Tuesday Tidbits - April 7, 2009
There's a lot going on both in dirt and in my profession. Here's a quick summary of what I have been thinking about and reading:
In the "It's about time" department: many law firms are cutting way back on summer associates, retooling the programs from cocktail parties to work and even reevaluating the necessity of them altogether. I actually worked hard as a summer associate, but I wonder aloud whether we should to to an articling/apprenticeship system (a la medical residency) where law grads are low-paid interns at firms for a year before taking the bar -- and if they cannot find an articling position then they cannot take the bar. I always felt the second year law student thing was not a great way of evaluating talent.
WTF is going on with GGP stock? Up big yesterday, up again so far today...and the company is acting like Sergeant Schultz.
Some harsh but perhaps accurate advice for laid off associates who are not networking and developing business: get out of the profession. You don't belong.
No shock, but nontheless shocking: S&P is about to downgrade a boatload of CMBS. This is a very ugly quote: “We concluded that the ratings on a significant portion of our CMBS portfolio may no longer be appropriate, given our view of the increase in credit risk.”
That's enough for one morning. Enjoy!
In the "It's about time" department: many law firms are cutting way back on summer associates, retooling the programs from cocktail parties to work and even reevaluating the necessity of them altogether. I actually worked hard as a summer associate, but I wonder aloud whether we should to to an articling/apprenticeship system (a la medical residency) where law grads are low-paid interns at firms for a year before taking the bar -- and if they cannot find an articling position then they cannot take the bar. I always felt the second year law student thing was not a great way of evaluating talent.
WTF is going on with GGP stock? Up big yesterday, up again so far today...and the company is acting like Sergeant Schultz.
Some harsh but perhaps accurate advice for laid off associates who are not networking and developing business: get out of the profession. You don't belong.
I mean, lets be real here. Most of you never wanted to be lawyers. You wanted the trappings of what L.A. Law made you believe the practice was all about.What are the world's safest banks? Mostly not here. And "Bank of America is notably absent from the list."
So get out.
Don't go into foreclosure defense, that'll be dead in two years. If you have no established practice in an essential area of law, get out. It's not going to get better in the next 5-10 years. If your goal is money, go make money. Buy a franchise, open a business. You went into law to make money, the money is not there, get out.
What is so wrong with realizing that you never really wanted to be a "lawyer?
No shock, but nontheless shocking: S&P is about to downgrade a boatload of CMBS. This is a very ugly quote: “We concluded that the ratings on a significant portion of our CMBS portfolio may no longer be appropriate, given our view of the increase in credit risk.”
That's enough for one morning. Enjoy!
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