"The Happy Lawyer": UMKC Law Professors Nancy Levit and Douglas O Linder's hypocritically stupid advice to law students and law grads.

Nancy Levit and Douglas O Linder, Professors of Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, have earned a place in my ongoing list of idiotic quotes from law professors, even though most of their quotes are more accurately described as hypocritical and sententious than as idiotic. The quotes come from their 2010 book, called "The Happy Lawyer: Making a Good Life in the Law." First the quotes and then a discussion below.

1. "Law degree offer tremendous flexibility. If you go to dental school—well, plan to spend years looking at teeth. A law degree, on the other hand, can open doors in politics, business, health care, journalism, law enforcement, and other fields where clear thinking and a knowledge of our nation’s laws is valued. Don’t limit your career vision to traditional law jobs. You can consult in an area of your expertise (such as business valuations); be a headhunter; go into arbitration or mediation; look at human resources jobs (such as affirmative action officer); develop real estate; write thrillers (think Scott Turow or John Grisham); become counsel for a school district; use the law degree to teach at the college, junior college, or paralegal level; become an agent in the entertainment or sports industries; manage a baseball team (Tony La Russa); coach football (Vince Lombardi); write poetry (Edgar Lee Masters); create crossword puzzles (Will Shortz); become a sportscaster (Howard Cosell) or broadcast journalist (Geraldo Rivera); become an actor (John Cleese); become a Presidential speechwriter and a game show host (Ben Stein); or even become a community organizer and then President of the United States (Barack Obama). In short, don’t start law school thinking that the sole career outcome is to practice law with a law firm."

Levit, Nancy; Linder, Douglas O. (2010-07-22). The Happy Lawyer:Making a Good Life in the Law (p. 114-115). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.

2. "The best elixir is not money, but people. Search for a law school where professors understand and teach the importance of social bonds. Is your prospective law school one where students and faculty play together? Does it hold poker tournaments, faculty-student softball games, or annual skit shows? Do members of the law school community participate in Habitat for Humanity or other charitable projects? Ask current students if they have ever had a beer or a cup of coffee with a faculty member." Id. at p. 119.

3. "Consider how many of your current decisions are motivated by economics—what you can afford to do, and whether you can repay your student loans. Fortunately, this debt may be more manageable than the looming large numbers first make it seem. Lawyers are not minimum wage earners and make a good salary over time." Id. at p. 136.

4. "Unlike some other sources of lawyer unhappiness, feelings about not serving a larger social purpose come from a choice you made. No one forced you to take the job with the fancy downtown firm with its list of well-heeled clients. You could have taken a job with the county prosecutor or the public defender (which one would have given you a sense of contributing to society’s betterment depends upon your own views on law, order, and justice)."  Id. at p. 105-106

5. "Instead of taking that higher paying job at the prestigious firm of Thurston, Howell & Gilligan, how about accepting that slightly less lucrative offer from the seven-person firm in your hometown?" Id. at p. 90.

6.  "Developing social connections with faculty outside the classroom not only enhances learning, it "makes the educational process more meaningful" because professors can often help students reflect on their own values better in one-on-one meetings." Id. at p. 134.

7. "Fortunately, you will probably discover that lawyers in the community are more than willing to be mentors."  Id. at p. 134.

8.  "You may look back and realize that law school did equip you to handle many of the slings and arrows of practice: that you learned teamwork in sharing notes, that the Socratic dialogue prepared you to sharpen your thinking and articulate positions for your clients and to understand that there is no single right answer to "most of the hard questions that real world practice poses," and that as a litigator—and unlike Yogi Berra—you need to be ready to "take both forks in the road."  Id. at p. 131-132.

9. "The range of possible pro bono possibilities is vast. . ."  Id. at p. 197. [1]

Was the whole book as stupid as these quotes indicate? Not quite, which isn’t saying much. I thought that Levit and Linder’s discussion of some aspects of lawyer unhappiness was okay, if very shallow and overlong. They note that humans are "happiness-seeking animals." Id. at p. 226. They look to neuroscience and evolutionary psychology for insights into what makes humans happy. They note that relationships are key to life satisfaction. They recommend working a job consistent with one’s values, and discuss the importance of flexible schedules, autonomy, and maintaining a reasonable work-life balance. Ect.

Now, most of this stuff applies to white collar jobs generally, not just to lawyers. Indeed, in evaluating the unhappiness of practicing lawyers, Levit and Linder are not speaking from long or recent experience. The "employment" section of Levit's CV indicates that her only her experience as a lawyer consists of a federal district court clerkship and a single year of private practice. She has been a law professor since 1988. The biographical squib of Prof. Linder on his law school's website does not include a CV or even a list of positions or dates, but merely states that "Professor Linder is a former member of the Minnesota bar, and has practiced in the areas of environmental law and communications law." Linder has been a law professor at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, since the mid-1980s--where it is unlikely that his Minnesota bar membership, now lapsed, ever did much good. 

What infuriates me about this book is the near-complete failure to critique law school as a source of lawyer career unhappiness, even in the longest chapter of the book, Chapter 5, entitled: "Preparing for a Satisfying Career: The Law School Years." Why must law schools graduate 44,000 freshly minted lawyers to compete for 20,000-26,000 full-time legal jobs?  Why must they force their students to shoulder debt loads from hell? What about the declining levels of job security that Levit and Linder correctly identify as a source of lawyer unhappiness-- isn’t that ultimately a product of the market-flooding behavior of law schools? These questions are not addressed in their book.

Levit and Linder insistently advise young lawyers to go for that small firm or government job rather than opting for Big Law. Do they really believe that more than a sliver of new graduates have the choice? Or that government jobs are plentiful in this age of austerity? Or that small firms are eager to hire new law grads, even as ever-increasing competition, tort reform, and the growing availability of online legal resources eats into their bottom line? Young lawyers simply do not have the options they had a couple of decades ago. They will be lucky to get a job of any sort in the profession, and their JD is not respected by nonlaw employers. Of course, that is due to larger economic forces. But a new lawyer’s career prospects and opportunities for "happiness" would not be nearly as dismal had it not been for the greedy behavior of law school deans and professors. 

Levit and Linder add stunning hypocrisy to their cluelessness in advising their debt-ridden students that that money can’t make you happy, indeed that "even having higher income aspirations leads to reduced life satisfaction."  Id. at p. 137. If that is really the case, then maybe law professors can set an example by sacrificing their "higher income aspirations" for the greater good of their students and their profession. Yes, maybe Levit and Linder can ask that half their salaries be used to offset student tuition– in the interest of social bonds and trust and values and all those good things they talk about in their book. [2] The professors would merely be discarding those happiness-destroying higher income aspirations. Plus, if they ever did need some extra income, they could avail themselves of the "tremendous flexibility" offered by a law degree and coach a football team, write a thriller, or help launch an innovative comedy troupe, following the example of John Cleese.

notes and additional links.

[1]   Possible possibilities. I guess these happiness experts do not care about the happiness of their readers.

[2] In their book, Levit and Linder assert that: "So, if you earn more than, say, $70,000 (the midpoint of the $50,000 to $89,999 bracket), your absolute salary level should not matter much to your general life satisfaction—you will be earning enough to live comfortably." Happy Lawyer, at p. 10-11. And, yet, according to the University of Missouri employee salary database, Levit was paid $156,750 and Linder was paid $141,250 for the academic year 2011-2012.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/university-of-missouri-employee-payroll/html_6a155f54-6766-11df-bc3d-0017a4a78c22.html?appSession=108244848274722
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/university-of-missouri-employee-payroll/html_6a155f54-6766-11df-bc3d-0017a4a78c22.html?appSession=34744848018658

　

The Life and Times of Mr. Infinity: The Washington Heights Apartment

I live in the neighborhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan, and I must say, I have been enjoying it here so far.  While it's not the best neighborhood I have lived in, it's an interesting place that is totally underrated.  I want to share with my readers some pictures of the place that I call home. 

Some of these pictures were taken during the winter, but they show some of the neighborhood.  This is where I have lived for almost a year now (I did not live in campus housing).  Before I lived here, I was in Kew Gardens. 

Keep in mind that I pay $1,150 a month for this place.  I do not need anything more fancy.  For those who say that you need to pay $2000-3000 to have a decent place in New York, I say: that is not correct.  I have been in many fine apartments in the city that are around $1000 a month.  If you are struggling as a lawyer, you should be looking at places that are well under $1500 a month.  If you are single, you should strongly consider living with a room mate.

Home is, largely, what you make of it.  You have live well almost anywhere, provided that you want to.

View of the Hudson river.

The Cloisters, one of my favorite places in the area to visit.

And, the apartment itself:

I hope you enjoyed the tour of the place that I call home.  It's not the fanciest place in the world, but it's inexpensive (especially for Manhattan) and it is a nice place to live.  And, as always, comments are totally welcome.

Hanging a Shingle and Going Solo

I am going to experiment with allowing comments back onto this blog.  Last time I did this, there was a lot of spam websites posted, so I am going to moderate comments.

I wanted to post on the topic of starting your own firm or hanging a shingle after law school.  Many people are afraid of hanging their own shingle, as there is supposedly too much competition out there.

Let me say this right away:  "if you have never tried your hand at starting your own law firm, your comment is pretty much worthless on this subject."  There are many doctors that start their own offices, even though there are thousands of doctors with small offices competing.  Does that mean that one should not open a doctor's office? 

There will be a lot of competition out there.  However, you will find that there will be people who see your advertisements, who hear about you via word of mouth, and after a while, other attorneys will refer overflow clients to you.  It will be a slow start, no doubt about that, but it's better than complaining about not making any money.  That's for sure!

There are a lot of good posts about going solo on JDUnderground. 

There is also a good blog that answers some questions:  http://phillylawblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/should-i-start-a-solo-practice/

This blog talks a lot about how the author succeeded at going solo.  For example, they took furniture from off the streets.  They were frugal, goals oriented individuals. 

There are CLE events for those who are interested in starting their own legal practice.  If you are interested, go to those.  Also, read books about starting your own business.  Read advice from others who went solo and did well.  Many people go solo and don't make a lot of money for a few years.  However, they are learning a lot and it's better than sitting around jobless and whining on the internet.

Those who fail at going solo are going to be those who thought they would get rich quick, don't understand that you have to reinvest the profits into the business, and those who are bad with other people (such as those who post poop pictures on the internet).  You have to have good people skills and like, yes, like your clients, if you want to succeed in business.

Will I go solo?  I don't know.  I will probably work as long as I can and get a bunch of experience, take notes, and continue to ask myself "could I do this on my own?" 

If you want to go solo, don't let others hold you back.  Sure, there is a lot of competition, but dentists have a ton of competition too.  And not everyone goes to the dentist.  As people are getting older, many lawyers are going to be retiring while more people are going to start thinking about estate planning, making wills, etc.  Furthermore, with less people going to law school and less future competition, there is a good chance that going solo could be a very good idea.

The Madness of Solo Practice

One of the oft-quoted career paths for the fifty percent of law graduates who aren’t lucky enough to find a paying job is solo practice or sharing an office.  For the twenty thousand pre-1Ls who will inevitably find themselves in this dismal position in three years, or who are still going to law school this coming September thinking that this is a fallback option, let’s take a look at the facts.

But not in the context of law school, because that message just hasn’t sunk in – if it had, low-ranked law schools would be empty.  So let’s think about burgers.

Picture this: your average intersection. On one corner, there’s a McDonalds.  On another, a Burger King. The third corner has a Wendy’s.  And the fourth corner is vacant. Each sells roughly the same product – burgers.  Each has a finely tuned business model, economies of scale, great reputation and experience, and together all three restaurants easily satisfy the burger needs of the passing customers. The lines in the drive-thru lanes are short, there’s not a huge amount of traffic in the area, and there is no need for any additional burger restaurants in the area. Not only that, but people are realizing that they don’t like burgers as much as they used to, and the customer base is shrinking.

And your business plan is to borrow $150,000 to $250,000 and start “LawBurger” on the fourth corner.  Your business model is selling more of exactly the same burgers in an already-saturated and shrinking market.  Not a different type of food. Exactly the same kind of food.  And you will be taught how to make burgers for three years by people who have never made burgers before, at a school headed up by someone who thinks that there is a vast unmet demand for burgers – except he fails to tell you that this demand is from hordes of hungry bums who can’t pay for your burgers.

Crazy, right? 

Yet that’s exactly what the suggested business model for many new law grads is.  Go into a saturated, shrinking market and start selling exactly the same product as everyone else.

That’s not being entrepreneurial.  That’s the kind of business stupidity shown only by lottery winners - the ones who end up bankrupt three years after winning the MegaMillions.

And therein lies the danger of solo practice or hanging out a shingle.  There is no entrepreneurial common sense.  For many new businesses outside law, the plan is to either tap an existing client base or demand that is not being met (e.g. a new entrant into a market that is underserved, such as manufacturing low-cost, reliable electric vehicles), or the business is set up with the goal of generating demand for something new (e.g. the latest fad in the restaurant world.)  But for new entrants into the practice of law who believe they can make their own jobs, there is no base of clients that can be tapped.  The law market is tapped out.  There are already dozens of similar (even identical) businesses in the marketplace, and there’s nothing new you can offer.  You’re not able to set a trend or alter people’s tastes and desires.  Literally all you’re doing is adding one more person providing same-old legal services to the entire legal services marketplace, where it’s already saturated and there’s just no room for anyone else.

There is still time to decide to do something other than going to law school this coming September.  Surely you can think of something better to do than throw money away on a business plan that is set up to fail?

Charles Cooper is the author, along with Thane Messinger, of “Con Law: Avoiding...or Beating...the Scam of the Century (The Real Student's Guide to Law School and the Legal Profession)”, in addition to being the moderator at Nontradlaw.net and the author of “Later in Life Lawyers”.  He can be contacted at charlescooperauthor@gmail.com.

Seton Hall Law Cuts on Chopping Block?

"A Law School's Possible Purge of its Junior Faculty Ranks,"  by David Latt (Above the Law)

Money Quote: "Last week, we heard reports of one law school basically axing its entire junior faculty. All of the untenured professors received notice that their contracts might not be renewed for the 2014-2015 academic year. Ouch. As is so often the case, though, there's more to this story than meets the eye....The law school in question is Seton Hall University School of Law (#64 in the U.S. News rankings, and #36 in Above the Law rankings). The cuts are possible, not definite, and the school hopes that it won't have to follow through on the notices."

UPDATED (With Hat Tip to Adam B.)"Seton Hall Law School Cuts Faculty by 10%; Gives Notice to All Untenured Faculty of Possible Termination" by Paul Campos (Lawyers Guns & Money)

*****

"Law School Graduates Face Tough Job Market, High Student Loan Debt," by Brian Smith (MLive)

Money Quote: "The caps and gowns have been folded and put away and the celebratory balloons have shriveled. But for law school graduates busy studying for the upcoming bar exam, the balloons aren't the only thing that's deflated: so are their chances of finding a job and paying down six-figure student loan debts, particularly for graduates of the state's two private law schools [Cooley Law School and the University of Detroit Mercy]."

And, later: "Cooley, which has its primary campus in Lansing and satellite campuses in Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Tampa Bay, Fla., produced 1,079 graduates in the class of 2012, or more than the other four Michigan schools combined. Of those, 264 have failed to find work for an unemployment rate of 24.46 percent. The school also lacks employment information on an additional 9.5 percent of the class."

Given that Michigan is graduating 6.5 law students for every job opening, the numbers in this article don't look kosher to me and the writer didn't seem to grasp that these jobs included both barista and barrister. Even though the headline is a warning, I can see prospective students thinking 75% of grads found jobs as lawyers.

*****

"Legal Merger Shows Rise in Criminal Defense Status," by Peter Lattman (New York Times Dealbook)

Money Quote: "As firms struggle to increase revenue, they realize that representing business people behaving badly is good for the bottom line."

Big Law holds its nose and merges.

*****

"CUNY is Paying David Petraeus $200,000 to Work Three Hours a Week," by J.K. Trotter (Gawker)

Money Quote: "A first-time adjunct professor teaching a full course load at the City University of New York can expect to pull in around $25,000 per year. If you recently resigned as C.I.A. director over a long-time affair with your biographer, however, you can expect to be paid eight times as much for a fraction of the work."

Turns out CUNY couldn't nail down a donor for $50,000 of this so Petraeus is only going to make $150,000. But still, for three hours a week? Petraeus should have tried for one of those vacation home sweet-heart deals at NYU.

*****

"Higher Default Rates than Grad Rates," by Mary Beth Marklein, Jodi Upton and Sandhya Kambhampati (USA Today)

Money Quote: "More than 260 colleges and universities in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have students who are more likely to default on their loans than full-time freshmen are to graduate, an analysis of federal data shows."

Too bad they don't extend this study to law schools.

Satan's email to the ScamDeans

SECOND SCHOLAR. Yet, Faustus, look up to heaven, and remember mercy is infinite.

FAUSTUS. But Faustus' offence can ne'er be pardoned:  the serpent that tempted Eve may be saved, but not Faustus.  O gentlemen, hear me with patience, and tremble not at my speeches!  Though my heart pant and quiver to remember that I have been a student here these thirty years, O, would I had never  seen Wittenberg, never read book! and what wonders I have done, all Germany can witness, yea, all the world; for which Faustus hath lost both Germany and the world, yea, heaven itself, heaven, the seat of God, the throne of the blessed, the kingdom of joy; and must remain in hell for ever, hell.  O, hell, for ever!  Sweet friends, what shall become of Faustus, being in hell for ever?

Dear Blood Brothers:

How long has it been since last we met? I will have to check our contract, but it has been awhile. But I shall shortly make up for our long absence in communication by offering you some well-deserved praise. You have worked hard for me. The trouble with Heaven & Earth is they so rarely recognize continuous accomplishments, only rare deeds that stand out. Hell is different; we recognize consistent performance. And thus, you deserve some support and recognition to your quotidian but distinguished accomplishments. 

I am not known for praising others, but even Lucifer can sympathize when occasion calls. We down below, even though ensconced in darkness visible, have seen clearly the latest setbacks you have encountered. We are losing souls left and right, faster even than a mainstream protestant denomination. We both know, however, there will never be any shortage of new "customers". Always there will be mortals to sell out their long-term potential (“souls”) for their short term gain (“J.D.”), and we can trust these to ignore all evidence to the contrary of their childish fancy of being Matlock, Perry Mason, or whatever aging ham actor is on Television today "practicing" law. For Devil's sake, even Captain Kirk as a senile senior biglaw partner wasn't enough to dissuade the fools from enlisting in our ranks! 

So I wish to recognize your achievements. Each year we still begin an initiation of 48,000 souls, stolen by our deceit and lost forever to heaven. So you see, we are quite successful, even if our success is not a torrent but merely a flood. The scambloggers should not trouble us; they cannot dam up more than a trickle. Even if those supposed “scambloggers” take away  10% of our yearly soul-grab, we still have 43,000 spirits to absorb into our dimension! It is a minor setback indeed, my dearest deans. Our operations and partnership are hardly impacted. Counting unaccredited and online schools, we have nearly 250 to command. So what if 10% of those close? We will continue what we do best with a more than ample 225 factories of "law", each a perversely taxpayer-supported assembly line of superfluous indoctrination and over-credentialing into a market more oversaturated than "I can't believe it's not butter". We devils are in a strong position still, and we need not fret. Even if I did not already have the wealth of Ormus and Ind, another year alone of student loan-based profit—as you call it, “tuition”—would get me there. 

I shall give you some practical advice as well: I “pray”, as they say, that you will consider our position objectively and not be persuaded by the anti-devilists. The bait we dangle is still capable of attracting—what do you mortals call them; "Stupid Snowflakes"? Yes, that is what you should call them—more grist to the mill, in any case. Reassure the barely-doubting Stupid Snowflakes that the United States is the world’s most powerful economy and has a fully-functioning judicial system, with administrative, quasi-judicial, traditional, local, municipal, county, state, federal, sectional, even international law (my personal favorite) just waiting to be practiced. There are job a plenty, thousands upon thousands of attorneys and partners raking beaucoup bucks. Concentrate on the opportunities that still exist, and repeat until no one questions you: there are jobs and money and an inherent need for attorneys, regardless of any economic changes, outsourcing, or regulatory drift that might harm this revenue stream in the future. The winners always win, and every snowflake was born to be a winner. How could it be otherwise? Remind them that paying tuition via $230,000 of student loans is not like racking up debt on credit cards during a shopping spree at a Tom Ford boutique, but something far more responsible and socially appropriate, and just as stylish.

The silly children do not need to know that the available jobs are insufficient to meet the endless demand from graduates that we have inundated the market with. Things that limit opportunities for them, such as tort reform, arbitration, other alternative dispute resolution, outsourcing, and “do-it-yourself” legal form software, well—ignore those. That which is ignored does not exist, and our precious snowflakes, all 48,000 of them, will hardly independently investigate inconvenient truths and then change their behavior based on bad news! That is about as likely as Gabriel is to join hands with Moloc for a delightful Viennese waltz. It would hurt their pride and take away their imagined success. Pride is always on the side of intellectual blindness; we win when people ignore the truth, for truth unread sets no one free. Melt snowflakes, in our floods and whirlwinds of tempestuous fire!

Remember, my dearest deans, a lot is depending on your continued service to me. Hell can hardly recruit happy, satisfied individuals to voluntarily join our dark opprobrious den of shame. Rather, we need those who are both greedy and desperate, which your continued promises and bogus “statistics” will help engender more than anything. First, promise them what they want; trust me, their greed will make them believe you. Then, when the promises cannot be met, just as surely as 48,000 graduates cannot all get one of the high-status 5,000 “Biglaw” positions, their fear will combine with their greed to truly make them our own for an eternity. Remember the words of my strongest supporter, when things seemed lightest he was there to encourage us:

Fall'n Cherube, to be weak is miserable

Doing or Suffering: but of this be sure,

To do ought good never will be our task,

But ever to do ill our sole delight,

As being the contrary to his high will

Whom we resist.

That is our motto and mantra that all deans memorize and repeat in front of the mirror every weekday morning. It is how we will run our legal education industry throughout whatever faces us in the future. Repetition is our strongest argument. We will not, and must not give up our enterprise. You are well-paid, and will continue to be. Ignore the detractors. Finally, give gratitude to my chief agent on earth, he who while unfortunately is under-the-weather due to lead poisoning-caused brain damage, which I think was caused by contact with substances that can coat a surface and change the color—I forgot what the mortals call that substance. More even than Beelzebub, he has disrupted our opposition and distracted countless souls form paying attention to the real issue. Distraction is our greatest asset in the years ahead, in addition to the greed and fear already mentioned. Annoyance and prestidigitation re always useful to those in our profession. You deans have done your part, and are much appreciated in these nether offices.

Darkness be with you all,

Satan

Fleeing the Country Due to Student Loan Debt: Egypt

Welcome to the first post in a new series in which I discuss some places you could go if you are looking to leave the country due to your high student loan debt.  Of course, I do not recommend this practice, as IBR should be able to save you.  However, if you are smart, you will still, without hesitation, pay your loans through IBR while possibly living in a cheaper locale, where the dollar goes a lot further.  With that said, I plan on paying my entire student loan balance, realizing that IBR is a fallback in case I do not find the high paying job of my dreams.  I also am considering a possible jaunt overseas if my income does not stretch far enough to pay for a very frugal life in the United States.

EGYPT

I have been to many countries now, and as I post this I am in Cairo Egypt.  I have just visited the Egyptian Museum and I must say, I am going to miss it here.  Last night was what may be the start of the second revolution and the streets were packed.  Many people have left, but I must say I did not feel the need to.  Sadly, my plane ticket was purchased a few months back, and it was the morning of July 2nd that I chose to depart on.  So, with that said, the question becomes: would I live in Egypt?

It takes a while to get used to Egypt.  At least, it did for me.  At first it's a place that is very unlike the United States.  It is dry, hot, and full of dust.  Cairo has more pollution than many people in the United States are used to.  The housing in Cairo and other cities is very old and rarely fancy.  There is virtually zero rain.  No humidity.  There are a lot of touts.  English, however, is spoken widely and it's not hard to find the things that you may need.  The cost of living is also much, much lower than in the United States.

Cost of Living in Egypt

In fact, eating local street food, such as falafel, fuul, or koshery would set you back only a few dollars a day total. Water has to be purchased, but is cheap and will clock in at about a dollar fiddy a day.  Did I say fiddy?  I meant fifty.  Room and board comes in at a VERY small amount.  An apartment can be rented in Cairo for a couple hundred a month.  For a little more you can live like a Sultan.  Transportation costs are very cheap, even transportation to the other side of the country.  All the creature comforts of home, such as internet, cellular phones, television, and World of Warcraft are all available here.  Skype is free, which will allow you to call your mother back home and tell her that you love her and miss her home cookin' and basement life.

Finding Employment in Egypt as an Expat

I am not sure about finding a job here, but I do know that there are jobs in teaching English as a second langauge, as well as jobs in coastal resort areas such as Dahab and Sharm el Sheikh as diving instructors.  A diving course in order to become certified as a dive master will set you back around $800-$1000.  Pay for divers is not that great, however.

If you are entrepreneurially-minded, you may be able to make an income in Egypt by writing books (such as Derailed at My Law School: The Story of a Terror-Stricken Third Year Law Student)  or import and resell cheaper local items, such as blankets, scarves, bags, perfumes, and other handicrafts, into the United States.

Finding Legal Employment in Egypt

There are lawyers in Egypt, but I am not sure how hard it is to get into the legal profession here.  I would consider e-mailing some and asking if they need help.  Many international lawyers may be interested in English speaking attorneys, especially in the resort areas.  There are lawyers who advertise in Dahab and Sharm el Sheikh who help with real estate matters and international transactions.

If you want to pursue an LLM, graduate programs abound that allow you to study online.  Yes, you can study while in Egypt and enjoy the lower cost of living that Egypt entails.  

Quality of Life in Egypt

In Egypt, you will enjoy a high quality of life for less money than you are used to in the United States.  You will have a variety of locales in which you can visit while still making a living.  Most areas of the country can be reached in less than a day from Cairo.  You can lay in a hammock in Dahab and swim in the cool waters of the Red Sea for under $10 a night at places such as Sindbad Camp.  You can camp in the desert in Sinai and explore the wilderness there for about the same price.  Activities such as windsurfing, sandboarding, and sailing can be done for a smaller sum than found in the US.  Cheap flights to Europe are plentiful.

Cons to Living in Egypt

Diarrhea comes to mind, but is easily cured.  It takes time to get used to the different foods here, and your body will need to adjust to the water.  Travel back to the United States to visit family is expensive, and an air ticket will set you back $800-1200, round trip, depending on the time of year.  There are few Americans compared to Europeans and Russians in Egypt, and this may bother some.  Also, the heat can be unbearable, the same with the dryness.  If you are used to living in your parents basement, living so far from the comforts of home may be tough.  Arabic may be hard to learn for many.  Also, there is visible poverty in many areas and people will sometimes ask you for a little financial help -- then again, this is not so different than most places in the world.  The political situation is also somewhat unstable at the moment, but not as much as you may have been lead to believe by the media.

Conclusion

I would say that Egypt is a country that you should consider if you are looking for a place that offers quite a bit of bang for your buck.  It is an exotic place that offers something for everyone.  The Egyptian people are very nice and welcoming, and you will probably make a ton of friends here if you give it time.  There is so much to see and do here that this may just be the place you want to flee to.