Looks like tomorrow will be the big day that Mel will have to face the music. Last week, Mel's lawyers lashed out at the WSJ, claiming that the paper "belittled Mr. Weiss’s supporters," and failed to emphasize that "Mr. Weiss’s efforts improved access to justice for the poor." GIVE ME A BREAK! I am sure John Stossel could do a whole show negating the veracity of such a ridiculous assertion.
Aside from the broader issue of Mel pleading guilty to his involvement in an elaborate corrupt kickback scheme, I can only now reflect upon what a "mentor" Mel has been to the legions of debt-ridden law graduates that have been pumped out by toilet law schools every year. Despite earning millions off his poor victims, I fondly recall how Mel would hire Sleazy Temp Agency LLC to trick fresh faced recent grads into coming to work for him at a low rate with no benefits. Too bad Sleazy Agency LLC didn't disclose the fact that after having worked for Mel, you would soon find yourself blacklisted by every major American defense firm. Mel's firm also required temp staff to march around the office with giant "TEMP" ID's around their necks; ID's were bright yellow with giant "TEMP" letters written on them.
33 comments:
I hope this fucking worthless piece of filth get his ass kicked every day in the big house. Have fun Mel, you scumsucking maggot, you parasite. I hope they bash your god damned head in the first day you're on the inside.
Finally, some real karma, not that Sharon Stone type of karma.
"I hope they bash your god damned head in the first day you're on the inside."
I highly doubt it. Mel will at worst be sent off to some country club federal prison. Even the "rough" prison Martha Stewart was sent off to wasn't so bad. I think if they really wanted to punish Mel they would send him off to one of these hellish document reviews where sick people hack on you all day, and you have to hold your own against tedium and the everpresent scamsters and backstabbers.
The funny thing is that no one on this website even knows the real story behind the Milberg Weiss fall, nor do they know anything about class action work. You people all need to get a life and understand that your own actions led you to the temp world. Your all a bunch of self entitles whiners. Life is hard, deal.
"Always, Milberg Weiss cast itself as the champion of the little guy. In media interviews Lerach has spoken evocatively about fighting for the honest, struggling blue-collar worker who, through no fault of his own, had lost his hard-earned savings to corporate perfidy. The firm boasts of having collected $45 billion for cheated investors since its founding in 1965.
But somewhere along the way, the work made its ruling partners a little like the CEOs they sued. In an especially profitable year, both Weiss and Lerach personally made more than $16 million. Weiss, 71, is a high roller at casinos who collects Picassos, owns a five-acre waterfront estate on Oyster Bay, Long Island, and has a vacation condo in Boca Raton.
The Brillo-haired Lerach, 60, who bitterly split with Weiss in 2004, taking Milberg's San Diego-based West Coast operation along with him in a new firm, owns a home in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., and vacation properties in Steamboat Springs, Colo., and Hawaii. Lerach travels the country in a chartered jet, says his exercise is drinking Scotch, and will be married this month for the fourth time, to a partner at his firm."
Tort and class-action reform now! Close the toilet schools!
Sounds like the only thing Mel did right was make the temps were those IDs. It serves as a constant reminder that you are TEMPORARY not a member of the firm; this can help in the way of temps thinking they are "fired" when the project ends, and keeps their expectations in check. Cars and meals? Not for you.
It also keeps the members on the firm on the alert for those who try to snatch benefits, like too much toilet paper.
12:12-
"were" those ID's?
That's amazing! A temp that can spell check! How is it that you can't get a job with those mad skillz??
I think DC temp attorney called it quits for his blog!
Because no one else mentioned it as of yet, it is important to note that Weiss is Jewish. He falls in a long line of God's chosen who have engaged in sharp business practices. Fastow, Grubman come to mind for instance. Indeed, Germany's sharp business practice laws originate from the NSDAP era, in the wake of a plethora of Enron like scandals that occured during the Weimar era, perpetrated almost exclusiely by you-know-who.
I am sure the so called profession would like to look the other way, as they would have liked to in regards to that retired partner at Paul Weiss (also jewish) who converted funds from his sick (but dirty rich) aunt's trust fund, as the disciplinary board will also likely demonstrate incredible leniency to Kyke Spitzer, whilst admonishing, even disciplining struggling young attorneys for not completing their CLE courses that are quite useless, but cost hundreds of dollars. But sometimes circumstances are so egregious as to overcome the cronyism that otherwise pervades all.
In the wake of such circumstances, the enlightened individual can only feel anger, hatred and scorn. Let these dark powers consume you, invigorate you, and empower you.
Hey 8:28 am... the whole Jewish thing doesn't quite fly. A whole bunch of TTT temps are also Jewish. Get over the anti-semitic crapola and help focus on the same isues and enemies we temps all have. The divisive stuff is less than useful. God loves ya baby.
Mel will be playing some serious corhnole.
The ONLY positive contribution of the Bush administration.
Will the last person leaving the doc review room turn the lights?
The market is really drying up....
Tom,
Why haven't you discussed the issue of large banks refusing to lend to students? See http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/business/02loans.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=4e555887be92a382&ex=1212552000
How will the toilet law schools stay afloat? Paging Touro!
http://online.wsj.com/article/
SB121241603603237831.html?mod=hps_us_whats_news
Looks like Mel gets 30 months....
"He's to report to prison Aug. 28th, in Morgantown, W.Va."
Thank you, judge! I think Mel was asking for 18 months, judge slammed him with 30.
where are the reviews ??? nothing anywhere... India has taken over... without document review, what is out there ???
What SHOULD be out there is temps wearing IDs identifying themselves as such 24/7. This way the rest of us can keep an eye on these animals. Hail Mel!!
India has all the document review. The only thing left for us American law grads is some scams. Check out how this Columbia JD was conned:
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=2497&comments=show
Ahh yes, a shrinking job market, the outsourcing to foreign countries of solid entry level jobs, burgeoning loan debt, increasing tuition and a rubber stamp approval process by the ABA for new law schools...looks like a recipe for disaster!
8:28 Nice to see that "Anakin" is still reading this blog... and the real story is that Mel was caught due solely to the perfidy of fellow tribals.... one after the other named names in order to get themselves off the hook, starting with the creep who collected a ton of cash in an insurance fraud, claiming theft of a priceless painting that in fact was safely tucked away in a warehouse. As for Mel "fighting for the little guy", can you be any more cliche? That's about as sincere as :some of my best friends are...".
The only class action attorney out there who is more vile than Mel (and it's a close contest) is Ed Fagan, followed very closely by Michael Hausfeld. Would that someone could get the dirt on them so they could join Weiss in the slammer! (and as an aside, it's not surprising that such a creep would force attorneys to wear a bright yellow badge -- hey, maybe if you all draw a six-pointed star on your badges, they would understand why it's offensive...
Anakin,
Your an idiot. Aside from the Nigerians, the Jewish are probably the most represented in the contract attorney ranks.
why don't you start bringing attention to outsourcing in a positive way (instead of using religion and hate language) so that the politicians take notice and start putting it on their re-election agendas. Get people involved by writing to your Senators and contact the newspapers. You need a spark..
Let's face it, our PEEPEE POOPOO fellow contract attorneys aren't going to create any "sparks". Except for the kind that repells the rest of the country to temp attorneys. As if things weren't hard enough, we now have the classiness of temps documented here.
Not everyone who reads this is temping. And anyone who says something as stupid and childish as "PEEPEE POOPOO" is excluded per se as any sort of arbiter on class. Indeed, such inane stupidity does overcome me with a peculiar longing to kill you, however.
Seriously though, some of my stronger statements are made with the specific intent to excite and aggravate. Consider it part of my derisive, rhetorical style.
Finally, again I do not condemn someone just because they are Jewish. But just because there are nice individuals does not mean that the principles I have submitted are in anyway negated. My Kamerad (11:04) of sorts collaborated my contention quite nicely. Try thinking about what i say, rather than call me stupid childish names that would embarass anyone over the age of three.
i am tired--meant corroborated.
On a lighter note, up to 10 more law schools are in the planning stages, I guess the glut of lawyers is permanent...
http://www.abajournal.com/news/up_to_10_new_
law_schools_planned_how_many_are_too_many
ANITA RETURNS!
Adding Contract Lawyers to Your EDD Pool
By Alysia Solow & Alan Schwartz
Law Technology News
June 4, 2008
Your case has entered the discovery phase and you are faced with the daunting task of reviewing millions of pages with a tight deadline for production to your adversary. Your firm does not have the resources to get through all of these materials in a timely manner. What are you going to do?
Whether you use a temporary attorney staffing agency to provide a pool of contract attorneys or hire directly, the same tips for hiring will apply. With a soft legal job market, there are plenty of bright, ambitious attorneys who will want to work on your project. The trick is learning how to select them.
For many attorneys, contract work provides a flexible work environment so that they can pursue other interests between jobs or in the evenings (e.g., writers, actors, entrepreneurs). Others may be trying to launch a solo practice, or may be new parents who don't want the big-firm grind. Some may have felt the sting of discrimination, and seek a way to enter the legal workplace.
Still others may have recently relocated or may not be admitted to practice in the state. Others simply may prefer a job that pays well that they don't have to take home with them at night.
RESUMES
Understanding these motivations can help you evaluate candidates. And their resumes can provide vital clues to help you select a successful review team.
First, fight the urge to favor pedigree as an indicator of quality. While you want bright people, it also takes a certain temperament and work ethic to competently review and analyze documents 10 hours a day.
Positive signs to look for in a resume include:
Working for the same law firm(s) on multiple occasions.
Repeated placement by the same agency or agencies.
Second review, quality control and privilege review experience.
Experience with multiple online review platforms.
Placement on both short-term and long-term assignments.
Red flags include:
Lack of second review, quality control or privilege review experience for experienced reviewers.
Large, unexplained gaps in the resume.
Candidates who lump all of their reviews under one heading so that you cannot ascertain how long they were on a project and/or the type and level of work performed.
Listing "solo practitioner" as their current job description. Be wary of hiring solo practitioners if their practice requirements could lead to frequent absenteeism (e.g., due to court appearances, real estate closings). They might be great for a night shift, but unreliable in a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. slot.
THE INTERVIEW
Don't hire without an in-person interview. Some candidates look great on paper, but you will be only able to tell if they are an appropriate candidate if you meet them in person.
Brief 15-minute interviews of candidates will not only help you screen, but can help set a tone that communicates that you are invested in the reviewers as contributing members of your legal team.
Some interview tips:
Candidates should arrive on time, be professionally dressed and properly groomed.
Be cautious of candidates who cannot cogently discuss any of the reviews on which they have worked.
If you use a staffing agency, insist that the agency rank the candidates it submits to you.
This will force the staffing manager to truly reflect on the candidates who will best fit your firm's personality and will help you prioritize interviews.
EXPECT QUESTIONS
You should expect to be asked the following questions:
What is the approximate duration of project?
Does it pay a flat rate or does it pay overtime?
Is there an opportunity for weekend work, and, if so, is it required?
Are there any caps or minimum hours required?
Is there flexibility to work from home?
Is there an opportunity for a raise or completion bonus for long-term projects?
OFFERS
You should make your offers quickly and try to avoid startup delays to avoid losing the best candidates to other projects.
Always pay attorneys who are performing the same task at the same rate. Managers may make slightly more, but make sure their role includes tasks other than strictly document review.
REVIEW SITES
Staffing agencies will typically offer you "free" space for a large review.
However, while the agencies don't charge you directly for the room, they typically will bill you an additional $3 to $5 per hour, per attorney.
However, this may be well worth considering if your firm is small, or has no extra space -- because it will relieve you of the burden and costs of finding and maintaining space.
ENVIRONMENT
Be sure that your firm provides a pleasant and productive work environment:
Cramped rooms or basement spaces are notorious in the industry and obviously disfavored.
Provide desks or open tables in one large room to facilitate interaction between contract attorneys and supervisors. This will lead to a more consistent review.
Bathrooms should be cleaned frequently and well-stocked.
A break-out room where attorneys can take a call is also helpful.
There should be plenty of coffee and beverages available for reviewers.
Make sure that your site has offices for the site supervisor and associates.
Be sure your site has as a high-speed printer, photocopier and office supplies.
TRAINING
It is very important to take the necessary time to present your attorneys with an overview of the case -- and follow that up with weekly meetings to respond to their questions and to provide feedback.
Do not undervalue the intelligence of your attorneys. Their understanding of the bigger picture enables them to think about the documents instead of mindlessly coding and makes them feel part of a team. The rewards are innumerable.
Imagine a partner asking you to write a memo, but refusing to tell you what the case is about or what you are trying to achieve.
LESSONS LEARNED
Using contract attorneys can be an effective way to tackle a large-scale review.
You will find that your best contract attorneys will respect you and will want to work with you on future matters, and will tell their colleagues who are looking for work.
The Return of ANITA
And referrals from quality workers are almost always your best hiring bet!
Alysia Solow is partner and Alan Schwartz is an associate at New York's Constantine Cannon.
I read in one of his support letters to the court that someone said he was a nice guy because Mel showed him where to find a special watch at a discount. I don't know who this guy hired as his attorneys, but I don't think I would have let that one slip in the pile.
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