The law school scam has an upstairs and a downstairs. Upstairs is where six-figure salaried law deans and professors dazzle you with visions of a lucrative, interesting, jet-setting, and socially useful legal career. Downstairs is where career services sells you business cards and advises you to network with your dentist.
Here are some contrasting quotes from the upstairs and downstairs scammers of Vermont Law School (VLS), a horrible third-tier law school, which is currently sailing into well-deserved trouble. Upstairs quotes are in bold print and come from this two minute long recruitment video. Downstairs quotes come from past issues of the VLS career services newsletter entitled Career Strategies. A few thoughts of my own appear in the footnotes.
"I am often asked: "Should I go to law school?" My answer is: "Absolutely." Law school is the very best preparation for a broad career." - Geoffrey B. Shields, President and Dean. [1]
"There’s a Career Services aphorism that goes like this: In a good job market it may only matter what you know. In a marginal market it may matter who you know. But in this market it is how many people you know and are going to get to know!!" (Oct. 12, 2012)
"Those opportunities are, in part, new. [2] There has never been the kind of global opportunity for young lawyers that we have today and that’s just going to grow like crazy over the next few years." - Geoffrey B. Shields, President and Dean.
"You’ll find that your career path will not lead directly to your employment goal, so you have to be open to opportunities even if they’re not exactly in your chosen field. To put it more simply: be open to taking a job just to get in the door." (Feb. 21, 2011)
"What attracts me to Vermont Law School is really that it lives up to its motto: Law for the Community and the World." [3] - Jennifer Taub, Associate Professor of Law.
"What are the best sources of people to network with?. . . . Neighbors and others you know casually (even your dentist!)" (Feb. 17, 2012)
"I am amazed at the opportunities that they have as law students to get out there and see law in action." - Jennifer Taub, Associate Professor of Law.
"Be a relentless networker -- whether it's at events on-campus or off. Never pass up a chance to talk to someone who is a lawyer or who knows a lawyer or might be helpful in finding contacts for you. Informational interviews can open many doors for you." (Apr. 13, 2012)
"Being a lawyer is about what kind of person you are in your community and in the world and so if you’ve wanted to go law school, if law school is really your dream, don’t give up on your dream." [4] - Cheryl Hanna, Professor of Law.
"Don't bail out. If you sign up for a networking event, be sure to attend. Some who do attend will be sure to look at the unclaimed name tags to see who skipped out, and particularly if they are among your contacts, that's not going to create a favorable impression." (Apr. 18, 2011)
"What we do here at Vermont Law School is train people to be leaders and we train people to make a difference." - Cheryl Hanna, Professor of Law.
"One of the smarter suggestions from professional development experts we've consulted over the years is to take the time to think of your skill sets and interests in terms of a personal brand. How can you market yourself to potential employers and people you're networking with to make the strongest impression possible." (March 9, 2012)
"So there are a ton of career paths that you can pursue as a lawyer. We often have in our minds that there just these traditional lawyer jobs going to a big firm and doing deals or litigating in court. But that’s just really just a small piece of what lawyers do." - Cheryl Hanna, Professor of Law.
"Constantly update your status on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. At least once a week your should post something that reflects on your personal brand and is career-related. Did you just attend an event? Complete a project? Read an interesting book or article? Share that information." (April 11, 2011)
"We think that there’s only one place to attend law school and that’s Vermont Law School." - Mark Latham, Professor of Law and Deputy Vice Dean.
"If you would like to have business cards that use the official VLS fonts, logo and template, Whitman Communications is the vendor. The cost is $24 per 100." (April 18, 2011)
"Students go to China and work on environmental issues. Students do externships around the globe." - Jennifer Taub, Associate Professor of Law.
"We know that a number of you are frustrated about the lack responses from employers and that it is tempting to give up looking for a summer internship. But at this point in the early spring, it is more important than ever that you follow up on your applications." (April 13, 2012)
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notes:
[1] Shields retired, eff. August 1, 2012. He was succeeded as Dean by Marc Mihaly, who is credited with the following quote: "The world does need this law school. . . .We are different from other schools because of the people who choose to come here, both students and faculty. Vermont Law attracts people who want to change the world, not to fit into it."
I read this quote to mean: Other law schools scam the ambitious, but Vermont Law's special niche is scamming idealists.
[2] Shields does not specify the nature of "those" opportunities, other than that they are "global." If you watch the video, you will notice that Shelds has a shit-eating grin on his face, which thoroughly detracts from the impact of his words. He should have taken a lesson in scamming from Professors Taub and Hanna, who are just dripping with sincerity.
[3] Here is a list of meaningless corporate mottos to similarly "attract" Taub. Honeywell Corporation, for instance, "really lives up" to its motto: "We are Honeywell."
[4] If your dream is, indeed, to become a Vermont lawyer, you are fortunate that that State is one of seven to allow residents to take the bar without attending law school. Here is a four-minute long Vermont NPR segment on the State's legal apprenticeship program, called the "Law Office Study Program."
The segment mentions several successful Vermont lawyers without JDs. These include a (rather impressive) Professor at Vermont Law, Maryann Zavek, whose faculty bio indicates that she dropped out of law school after her first year and then spent three years as a paralegal for Legal Aid, prior to becoming a Legal Aid attorney herself. The segment also mentions the late Joan Wing, who served as President of the Vermont State Bar Association.
If prospective and current Vermont law students are truly "different drummer" personality types, then they should think seriously about following the example of these attorneys, in lieu of dumping a small borrowed fortune (projected nondiscounted cost: $238,726) into the welcoming pockets of scammers like Taub, Hanna, and Latham in order to attend a school that offers a 43.7%(!) full-time legal employment rate, nine months out.
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notes:
[1] Shields retired, eff. August 1, 2012. He was succeeded as Dean by Marc Mihaly, who is credited with the following quote: "The world does need this law school. . . .We are different from other schools because of the people who choose to come here, both students and faculty. Vermont Law attracts people who want to change the world, not to fit into it."
I read this quote to mean: Other law schools scam the ambitious, but Vermont Law's special niche is scamming idealists.
[2] Shields does not specify the nature of "those" opportunities, other than that they are "global." If you watch the video, you will notice that Shelds has a shit-eating grin on his face, which thoroughly detracts from the impact of his words. He should have taken a lesson in scamming from Professors Taub and Hanna, who are just dripping with sincerity.
[3] Here is a list of meaningless corporate mottos to similarly "attract" Taub. Honeywell Corporation, for instance, "really lives up" to its motto: "We are Honeywell."
[4] If your dream is, indeed, to become a Vermont lawyer, you are fortunate that that State is one of seven to allow residents to take the bar without attending law school. Here is a four-minute long Vermont NPR segment on the State's legal apprenticeship program, called the "Law Office Study Program."
The segment mentions several successful Vermont lawyers without JDs. These include a (rather impressive) Professor at Vermont Law, Maryann Zavek, whose faculty bio indicates that she dropped out of law school after her first year and then spent three years as a paralegal for Legal Aid, prior to becoming a Legal Aid attorney herself. The segment also mentions the late Joan Wing, who served as President of the Vermont State Bar Association.
If prospective and current Vermont law students are truly "different drummer" personality types, then they should think seriously about following the example of these attorneys, in lieu of dumping a small borrowed fortune (projected nondiscounted cost: $238,726) into the welcoming pockets of scammers like Taub, Hanna, and Latham in order to attend a school that offers a 43.7%(!) full-time legal employment rate, nine months out.
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