Law school graduation's a comin' (class of 2013)

Graduation has long been a proud time for every person and every family.  College graduation has always been a big shindiggle in which families would get together one one would feel 'mighty proud' about their accomplishments.  Graduation is a milestone.  A time to look back at the challenges one has endured and see that they got past those challenges.  Graduation.  Mine will happen in 2013.  I imagine a big auditorium.  Perhaps something grand.  I picture hundreds of people all dressed in purple and black robes walking down and picking up their diplomas.  I picture it hot.  We're all sweaty and excited.  The room smells of perfume and dripping deodorant.  There is the dean, sitting up in front with a few of the distinguished professors to his side.  The audience is loud but is not quieting down.  I would be shaking now, if I had went. 

Instead I am at home.  Law school is done.  I will probably not go for an LLM.  OK, I obviously will not go for an LLM.  Instead, I will be trying to ignore everyone who may be 'congratulating' me.  Some may not (my mother, for instance, forgot I was going to law school).  That's fine.  I would rather have it that way.  If my whole family forgot that would be interesting.  I never invited anyone to my undergraduate graduation, nor did I go to that.  I am sure many will be upset that I am not going to my law school graduation.  That's fine.  Some things in life require a person being upset over.  Life is not all candy canes and marshmallows.  They will just have to be upset.

That being said, I am not looking forward to my graduation.  It is no longer a time to celebrate.  What should I be celebrating?  A lack of jobs?  Having to find something in which I can earn money?  The loans that I have to now pay back?  Instead, I am considering looking for jobs elsewhere.  The military may still take me.  If not, there's plenty of work overseas.  I could maybe join the Peace Corps.  Of course, all of this I could have done without a law degree.  I imagine I will just enlist with the military.  No officer position.  I considered JAG, but I hear that's crazy-hard to get into now.  I could try to sell car insurance in Mexico.  I have always liked it down there to be honest, and I know that they have different insurance rules.  Having a law degree may help me understand those rules better.  Of course I would have to aprendar español.  Solo un poco ahora. 

What to do, what to do?  I can not help wondering what the other graduates of the class of 2013 are going to do?  What is the class of 2012 doing?  Looking for work, but what about the creative ones who realize that law isn't their cup of tea?  Am I the only one? 

Some US Cities offering to *help* pay off student loans!

A recent article from Yahoo (the king of all news) states:

In Niagara Falls, N.Y., a man shortly will attempt a daring feat—and he isn't Nik Wallenda: Seth Piccirillo, Niagara Falls' new director of community development, will attempt to lure young professionals to live in his city's beleaguered downtown, which for decades has been hemorrhaging residents--young ones especially.

He'll do it, he says, by offering to help them pay down their college loans. Here and there around the U.S.—from rural Kansas to Detroit—communities concerned over shrinking, aging populations are attempting novel experiments to attract the young and zippy. If they're not offering to pay off student loans, they're dangling other incentives aimed at budding professionals.

Niagara Falls' population 50 years ago teetered at 100,000. Then it began to fall and today it's half of what it was. If by the time of the next census it's under 50,000, leaders fear the city will risk the loss of some forms of federal assistance.

"We've lost a lot of talent, a lot of brain power," admits Piccirillo. "For 50 years we've been asking ourselves: how do we keep our young people?" The city, he says, never really had a plan. Now it does: It will attract them from elsewhere by offering to pay their student loans.

The city is putting an initial $200,000 behind the idea. The first applications should arrive in the next couple of months, says Piccirillo, but "The graduating class of 2013 will be our first real swing at it."

He says he got the idea by reading news headlines. "College debt is at the forefront of so many stories you see now," he says. "The New York Times just reported that student debt has topped $1 trillion; 94 percent of students now have some amount of debt." At the same time, he says, Niagara needs those very same graduates. "We need to grow our population base. Having young professionals is the key to a modern economy." The solution seemed obvious: Offer debt relief to attract graduates.
Under Niagara Falls' plan, graduates who have earned a 2- or 4-year degree in the past two years can apply for up to $3,500 a year (for two years) towards repayment of their student loans. The same deal would be offered to graduate students. Graduates of Niagara University and Niagara County Community College will be targeted at first, though the city hopes eventually to recruit graduates from other parts of the country.
To qualify, applicants will have to rent an apartment or buy a home within a designated downtown area. "We're not talking city-wide. We're taking acres," explains Piccirillo. "There's no doubt in my mind that getting even 100 to 150 people could revitalize the neighborhood."

In rural Kansas, a similar experiment is underway.
Fifty counties in the state have established Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZs) authorized to offer one or both of the following financial incentives to new full-time residents: Kansas income tax waivers for up to five years and/or student loan repayments up to $15,000.

To be eligible for loan repayments, applicants must hold an associate's, bachelor's or post-graduate degree; must have an outstanding student loan balance; and must establish residency in a ROZ county.

Chris Harris, manager of the Kansas program, says the idea is "to provide incentives for rural counties that have lost population over past decades." Applicants can come from any state. To date, he's received 338 applications, of which 111 have been from people out of state. About 75 percent qualify for one or both of the incentives. Applications now are being received at the rate of one a day.

"Our hope was that we'd get young professionals to move," he says. "Physicians, nurses, lawyers, accountants. And that's what we have seen--health professionals, teachers, veterinarians, accountants and a surprising number of lawyers. Our hope in the beginning was to attract individuals who would have a disproportionate economic impact on a region."

By way of example, he points to Dr. Aaron Zook, who, after doing his medical residency in Denver, relocated to rural Pratt, Kan., in part because of Kansas' debt-reduction offer. Zook told KSN TV in an interview that he had student loans totaling about $200,000. "Any help I can get is going to be real nice," he said.
So well is the Kansas program working that Harris' office has received expressions of interest from Nebraska, which, he says, is interested in establishing a similar relocation incentive.

Piccirillo in Niagara Falls says he's under no illusions that his debt repayment plan will fix his city's population problem. "Some have said that this, in and of itself, won't fix the city. And that's accurate."

Houses need to be spruced up. Old buildings need to be demolished. Concerns about crime and public safety will have to be addressed. But he points to other cities that have earned a new lease on life by reviving just a few square blocks.

One in particular inspires him: the Columbia City neighborhood of southeast Seattle, which, he says, was depressed, crime-ridden and post-industrial before renovation. "They set up a young and artistic neighborhood in a small area that included yoga studios, music venues, coffee houses. If you do a search online for Seattle, you'll see you'd want to spend time in Columbia City. That's the model in our minds."

He looks forward to the day when downtown Niagara Falls would be ranked with Columbia City among the top 10 neighborhoods in the U.S.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/student-loans-cities-offering-pay-debt-gain-young-204138733--abc-news-money.html

Personally, I don't know how well this is going to work.  Moving to these areas is not cheap.  It may cost a single person close to $3500 to move (although it can be done cheaper).  However, with the cost of finding a new apartment, u-haul rental, the cost of getting used to a new city (finding inexpensive stores to shop at, getting a feel for the best deals), and finding a job with no connection in an area that is probably low on jobs, it may not be worth it. 

I am sure there is much more that can be said about this.  In an age where $3500 pays for an undergraduate course at many schools (before the interest on the loans becomes ticking), such a small amount will not do many people much good.  And, according to the comments on Yahoo, there's plenty of people ready to sign up and move. 

Heck, some people will have $3,500 added to their loan balance in interest payments just in the amount of time it takes to move! 

The Barrister's Ball

Law School is like high school in many ways.  You are dealing with people who are still growing up, and many who are still battling certain 'urges'.  One of those urges is trying to prove you are immensely more intelligent than your peers.  Another one is the desire to hear yourself speak.  Another urge is the sexual frustration that comes with studying Tax Law until midnight and forgoing sex.  That is, if you have a sex life.  That is, if you have a relationship while in law school.

During the halfway mark of the spring semester law school throws a bump in the road.  It's called Barrister's Ball.  Basically this is adult prom.  No, I have never went.  No, I never will go.  I did not go to my prom either.  Nor do I feel I missed out.  However, many are getting real jittery at the idea of this big dance that is just around the corner.

My school, like many law schools in the US, throws a barrister's ball.  This one costs $75.  I don't know where the money goes.  I am guessing the student bar association. Maybe it goes to an evil gopher who controls time and space.  All I know is that there is no way in hades that I am going to this thing.  Why?  to dance with drunken chicks that drool on you and talk about consideration or contingent remainders?  I think not!

***

Fast forward.  The ball has passed.  Pictures were posted.  The smartest of the smart in their big black suits and the girls in their dresses, all smiles and fancy free.  Drinks were flowing and the food was supposedly delish.    Maybe I missed out.  All I know is that I did not want to go, and that is why I did not go.  Am I better person than those for not going?  No, not at all.  The truth is, part of me was a bit curious, that's why I looked it up and went through those pictures.  However, that being said, I am glad I did not go.  I do not fit well into those things, and I don't think I ever will.

Coming to terms with it all...

The last year has been an emotional roller coaster for me.  My first semester of 2L ended with me receiving horrendous grades.  I battled my way through emotions of "why try", "can I even get an A any more?" "have other law students got better?"  I lamented, missing a good chunk of classes in the last semester, going above the allowed absences in a few of my courses.  Then, I decided to cram at the end, spending hours upon hours on outlines, thinking that maybe there was a chance of me doing decent.  Better than C's.  Maybe I could get average grades.  In the end, I was able to pull in a few decent grades, while at the same time thinking that I may never even practice law.

Further, I battled depression knowing that I would probably never get the coveted $100k+ job or the summer internship that supposedly pays $20k.  I laid in bed at night, staring at the ceiling, realizing that I was paying over $150,000 for the privilege of going to law school.  How long would it take me to pay this sum back?  I did great in my law and economics course, and with my understandings of economics, I should have known better. The truth is, I didn't listen to reason.  I just jumped in to law school because for years I told myself I wanted to do it.  After three years of applying to schools I should have bit the bullet and gave up, but instead, I told myself it was so important to get into law school.  I knew little to nothing about the state of the legal economy when I was accepted, but even if I did, it would have been too little too late.  I was devoted to my goal of getting into law school, no matter what the tier, no matter what the cost.  I would have went to Harvard or Cooley, as long as it was an ABA accredited law school.

This summer has given me a lot of time to think.  Actually, the whole year, in all its craziness, has allowed me to come to terms that I will probably not be pulling in $100k+ a year in law.  Further, I have come to the conclusion that I do not want that any longer.  The time spent surrounded by the walls of a firm, the low man on the totem pole, the over-worked and undersexed partner breathing down your back.  No thanks.  I don't want to end my day to just go home to a fancy house that I get little time to enjoy, in a car that I only sees the road between home and the firm.  Even $100k a year is too little when it's my youth that is on the line.  No thanks.

So what is it that I want?  I don't know, now.  Do I want to practice law?  I don't think so.  Will I take the bar?  Yes.  I will still complete the goal I went after.  I am too close to quit and I feel that in the end this was an expensive way for me to prove that I can attain my goal.  I am still young and I still have many options in life ahead of me.  Law, however, may not be in the cards for me.

Answers to some questions re: law school - Part 1: What will the legal economy be like in 2013?

Hello.  I am doing a public service piece on law school.  As a student, I am offering an unbiased opinion on law school in 2012 and beyond.  Sit with me, grab a snack, and read on as to what I have to say regarding law school and the legal economy in 2012, 2013, and beyond.

What will the legal economy be like in 2013?
That is an excellent question, and one that we are all dying to find out.  As you may know, the 2011 graduates had one heck of a time finding a job.  And every morning I kiss the ground thanking the heavens that I did not graduate in 2012.  If you did, welcome to hell.  I have one more year before I graduate, so I am trying to keep myself sane.  But, the reality is that in 2013 I am going to graduate and I am going to be looking for work just like everyone else.  Lucky me!  And I am not excited.  Should you be?  No, you should be terrified.  You should be so scared unless you come from a wealthy family, have connections, or have a SECURE job lined up.  Chances are you don't!

If you do not have a secure job lined up you really need a solid plan.  You need to be doing something to get a job AND you need to come up with at least one back up plan.  Face it, you are NOT guaranteed a legal job in today's economy.  If you think you are, you are honestly going to be feeling awful when you realize you are living off false hopes.

Welcome to hell.  But don't worry, there are many things you can do to make it so you won't be at the point to where you wake up thinking of suicide and going to bed wishing you had offed yourself in the morning.  (Suicide should not be on your mind at this point in life anyway.)  First, you can try to find your NON-LEGAL passions.  But before that you need to HYPNOTIZE YOURSELF into believing that law school made you smarter and that it was worth at least some of the cost.

What are your non-legal passions?  Military?  Teaching?  Travel?  Gardening?  Walking pets?  Cleaning other people's houses?  Riding trains illegally?  Playing music on the subway?  Swimming across the ocean?  Compile a list of your passions and figure out how to integrate these passions into your increasingly miserable life.

Now that you have some non-legal passions lined up and a back up plan, still FOCUS on getting that illusive law job (yes, you are probably wasting your time, but it will keep your mind busy -- which is great for suicide prevention).  VOLUNTEER at a government job (Uncle Sam will love you for this).  Chances are you won't find work, but you can make yourself feel like a real life lawyer -- something you have a GREAT chance of NEVER becoming.  Volunteering WHILE IN LAW SCHOOL is better than WORKING FOR FREE and NOT being in law school.  While in law school FOCUS your time into ACTUALLY LEARNING the LAW.  I don't learn much law in class, I only learn theory.  I have realized that the only way in which I can learn how to practice law is by going out myself and volunteering.  Paradoxically, I am paying almost $50,000 a year to go to school, but pay nothing (other than minor costs, such as transportation and a fancy suit) to get real legal experience.  Crazy huh?

Now that you are getting that legal experience, get that on your RESUME.  Get that resume polished and send it out to everyone you can (literally EVERYONE -- law jobs, schools, fast food, oil companies, foreign companies, family members, E V E R Y single person you know should have a copy of it.  Don't just blindly send it, though.  Get the names of the hiring people and make sure the cover letter is somewhat tailored.  Many won't read it, but some might.  And, while it's possible in theory that no one will read a single cover letter or resume you send, you may feel like you are doing something.

Have those back up plans ready, because you may need 'em! (and let me elaborate once more, suicide is NOT a back up plan).

The legal economy for 2013 looks bad downright nasty/disgusting/rancid/rotten.  The legal economy for 2014 may will probably be worse.  And don't even get me started on the legal economy for 2015 (you are DOOMED child).  It is shaping up be just downright ugly.  And by that time you are going to know whether or not you are going to be working law.  You may get lucky and find a job outside of the law.  For example, there are some very fine fast food places that have managerial tracks.  McDonalds is even toting some nice benefits these days for entering employees.  Also, some states have some very lucrative minimum wages.  Look into these.  Connecticut, Washington, Illinois, Nevada and Massachusetts all come to mind (all higher than $8.00 an hour!  Seriously consider these states if you can't move in with family or squat on land)  And in a few years, you may be on the fast track to management.  Also, be sure to think long and hard if you want to mention that law degree.  In fact, maybe that can just be your dark little secret.

Next, you will need to come up with ways to cover up what you have been doing for the last 3 years.

Did you go on vacation while in law school?  Maybe you can make this vacation seem a bit longer?  Maybe you could say you were unemployed.  Maybe you could use your internship experience but not mention it was law.  For example, if you worked with the US Government, you could state that you did office duties and ignore the law aspects of it.  Did you work for a non-profit?  Maybe just put this under volunteer.  Start a home business, and make it sound like you have been doing this longer.  There are ways to cover up that pesky legal experience.  You see, in 2013, 2014, and 2015 you may want to be like a chameleon, stating you did ANYTHING BUT LAW.  Law school is not that impressive anymore, and even your own parents may be embarrassed that you are enrolled.

Lastly, it is normal to beat yourself up for not going into science or something else.  Yes, beat yourself up about it.  We all do.  Don't beat yourself up too hard though.  I say a year of lamenting is enough.  Cutting may be a bit much, but it is perfectly normal to slam your head against a wall a few times (I have), or to tear up your diplomas.  Oh, and on that subject, don't hang them up just yet.  In fact, they may never get hung.

It's going to be a very miserable few years.  I hope you have some back up plans ready, and I honestly hope that you find the success that few of us are finding.  But even if you do find that success, it doesn't mean that the whole thing is just a mess.  I live in constant fear of what my future will be.  Do you?

You should.

(I am crying so hard right now)

My School is Raising Tuition Again!

It may not matter too much to me as my school is already quite expensive, but it might matter to those who are just starting law school.  The truth is, however, the school is raising tuition once again.  I got the e-mail the other day, and it said the following:

The administration has worked to keep tuition increases to a minimumthis year.  Rising costs have made some increase unavoidable, but, bycontrolling costs, we have been able to hold the increase to 2.9% for3F, 3P, and 4P students and 3.2% for 2F and 2P students. 

Full-Time2F $49,6303F $49,486 

Part-Time2P $37,2223P $37,1144P $36,758 

Student Fees will increase to $346 for the coming year.

The truth is, this is not gonna be cheap.  And every year it goes up.  My school is not the only school that raises its tuition.  In fact, tuition increases are happening everywhere.  In fact, I would like to see a law school that is not raising its tuition.  That would be a site huh?

One final year and I am done with law school.  Sally Mae will come to my door, in all her splendid glory and ask for her money back.  Only time will tell if I will have any money to give her.

Will I find a legal job?  Will I find a non-legal job?  Will I be working at a decent law firm, at a non-profit, or at a fast food restaurant?  Will I be living back with my parents (which, to be honest, I don't consider an option).  For a person such as myself, the future is very scary.

My school is raising tuition again... Is yours?

---

I honestly CAN NOT BELIEVE that my school has the AUDACITY to RAISE it's tuition again!  How the H E L L do these people think we can pay this amount.  Is the government this STUPID that they allow schools to keep raising prices.  Are people so stupid that they think that the economy can sustain itself on people taking out HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars in student loans.  Where is all this money coming from?  Do these idiots honestly think that everyone is going to be able to pay it back in this economy?  I don't understand it.  How can people just sit by and watch this happen.  It's like the housing bubble all over again -- yet I think this is going to be worse.  Much worse.  I think that it's going to implode and I wonder where the economy is going to be.

This is the BABY BOOMERS LAST STAND.  One final way to screw us over before they finally leave this planet.  GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH!!!!!!!

They want to keep you in school forever...

A friend of mine was recently talking to me.  She was telling me how that her liberal arts program of study will now take an extra semester to finish.  Further, she has been in school for almost four years now full time.  Further, the last semester she has been taking 18 credits, which is the maximum allowed for her school, unless she can get permission from the dean to take more credits.  Yet, she will have to take another full semester of classes, at 18 credits, after the four years, in order to graduate.

She is worried about her loans as well.  She will not get a Pell Grant.  Further, since she goes to a private school, all her loan money will be going to towards tuition.  She has nothing left over for housing or food.  In fact, she tells me that she will actually owe some after her maximum government loans are taken out in order to pay tuition.

I recently was talking to an aunt of mine who went to a private school many years ago.  This aunt is a Baby Boomer.  Wikipedia defines baby boomer as:

A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom between the years 1946 and 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even within a given territory. Different groups, organizations, individuals, and scholars may have widely varying opinions on what constitutes a baby boomer, both technically and culturally. Ascribing universal attributes to a broad generation is difficult, and some observers believe that it is inherently impossible. Nonetheless, many people have attempted to determine the broad cultural similarities and historical impact of the generation, and thus the term has gained widespread popular usage.

United States birth rate (births per 1000 population). The red segment from 1946 to 1964 is the postwar baby boom.

Baby boomers are associated with a rejection or redefinition of traditional values; however, many commentators have disputed the extent of that rejection, noting the widespread continuity of values with older and younger generations. In Europe and North America boomers are widely associated with privilege, as many grew up in a time of widespread government subsidies in post-war housing and education, and increasing affluence. As a group, they were the wealthiest, most active, and most physically fit generation to that time, and amongst the first to grow up genuinely expecting the world to improve with time. They were also the generation that received peak levels of income, therefore they could reap the benefits of abundant levels of food, apparel, retirement programs, and sometimes even "midlife crisis" products.

One feature of Boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before. In the 1960s, as the relatively large numbers of young people became teenagers and young adults, they, and those around them, created a very specific rhetoric around their cohort, and the change they were bringing about.^[5] This rhetoric had an important impact in the self perceptions of the boomers, as well as their tendency to define the world in terms of generations, which was a relatively new phenomenon.

The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave" and as "the pig in the python." By the sheer force of its numbers, the boomers were a demographic bulge that remodeled society as it passed through it.

The term Generation Jones has sometimes been used to distinguish those born from 1954 onward from the earlier Baby Boomers.  (Source: Wikipedia.org)

***

My aunt told me that her tuition at a private four year college was free of charge.  Further, she told me that she was done with her four year program in three and a half years.  I could not help but shake my head at this.  Of course, when tuition is free they will rush you out.  When you pay close to $35,000 a year, they will try to keep you forever.

The truth is, four year college programs are taking people far longer than four years.  Further, people are told that it is alright to change their majors halfway into the program.  In fact, they are told that it is not only okay, it is normal.  I know of some people who change their majors like they change their underwear, once every few months.  It's quite crazy.

Shouldn't college take less time if it is more expensive?  Young people are getting screwed over with high tuition costs and at the same time being told that they have to spend another six months to a year in school in order to finish their program of study.  If you drop out you'll be another person with 'some college' experience, which society tells you is bad.  If you finish that degree you started, you will be another college graduate in a world saturated with grads.  Colleges want you to finish and they will milk you like a bovine every step of the way.

Boomers tend to have no clue the price of an education these days.  They went for free, yet think at the same time, we should all be able to pay our loans.  Some may say: go to a public college.  That's not cheap, either.  In fact, some public schools charge more than private schools used to charge a couple of decades ago.  Maybe less.  

Further, we are told that since there are so many regular four year graduates out there that we need a graduate degree.  Like undergraduate schools, law schools are taking anyone with a pulse.  LSAT scores, once necessary to enter law school, have been relaxed.  Now a GMAT might get you into some schools.  The barriers to entry are being knocked down all in the name of the almighty dollar.  A legal education is not about creating lawyers.  It's about making money -- for the schools.  As I speak, a handful of schools are preparing to become accredited.  Chances are that they all will be.  Further, there are talks of ABA law schools popping up in other countries, such as China.  Outsourcing law schools?  Is this for real?  (Law.com -- Law Schools in China?).

Higher education reform will have to happen.  But who will pay the price?  The boomers?  Unlikely.  It will probably end up being those who are being pumped into the educational system right now.  It will probably be us who are taking out six figure loans in order to finish our education.  It will be those who were conditioned and fed that education was the path to the American dream.  And while it could be argued that nobody had a gun to our heads, and that we have free choice (which is true), the punishment is quite harsh.  Why should schools be allowed to create four year programs that run on for five years and charge insane amounts of money for it?  Why should there be more law schools than the legal economy can support?  Why should legal education be outsourced just as e-discovery? 

Spring 2012 Grades

Well, I got my grades back, and I must say I have shown an improvement.  Perhaps there is hope for me yet.

I want to take the time to share my grades with my readers, in case they are curious.

Corporate Finance: C+
Law and Economics: A+
Copyright Law: A
EU Law: B+

Other than the Corporate Finance, the grades are not too bad.  In fact, I think that gives me around a 3.4 GPA.  The average at my institution is a B+, so the C+ was quite rotten, but after last semester, I don't feel too bad.  I didn't really try this semester, and it shows that I may still have a chance at getting some good grades.  However, that being said, I still feel law school grades are somewhat arbitrary and have done tests in the past in which I felt like I did amazing on, only to find out that I did quite bad.

Last semester my GPA was around a 2.6, and right now I believe I have a 2.9.  I hope to graduate with a 3.2, but I know that is going to be tough.  I have 2 more semesters, and to graduate with such a GPA will mean I will have to work hard.  Further, I still plan on leaving the US to teach English after law school, so I wonder what the point of this all is.

Some may call me crazy for giving up law before even trying.  Truth is, I think of it as crazy sometimes.  However, I feel that I am not cut out for the profession, nor do I want to sell my soul.  Yes, I should have researched this in advance more, and the scam bloggers who say that the current students deserve some of the blame are in many ways right.  As law students, we should research, and we must be held somewhat accountable.  Not accountable for deceptive business practices and the state of the law school educational machine, but for not being savvy enough to realize how messed up it is.

There are many blogs on here that do a great job of exposing that system, and I can't devote the kind of time or energy in uncovering the system as they do, so I will not try.  Instead, I am here to show the kind of fear that is pretty commonplace today.  Even though the kiddies on Top-Law-Schools act smug, the truth is, they are scared to death and, in reality, look quite pathetic.  

We are being made to be the bottom feeders in society and paying dearly for the privilege.  We should sometimes feel pathetic.  Especially those who have over 1000 posts on TLS.