"You have the right to sell: Brooklyn Law to Unload Six Heights Buildings," by Jaime Lutz (The Brooklyn Paper)
Money Quote: "Brooklyn Law School is selling six of its student housing buildings in Brooklyn Heights....[Brooklyn Law President Joan] Wexler, who will soon leave the presidents office to become dean and president emeritus, refused to say why the school is selling off so many residences. 'Thank you so much, and I really don't mean to be rude, but I haven't really got anything else to say,' she said."
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"Law Schools Face Facts: Dwindling Enrollment," by Dan Miner (Buffalo Business First)
Money Quote: "'With the cost of law education these days, even if these kids do get jobs, they're certainly not getting the wages they need to pay back the debt and the loans they incurred during law school, although [University of Buffalo] Law grads are luckier than most because tuition is a lot lower,' [Kimberly Georger, an associate at Rupp, Baase, Pfalzgraf, Cunningham & Coppola LLC] said. 'When we bring on summer associates, across the board they talk about how scary it is at school right now. Everybody's nervous. Forget about, 'I'm a lawyer and I'm going to have a great career and make a lot of money.' It's 'Can I pay my bills?' So there's a huge shift in what it means to be a lawyer from days past.'"
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"Loans: Kicking Student Borrowers While They are Down," by Karen Weise (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
Money Quote: "The U.S. government doesn't charge student borrowers anything to use a host of options to ease the burden of monthly payments. But some unscrupulous companies charge up to $1,600 for the very same help the borrowers could get for free. That's one of the findings of a new report by the National Consumer Law Center examining how debt relief firms prey on student borrowers."
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"Taxpayers Pay Millions for Fed Workers Student Loan Relief," by Abby Smith (Zolmax News)
Money Quote: "According to a review of congressional spending records by the non-profit Sunlight Foundation and USA Today, the House of Representatives spent nearly $15 million last year to pay for staffers' student loans. Senate spent around $6 million. Members of Congress are not qualified for the program. Federal agencies spent around $72 million in 2011 to pay down student loans for 10,134 federal workers. Officials have defended the program as a vital benefit that helps the government attract and retain workers. Participants of the program are not protected from increases of interest rate."
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"Buyer's Remorse on Student Loans?" by John Sandman (Main Street)
Money Quote: "In a bad job market, borrowers have struggled across the board, from law school students to beauty school grads, as though these two disparate occupations were on an equal footing. But a May report by Fidelity Investments turned up another benchmark of disillusionment: 39% say they would have done things differently if they knew what it was going to be like to shoulder this financial burden, a 14% increase over findings in 2011."
"Wexler, who will soon leave the president's office to become dead and president emeritus . . ."
ReplyDeleteRather grim reason to resign from office.
I thought that was a joke.
DeleteWonderful spelling error! Corrected now, but just beautiful.
DeleteTrue too, I hope.
"Additionally, the school offers room for nearly 300 students inside the new Feil Hall..."
Pronounced "fail"?
Picky, picky, picky. Dead, dean. Close enough.
Delete"who will soon leave the presidents office to become dead"
ReplyDeleteUh...
"'Thank you so much, and I really don't mean to be rude, but I haven't really got anything else to say,' she said."
ReplyDeleteTranslation: "We need the money because students are seeing through this scam and fleeing, but our greedy professors and admins (like me) don't want to cut our golden salaries. We would rather liquidate the university than make it financially and educationally viable."
The selling of assets prior to the schools' impending demise is akin to a pre-bankruptcy bust out. I have no doubt the proceeds of the sale of these assets will NOT be used to capitalize the school's existing resources; rather, the money will be siphoned off into golden parachute packages for Wexler and her cronies. Wexler is a smart witch. She, like Joan King before her, saw the writing on the wall. The RMS Brooklyn Law is sinking but she will be on a comfortable life raft while the students will scurry like rats to find safe refuge before winding up lifeless at the bottom of the ocean. What's more tragic is that Wexler will be long gone before a trustee can say "clawback."
ReplyDelete"When we bring on summer associates, across the board they talk about how scary it is at school right now. Everybody's nervous. Forget about, 'I'm a lawyer and I'm going to have a great career and make a lot of money.' It's 'Can I pay my bills?'
ReplyDeleteSo there's a huge shift in what it means to be a lawyer from days past."
Entering Law Class of 2013: Just what in the hell are you possibly thinking? Are you even thinking at all?? You can't possibly be spending all that money to be a lawyer today. You're obviously harking back to the 'golden days' of law in the 1980s.
Why are you so damned delusional and backward-looking? Are you a nostalgic for an era in which you did not live? Do you think 1985's coming back? Do you think Doc Brown's gonna scoop you up in his Delorean Time Machine and transport you back to 1985... and then mess up the fuxs-capacitor so you can't come back to 2013?
Here's a great topic for this Blog-- interviews with various 2013 1-Ls: "Profiles in Mental Illness."
1985 Biff Tannen as a client would be an improvement for many ghetto lawyers.
DeleteThe interview idea is a good one. Can we get some interviews or at least quotes from Class of 2016 1Ls?
--Jim
The "Law Schools Face Facts: Dwindling Enrollment" article in Buffalo Business First illustrates that this site, and others, are getting the word out. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about wexler. She is staying on as a full professor while on a 2 year sabatical. In other words she gets paid but doesn't have to work.
ReplyDelete