Ask DrewDevil your legal questions

[XXXNoahXXX]

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Drew,

I was on a callback at a NYC firm and a partner was bringing me to my next interview and we took the stairs, five flights up, in a suit. I asked him "So is this why they call it a sweatshop?" He just looked at me a little weird and half-laughed.

I haven't heard back yet. What are the odds this [censored] me?



Also, describe the optimum path out of law school to pay off debt, get well off (not rich, but not struggling), and be able to enjoy life a bit.

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From my law school class, the guys who seem to be doing the best and enjoying their practice the most are the ones who didn't get a job, so they just hung out their shingle and started doing criminal defense, DWIs, and divorces, slowly building up a reputation.

In the middle: lawyers who worked at a firm for awhile, then went in house somewhere. Still boring, but 8-5, baby.

The ones who are most miserable are the ones at the top of their class who went to BigLaw and are now ground into hamburger, but they have the golden handcuffs and are scared to leave.

Me, myself, I am trying to figure out how to generate residual income and not work by the hour! God that's the worst. So I'd say use your legal knowledge to buy real estate, or start a business, or write a book, or something something.

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Yeah "hanging a shingle is nice" but when you got $0 capital, $100k in debt, and no contacts, probably not the best business strategy.

My goal is your middle path.

[sethypooh21]

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What legal consequences could there be if I posted pictures of an ex-gf in a forum or somewhere on the Internet and she stumbled upon them? Some pictures were sent to me via e-mail by her and some are taken myself with my cell phone, if that matters.

I'm sure I know what everyone else's reply is going to be, but I'm interested in DrewDevil's reply. I always thought I could get in trouble for doing something like this, but maybe I'm an idiot?

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The law here is pretty murky and there will probably be some lawsuits about this in the future, but right now, generally speaking...

If you took the pictures, you own the copyright to them, so you can probably post them anywhere you want.

If she took the pics and sent them to you... eh, not sure. As long as you're not trying to use them to profit, you're probably still okay.

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Depending on the forum in which they are posted (as well as the content of the pics themselves) you could certainly be subject to a defamation of possiblt even copywrite infringement (if you are using the pics for financial gain) suit.

[sethypooh21]

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Drew,

I was on a callback at a NYC firm and a partner was bringing me to my next interview and we took the stairs, five flights up, in a suit. I asked him "So is this why they call it a sweatshop?" He just looked at me a little weird and half-laughed.

I haven't heard back yet. What are the odds this [censored] me?



Also, describe the optimum path out of law school to pay off debt, get well off (not rich, but not struggling), and be able to enjoy life a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

From my law school class, the guys who seem to be doing the best and enjoying their practice the most are the ones who didn't get a job, so they just hung out their shingle and started doing criminal defense, DWIs, and divorces, slowly building up a reputation.

In the middle: lawyers who worked at a firm for awhile, then went in house somewhere. Still boring, but 8-5, baby.

The ones who are most miserable are the ones at the top of their class who went to BigLaw and are now ground into hamburger, but they have the golden handcuffs and are scared to leave.

Me, myself, I am trying to figure out how to generate residual income and not work by the hour! God that's the worst. So I'd say use your legal knowledge to buy real estate, or start a business, or write a book, or something something.

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Yeah "hanging a shingle is nice" but when you got $0 capital, $100k in debt, and no contacts, probably not the best business strategy.

My goal is your middle path.

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Clerk for a year, for starters. First off, looks great on a resume. Second, will give you at least some idea about some of the firms/lawyers and practice environment in your area. Money isn't great, but isn't terrible.

[leehrat]

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Drew,

I was on a callback at a NYC firm and a partner was bringing me to my next interview and we took the stairs, five flights up, in a suit. I asked him "So is this why they call it a sweatshop?" He just looked at me a little weird and half-laughed.

I haven't heard back yet. What are the odds this [censored] me?



Also, describe the optimum path out of law school to pay off debt, get well off (not rich, but not struggling), and be able to enjoy life a bit.

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this is hilarious. i'm pretty sure you won't get an offer, though. out of curiosity, was this skadden?

[leehrat]

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Drew,

I was on a callback at a NYC firm and a partner was bringing me to my next interview and we took the stairs, five flights up, in a suit. I asked him "So is this why they call it a sweatshop?" He just looked at me a little weird and half-laughed.

I haven't heard back yet. What are the odds this [censored] me?



Also, describe the optimum path out of law school to pay off debt, get well off (not rich, but not struggling), and be able to enjoy life a bit.

[/ QUOTE ]

From my law school class, the guys who seem to be doing the best and enjoying their practice the most are the ones who didn't get a job, so they just hung out their shingle and started doing criminal defense, DWIs, and divorces, slowly building up a reputation.

In the middle: lawyers who worked at a firm for awhile, then went in house somewhere. Still boring, but 8-5, baby.

The ones who are most miserable are the ones at the top of their class who went to BigLaw and are now ground into hamburger, but they have the golden handcuffs and are scared to leave.

Me, myself, I am trying to figure out how to generate residual income and not work by the hour! God that's the worst. So I'd say use your legal knowledge to buy real estate, or start a business, or write a book, or something something.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah "hanging a shingle is nice" but when you got $0 capital, $100k in debt, and no contacts, probably not the best business strategy.

My goal is your middle path.

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Clerk for a year, for starters. First off, looks great on a resume. Second, will give you at least some idea about some of the firms/lawyers and practice environment in your area. Money isn't great, but isn't terrible.

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i'm not sure what he wants to do, but if his plan is transactional -> in-house clerking would be borderline worthless.

[XXXNoahXXX]

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Drew,

I was on a callback at a NYC firm and a partner was bringing me to my next interview and we took the stairs, five flights up, in a suit. I asked him "So is this why they call it a sweatshop?" He just looked at me a little weird and half-laughed.

I haven't heard back yet. What are the odds this [censored] me?



Also, describe the optimum path out of law school to pay off debt, get well off (not rich, but not struggling), and be able to enjoy life a bit.

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this is hilarious. i'm pretty sure you won't get an offer, though. out of curiosity, was this skadden?

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nah, not skadden.

i don't think it'd hurt, he seemed to think it was funny and we had good rapport before and after this.

my other favorite line so far:

interviewer: so how would you say you work in a team environment?

me (trying not to groan or roll eyes): well when i was ten i broke the basketball league record for most assists.

[awkward pause]

him: umm....

me: just joking, (he smiles)....i played center.

him:....

me: seriously though, x, y, z....


that one i got an offer so it was fine. once i started getting offers it let me not care as much about other places and just joke around, etc.

[/hijack]

[Case Closed]

drew,

A buddy of mine secretly filmed a one night stand with himself and another lady. We make fun of him for breaking the law and that he could potentially get jail time for that. He gets freaked out when we say that even though we really don't think much would happen. You're the legal mind, is what he did illegal?

[VeryTnA]

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Is owner's title insurance really worth the cost?

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NO. BUT your lender will require it or they won't fund your loan.

[Oski]

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Double Ds,

If an undercover cop pretends to be a lawyer and someone unknowingly hire him and tell him their secrets, is the "client-lawyer privilege" still exists? I got the example from a movie but am curious for an answer. My thinking is that the undercover cop can go to jail for pretending to be a lawyer [is this true?] but he get to testify against the person as a witness.

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Hmm, I don't know about this. My gut instinct is that there is no privilege if there is no lawyer, but that there's a pretty good claim of entrapment that the defense could argue.



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The privilege belongs to the "client." If that person actually believes that he is talking to his lawyer, there would be a privilege. Of course, the fake lawyer can attempt to use the information, but it would not be admissible for any purpose (unless, of course, the client gives consent to waive the privilege).

[DrewDevil]

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Is owner's title insurance really worth the cost?

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NO. BUT your lender will require it or they won't fund your loan.

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The lender will require a mortgagee's policy for the amount of the loan. The owner's policy is up to the owner.