From the Wool-sack

• Jurisdiction: Colorado,United States
• Citation: Vol. 29 No. 11 Pg. 45
• Pages: 45
• Publication year: 2000

29 Colo.Law. 45 Colorado Lawyer 2000.

2000, November, Pg. 45. From The Wool-Sack

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45

Vol. 29, No. 11, Pg. 45

The Colorado Lawyer
November 2000
Vol. 29, No. 11 [Page 45]

Departments
From The Wool-Sack
From The Wool-Sack
by Christopher R Brauchli

It is to be believed because it is absurd.
Quintus Septimius Tertullian, Apologeticus

Pity the poor prospective lawyer and the poor prospective client, albeit for different reasons. Life is about to get bleaker for the poor prospective lawyer and has already gotten bleaker for the poor prospective client. For the poor prospective lawyer, the bleakness is not in the salary it’s in the future of the summer camp. For the poor prospective client, it’s for the lack of availability of legal services. First things first

When I started practicing law, I earned $400 a month, which did not seem like a lot, until I compared it with what I knew; then it seemed like quite a bit. It also seemed like quite a bit to the people who were paying me. We were both right. Times have changed. Young lawyers who graduate from law school today and begin working for the national and international law firms that have grown up over the last several decades earn as much as $120,000 a year plus a year-end bonus that may be as much as $40,000. That seems like a lot when compared with what they know

Realizing that the prospect of a starting wage of $160,000 might not be enough to persuade the best and the brightest students to accept jobs offered by large firms, some firms have sponsored summer camps for law students that have resembled nothing so much as the "Land of Toys" to which Pinocchio was lured by the driver of the donkey-drawn coach. According to one summer associate who spent her summer in a large Atlanta law firm, the associates were not expected to do, nor did they do, any significant legal work.

Like the promises of endless play that were made to Pinocchio and his friend, Lamp-wick, the associates were entertained for the entire summer. They were taken to the World Wrestling Federation’s "Smack Down" event in Atlanta; they frequented, at firm expense, the "Gold Club," a fancy strip club in downtown Atlanta; they were driven by private coach to the beach in Florida for a long weekend; they were entertained during the week at partners’ houses; and, mid-way through the summer were entertained at what was called a "prom."...