Law Schools could face a wave of lawsuits in 2012

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and Happy Kwanzaa!

It has been a while since I updated, but I have some time off and I have been busy with my job, my investment club and my cooking club. At a recent holiday party with my investment club, I met Linda who told me that she has heard a lot of bad news about the legal profession lately. She is an MBA  who works in high tech public relations and meets many attorneys who have switched careers or wound up temporarily unemployed. Most who can't find jobs end up leaving the law once they find a decent paying plum job in corporate America. I told her that many lawyers are unemployed and she sarcastically told me that they should sue their alma maters.

Ironically when I came home that night, I was browsing through the online news. I came across this witty and insightful article in the Sacramento Bee, Law Schools could face a wave of class action lawsuits in 2012

You should read the article yourself to get an insiders view of what many legal professionals feel will be a very painful 2012 for many law school deans and administrators. Some are even calling 2012, " The year of law school litigation."  All of the bogus employment statistics and job placement information that many schools publish are very questionable, and the awareness has now reached the masses. Legal professionals who read these blogs are no longer the only ones taking note of the fraudulent practices happening in many o these law schools. Many law firms and even some public policy advocates anticipate multiple class action lawsuits throughout 2012.

I still have hope that I can find some part time job in the legal profession on the side. I am kind of sad because I really enjoy learning about the law and I would have loved to find a job with my education and experience. However, the cliche is true: once you leave the legal field it is EXTREMELY hard to go back.

On a lighter note, my investment club has recently brought in some personal finance speakers to help us figure out ways to eliminate student debt. I have found some useful new tips that I will post in the near future.

In the meantime, enjoy your holiday weekend and have a happy new year! I think the worst of the recession is over, and 2012 should be a much better year for us than 2011. I hope all of you who are unemployed and underemployed find good jobs and work towards a great 2012! It should be a great year for all of us..except maybe the deans of the law schools.  :)


- The Poor Paralegal

CNN is right: Law school is a waste of time

LAW SCHOOL IS A WASTE OF TIME


My job has been ho hum. Working hard, making some decent money and basically just getting by. I get funny looks from strangers and co workers when they find out I am also a parlegal, and they think I should leave and get a job in a law firm. Unfortunately there are no jobs in law firms. I make more money now than most TTT and TTTT grads make their first year out of law school. I am just thankful for the job that I have, but today one of the VP's in the company had their son come and visit the office. His son is a student at one of those liberal arts colleges (Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore types) and majoring in Philosophy or some other useless major. He sat next to meet today at break and was flipping through his LSAT book and I told him that law school really isn't worth going to unless you go to a to a T14 school, because most lawyers won't make enough money to pay back their loans. I told him that I was doing better at my current job than if I had gone to a law firm.

Sadly, he is denial. All those fancy liberal arts colleges feed their students ego's about how they can do whatever they want and how they are all "special" students. Its such bullshit. I told him he should only go if he gets into a top school and it would be better for him to get a job with his dad's connections.

He really believes he will get a job making $160,000 starting from ANY law school he goes to. I told him to look at articles on the internet exposing the realities of the legal profession. As my break was ending, he came across this CNN article on his laptop. It really opened his eyes and it will probably open your eyes, too!




-The Poor Paralegal

Lawyers join the "OCCUPY WALL STREET" movement

Lawyers are now getting involved to protest the corporate greed in the US! Make your voice heard and fight the greedy bastards  who are ruining this country. To find out more please visit :

 http://www.occupywallst.org/

-The Poor Paralegal

LAW SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR ADMITS TO STEALING FUNDS

A law school administrator has been charged with stealing over $173,000 over a period of 2 1/2 years from his law school. According to the court documents, the administrator used his  computer to get access to the school’s accounting system over a period of several years. During that time, he created many false checks for a total of over $173,000  in school funds, which he deposited into his personal bank account, records show.

You can read more about the article here : Law School Administrator Steals School Funds

What really amazes me is that there are no articles talking about law school administrators stealing funds by misleading students with phony job data and fraudulent advertising! If this guy is stealing over 173k from his law school, imagine what else may be going on at this "institution of higher learning" ?!?!
Law school administrators are evil, greedy and manipulative bastards. They are the  lowest forms of species on the face of planet earth! What surprises me is that school administrators don't get beat up one of the law school students who were ripped off by the law school scam. However, some students fight back ..literally..

Watch the video below!


- The Poor Paralegal

Lawyer Turns Topless Dancer to Pay bills

I stumbled across a great new article about unemployed lawyers getting desperate to pay the bills. Some are even turning to extreme measures to help make ends meet. Some are even turning into strippers, exotic dancers and topless dancers.  In fact, you should all read this article I just found on MSNBC:

Lawyer turns topless dancer to make ends meet

When I read this article I was sitting at my cubicle during lunch break, and a VP of research came by my desk to ask me to run a report. He saw me reading the news on my computer, and saw me reading the article about the lawyer turned stripper. He made some awful joke about how this girl must wear a lawyer outfit with a miniskirt when she strips at the club. He is this 300 lbs obese prick, and doesn't seem to understand the frustrations that many unemployed legal professionals face.

I read this article and it really made me sad. I can't imagine how horrible it must be to have so much student debt, bills to pay and resort to working as an exotic dancer to make ends meet. In the article it goes on to say that she will get another law job as soon as she can and leave working as a topless dancer.

I have had my share of crazy bad jobs to make ends meet:

I have worked as a bouncer at a lesbian bar ( the money was great 200-300 bucks for 2 nights of work)

I have worked as a laborer in construction

I have worked as telemarketer for fast food companies in college

I have also worked in South Central LA and survived a drive by shooting ( Thank God they missed and the sheriffs came right away)

I hope that God protects this girl and all the other legal professionals resorting to stripping, porn or any other type of job that puts them in danger. Also, be careful if you are a stripper, the work itself can be dangerous! If you don't believe me, watch the video below on Youtube!

- The Poor Paralegal

Great new Article from CNN MONEY!

I recently found a great new article on CNN MONEY: Law School Graduates Sue their Alma Mater

This is a great new article discussing how many students are now suing their schools for fradulent misrepresentation of material facts. It will be interesting to see how all of this is covered more intensely by other media outlets.

On a lighter note, Ramadan has officially ended and I wanted to wish everyone a very HAPPY EID MUBARAK!

 I think my present this year is the peace of mind knowing that more students will read articles like the one above and think twice before going to law school and taking out massive debt. I hope everyone has a happy holiday and I found a great new song on Youtube! To celebrate...enjoy!  Happy Eid and Bayram everyone!

- The Poor Paralegal

Tough Job Market Drives Young People to Suicide

Tough Job Market causes young Koreans to commit suicide

In South Korea, the suicide rate among young people in their 20's has skyrocketed! It is now the highest it has ever been in recent history, and many of these people are young law school graduates. The law school saturation is not just limited to US graduates having problems, but also in other countries. There are too many attorneys and not enough jobs to absorb all the recent graduates.

Suicide is now the # 1 cause of death for young people in South Korea.

As the article goes on to say, "At least 10 of the suicide cases that have been reported so far this year are believed to be linked to a failure to find jobs. A study by an Internet job search portal conducted in April showed that six out of 10 respondents felt tempted to take their own lives due to the increased difficult and related stress of finding work in Korea's overheated job market, which is causing employers to pare down their new hires."

Law School Graduates Face Grim Reality

This article talks about how there are too many law school graduates in South Korea and not enough Jobs for most of them. So many people are unemployed and contemplating suicide, this is horrible! This problem is not limited to just US law school graduates. However, what shocks me is that the ABA is allowing new law schools to open up across the USA!

-The Poor Paralegal

Law School Graduates Sue Law Schools for being Misled about Job Prospects

Law School Graduates sue for being "Scammed" by Law Schools?

New York Law School and the Cooley law school in Michigan are now being sued by their recent graduates in a class action lawsuit. Read the article in the link above! The graduates of these schools feel that they were misled about job prospects, starting salaries and employment prospects when they enrolled in these law schools.

The plaintiffs in this case accuse the law schools for misleading them and are seeking millions in damages for lost tuition money and other damages they incurred while enrolling in law school. As the article in the link above goes on to say,

'The law school industry today is much like a game of three-card monte, with law schools flipping over ace after ace, while a phalanx of non-suspecting players wager mostly borrowed money based on asymmetrical information on a game few of them can win," according to the New York lawsuit.'

Are you listening all you pre law undergrads? These students are smart, hard working and did everything right, but the legal profession simply cannot absorb all the graduates that come into the job market each year.

I recently talked to an investment banker at my company who is a JD/MBA and he said many graduates of lower ranked law schools get duped big time. It all comes down to their glossy brochures!  When a naive young liberal arts graduates reads the law school brochures, he gets hypnotized by the "success stories" in the admissions brochure! In a nutshell, this is how many pre law students get scammed by law schools:

Oliver the Overachiever graduated Summa Cum Laude from an Ivy League School with a  triple BS in Quantum Physics, Applied Mathematics and Political Science. He then applied to law school and decided to attend ( lower ranked non elite law school) . He had scores of law schools to choose from, and now he is a happy graduate of our school. He was editor of law review and graduated at the top of his class. He now works for a BIG law firm making $160,000 a year and is a successful attorney. He credits his success by attending (lower ranked law school)!

Nearly every law school student thinks that he or she will end up like Oliver the Overachiever and making big bucks! This is not true, and the vast majority will end up underemployed, unemployed or employed in a non legal profession.

In my last post, I wrote about the crazy Attorney who was like a motivational speaker on drugs. I recently met up with him again, after I got off of work. He ended up talking to me about some of his problems and financial hardships he is going through. I began to think about him as a professional and how people assume that just because he is a successful JD/MBA from an ivy league school, that he is super successful. Everyone assumes that if you work in corporate law that you are rich and successful, but you aren't. You still have many problems, MASSIVE student loans, and most of these people don't make as much as you think they do! Most are beyond miserable in their jobs and just try to work to pay back their student debt.

This is the problem with the legal profession: It warps your reality!

All the pre law students think big salaries, see inflated employment statistics, and offices in skyscrapers! They don't realize that when they see people like "Oliver the Overachiever" in the law school admissions brochures, it is just a fantasy! Success stories like that are rare exceptions and not the reality for the vast majority of law school graduates! Most end up doing temp jobs, document review and will struggle to find anything to pay the bills.

It will be interesting to see if more students will sue their law schools for being misled about job prospects!

On a lighter note, Ramadan just started over a week ago and fasting has really screwed up my gym schedule. I am running, lifting and going to the gym during odd hours of the night and still trying to do my best at work. I was cooking food for dinner last night and I found a great recipe on Youtube. I know we are still in a recession, and many people can't afford to eat out, so I found you a great recipe! If you like Indian/Pakistani food, then try this easy chicken curry recipe. It is really easy, tasty and it goes great with rice or naan.

If you want to save some money by not eating out this weekend, then cook at home this weekend! Have a spicy south Asian Saturday night!

-The Poor Paralegal

Joke of the day

So today I was having a super crappy morning at work.

Then, I met with a group of Vice Presidents and Managing Directors to discuss the financial results for the end of the 2nd quarter. Many of them were talking about future projects, profits in the second half of the year and even merging with another financial services firm to expand our office. It was interesting since my boss brought in a corporate finance attorney who worked for a lot of dot.coms in the Silicon Valley back in the late 90's.  His name was Andy* the Attorney, and he was a very enthusiastic guy. He was jumping up and down the halls with his presentation kits, smiling and I am sure he could have used some decaf coffee. He has served in house counsel for many large corporation and successful entrepreneurial ventures. Andy had been working in corporate America for a very long time.

He gave our project team a big lecture on the benefits of merging with XYZ company, and how if we buy them out, then our product diversification mix will grow substantially. We will have more clients, industries and function groups to work with our clients. He was so enthusiastic, our entire staff gave him a standing ovation after his lecture.

After his lecture, I had a lunch meeting with him and 3 guys in my department.

He used to work for one of the biggest coffee house chains in the world. I will give you a hint, the company starts with the letter "S" and is based out of the west coast. This company does NOT franchise its coffee houses anymore, but for a brief time back in the mid 90's, they used to offer some franchises.

He started telling me about the franchise process and how he would get investors to join this GIGANTIC coffee house chain. During lunch, he stood up and started running around our table in circles, moving so fast and telling me about the marketing, products, start up money and so on. He then said "To buy a coffee house franchise with (guess the company name?) back in 1995 , you needed to have  5 million dollars in liquid assets. Then you need to qualify with good credit, and then there is the training.."

Suddenly I started laughing in the middle of lunch. My boss looked at me like I was crazy. The other co workers looked at me like I was out of my mind. Andy the Attorney wouldn't stop talking about this coffee house. Andy started to get bothered by me laughing, and then I looked up at him.

 I said, "Andy, If I had 5 million dollars in liquid assets, I sure as hell wouldn't be buying a coffee shop. I don't know what the hell you are smoking, but if I had 5 million dollars in cash I would be in Hawaii. I'm Sorry. That is wrong, but that is funny!"

Then my boss started laughing.

Ok so it really wasn't that funny of a joke of the day, but it made my day a little better! I guess it was one of those "you had to be there" moments and you weren't there. Oh well, have a great weekend everyone!

- The Poor Paralegal

*name has been changed to protect privacy

Enrollment Drops Drastically at Law School

Good News....

It looks like more and more law school administrators, faculty and staff are now accepting the facts about the legal profession. There are so many unemployed lawyers and not enough jobs. I do applaud Vermont Law School for addressing this issue by lowering their class size by nearly 25%! You read about the article here:  Law School Enrollment down 23.8 %

The article discusses how the school is coming ot terms with the fact that we simply have too many attorneys chasing too few jobs in the United States. One of the staff members at VLS even said, "With the recession and tough legal job market there are more lawyers and fewer legal jobs”

VLS is known for having one of the best environmental law programs in the country, and it is a very well respected school. I have a lot of respect for the administration of this school for actually coming to terms with the changing legal job market. I wonder what made them decide to lower enrollment? Was it all these scamblogs? I will never know, but I just hope more schools follow and start lowering enrollments.

If you are a law school faculty member or administrator, please keep reading these blogs. Listen to the sad stories you hear about graduates drowning in debt, with no job prospects and working dead end jobs. Don't dismiss us as whiners, actually take the time to listen to what we have to say. It reminds me of a scene I once saw on Ally McBeal on youtube. You can watch the video on Youtube yourself.

- The Poor Paralegal

Would you go to law school to become a Paralegal?

It's about that time of year again...

ARE..

YOU....

READY....

FOR ....

MORE PROBLEMS IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION THIS YEAR???

Just when you thought the legal profession would not hit a new low, you are wrong:

The University of Texas at Austin has now launched a 5 month paralegal program and sent brochures to its law school alumni, telling them of this wonderful new program!

WOW! Imagine, spending 3 years of your life, tuition, room and board and lost wages only to get an invitation to a paralegal program after you graduate!

If you want to learn more about this debt for diploma program read about it here:

Go to Law School to Become a Paralegal!

I have a friend who is working in document review, graduated from UC Hastings school of law and we both were talking about this hilarious new article in Above the Law. UTA is a very well respected school, but if a top 15 law school is telling its graduates to become paralegals, what does that tell you about the legal profession? UNDERGRADUATES BEWARE!

My friend said "Lawyers working as paralegals, what’s next ..lawyers working as cops?" It reminded me of a funny video I once saw a while back. I uploaded the video below for your viewing pleasure. Usually the Bailiff/Sheriff keeps order in the court and protects civilians from violence, but in Pakistan a group of lawyers started to beat the police. The world is changing...

-The Poor Paralegal

Middle Class Jobs are Vanishing

Most of America's middle class works making between $40,000-70,000 a year salaries as middle managers will see dramatic shifts in their future opportunities. Due to outsourcing, globalization, streamlining and changes in the US economy, there is no need for many of these jobs. India produces over 800,000 engineers a year, whereas the US only creates about 60,000 engineers. I am part south asian, and many students who grow up in India, Pakistan, etc. end up becoming very well educated. I had one friend from Arabic school who told me in India he grew up learning Hindi/Urdu, Panjabi, English, Arabic and one western language (French, Spanish, etc.)  Keep in mind, that this is in PUBLIC school, not some fancy private school.

Many of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are rapidly growing and outsourcing is taking those jobs away from the US and sending them to overseas. Globalization is  killing the legal profession, as many document review and legal research jobs are being sent abroad.  Read this article in the Wall Street Journal, to learn more about these changes, http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-well-paid-middle-class-job-is-in-danger-2011-06-16

Even many well paid workers are now seeing their jobs vanish, and the odds of getting very high paying jobs will be very difficult for years to come. Since I work in investment banking, and I met quite a few survivors from the  Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns collapse when the "Great Recession" started.

Just last week I met one guy who was at BS and worked as an Associates in the Fixed Income Group division of corporate banking. He was well educated, out of a top 20 MBA school for 3 years and was making around 250-300k a year. He was on his way to becoming a VP, but the mortgage meltdown and recession made him lose his job. He now works for my boutique company, and I know he makes like barely 100k a year. He even told me that the odds of getting one of those really high paying jobs on wall street will be rare for many years to come. He even thought about taking his CPA exam and doing accounting, since he has friends who are controllers, CFO's, and such who make more than him.

Even for someone who was making so much money on wall street, he gave me some great insight. You have to constantly adapt to the changing job market. You can't always just keep looking for a job in your industry. If you are in a profession where there are no jobs, then go out and figure out a way to find another job. Don't just sit around moping and being depressed. I couldn't find a legal job as a paralegal, so I went back to corporate America. I recently met one M&A attorney who needs a paralegal on contract basis, so I may work for him on the side while I work my full time job. I need to constantly figure out ways to make money, find part time work, learn new skills and figure out how to survive.

The point is that while a lot of these middle class jobs are vanishing, we all need to figure out how to survive. Yes, law school is a scam, there are no legal jobs and I can constantly bitch about it..or..

We can all go out, find out where the jobs are, learn new skills, figure out ways to make ends meet  and work hard at adapting to the changing job market.

To all you underemployed and unemployed lawyers and paralegals: be an active learner and try to make your own way, there is hope in this terrible economy!

- The Poor Paralegal

5 step plan to fix the Legal Profession

I recently found out about the class action lawsuit filed against Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego by Anna Alaburda and recent graduates of TJLS. I think this is just the beginning, and eventually many more law schools will be sued by their graduates for fraudulent misrepresentation of material facts and NIED. These schools gave out false employment statistics and misled their graduates into thinking they would get jobs paying $70,000 + starting with a 80-90% placement rate.

Many of these graduates are now doing document review, part time jobs, or have no way to pay back their loans. Many prospective law students and graduates have e mailed me about the myths of the legal profession. They read the scam blogs, they read the New York Times article, but this should really open their eyes..Law school graduate can't find a job

Eventually many third and fourth tier law schools will likely face class action lawsuits by misleading their graduates with false promises of jobs, high starting salaries, and lucrative career opportunities.

A lot of changes will eventually impact the legal education industry.

I have come up with my own way of fixing the legal profession.

THE POOR PARALEGAL'S

FIVE STEP PLAN TO FIX THE LEGAL EDUCATION INDUSTRY

1.)   Every law school needs to lower enrollment by 1/3.

Every year we have 45,000 + law school graduates and only 30,000 jobs that require a JD. This will lead to law schools having fewer students and less funding, but they should just lay off greedy faculty members and hire more part time professors.

2.)   Require at least 2 years of full time work experience  as a prerequisite to attending law school. So many English, History and Political science majors go to law school by default. They have no idea of what to do after college. MBA programs require several years of experience for their applicants, and so should law schools! They should get more work experience and at least have some idea of the real world before they commit 3 years of their life to law school and the financial burden it requires.

3.)   Eliminate all NON ABA approved law schools and paralegal programs. All these CBA schools in California need to be shut down. These scam diploma mills aren't worth the paper they are printed on! All these online paralegal programs are full of shit. They need to have only ABA approved programs, and all legal employers should not hire anyone who doesn't graduate from an accredited program.

4.)  Make every law school student attend a seminar on financial counseling as a part of the application process to law school. This should be done BEFORE they even take the LSAT exam. This should be an intensive 1-2 day course  and it should give potential students the straight facts of the cost of a legal education, employment prospects and  give them a "reality check" on their ability to repay loans.

5.)  Enable a third party market research company that is NOT affiliated with law schools to provide accurate information in regards to employment statistics, salary information and such.


This is my 5 step plan to fix the legal education system. I think it would be a great idea of these steps were taken to fix the legal profession. I applaud Anna Alaburda for being such a brave and courageous woman to be the first law student to fight back against the law school scam.

To all you law school graduates who are struggling, hopefully things will get better in the near future!


-The Poor Paralegal

Refugees from the Legal Profession

Mazel Tov!


I have met quite a few refugees from the legal profession working in non legal fields. I recently went to a Persian Jewish wedding in Beverly Hills and met a lot of attorneys and paralegals who have escaped from the law.


When I was a little kid, I was not allowed to eat "outside" meat, and we only ate halal and kosher meat in the house and when we went out to restaurants. My father was very strict and I still remember getting yelled at in third grade when he found out I had Mcdonalds chicken nuggets(non kosher/halal). I cried for days, it was horrible!

Growing up, I remember meeting a lot of guys at the kosher delis on Pico and Robertson in Beverly Hills and west LA.  Even though we lived in the suburbs, we would always buy meat from there whenever we were in LA. Back in the day, it was very hard to find halal meat butchers, so kosher delis were the only other option. My father and I would meet many of the customers who were working in the legal profession. Many were practising attorneys and I had never heard of anyone leaving the legal profession.

At the wedding, I met many attorneys and some former legal professionals. One was working as a high school English teacher and another took over his parents rental properties. At the bar, I saw a very beautiful woman sitting all by herself.

Out of curiosity, I asked my friend who she was.

The moment I saw her, I was startled by her piercing blue eyes. She had dark long wavy hair and olive skin, but her eyes were as blue as the Mediterranean sea.

I knew I had to meet her.

She was a Yemeni woman who graduated on law review  from a top law school and worked as an attorney for several years before opening up her own consulting business. She gave me some great tips on how to transition into a non legal career for lawyers and paralegals. She charges over $600.00 an hour and helps CEO's and CLO's find jobs.


She gave me a few pointers on how to transition into a non legal career with a legal background. Since she charges a lot of  money for her services, I thought I would post some valuable tidbits of information for my fellow poor legal professionals.

1.)   Emphasize your business courses- Contracts law, U.C.C., Trademark, Real Estate, Corporate Finance, etc.  If you have a useless BA in English, History or Poli Sci, then put business courses on your resume that you took in college. If you took an elective in  economics, then write it down. If you haven't worked in business, learn the basics through the library and on your resume that you know how to read financial documents, basic accounting, and multiple computer programs.

2.)   Discuss how your coursework and internships/jobs were NON law related.  This is very tricky since if you were working as an associate or paralegal, then you were actually involved in legal practice.

Here is an example of how it can be done:

If you were an associate working with a real estate company, then say you were involved in "legal transactions involving land, leasing, capital management and budgeting."

If you did business litigation then say you were involved with "accounts management, operations and business policy."

3.)  Emphasize that you did "management roles" as a legal professional. Explain how you effectively managed assignments, cases and the office team.

4.) Discuss interaction with non legal professionals. Your resume should say "member of strategic management team of the CFO" or "corporate partner  with CTO and  anythingcom.com "


To all your unemployed and underemployed legal professionals, try using these tips to help find a non legal job!

There were just tiny pearls of wisdom I learned which are very useful for tweaking your resume to find non legal jobs. I feel very fortunate to have met such a smart and intelligent woman, but I just wish all of you could have seen her  in person.

-The Poor Paralegal

Law School Applications Plummet in 2011

It looks like the word is getting out that a JD is not a ticket to print money like many people think it is. I found this great video and article online by Fox News in Minnapolis, MN.

I highly recommend you watch it!


Law School Applications Plummet

- The Poor Paralegal

I Finally Got A Job

Darwin was wrong, there is a God.

All those years of Arabic school my parents forced me to attend as a child have finally paid off....

I finally got a job working for a boutique real estate  investment banking firm in their corporate finance department. Thank Allah (swt) I have a BA in Business Economics and I worked in business for several years before becoming a poor paralegal. A staffing agency found the job for me and now I am working full time in the operations division under two vice presidents and one managing director. The job pays pretty decent, and I am just thankful that I found  a job in this horrible economy.

After being laid off and doing odd jobs it feels really weird to have a real normal 8-5 job again. I am up at 6 am, getting my clothes dry cleaned, and working hard to make ends meet. Many of the banking executives wonder why I don't go and work as a paralegal, but they don't realize how shitty the job market is. This job is temp to hire and they will give me a full time offer after 60 days, so I don't want to screw this up.

I have realized that when you work in corporate America, you have to be very careful and be cautious of your behavior as a professional. I reflected on my past jobs, bosses and decided to write down some thoughts on how to succeed in the work place.

10.    When you go to work, never get too comfortable with co workers or act casually in the office. Your boss is your boss, he is NOT your friend! Your co workers are your co workers, they are NOT your friends! Do not talk too much about your personal life, the shitty legal profession, or reveal all your inadaquacies/mistakes in past jobs.

9.     Pick and choose your battles wisely. This comes in many forms, you should always listen more than you speak. Never get too carried away in a conversation with a co worker  and/or force your views on someone else. Don't have the attitude of "I am always right!", let it go, and don't argue. Even if your boss has the IQ of a mosquito, let him think he is right. Make him feel like the king of the world, because if he likes you, then when it comes time for that holiday bonus, YOU WILL FEEL LIKE THE KING OF THE WORLD!  Even if your co workers/boss force views on you, just smile and do what needs to be done. You are there to get paid, use the bathroom(like the pictures Nando posts on his blog) get benefits and go home. Don't dwell upon petty issues.

8.      Keep your personal life OUTSIDE the office. No one in the office is a therapist, they do not want to hear your problems, nor will they help you solve your problems. NEVER talk about your personal finances, political, religous or other views in the office. Your business is no one else's business. Also, you don't want people to have prejudices about you, when they don't know the details of your personal life. Ignorance is bliss!

7.     Do not hang out with co workers outside of work. This is very difficult for young college graduates, because after graduating college and going into the real world, it is really hard to make friends. You work so many hours and you don't really have social activities like you did in school. You may find people at work who are cool and seem nice, but first and foremost they are your coworkers. Don't hang out with them. Be cordial and friendly, but don't get too close with them or add them on Facebook and such.

6.    Keep your attitude in neutral. Never show your emotions too dramatically-whether happy or sad. Once your managers know how you operate, then they will also know your weaknesses.

5.    Never seem desperate for anything: A job, a promotion, a corner office or a longer lunch break. Be civil and let things happen on their own.

4.    Do Not Date Co Workers. PERIOD!  If you are that desperate for dates, then go to match.com.

3.   Be respectful to everyone in your office. Even the Janitor, the temps and elevator operators. Giving everyone little compliments will GREATLY complement your career. Karma really does work in mysterious ways.

2. Never talk bad about anyone in the firm or a client. Remember, those who gossip to you, will gossip about you and vice versa!  However, everyone needs to engage in worthless water cooler gossip once in a while, and so you should talk about external topics: The weather, the Lakers losing, insane gas prices, weekend plans, etc.

1.  Always try to do your job better than no one else can! I was originally hired for two days and then when I left after one week, the staff was very sad. I was respectful and cordial to everyone. When I left, I even thanked all the analysts, associates and secretary for giving me the opportunity to work with them. I left a nice thank you note to the managing director's desk when I left the office when I left work on Friday. As I was stepping inside the elevator he came running down the hall to say that he wanted to thank me for everything and how  he was upset that I didn't go into his office and didn't say goodbye in person.

My firm hired me as a temp, and they were so impressed with me, two days turned into two weeks and now two months...who knows where it will go from here?!

The whole point of the Poor Paralegal's 10   strategies to success in the work place is that you have to prove yourself. Once you work diligently, make everyone like you and make everyone in the office WANT to see you regularly, then they will want to keep you.

It is tough and I don't know how long this job will last, but I do have faith in myself and my other fellow broke unemployed/underemployed legal professionals. I am not working in a law related job but I have decided to expand my horizons and am now back in corporate America.

We are still coming out of the horrible recession and the job market is slowly but surely improving..

My advice for everyone is to hang in there and have undaunting persistence! There are 2 secret ingredients in the recipe for success: INTEREST AND EFFORT!

Take the interest and effort in your career, eventually something will come up for you.

I will keep you posted on my job and I will still write about interesting articles on the legal profession, money saving tips, and other words of wisdom I will hopefully find at this new job!

I wish everyone and their hard working mothers a very happy Mothers day!

-The Poor Paralegal

PS: I recently found an old Mazzy Star CD that I bought when I was in high school, and it's been years since I heard this CD.  Luckily, I found the video on youtube..enjoy!!

Great New Article

http://theweek.com/article/index/214616/the-law-school-lie

I found this article in The Week magazine entitled "The Law School Lie" and it will shock you!

I suggest everyone read it!

-The Poor Paralegal

Confessions of a Car Salesman

I am really into cars, repairing automobiles and if worse comes to worse I will become a mechanic with my own auto body shop. A good friend of mine was recently looking for a new car and so she decided to bring me along with her to go car shopping for a new sedan. She looked into Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Ford, etc. and we went to several different dealerships. We went to the Cerritos auto square and Tustin auto mall, looking at different cars.

We ended up at one foreign automotive dealership to look at Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys. Most of them were used and only had low mileage, so it would be a much better buy for her other  than buying a new car and losing money on depreciation.

The car salesman was Sam* the sales executive.

He began to talk to me about selling cars and how he was the #1 sales guy two years ago, but due to the bad economy his sales have fallen drastically. He used to pull down 7-8 grand a month but now he only makes about 3-4 thousand dollars a month.

He started asking me about my background and I told him I was in sales, too. I told him I was also a paralegal, notary and tax preparer. He said, "It is very hard to make it as a Paralegal these days" and I told him that there are no jobs to be found anywhere.

We talked about how horrible it was and I said "I don't get these news articles about how great it is to be a paralegal and how there are all these jobs. There are no jobs anywhere!" and he said "Yes, I know. All of my friends from law school are working as paralegals and legal assistants!"

I took a step back.

I was in shock. He told me he graduated from a fourth tier law school in San Diego and struggled to find any legal job after finishing in 2007. He has done internships and worked in different firms, but no one offered him a job. He was offered a shit law job paying $15.75 an hour, but he was making more than that selling used cars. He said he doesn't know if he wants to stay in the car business forever, but when you have $128,000 in student loans, you need to find a way to pay back your loans.

He said the worst part of it all is that once you leave the legal profession, it is extremely difficult to get back into the law and find a job as an attorney. He doesn't like to tell a lot of people that he has a law degree, but he knew since I was a poor paralegal that I would understand his dire financial situation.

I told him about how I lost a job offer that paid over 70k a year because they thought I was going to be a "flight risk", but I am still trying hard to get a full time job with benefits.

This is the biggest misconception that many people don't understand.

He said, " A law degree is not a Super MBA, you can't do anything with a law degree. If you apply to banks, financial firms, consulting firms, marketing and management positions, they won't even look at you. I have been turned down for those types of jobs with my JD, and this is why I'm still selling cars."

He was really impressed with knowledge of cars and automotive repair, and said he would ask the dealership if they had any openings. I wouldn't mind working in service or sales, but man ....it must fucking suck to have 128k in student loans and find whatever job you can to pay them back.

I told him that I doubt I will ever find any legal position, and said that about half of his graduating class in 2007 is working in non legal positions. At this point, most of them are so desperate, they are willing to do anything just to pay the bills.

We ended up leaving without buying a car, but will do some more shopping next weekend. I was really surprised to have such an insightful conversation with a car salesman. It makes me wonder about how many other JD's are out there selling used cars?!

That's all for now, and everyone have a happy Easter!

-The Poor Paralegal

*Name has been changed to protect privacy

Second round Interviews

I have been going on some final round interviews for some sales and contracts management positions. Things have been going okay for me thus far, but I was very sad by a letter I received from a recruiter this afternoon. It turns out that with my education and experience, I was considered to be "overqualified" for a position.

I was thinking "WTF!?!? How can I be freaking overqualified for a job in IT sales?"

I have a BA in Business Economics, an ABA certified Paralegal certificate, a California certified Tax Preparer and a Notary Public ( I do a LOT of freelancing on the side to make extra money, thats how I am surviving).

She was impressed with my work history with VAR's, OEM's, Salesforce.com and other technology related applications.

However, she said that she was afraid I wouldn't last long in sales because once I found a "lucrative job in the legal profession" that I would bail and find something "better." She said I was their top and first choice for the job in their El Segundo office, but she was scared that I would be a "Flight risk" so they chose another candidate. The job pays $76,000 a year.

Why the fuck would I want to work as a Paralegal if I can make $76,000 a year working for a firm that does business with Boeing?!?!?


Such bullshit!


Let this be a lesson for anyone who thinks any sort of legal education will "help you in all sorts of fields", because it FUCKING WON'T!

People will think you are overqualified to work in other areas or that you won't want to stay in anything else but the legal profession.

-The Poor Paralegal

Update

It's been a while since I have updated my blog. I have been very busy and I have gone on 18 job interviews, done odd jobs and have done other things to keep myself busy.


I even talked to my friends dad who was nice enough to help me try to get a job in his law firm. He graduated from Harvard and went to Yale law school, where he was on law review. He is a very smart, intelligent and insightful guy. He is a litigation partner at one of the 10 largest law firms in the nation.

I had lunch with him a while ago and told him about how I have several job offers on the table that are in the final stages. They are all non legal related and he flat out told me " I am glad you did the paralegal program when you lost your old job!"

I thought he was a bit crazy for telling me that, since I haven't been able to find any job what so ever in the legal profession. He said, "Now you know the ugly truth about how the legal profession is not as glamorous as tv makes it out to be. At least you did your paralegal program for free and now you have no debt. Imagine going to a third or fourth tier law school, having six figures in debt and making around $40,000 to try to pay off your debt. How would that make you feel?"

He wasn't trying to be mean to me or hurt my feelings, but he was right about one thing: The legal profession is very overrated! At least I had a first had look by doing my internship, working in a courthouse and seeing how few law jobs there are in corporate America.

A while back, he even advised me that I should only go to law school if I got a job after my paralegal program working with an attorney, and to do night school. This way I would at least have some experience, learn the industry and be able to start my own practice after graduating. I have had no luck finding ANY legal jobs whatsoever, so I am 99.99% sure I will never go to law school.

I will keep you updated on my job search and post more money saving websites soon!

-The Poor Paralegal

ATTENTION EVERYONE: MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR BROKE LEGAL PROFESSIONALS

I have a confession to make:     I am obsessed with personal finance!

I love finding good deals, freebies and getting discounts whenever possible. I have found every website known to manking where I can get tons of coupons, freebies and goodies by signing up for various different programs. I even had a sorority in college pay me money to take a bunch of the girls around the garment district in Los Angeles in a chevy suburban to help them find great deals. 

To all you law graduates (or any graduate) who are drowning in student loans, you have to realize the reality of the situation.

You have NON dischargeable student debt. You may have six figures in student loans. The job market sucks and there are no jobs in this horrible economy.

Your loans ARE NOT going to magically disappear AND you have to pay back every penny you took out.

Look, I know it sucks that many people got screwed. Everyone believed false employment statistics based on bogus salary information and job placement rates. Many of you were misled into thinking that you would have a job and be able to pay back your debt. However, what’s done is done. We can all sit around and bitch about how we can’t pay back our debt, or we can do something about it. In my humble opinion, everyone who has massive student loans must work to cut all of their every day basic expenses in order to have more money to pay off student debt. I know living in big urban areas, such as NYC, Chicago, SF, LA, DC, and Boston is not cheap. However, with a little creativity and effort, you can make it happen. You don’t have to live in the richest parts of town or have a fancy lifestyle, but you can find everything you NEED when you don’t have a lot of money.   I am just a poor paralegal and not a JD, but if I can do it, so can you!

I am on 347 money saving websites

I get 120 free samples a month

I get dry cleaning for $.99 each clothing item

I get oil changes for $8.00

I get free appetizers for different restaurants each week

I have listed below some of the best websites to find great stuff at discount prices or for free on the web.  These will help you find cheap deals and allow you to save more of your income to pay off your student debt.  I have always been good at scoping out deals, so I decided to use my knowledge to help others who aren't as fortunate.  Take a look at the websites and see if they can help you out!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GETTING STARTED:

     Before you set sail on the seas of savings, you must do the following…

1.)    Create a new e mail account. You will be bombarded with tons of e mail and you don’t want it to get mixed in with your job search, potential employers and professional contacts.

2.)     Don’t use your real phone number. Use a second line or leave it blank when you fill out forms because you don’t want people calling you 24/7

3.)    Realize that I am NOT going to guarantee you anything, but these sites have helped me tremendously. They may or may not work for you, but I have seen every spam and scam website out there, and I thought these were pretty useful websites.

4.)    Always consult with a professional before making any personal, professional or financial decision.

TOP MONEY SAVING WEBSITES

www.wififreespot.com

Find free wireless internet service wherever you are located! This is a great website to visit when you are in a remote area, traveling, or you are using your laptop in public!

 www.chegg.com

Chegg is a great website that allows users to rent textbooks intead of purchasing them. Many students buy textbooks for $100-200 dollars and end up selling them after the semester is over. They sell them for a price that is much less than what they originally paid. Many sell their books for 70% or more off the original price they paid. Buying textbooks can be ridiculously expensive. Use Chegg to rent textbooks and return them after the class is over.

www.dealnews.com

Deal news is a great website for comparing prices of different products on the web. It also works as a search engine and it highlights the lowest price possible the site can find on the internet. It’s awesome! It compares prices for you and even tells you which deals are “hot” by a hotness factor.

www.currentcodes.com

Currentcodes is a great website to find discount coupon codes for online retailers! Many retailers, including amazon.com accept coupon codes to give their customers an additional rebate or discount on their purchase. This website is great because it gives you coupon codes that are current and that you can presently use. They update the site daily, so you can always find useful codes that aren’t expired!

www.freebirthdaytreats.com

Happy Birthday! Free Birthday Treats is a great website to visit to find out great places that give you FREE things on your birthday! They have an interactive guide that will show you places where you can get free food, clothes, desserts and gift items in different states across the country. Make sure you visit this site 1-2 days before your birthday and find out all the places where you can get free things.

You need to strategically maximize your birthday benefits:

Check this website before your birthday to find out where you can get a free breakfast, lunch and dinner. Find out where you can get free clothes, novelty items and gifts.

If your boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, child or family member is having a birthday and you can’t afford to get them something, find out places where you can take them.  Even if you can’t afford much, try to get them something for free.

www.freestufftimes.com

This is a great website to find out where to get more free things. However, IMHO the deals on this site are just “Ok”, and not as good as some others. If you subscribe, every day you may be able to find some free things and useful coupons to use.

www.freecycle.org

Freecycle is a great website to find good quality free things. The whole concept of the website is to stop putting good useful things in the trash and if you have some older items that you don’t need any more, you can donate them in the network. They also have a “wanted” section where you can put something that you need badly. For example, if you need a new couch for your apartment, you can place an ad on the site. Maybe someone in your metro area has an older leather couch they don’t need any more. They can give it to you!

Freecycle is similar to the concept of Craigslist “Free” section, but you won’t attract a wider audience. The main advantage of Freecycle is that you may end up dealing with the same people for free stuff and it doesn’t attract as many “characters” as craigslist.  Check out the site and find reviews on the web to get more information about Freecycle.

www.couchsurfing.org

Couch surfing is a great way for budget travelers to visit other cities, states and countries by staying with a friend on their “couch!” It is similar to Facebook, in that you have a profile and pictures. You can get reviews from friends and make new friends to visit and stay on their couch for the weekend. It’s a great way to explore new cities and travel if you can’t afford a hotel. You get to meet new people and have interesting experiences.

I enjoy this website, but you must read and agree to their terms of service. Everyone is making friends with other people, but make sure you make good friends and get references from other people before using this service. Always be cautious when staying with someone else or allowing someone to stay with you. Read the website for more details.

www.freeshipping.org

Find out current deals to get free shipping on all of your purchases, gifts and other items in your area.

www.discountelectronics.com

A great website to find discount electronics, monitors, and computer supplies! It even has a rating by the Better Business Bureau.

www.freemedicalcamps.com

This is a great website to find out free or discount medical and dental services in your area. They have programs available for those who qualify and want to receive very affordable health care treatments. They have links to different organizations, so find one in your area and see if they can help you!

www.gasbuddy.com

Gasbuddy is a great website for finding cheap gas stations. With all the turmoil going on in Egypt, Libya and now in Japan, it seems as If oil prices are out of control. Many people are now paying around $4.00 a gallon for gas in their areas, and if you live in a city where there is no public transportation, it’s useful to use this site. Many cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas and Houston have the majority of people driving cars, instead of using public transportation. Find out ways to cut your driving costs if you drive a lot by using this site!

http://www.all-free-samples.com

All-Free-Samples is a great website to find free samples on all sorts of goodies! They even have categories such as beauty products, health, baby, food and entertainment! This site has some good deals, but you won’t very many (if at all) restaurant coupons on here. It’s a good website to check once a week or so to find great free samples.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/

The Red Tape Chronicles is a news magazine run by www.msnbc.com , and it is a blog run by Bob Sullivan. It covers consumer fraud, warnings, and how to avoid getting ripped off! They have great articles and update information that every consumer should know. Many sleaze ball companies target young graduates who are naïve about personal finances, so this is a great place to read stories about how people try to scam to you. Protect yourself and make sure you bookmark The Red Tape Chronicles on MSNBC!

www.ebay.com

Stop rolling your eyes! Yes, everyone has heard of Ebay and many people buy and sell things all the time. However, I have found two items that are the best kept secrets on EBAY. If you really want to save money, I suggest you buy these items:

1.       Perfume/Cologne:    

Many people sell testers, lightly used bottles and half used bottles of your favorite perfume. They sell at much lower prices than full retail and it won’t break your bank! My favorite cologne sells for $150.00 at a high end department store. I bought the tester on Ebay for $39 bucks! There was no box or cap, but why pay for trash?

2.       Magazine Subscriptions:              

Many publishers have quotas they have to meet for advertising and so they sell their magazine subscriptions for very cheap on Ebay. I won 5 years of a popular men’s magazine for $2.00! Yes, you read right, I only paid 8 quarters for 60 issues of a popular men’s magazine. I bought my friend a women’s fashion magazine for $8.00 and it was 36 issues or 3 years! The regular subscription price was around 30 dollars.

www.tiphero.com

The tip hero is a great website for getting all sorts of tips and useful information on saving money for a variety of things. It is not so much coupons as it is money saving tips.

www.giftcardgranny.com

Many people who receive gift cards don’t always use them up. Gift Card Granny is a great website that sells gift cards from people who have no use for them. For example, if a gift card to Macy’s is 100 dollars and someone doesn’t want it, they will sell it online. They will start an auction at a lower price and sell it to the highest bidder. Many times these cards sell for around 10-20% less than the actual value of the card.  I once bought a gift card to Saks for $77.00 and it was worth $98.00!

http://www.bradsdeals.com/

Move over great whites, Brads Deals is for the deal shark at heart! This is a great website and on the right side they have a “top rated” section where you can find the best online deals, discounts, coupon codes and freebies. This website is one of the best on the entire net for finding good deals. They even have a whole section dedicated to Black Friday during winter!

www.annualcreditreport.com

The ONLY legitimate website I found that allows you to get your free annual credit report run by a government clearinghouse. There are many bs sites out there that try to give you credit reports, but don’t be fooled! IMHO: THIS IS THE ONLY RELIABLE PLACE TO GET A FREE CREDIT REPORT!  They will give you credit reports form Transunion, Equifax and Experian. If you don’t believe me, go to any local government office and ask them where to get your free credit report. My guess is that they will direct you to this site!

www.govbenefits.gov

This is a great GOVERNMENT RUN website to find out government benefits in your area. It has a list of all the government benefits programs they have available in different cities, states and for different people. Check their website and see if you qualify for any of their benefits or programs that can help you. Think of this service as an ROI on all the taxes you have paid over the years!

www.sampleaday.com

This is my favorite free sample website! You fill out your e mail address and then they send you an e mail every day in your inbox with 3-5 different free samples. You can click on each sample to have it sent to you, and it usually takes a couple of weeks in the mail or you can print them out immediately. You will find a variety of free samples on this site.

I have gotten free appetizers at Chili’s, food courts in the mall, and skin care samples from Lancome.

 www.freesamplesbaby.com to get free samples for baby products!  They are affiliated with sampleaday.com and have great freebies they send you by e mail or in the mail. This is very useful if you are trying to cut child costs in this horrible recession!

http://www.kidsmealdeals.com/ is a great place to find discounts for kids meals when you go out to eat. If you are a parent or a recent graduate taking care of younger siblings, this is a useful website. You can find places to get discounts, free meals, and lots of other cool stuff for kids when you eat out!

Take a look at those websites and see if they can help you get discounts, freebies, and lower your expenses. They have helped me a lot, and maybe they can help you as well. Everyone have a great weekend!

-The Poor Paralegal

A New Direction with my Blog

I have been deeply depressed about the tsunami that has devastated Japan. When I saw that giant tsunami engulf all those cities on the Japanese coastline, it really broke my heart. So many people have died, many are missing and the rest are without basic necessities.

I recently got an e mail from a girl who asked me about good websites where she can to find discounts, free things and such. Earlier in my blog, I posted about how I am on 347 money saving websites for coupons, freebies and discounts. She had read my posts and asked me if I could give her some tips to save money. Her family is originally from Japan and she has so much student loan debt that is eating away at her monthly paycheck. She can't even afford to save up enough money to go back and see her family in Tokyo. She wanted to figure out ways to get discounts and free things, so she can spend less on everyday expenses to afford to visit her family back home. I e mailed her dozens of coupons and free things I get in my e mail every day.

I did some soul searching and I have come to realize that I am very blessed. God has given me the gift of being extremely passionate about personal finance. I love finding good deals, freebies and cheap things to help make life a little easier.

I read so many posts on these blogs about students who are drowning in debt, have massive student loans and who don't know what to do.

I have decided to move into a new direction with my blog. I will keep writing and focus on several issues.

1.  A paralegals perspective on the legal profession and current events in the law.

2.  Money savings tips, websites and useful information to help those with massive student debt.

3.  Useful new information, websites and things I find in my every day life to help broke professionals.



Stay updated on my blog, I will be writing useful new entries very soon!


-The Poor Paralegal

The State of Kansas Bans Gay Sex

I hope Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz isn't a lesbian!

In Topeka, lawmakers have decided to leave a law on the books in the state of Kansas that bans gay sex! The law that bans gay sex in Kansas will not be removed from the books. It seems as if Kansas wants keep the bill on the books that bans "Sexual acts" and it doesn't need to be repealed since this law isn't enforced! One government represenative even said that "The statute itself is unenforceable!" Let's hope that it will stay unenforceable, I don't want to think about how they would "enforce" these laws!

The Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth is known as the "Porn Capital of the world", since they film a lot of adult films in the valley. My guess is many gay and lesbian adult films will not be filled in the sunflower state anytime soon!

It will be interesting to see how this "banning gay sex law" will affect the tv stations throughout the state of Kansas! I just hope they don't cancel all the the funny gay and lesbian sitcoms such as Will & Grace, The Ellen Show, and especially The Family Guy.

-The Poor Paralegal

Is US NEWS & WORLD REPORT finally starting to realize that law schools mislead students?

Every year thousands of young wannabe lawyers take the LSAT and apply to the nearly 200 or more ABA approved law schools in hopes of becoming an attorney. Many of these young souls justify their six figure debt load and career aspirations based on the US News & World Report "Best Graduate Schools Rankings."

However, recently, even this magazine is beginning to realize that maybe the employment information that the law schools provide are not 100% accurate. They even published a new article U.S. News Urges Law School Deans to Improve Employment Data written by Bob Morse. This piece highlights the needs for more employment placement transparency by law schools. The article goes on to say that, 

    "In an effort to make our law school employment data more reflective of the current state of legal employment, U.S. News has modified how we calculate the employment rates that are used in the new law school rankings."

It seems as if US News is doing the right thing by making sure they publish accurate information so their readers are not misled by false promises in the legal profession!

-The Poor Paralegal

LAWYER JOKES - 20 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER TELL A CLIENT IN A LAW FIRM

20 THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY TO A CLIENT IN A LAW FIRM

20.    Having a DUI can be very hard on your personal life. I am still on the 12 step program.

19.    You shouldn’t worry too much about products liability. Besides, in 10 years most of your    manufacturing will probably be outsourced to China.

18.  Trying to understand these discovery documents is worse than the reading comprehension questions on the LSAT.

17. Most of our clients in white collar criminal defense did not go to jail; they just retired and moved to the Cayman Islands.

16. Oh, you mean that bar. I’m sorry, I thought you were referring to the new hotspot in West Hollywood.

15.   This case will help me pay off a huge chunk of my student loans.

14.    I would tell you the answer now, but I need to bill another 100 hours this month if I want to get my annual bonus.

13.    You could have avoided this whole age discrimination lawsuit. You should have just bought some hair dye and gotten rid of that gray.

12.   What don’t you understand about a retainer fee? Did you think that it was something you pay your dentist?

11.   Not everyone in this profession is unethical, and I have a variety of friends. My best friends are Chiropractors and Mortgage brokers.

10.    You will be billed in 15 minute increments for every text message you send me.

9.     The last time I was in court, it was for traffic school.

8.     I’ve never actually practiced patent law before, but there is a first time for everything. Intellectual property or real property, everyone owns property!

7.     Neither you nor your spouse deserves custody of your child, but the kid has to stay with someone.

6.    I just realized something:  You graduated high school the same year I was born!

5.    Please calm down, there is no reason to yell and scream. I understand your frustrations, anger and that you don’t like dealing with anyone else in the firm. However, I am a paralegal and I can’t represent you in court. If you want this matter resolved, you have to see the Judge with one of our attorneys. I’m sorry, but that’s just the reality of the situation.

4.    As an immigration attorney, I am only fluent in two languages: English & spring break Spanish!

3.   Sure, the documents are valid. I got an A in contracts when I was in law school.

2.    As a bankruptcy attorney, I am a little concerned:   If you can’t pay off your creditors, how do I know you won’t pay me?

1.    This will be the hardest case of my career. It will be nearly impossible to prove the other party is at fault. Why would anyone try to sexually harass you?  

Young Adults are Unemployed

A recent article on a Seattle area news channel highlights the ugly realties for young adults in this "Great Recession." The unemployment problem for young adults has hit the state of Washington so hard, that in fact more than 22% of the people in the state ages 18-24 are unemployed. Many people are struggling to find any job that they can get, but it is not limited to young adults. 18 years or 80 years old, it seems as if no one can find a job these days!

- The Poor Paralegal