This is the bottom, right?
ARE YOU RECENTLY ADMITTED TO THE BAR, OR AWAITING BAR RESULTS, BUT NEED EXPERIENCE FOR THAT FIRST JOB?
General practice attorney with more than twenty years of experience is willing to train a small number of recently admitted attorneys, or those awaiting bar results. For a monthly fee, you will be able to shadow the experienced attorney, and learn by watching the day to day practice of law. Observe the following types of proceedings, as they occur; Civil Short Calender motion arguments, foreclosure mediation’s, pre-trial conferences, Workers Compensation and Social Security hearings, real estate closings, discovery proceedings and compliance, research and general office operations. Once admitted to the bar, the goal is to have you handling matters with and eventually without supervision. We reserve the right to limit participation in any or all activities, and all appearances are subject to the client and presiding judges approval. Admitted attorneys will be paid referral fees, if your referred case settles.
Please submit resumes by responding to this ad.
Don:
January 10th, 2013 at 6:57 pm
What took so long? An improvement on indentured servitude; the “servant” pays! Grad school at least has an end out there somewhere.
Stan Gable:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:02 pm
From the picture I assumed that they’d have the interns fight to the death for the opportunity to land a paying job. Not sure if this is better or worse.
Randy Paul:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:04 pm
With a pair of balls like that he should be a porno actor.
Quicksand:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:09 pm
I don’t think this is quite the bottom yet — I don’t see anything there about a minimum contract length or buyout.
DanMulligan:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
Hmm… perhaps the next film topic for Spielberg: “Where’s Lincoln Now?”
Auguste:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:13 pm
In my previous profession, this was actually fairly common, and it wasn’t just “improve your job prospects”: You were required to do several thousand hours of shadowing as part of the training before becoming professionally licensed, and many ‘masters’ would indeed charge their apprentice to do so. I’m talking up to two years of full-time work, without remuneration and even charging “tuition.”
Murc:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:14 pm
This is actually very old school.
We have actually returned to the medieval tradition of apprentices needing to pay a fee to learn from their masters. Five hundred years of advancement in the ways in which we provide and fund education and it’s come back to this.
The lawyer posting this ad should be subject to professional sanction. If that’s not possible, the rules should be changed such that it is possible in the future. He should at the very least be made a subject of ridicule.
commie atheist:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:33 pm
Spartacus is a bottom?
Craigo:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:35 pm
I actually think that some sort of apprenticeship could be a viable alternative to the law school model, particularly as law schools aren’t particularly interested in teaching the actual practice of law.
But without (dischargeable) loans or actual compensation, it’s just indentured servitude.
RedSquareBear:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
I am, Sparticus!
Spoffin:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
Betcha its not the bottom. Betcha there’s still a long way down. Betcha 12 months of that monthly fee.
Linnaeus:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:48 pm
I love the smell of neofeudalism in the morning. Or neomanorialism if you prefer.
Either way, it appears that I wasn’t far off when I joked with some friends a few months ago that pretty soon, employment will be considered a gift that our new lords allow us to have and for which we’ll have to pay for the privilege.
Linnaeus:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:49 pm
I wonder if one of the things you’ll pay this attorney for is the opportunity to copy edit the ads she/he posts.
Warren Terra:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:51 pm
Didn’t we actually have apprenticeship as a route to a legal career in this country, not all that long ago? I recall from reading Caro on LBJ that LBJ considered becoming a lawyer by such a route, in a state that did not require a law degree to pass the bar.
TapirBoy1:
January 10th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
I don’t know if this violates the Model Rules, but I sure hope so.
Lector Peregrinus:
January 10th, 2013 at 8:04 pm
It’s still legal in some states, but obviously it’s just not the done thing anymore.
BigHank53:
January 10th, 2013 at 8:22 pm
If he gets a cute enough candidate, I’m sure that offer will be made.
Ken:
January 10th, 2013 at 8:38 pm
I was going to say “not the bottom”, then I noticed the link was to Craigslist.
LeeEsq:
January 10th, 2013 at 8:46 pm
They have been doing this pay for internship in Britain for months now but its not with lawyers. Its for jobs with ordinary businesses like the local office supply store and similar things.
LeeEsq:
January 10th, 2013 at 8:48 pm
No, medieval apprentices had a better deal. Medieval masters were required to provide lodging and food and actually had to educate them in the trade. Modern day masters have no such obligation and don’t even have to really educate you. You get to pay for the privilege of making copies and getting coffee.
Vance Maverick:
January 10th, 2013 at 8:51 pm
Luthier? Renaissance silversmith? Freudian therapist?
Major Kong:
January 10th, 2013 at 8:52 pm
So Paul, do you like movies about gladiators?
Barry Freed:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:07 pm
No, but Marcus Licinius Crassus probably is.
john:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:12 pm
California allows it, not sure how many people have actually gone that route though.
Speak Truth:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Paul,
Eco 201 says there are too many law schools pumping out too many lawyers.
I’m sorry that your field is subject to the market.
Phoenix Rising:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:25 pm
No, but the apprentice will replenish the stock of apostrophes on the master’s desk, at appropriate intervals. So he doesn’t run out at an inopportune moment.
Phoenix Rising:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:27 pm
May I also say, how cynical are we that the syntactical problem leapt out at us? Like a shimmering puddle of poison in a pool of sludge, I couldn’t not comment on it.
Linnaeus:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Cynical, yes, but the particular context makes it leap out that much more.
Thursday Night Links « Gerry Canavan:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:42 pm
[...] * Law school skips right past adjunctification and non-monetary compensation all the way to a pay-to-w… [...]
Sargon:
January 10th, 2013 at 9:58 pm
I’m sorry, was this supposed to be a trollish jab? Paul’s been saying this exact thing for years.
Rhino:
January 10th, 2013 at 10:42 pm
A while ago I mentioned on this blog that I was in hospital for an extremely serious infection, one that is usually fatal, and almost always permanently disabled. (Necrotizing fasciitis, for those who are wondering.) In my case through sheer fluke I was diagnosed at least a day or two earlier than most patients ever would be, much increasing my chances of survival.
In any event what I wanted to say was yesterday I was discharged from the hospital with a truly horrific scar, but a prognosis of not merely survival but complete functional recovery. According to the team of doctors, and you get only the best with rare stuff like this, the expected recovery verges on a medical miracle.
All that aside, it was the commenters and proprietors of LGM, alicublog, and Sadly, No, who kept me sane and connected with the outside world. Always remember your audience is not just fellow lefties and trolls, but also people like I was, depending upon you for the wit, erudition, and vicious sarcasm you display with such élan.
Thank you, I now return you to sniping at jenbob and bickering with joe from Lowell.
Erik Loomis:
January 10th, 2013 at 11:00 pm
Wow, I’m glad you are better!
Rand Careaga:
January 10th, 2013 at 11:42 pm
I believe that young Richard Carstone, one of the ultimately crestfallen claimants in Bleak House, entered into a similar arrangement in his desultory pursuit of a suitable gentleman’s profession. We appear to have overshot the gilded age by half a century or more.
BigHank53:
January 11th, 2013 at 12:06 am
Congrats on beating a truly nasty bug. I’m afraid I’ve misplaced my supply of erudition, though. Would you be willing to settle for some over-hopped and bitter snark?
L2P:
January 11th, 2013 at 12:17 am
Those exist.
L2P:
January 11th, 2013 at 12:19 am
Hope you continue to have good news!
L2P:
January 11th, 2013 at 12:19 am
Hopefully the apprentice will bring some apostrophes from the law school supply.
KLG:
January 11th, 2013 at 12:41 am
Physician’s Assistant?
Timurid:
January 11th, 2013 at 1:24 am
He did end up under a big pile of Persians…
not many:
January 11th, 2013 at 2:19 am
roughly 560 have started LOSP since 1980 and about 75 have finished and passed the bar
sibusisodan:
January 11th, 2013 at 4:40 am
Sniff. Tragic rug-slippage accidents always make me emotional.
Xenos:
January 11th, 2013 at 6:45 am
Young Richard Carstone did not have a law degree or even a university degree. He was a school-leaver for whom John Jarndyce purchased first a medical and thereafter a legal apprenticeship. In both cases he was given formal guidance and time to study, as well as expected to work.
I don’t know if an Oxbridge graduate with a degree in law would have been expected to pay to work, but if they proceeded to study at the inns of the courts they probably were expected to support themselves as necessary until they were fully admitted to the bar.
Xenos:
January 11th, 2013 at 6:51 am
Need to correct myself here: the degrees in law did not begin until well after the time in Bleak House (events took place in the 1820s). Still, Tulkinghorn must have had a much better education, and a classier aprenticeship, than Guppy.
Malaclypse:
January 11th, 2013 at 7:07 am
Good to hear.
Slocum:
January 11th, 2013 at 7:20 am
Chump?
Manju:
January 11th, 2013 at 7:28 am
Congrats, and a lovely post. BTW…if you suspect Byrd Flu, you know who to call.
BlueLoom:
January 11th, 2013 at 8:18 am
Virginia still allows it.
NorthLeft12:
January 11th, 2013 at 8:49 am
Perhaps the “lawyers” considering this “opportunity” should apply to be the mentor’s nanny or housekeeper instead? Probably will learn as much and also get paid with access to the mentor’s fridge too.
mattH:
January 11th, 2013 at 8:56 am
If balanced properly, there is no such thing as over-hopped and bitter. Usually just means you need more alcohol.
Glad to hear you’re ok Rhino.
Anonymous:
January 11th, 2013 at 9:41 am
Thanks to all of you.
Rhino:
January 11th, 2013 at 9:43 am
Sigh. Anonymous was me.
JoyfulA:
January 11th, 2013 at 10:05 am
Some dentists do, I’ve heard.
The Dark Avenger:
January 11th, 2013 at 10:31 am
It can be done in California, but not easily.
The Dark Avenger:
January 11th, 2013 at 10:33 am
Well, Speak Deceit has never been known for his/her Sherlock Holmes powers of observation, has he/she?
The Dark Avenger:
January 11th, 2013 at 10:36 am
Get off your high horse for one freaking minute, or are you one of those conservatives who claim that “libruls politicize everything” Manju?
Good to hear that you did much better than expected. There are other kinds of infections, like the bubonic plague, or meningitis, where an early diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death.
Murc:
January 11th, 2013 at 11:10 am
I am prepared to take the position it is wrong to exploit people even if it is economically possible to do so.
spencer:
January 11th, 2013 at 11:28 am
Sounds like grad school.
spencer:
January 11th, 2013 at 11:32 am
But of course, there’s been a huge market failure here – that of non-symmetric information – which is exactly what Paul is trying to repair.
And of course, if you’d actually *taken* Econ 201, you’d know that.
spencer:
January 11th, 2013 at 11:34 am
Necrotizing fasciitis
I have no idea what that is, but if it’s anywhere near as nasty as it sounds … well, yikes.
At any rate, congrats, and here’s hoping your recovery is a smooth one.
spencer:
January 11th, 2013 at 11:35 am
I thought it was a joke, aimed at himself more than anything else.
Rhino:
January 11th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
So did I. I certainly laughed, and certainly wasn’t offended. Actually it takes fairly big things to offend me nowadays.
snarkout:
January 11th, 2013 at 1:24 pm
Do you consider the watching of movies about cowboys to be moral and the watching of movies about gladiators to be immoral?
snarkout:
January 11th, 2013 at 1:26 pm
That’s horrible – glad to hear that a full recovery is expected.
Linnaeus:
January 11th, 2013 at 1:30 pm
The Wikipedia entry is pretty informative.
Short version: it’s a rare infection of subcutaneous tissue that spreads rapidly and, unchecked, results in massive tissue destruction and death. You’ve probably heard it called an infection of “flesh-eating bacteria”, though that’s not what they actually do.
Roger Ailes:
January 11th, 2013 at 2:56 pm
“Observe the following types of proceedings, as they occur; Civil Short Calender motion arguments, foreclosure mediation’s….”
Proofreading advertisements.
Julia Grey:
January 11th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
Heh.
IIRC, Taitz didn’t go the apprentice route. She went to an ABA un-accredited school.
Julia Grey:
January 11th, 2013 at 4:01 pm
Hear, hear!
Julia Grey:
January 11th, 2013 at 4:09 pm
Hmm. I’d forgotten that Guppy was admitted to the bar. I remember him as a mere factotum.
gocart mozart:
January 11th, 2013 at 4:35 pm
or you can sit in the back of the public courtroom and observe the arguments for free.
Aaron Baker:
January 11th, 2013 at 5:01 pm
I’m glad to hear of your recovery.
jackd:
January 11th, 2013 at 7:16 pm
Rhino, if you care to see what someone else went through, go check http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?p=3085 the blog of Canadian science fiction writer Peter Watts. The bugs attacked his calf. He posted photos – not for the squeamish. But he, like you, was one of the lucky ones who got treatment in time. Or as he puts it, ” Not lucky; none of we flesh-eaten are lucky. But I’ve got to be the least unlucky bastard alive.”
Here’s to you, Rhino, another of the least unlucky!
Major Kong:
January 11th, 2013 at 7:36 pm
It’s a line from the movie Airplane. Probably before your time.
PQuincy:
January 11th, 2013 at 8:23 pm
Hmmm…and then can also learn to write using apostrophes for plurals (they can observe “mediation’s”), while omitting apostrophes for possessives (they need “presiding judges approval”, aka, the approval of presiding judges).
Just don’t pay too much!
RepubAnon:
January 11th, 2013 at 9:03 pm
I used to joke about lawyers at the freeway off-ramps carrying “Will Sue For Food” signs – looks as though that isn’t a joke any more.
Phoenix Rising:
January 11th, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Which offers the additional advantage of allowing the student/apprentice to observe the correct spelling of “calendar”, at least in the docket bulletin of every court I’ve ever been in.
…I know, I’ll stop now.
Lenzman:
January 13th, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Nice one.