Monday, May 17, 2010

Elaine P. Dine - Different Name, Same Toilet Bowl

I am sure Elaine P. Dine was a very nice lady back in the day. The successors to her recruiting outfit however have done a very fine job in defecating all over her legacy these past 10 years. (Do a thread search to pull up some of the horror stories that have occurred over the years.) It seems like the "Elaine P. Dine" moniker has worn out its welcome however, and now the Dine sewer scrounging gang is operating under the more generic sounding name of US Legal Support. Be forewarned.

49 comments:

Nando said...

http://www.wmktg.com/elainepdine/AboutUs/WhatOurClientsSay.cfm

Look at what Fortune 500 clients, and other Big Dollar customers, have to say about Elaine P. Dine's outsourcing work.

“I trust Elaine P. Dine with fulfilling our staffing needs across the country. Their placements have run the gamut from attorneys and paralegals for document review, to attorneys to conduct depositions and prepare trial objections. At every level, we’ve had more success with Elaine P. Dine than with any other temporary vendor. Accordingly, they are our primary resource.”
- Litigation Counsel, Fortune 500 Company*"

And the race to the bottom continues.

Anonymous said...

A company that provides deposition summaries for litigators has given up on overseas outsourcing after experiencing problems with quality control and differences in language.

For about six months, the company, DepoExpress, had sent its work to India, where contractors were paid only 60 percent of what U.S. counterparts would cost, the Legal Pad blog reports. But the savings evaporated because the company’s founders, two plaintiffs lawyers, had to do so much work to clean up the summaries.

One of the owners, Frank Liuzzi, offered some examples in an interview with Legal Pad. The India contractors used the word “fortnight” to describe a two-week period and “bonnet” for the hood of a car.

There were deadline problems, too, he said, because there are so many holidays in India. DepoExpress offers a standard turnaround of five business days.

Now the work is done in the United States by about 20 contract paralegals and lawyers

Anonymous said...

Elaine P. Dine or Legal Support - who the hell cares? They are just a bunch of stupid mediocre ladies - always calling and teasing and lying. Same shit - different name.

Anonymous said...

It's a shocker that Raji's DriveThru LPO did shitty work. I mean is anyone really surprised that they got poor work product from some third world sweatshop "attorneys"?

Only a moron would send their work over there. Of course Plaintiff's lawyers would have even higher standards, as they actually use the documents to depo summaries to build their case.

Defense firms are more likely to seek to hide documents and work product offshore. If some idiot Indian attorney, trained in a foreign jurisdiction and given a 2 week survey course on American law misses a few documents, who cares?

It's the great scam by defense attorneys to send work overeas. The time will come when Plaintiff's lawyers and the government will demand more.

These "attorneys" are not JDs, not licensed to practice in the US and do not even have to pass a US Bar.

At least the Nigerians do that much. The Indians do nothing!

Anonymous said...

Does Robert Half legal still staff projects in Dc? I heard they got run out of town!

Anonymous said...

I can't figure out what the P. stands for in Elaine P. Dine. It is driving me crazy.

Anonymous said...

Any work out there? What happened to that flood of Hudson gigs that were being advertised?

Anonymous said...

Robert Half sucks. I'll never work for them again.

Anonymous said...

Yeah it's called in-sourcing. They can't afford to pay the wages lawyers command in India, so they have to ship the jobs back to Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Anonymous said...

There were at least two Hudson jobs. The first required experience in doing a priv log. The second was a 70 hour workweek at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. I'm sure they have been filled by now.

Anonymous said...

Who the hell is in Armonk? Hudson keeps sending me notices of a document review project there. I'm not driving 50 miles one way.

Anonymous said...

Why is that skank Jane Storch spamming craigslist with non-existent jobs?

Bitter Coder said...

Same Toilet indeed.

I am currently on a project for U.S. Legal and I had to jump through some hoops just to get here and get paid.

When I was first approved for this project, Dine sent me the usual packet of paperwork to complete before I could begin. They sent an email with about 12 attachments - maybe 25 pages in total. I printed them, filled out the forms and then scanned them to send back. Nothing doing. Somehow, despite the fact that they sent me all these forms as attachments to an email, I could not email the forms back to them the same way. Dine's email server will not accept emails with attachments. Not even one document at a time or one page at a time.

The recruiter insisted she needed this paperwork before I could start work and told me I'd have to fax it. Since I cannot fax from home, I had to go to a Kinko's and fax the stuff at $1.49 per page. So I was out over $30 to fax all these forms just to start work on this new project. Nice, huh.

After I was at work on the project, I found out their payroll dept is staffed with bitches and idiots. Despite my considerable expense in faxing all this paperwork, the payroll dept administrator said they needed original signed copies of some of the documents for my file before I could be paid.

After I had mailed the requested paperwork to her, the administrator said she needed me to mail yet another copy of one of the documents for some unknown reason. She was always incredibly curt and rude whenever I tried to contact her with questions.

In any case, I was not paid until 4 weeks after I started the project. The project had already ended before I got paid. She admitted that she already had the fax copies and had all the information she needed to complete my payroll file and send me a check. She just had a bug up her ass about getting those original copies from me through the mail.

This all happened in April. I have since, after a long wait, received my paycheck for those projects. And I got asked back to the same firm for a new project through good ol' US Legal.

Anonymous said...

Wow. The Dine Group tries to give you a paying job and all you do is complain. You are all a bunh of idiots. No wonder no one will hire you.

Anonymous said...

I worked with many agencies. Including the ones accused here. I have had no problems with getting paid etc....

A few of the staff attys have been idiots. They were full of themselves. Those morons wreck the projects.

Hudson calls, I show up on the project and get paid. Jane Storch calls, I show up, get a check. Same with Lex.

There are plenty of bodies out there to fill these positions. The agencies need not play games. It is the disorganized firms and idiotic staff attorneys who cause the problems. If you don't smile at the right person, you're fired.

Sullivan is known for this. Their projects are managed by big fucking nobodies from nowhere.

Anonymous said...

Are the 2 Hudson jobs in NY?

Anonymous said...

Yes, the 2 Hudson projects are in New York. Just ask for Allan Cohen at Hudson. The odds are slim to none but you never know.

Anonymous said...

Boies Shiller headquarters is Armonk - same as their client, IBM.

Friend said...

You are correct. The actual Elaine Dine in the early 80s was a nice young woman who originally operated out of her east side apartment. There being no reception area, one had to sit in a chair in the stairwell to wait. In the apartment was a friendly cat. A bit of a far cry from today.

Anonymous said...

Do they still staff Barasshole/Toilette projects?

Anonymous said...

'The India contractors used the word “fortnight” to describe a two-week period and “bonnet” for the hood of a car.'

That's standard British English.

Anonymous said...

Lol, but this is the USA. See, the outsourcing firms just don't get it.

Bitter Coder said...

@ 7:53 pm.
I am grateful for the work. It's a pain to have to spend $30 out of my own pocket to submit payroll paperwork. It's a pain to work almost a month without being paid because the payroll people have such mysterious and nonsensical rules. I have worked for several staffing services through the years and never experienced this level of hassle.

P.S. Learn how to spell before calling other people idiots.

claudia said...

its agrateful post.keep it up!1..

awesome health

Anonymous said...

Document review for $25 an hour!

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/lgl/1762584930.html

Anonymous said...

Shawn Treadwell is now at Balint Brown & Basri, a new outfit. His e-mail is streadwell@bbandblegal.com.
He is one of the good guys in the industry.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know whether Relativity puts a timestamp on documents as you code them? I'm trying to gauge whether my boss can see my clicks down to the second. Please help a TTT sister out and share your knowledge! Thx :-)

FrankZ said...

Yes, relativity timestamps your coding decisions. Most platforms do. Even those that "don't" capture the info, they just don't make it easy for an admin to see.

Anonymous said...

Non-practising attorney considering hiring experienced Matrimonial (or possibly general litigator with Westchester Supreme experience a plus).

DIvorce 99% done,one simple issue (not custody, equit distrib'n, support) remains.

I am pro-se and would love nothing better than to spit out boilerplate discovery demands, etc, to cost stbx 500/hr to address. I wanna bleed her. You get a) to work in your undies - I will do the apparances, b) $100 per diem. I know it'slow, but if I had nothing better to do, would jump on it to have a little fun.

Also, you would be working on the side of righteousness - I got ambushed and screwed (but not so badly I don't have a few bucks for legal payback) . Lets have some fun

Anonymous said...

Non-practising attorney considering hiring experienced Matrimonial (or possibly general litigator with Westchester Supreme experience a plus).

DIvorce 99% done,one simple issue (not custody, equit distrib'n, support) remains.

I am pro-se and would love nothing better than to spit out boilerplate discovery demands, etc, to cost stbx 500/hr to address. I wanna bleed her. You get a) to work in your undies - I will do the apparances, b) $100 per diem. I know it'slow, but if I had nothing better to do, would jump on it to have a little fun.

Also, you would be working on the side of righteousness - I got ambushed and screwed (but not so badly I don't have a few bucks for legal payback) . Lets have some fun

Anonymous said...

Big trouble for the outsourcers....

This week, Governor Paterson signed into law a State Bar legislative proposal that will help combat the unlawful practice of law in New York State. The new law will enhance the New York State Attorney General's ability to address real estate corruption, larceny and other illegal actions perpetrated by phony lawyers and suspended or disbarred counsel.

A.4300 provides the Attorney General with statutory authority to bring both civil and criminal actions against defendants for violations of the Judiciary Law based on the unlawful practice of law. As highlighted by the case of People v. Romero, 91 N.Y.2d 95, the Attorney General previously did not have the authority to investigate and prosecute criminal violations of the Judiciary Law that address the unlicensed or unauthorized practice of law.

The new law will permit investigation and prosecution of large, multi-jurisdictional violators of the Judiciary Law who to this point have effectively escaped the current patchwork of county-level prosecution. For example, the law will allow for coordinated, statewide prosecution of illegal real estate closing schemes and programs that defraud unknowing consumers and lenders in our state.

Anonymous said...

99% done? That's what they all say. If you're pro se and you've come this far, then do the extra 1% yourself douchebag.

Anonymous said...

hundred bucks a day. period. No one said you had to take it. Rather sit home and scratch yourself - be my guest.

Anonymous said...

gee, will they actually prosecute any of these "notarios/as" that seem to operate with impunity in the barrios?

Anonymous said...

To the 6:36PM blogger as to new staffing agency formation.....presume this is a sales and marketing attempt, reflecting a bit of untrue hubris...the statement that he is the "only good guy in the industry" would be deemed a blatant fabrication by those who've done business with him...tends towards questionable practices, on a subjective bases....not a good guy at all. Must watch your back with him. He has well demonstrated preferences as supported by most contract attorneys in NYC not part of his preference group. Just check around and you'll hear many many differing, but in the end, similar stories.

Anonymous said...

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/06/all-play-and-no-work-made-lance-a-disbarred-boy/

Anonymous said...

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/06/all-play-and-no-work-made-lance-a-disbarred-boy/

Anonymous said...

Temp attorney leaves his HireCounsel-Pepper Hamilton doc review project but continues to submit timesheets for 9 months afterwards AND gets paid for it:

http://www.aopc.org/OpPosting/disciplinaryboard/dboardopinions/175DB2009-Lewis.pdf

HA HA HA HA!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

That story deserves its own post. Where the hell is tom? Vacation??

Anonymous said...

A mass explosion of legal jobs on DC Craigslist lately, including Attorney positions... This is about a 500% improvement over one year ago. The economy is rebounding and jobs are coming BACK!!

Anonymous said...

It does seem that everyone is either on vacation or working.

It's been about 3 weeks since this blog post. (I am typing this on June 4th). Not only does Tom not appear to be around. None of the usual suspects in the comments have appeared.

No "Lisa needs braces" guy.

No guy asking if everyone is printing money at the Fed.

Nobody's around.

Work Work Work!

Anonymous said...

lol Indian workers, a third world country, get holidays and a higher quality of life in terms of work schedules than US workers. That is seriously funny to me.

Anonymous said...

It's hard to believe the economy has rebounded since I've heard the same thing every week for about 2 years now, but it does seem there are more projects now.

The rates seem to slowly be creeping upward, I've even seen a few for $32/hr, which isn't too far off the $35/hr average a few years back.

Anonymous said...

United merger is $32.00 hour flat long hours.

Anonymous said...

"For about six months, the company, DepoExpress, had sent its work to India, where contractors were paid only 60 percent of what U.S. counterparts would cost, the Legal Pad blog reports. But the savings evaporated because the company’s founders, two plaintiffs lawyers, had to do so much work to clean up the summaries."

So they are paying about 20 cents less than RobertHalf-Pay does for some jobs these days?

Anonymous said...

BOIES SCHILLER and IBM in Armonk.

Anonymous said...

just walked away from a temp job that was presented as deposition/substantive work at $30 per hour straight time that turned out to be taking auto insurance EUO's or exams under oath out to nassau county, and being asked (or pressured) to complete 6 to 8pg exam reports in less than three hours/on your own unpaid time. Apparently the law firm "was uncomfortable" with the fact that they were paying attorneys by the hour. The agency did not feel compelled to clarify, and after the umpteenth example of being told I needed to take care of something on my own time, I resigned from the project. just needed to put that out there.

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