requisites like ORGANIC CHEM, PHYSICS, CALCULUS- you know, the 'hard' classes. Guess what else- you have to literally ACE these toughies plus kill the MCAT, and you still might not get into an US AMA school even then. Even the CAribbean schools are pretty fussy compared to a laughingstock TTTToilet like 'Bozo or NYLS or Cooley.Not all doctors make bank either. I know doctors who can't retire (despite being late 60s early 70s) because they don't have enough money. there are no guarantees.
I think there's a difference between simply "turning your nose up" at a job, and deciding not to enter a rapidly-declining area of practice, especially if the OPs assertion is true (specifically, that getting into ID work severely limits your options afterward).dingbat wrote:Fucking hate this. Any job can be gone tomorrow, doesn't mean you shouldn't take it.sadsituationJD wrote:Don't sweat not taking the insurance defense gig. Insurance defenders are so sorry & pathetic its literally beyond words. The carriers of late flat fee nearly every file regardless of the hours, cut billing at whim, and are now outsourcing routine pleadings like answers and interoggatories to Indian LPO shops for like a nickle an hour.
Even funnier, the "attorneys" (ROTFL) have to drag the adjuster to court or mediations with them on any case worth more than nusiance value. I had a settlement conf. this morning with an elderly insurance defender (like 55 yrs old). He sat there staring at the floor while the adjuster and judge got into an argument about what the file was worth, and the adjuster said "no problem we're suing the subcontractors and then doing motion to consolidate" blah blah. The judge thought it was hilarious how the adjuster does all the talking and even told the old fart ID lawyer "boy, things sure have changed, they should just dump all these turds into arbitration."
He's right. Tons of stuff nowadays that used to go to court is now getting sent to arbitration, as the judges don't want to be bothered anymore with this garbage. Used to be you could fight the arb clauses, but no longer. The insurance companies just send the adjusters to the arbs to argue the turd cases so they save legal fees there. In some states like NY the adjusters even take depositions. ID shitlaw is a dying industry for sure. Bet in 5 years there is no such thing anymore. Good riddance.
Whatever happened to "a job's a job"?
I just think beggars can't be choosers. It's not like OP is fresh out of law school, or only got laid off yesterday. OP's had a tough time finding a job, and the longer OP remains unemployed, the more unemployable OP becomes. Nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to hire someone who's been unemployed for a significantly long period of time. OP will be competing with people who might not have as good credentials (maybe), but won't have a track record of having done nothing for half a year.ScottRiqui wrote:I think there's a difference between simply "turning your nose up" at a job, and deciding not to enter a rapidly-declining area of practice, especially if the OPs assertion is true (specifically, that getting into ID work severely limits your options afterward).dingbat wrote:Fucking hate this. Any job can be gone tomorrow, doesn't mean you shouldn't take it.sadsituationJD wrote:Don't sweat not taking the insurance defense gig. Insurance defenders are so sorry & pathetic its literally beyond words. The carriers of late flat fee nearly every file regardless of the hours, cut billing at whim, and are now outsourcing routine pleadings like answers and interoggatories to Indian LPO shops for like a nickle an hour.
Even funnier, the "attorneys" (ROTFL) have to drag the adjuster to court or mediations with them on any case worth more than nusiance value. I had a settlement conf. this morning with an elderly insurance defender (like 55 yrs old). He sat there staring at the floor while the adjuster and judge got into an argument about what the file was worth, and the adjuster said "no problem we're suing the subcontractors and then doing motion to consolidate" blah blah. The judge thought it was hilarious how the adjuster does all the talking and even told the old fart ID lawyer "boy, things sure have changed, they should just dump all these turds into arbitration."
He's right. Tons of stuff nowadays that used to go to court is now getting sent to arbitration, as the judges don't want to be bothered anymore with this garbage. Used to be you could fight the arb clauses, but no longer. The insurance companies just send the adjusters to the arbs to argue the turd cases so they save legal fees there. In some states like NY the adjusters even take depositions. ID shitlaw is a dying industry for sure. Bet in 5 years there is no such thing anymore. Good riddance.
Whatever happened to "a job's a job"?
sadsituationJD wrote:Give us all a break with the law vs. medicine nonsense. In terms of income, lay prestige, and all around "coolness," medicine blows law clear out of the water. That's because med schools have real standards and, gasp!- pre-requisites like ORGANIC CHEM, PHYSICS, CALCULUS- you know, the 'hard' classes. Guess what else- you have to literally ACE these toughies plus kill the MCAT, and you still might not get into an US AMA school even then. Even the CAribbean schools are pretty fussy compared to a laughingstock TTTToilet like 'Bozo or NYLS or Cooley.Not all doctors make bank either. I know doctors who can't retire (despite being late 60s early 70s) because they don't have enough money. there are no guarantees.
Comparing something truly difficult and prestigious with nonsense gibberish like UCC 2-207 and the Rule Against Perpetuities and other legalese pigslop is absurd. Any mouth breather can drool on the LSAT, get into lawschool somewhere, and pass the bar. Hence supply of lawyers=limitless whereas supply of doctors= very scarce.
The thing with MBAs is that a lot of people get them part time and have their employer pay the cost. Everyone I know that got one went this route.Pokemon wrote:Something smells fishy...
Is it the positive comments about MDs and MBAs combined with the general law is gloomy message? I mean we all know that the grass is not that much greener on the other side, especially on the MBA side...
Is it the great dislike of ID?
Is it how BAD this whole situation seems?
Is it how meticulous the author is in his presentation of the info.?
Is it SadSituationJD's immediate presence?
Something about this post smells like areyouinsane... it might all be in my mind, but I get the feeling that this might be a flame.
You have to have earned an LSAT score above a certain level to tutor for most companies - which, granted, it sounds like the OP would have no problem with, but unemployed JDs from lower-ranked schools probably won't qualify. (PowerScore requires a 99th percentile score. Kaplan and Princeton Review only require 90%ile or a 160.) So it's an option for people like below-median T14 folks, but not really a solution for the mass of unemployed JDs. (Leaving aside the fact that if word continues to get out about the economic return on law school, and LSAT applications continue to drop, it's not exactly a long-term solution.)dixiecupdrinking wrote:Have you considered teaching LSAT courses? Some of the companies start people at $50 an hour. Obviously it's not ideal (inconsistent hours, no benefits, not legal work) but I've never understood why more unemployed JDs don't try this.
Look at the situation from the MBA perspective. I finished my major in math, worked in business for five years, and now, I may get screwed by the job market, or only get a 100k job. On the other hand, my buddy with a much weaker major, worked as a waiter, with his 4.0 in the easy major went to a top law school, and now is rocking a 160k starting salary.JCougar wrote: The thing with MBAs is that a lot of people get them part time and have their employer pay the cost. Everyone I know that got one went this route.
I'll agree that the MBA market has significant problems as well, but 1) a lot of these people had their expenses covered, and 2) an MBA is only 2 years, so there's less debt and less opportunity cost anyway.
Things are not perfect with the Med school and MBA route, and the job market for PhD students in most other fields is terrible as well. But to compare these to law and say "its just as bad everywhere" is nonsense. Law is much worse because tuition is far more expensive. Most PhD students not only get their full tuition covered by scholarships and grants, but they also get a cost of living stipend. So they're actually earning money while getting their degree. Only in law do students take out mortgage-sized debt to face a 50/50 shot at employment in their field--where about 50% of those that do find employment (25% in all) end up making enough to pay off that debt before they default or have the government bail them out.
You realize that less than 10% of people who go to law school obtain this outcome, right? And the ones that do don't last very long.Pokemon wrote: and now is rocking a 160k starting salary.
The one thing I will say about this is that you're right, there isn't the same mountain of debt - but the opportunity costs of spending 10 years earning a PhD (which is, seriously, not unusual at all) are pretty significant. (You think getting a non-law job with a JD is hard? Try getting a non-academic job with a PhD when you haven't had a non-academic job for 10 years.)JCougar wrote:Even if that PhD can't find a job (and I do acknowledge that academia is terrible right now), they're not shouldering an insane amount of debt. They could go wait tables and not have their credit ruined, and when they did find a decent job, they could actually buy a house instead of paying off a mountain of debt for 20 years.
This has to be the most ROTFL-worthy post I've seen in years! Are you the dean of a TTT per chance?I'm really quite tired of people with disdain for insurance defense. I left Biglaw in the recession of 1991, and landed in ID, and became a non-equity partner, and then went in-house. ID was great. You did not do busy work just to overbill. Your clients were reasonable (as it was not their money). The insurance carriers did not freak out if you lost a motion or case, as they know you win some and lose some. I never made more than $125,000 in ID, but I never worked more than 50 hours a week on average. In Biglaw, I never got to take a deposition or argue a motion. In ID, I did it all the time. In Biglaw, I never got to trial. In ID, I did every year or two. The best part is that ID gave me enough time to start a side business that I really enjoy that has generated $50,000 of side income every year. ID gave me the time to start a family, where Biglaw did not. ID is what the practice of law should be -- a comfortable six figure salary after 10 years, with enough time to enjoy life and family. Biglaw is a ponzi scheme where you get $200,000 for 3 years, and then are unemployable, with no deposition, law and motion, or trial experience.
Charming. You seem very well-informed about welfare, the United States, and low-income communities.sadsituationJD wrote:
This has to be the most ROTFL-worthy post I've seen in years! Are you the dean of a TTT per chance?
ID is a sewer, joke, and utter laughingstock. 125 K? In ID? Surely you jest! I know two dozen ID schlubs in their mid-fifites who are lucky to pull down 70, and that's for a 55-65 hour week of paper-churning, bottom-scraping shitlaw.
Bragging about your experience with ID "trials" and "depositions" is also hilarious. You really believe asking some Bronx welfare queen about her supermarket slip n' fall or trying some cervical sprain whiplash case for Allstate counts as "expereince" that is marketable to non-ID firms/employers?
Just take a look at the turnover rates at ID mills like Wilson Elser- this tells u everything you need to know about the gulag of ID.
I realize that less than 10% make biglaw. I was just trying to point out how the law school grass field can look to a struggling PhD or a struggling MBA. My whole point is not that law is better... but that such comparisons are near meaningless because plenty of PhD or MBAs have been screwed in this economy. Other than medicine (and there is risk here also), everything else carries a heavy risk.JCougar wrote:You realize that less than 10% of people who go to law school obtain this outcome, right? And the ones that do don't last very long.Pokemon wrote: and now is rocking a 160k starting salary.
It's not that you can't make a good living in law...it's that the career outcomes are so disparate given people with the exact same degree and alma mater go in completely different directions based on a few percentage points of GPA. It's an "all or nothing" risk.
Even if that PhD can't find a job (and I do acknowledge that academia is terrible right now), they're not shouldering an insane amount of debt. They could go wait tables and not have their credit ruined, and when they did find a decent job, they could actually buy a house instead of paying off a mountain of debt for 20 years.