If you think the legal academy is easily going down like a tweeking zit-faced ten buck hooker without a fight, you'd be sorely mistaken. These folks have spunk in their blood. They're going to fight back against vicious calumny, and they don't care if they have to close the fictional holes in the opposition's arguments with the bodies of their loser graduates.
The New York Times recently published an editorial about alleged shenanigans. A cry went into the night, and the academy responded. Blake Morant (GWU dean), Kellye Testy (U. of Washington dean), Judith Areen (Georgetown professor), the aforepraised Scott DeVito, Michelle Anderson (CUNY dean), Debra Raskin (Fordham and Columbia adjunct), and Matthew Diller (Fordham dean). There's also David Stern, who heads the Equal Justice Works and wants PSLF to continue.
They're names that can be safely added to the Annals of Truth and Justice. It doesn't even matter what they individually say. We could spend days arguing over who laid down the greater wit between Morant/Testy/Areen's claim that capping student lending will damage poor students and Diller's claim that law schools were responsible and prudent actors in trimming their enrollments.
What matters is that they do it. See also my post from two months ago.
Every time there is a big swing by an opponent to legal education, someone from within hits back. It doesn't always have to be Leiter or Diamond or Allard. Great men like Matasar, Mitchell, and Hobbs can ride off into the sunset, and there will be a whole new group of brave warriors to step up in the ranks and wield the Mighty Sword of Paralogy against foes who would prefer the federal government to have rational student lending polices that don't confuse default with non-repayment.
It's like Leiningen v. The Ants. For those who haven't read that one, here's a spoiler alert: the species closer to cockroach wins. Always do.
They just do not get it. My law buddies and I propose an open invitation for dinner at a public place, like Fuddruckers cause you can make a "free" salad.. Plus, they don't seem all that trustworthy, might steal some of my cassette tapes if we invited them into our homes. Here is what my law buddies, all out 20 years or more, would tell you; It is all about numbers and the legal profession is grotesquely oversaturated and it does not help the so called "underserved." In Illinois, there are 92,000 registered lawyers and 95,945 regular folks employed at automobile dealerships. Nearly every adult in Illinois owns a car or two and purchases several throughout their life times. All will need to be maintained and repaired from time to time. How often do adults need to retain a lawyer? How many adults, if you are law abiding, will ever need to seek the advice of counsel and how often? Not much. I would tell the deans that I have no work today and ask why?
ReplyDeleteJust read it! The ants couldn't quite pull it off, but they struck some pretty satisfying blows-- breaching Leiningen's outer defenses, razing his plantation, and devouring two of his henchmen. The plantation that is legal education is likewise vulnerable because it is defending itself with lies and deceit.
ReplyDeleteThe Deans referenced above are from legitimate, traditional, well established law schools with a solid record. The problem is that the law "brand" has been diluted since the mid 90s by diploma mills, for profit schools, unranked poorly policed schools and open admissions. It is analogous to the Cadillac brand. These Deans are the Cadillacs of yesteryear prior to cheap leases, rentals and chromed Hyundai's To obtain admission to one of their schools and other ABA accredited schools, was once an honor. To own a Cadillac was once prestige. Because of over saturation and brand dilution these law deans are struggling to maintain face. Cadillac is struggling with sales.
ReplyDeletePlease go to the UWash law school website and check out "Kellye Testy" and her pretentious curriculum vitae. Then feel free to tell us that UWash is still a legitimate law school. I suspect that you won't.
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