Layoffs are a scary thing.

For a long time this past fall, I thought that first year associates were more or less immune from layoffs. Big firms simply just did not do it for a variety of reasons. First, it was bad for recruiting. If your firm was known for getting rid of people who have only been at the firm for a couple months, why would any law student go to that firm? Sure, law students are largely fungible, but in the eyes of law students, the reverse is true as well. Second, the firm is largely unable to identify after only a few months whether the new associate is competent or not. It probably takes a year or two of consistent ability or failure to really prove an associate's worth. Why not get rid of a second or third year who you know isn't cutting it as opposed to a first year that you simply have a hunch about?

Then, last December, a big NYC firm laid off a first year. It was fairly earth shattering news. And that first year was someone I went to law school with. It was fairly shocking.

After those rounds of layoffs in the legal industry, things were relatively quiet. But I guess people with more experience than me knew that more layoffs were to come. And did they ever. There was the famous (in the legal community) Black Thursday, where just a ton of lawyers lost their jobs. And now this past week, a Vault Ranked top 10 firm let go a staggering 12% of their associates. 190 lawyers. Poof. Out the door. First years included.

And this is a firm that gave me my most solid "ding" in first round interviews. As soon as I walked in that room, I knew I had no chance. The interviewers and I didn't even put up a pretense of me having a shot. So we talked about random stuff and it was one of the more enjoyable interviews I had in that 7 day span.

I haven't really had time over the past month and a half to think about layoffs. I was so crushingly busy that I didn't have time to think about anything other than the case. When people asked if I got much sleep the night before, I would say, "Does it count if I was dreaming about the case?" But last night I had a new dream - I dreamt I was laid off. It was somewhat odd, as a fellow first year and I (who I don't really hang out with) were wandering around NYC after I got the bad news, and then I was suddenly a fugitive from the police. Apparently being jobless had turned into a crime. I fled, somewhat escaped, and then the other first year and I sought out a good place to eat. That was the dream.

The fear of layoffs is exacerbated by the current state of the market for legal jobs. There are basically zero associate positions to be had in big law firms. If you're laid off, you get your severance and may as well just sit and watch TV for a few months, because you're not getting another job with a firm for a long time. Maybe ever. If you are a mid-level associate, maybe you have made a dent in your loans and have some good experience for your resume. If you are a first year, well you have neither of those things. You're basically screwed. Even when the market turns around, you have no experience and a black mark attached to you. Why were you the one who was let go? Even if it was totally random (which it probably wasn't), convincing a potential employer of that will be a near impossible task. Furthermore, there will be plenty of newly minted law school gradutes who you will be competing with! Combine all those factors and it is really a scary situation.

I walked into a training this morning and sat down next to a fellow first year. I asked him, "What's good?" He gave me a defeated look and said, "Nothing. Oh wait, my ID card worked this morning, so that's good."

True dat.

The Gerald Henderson dunk in last night's Duke/MD game (halfway through the highlight video here) is probably the nastiest dunk I've ever seen by a Duke player.

Unfortunately, he's probably gone after this year.

If you're interested in giving Togo a new home:

http://louisville.craigslist.org/pet/1049389027.html

Edit: Link now removed. I guess Togo has a new home.

A little less than a week ago, I witnessed the first ever (its probably happened before, but none that I've seen or been a part of, so "first ever" is somewhat possible) bar sport pentathalon. The five bar sports were:

1) Pool
2) Darts
3) Bar Shuffleboard
4) Flip Cup
5) Beer Pong

Buck Hunter was originally an event, but was swapped out due to certain individuals playing Buck Hunter every day after work and therefore having too large of an advantage in the game.

There were four competitors (Ben, Gibbs, Laird, and some other guy named Switzer), so the scoring system was as follows: 4 points for first place, 2 points for second place, 1 point for third place, and 0 points for last. Each event would consist of four matches. Two initial one on one matches, and then the first place and third place matches.

Also, between each event, all competitors do a carbomb. The individual who finished last in the previous event pays for the carbombs.

I was unable to compete, but I was involved tangentially. After the first three events, the group did not like the scene at the bar. It was too crowded and there wasn't a good place for flip cup or beer pong. They conferred amongst themselves. Evan has a beer pong table, which also is good for flip cup. Lets go to Evan's to finish the competition!

They called me up and asked if my apartment was available. I said it was, but they would have to ask Kim for permission since I wasn't even home. In their drunken states, they did in fact call Kim and she agreed to host the final two events. I left work somewhat early and came back to witness this historic gathering.

Going into the final event, Gibbs miraculously held a 3 point lead, fueled by victories in flip cup and darts. Laird was in second, Ben was in third (4 points behind), and Switzer was in last. The first beer pong match was Ben v. Gibbs. Predictably, Ben won, while Laird defeated Switzer. That left Gibbs to face Switzer in the third place match. If Gibbs won, he would assure at least a tie for first place (to be settled by another beer pong match). If he lost, the door was open to Ben. Gibbs came through, which left Ben v. Laird for first place in beer pong.

If Ben beat Laird, Gibbs would win the overall title. If Laird won, he would tie Gibbs for first place, leading to a playoff. Ben vowed victory. Laird assured him this would not occur. Ben proposed a wager of $20 on the game. Laird stated he would like to double that wager. Ben agreed.



The outcome? Ben won in overtime. Giving the unlikely victory to:

I saw this on the TV and could not stop laughing.



Its just funny on so many levels.

Here's more on the actual story.

Whiny Evan is taking a hiatus. After 35 straight days of work (tomorrow will be the 35th), I will finally have a day off.

But the thing is still hanging around, its just in stasis. As Cedrick Daniels told McNulty (after finding out that McNulty made up the serial killer):

To be continued...

Holy crap a lot of lawyers at big law firms got fired today.

Maybe this 32 straight days of working thing is a blessing in disguise.

My first official words in a deposition transcript:

MR. LEE: I don't know.

Sounds about right.

Powerhouse High School Reaches Out to the Students in the Middle

With similar goals in mind, the district has added honor societies in English, art and music — for a total of seven — to recognize students whose overall grades may keep them out of the National Honor Society. Since 2003, it has expanded its menu of Advanced Placement courses to 25 subjects and opened them to students who previously would not have qualified. And it instituted a policy prohibiting students from being cut from the orchestra, band and most sports, adding “junior varsity 2” teams to accommodate extra players...

[obvious and justified complaint from Asian violin player]

Despite such complaints, Linda Reyes Weil, a mother of three who is co-president of the high school’s Home and School Association, said the district was doing a better job by serving a broader population. “As parents, we all talk about the middle because we worry about the middle students getting lost in the shuffle,” she explained. “We all want that thing of beauty — a really nice transcript that will stand out in college admissions.”

And there's the rub. All parents want a really nice transcript that will stand out in college admissions. But the fact that you want it doesn't entitle you to it. Unexceptional teenagers should have unexceptional transcripts. Seems straightforward to me.

Junior varsity two. That's great. Who do they play, middle school teams?

I only read the first couple lines of this article, but a question arises:

If you are limiting the pay of top positions in companies that really need strong and intelligent leadership, aren't you dooming those companies to sucky leaders?

Aside from the sheer enjoyment you get out of this blog, there generally isn't any reward for reading it. I don't have contests (well there was that one week I did, but that was a long time ago), I don't provide any valuable information, I don't provide any goods for purchasing at a reasonable price, etc. That changes today... for blog readers I work with (I think there are three of you).

As I have worked the last three weekends, I have at times wandered around parts of our building that most other people never see. The magic pantry on floor 26 is one of those places. Another generally unknown place is the kitchen inside of document production on floor 25. I first found this room when I was searching for a microwave. At first glance it appears to be just a dinginer pantry with a bigger fridge and that stupid bean grinding machine. But if you go into this room on weekend mornings, gigantic bags of bagels and huge boxes of pastries are waiting for you on the table! And they are generally untouched, just asking you to eat them.

Free breakfast on weekend mornings! It doesn't get much better than that, except of course if you were not working at all.

I always did think it would be neat if I learned how to play the piano. But I have no musical ability at all, so I gave up on the actual thought pretty quickly. I bring this up because of this video of a person playing Stairway to Heaven, and its pretty incredible. Freebird is just as good.

And yes, I'm here at work right now playing it somewhat loudly in my office. Today makes it 21 straight days.