07-18-2022, 10:25 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-18-2022, 10:30 AM by freeloader.)
This guy did pass the bar and has his own law firm in New Mexico: https://pederzani.law/
His legal focus is on intellectual property, working with creative types.
1) He was a social worker and talked about going to law school to help people. Dude isn’t doing family law, immigration law, criminal defense or something similar where he is in the “helping” part of the law. This makes me lose some sympathy for him.
2) I seriously doubt working with creative types in New Mexico is particularly profitable for a new lawyer. Do what you want to do, life is short BUT when you chose a job that is unlikely to pay you enough to live on and pay your debts, please do not complain about your choices.
One of my favorite professors was a former lawyer. He and his wife had both been lawyers and practiced with major firms. He said he hated the work, but both of them did if for around 10 years and put a couple of million dollars in their bank account. They both stopped practicing law to follow their passions in life.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know that this guy is quite what major big-city firms are looking for, but a few years doing something more profitable might then allow him to spend his remaining working years working with creatives.
3) This fellow clearly was bought into the survivorship bias of attorneys around him. They were successful and never struggled to support themselves, so it follows that all attorneys will be successful and never struggle to support themselves. That in and of itself is problematic.
My wife graduated law school in 2012 in the midst of the worst legal job market in American history. It was national news. It was seemingly what everybody at her law school talked about. A number of law schools in the US folded during this time. Dude I the story graduate in 2017, which means he started in 2013 or 2014. Was this guy living under a rock? When stories of unemployed law graduates from Top 10 law schools made headlines, he somehow felt that attending an average to below-average law school would somehow guarantee a comfortable income?
4) All for that said, I do feel bad for the guy. I would hope that he would take some responsibility though for his actions. Perhaps he has applied and turned down, but has he tried to go to work for the state or federal government? Many of those jobs, even ones which don’t require a law degree, would allow him to work and make some payment for 10 years and have his debt forgiven under Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Sure, he may be underpaid, but it beats living on public assistance and never getting out from under this.
I have no doubt that there are ways out of this for this dude, but he seemingly is unwilling to pursue them. Of course, we don’t know his situation. He might have something in his background or his family life that limits his employability, but how do you not take that into consideration BEFORE you take on this massive amount of debt?
His legal focus is on intellectual property, working with creative types.
1) He was a social worker and talked about going to law school to help people. Dude isn’t doing family law, immigration law, criminal defense or something similar where he is in the “helping” part of the law. This makes me lose some sympathy for him.
2) I seriously doubt working with creative types in New Mexico is particularly profitable for a new lawyer. Do what you want to do, life is short BUT when you chose a job that is unlikely to pay you enough to live on and pay your debts, please do not complain about your choices.
One of my favorite professors was a former lawyer. He and his wife had both been lawyers and practiced with major firms. He said he hated the work, but both of them did if for around 10 years and put a couple of million dollars in their bank account. They both stopped practicing law to follow their passions in life.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know that this guy is quite what major big-city firms are looking for, but a few years doing something more profitable might then allow him to spend his remaining working years working with creatives.
3) This fellow clearly was bought into the survivorship bias of attorneys around him. They were successful and never struggled to support themselves, so it follows that all attorneys will be successful and never struggle to support themselves. That in and of itself is problematic.
My wife graduated law school in 2012 in the midst of the worst legal job market in American history. It was national news. It was seemingly what everybody at her law school talked about. A number of law schools in the US folded during this time. Dude I the story graduate in 2017, which means he started in 2013 or 2014. Was this guy living under a rock? When stories of unemployed law graduates from Top 10 law schools made headlines, he somehow felt that attending an average to below-average law school would somehow guarantee a comfortable income?
4) All for that said, I do feel bad for the guy. I would hope that he would take some responsibility though for his actions. Perhaps he has applied and turned down, but has he tried to go to work for the state or federal government? Many of those jobs, even ones which don’t require a law degree, would allow him to work and make some payment for 10 years and have his debt forgiven under Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Sure, he may be underpaid, but it beats living on public assistance and never getting out from under this.
I have no doubt that there are ways out of this for this dude, but he seemingly is unwilling to pursue them. Of course, we don’t know his situation. He might have something in his background or his family life that limits his employability, but how do you not take that into consideration BEFORE you take on this massive amount of debt?
Master of Accountancy (taxation concentration), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in progress.
Master of Business Administration (financial planning specialization), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in progress.
BA, UMPI. Accounting major; Business Administration major/Management & Leadership concentration. Awarded Dec. 2021.
In-person/B&M: BA (history, archaeology)
In-person/B&M: MA (American history)
Sophia: 15 courses (42hrs)
Master of Business Administration (financial planning specialization), University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in progress.
BA, UMPI. Accounting major; Business Administration major/Management & Leadership concentration. Awarded Dec. 2021.
In-person/B&M: BA (history, archaeology)
In-person/B&M: MA (American history)
Sophia: 15 courses (42hrs)
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