Monday, November 29, 2010

Swift Justice??

I just started my first attorney job and have been working just over one week. It's tough being away from my husband since we have been together about 24 hours a day for about the last 3 years. But he's staying busy too and we still find time to spend together.

I find myself constantly talking about work when I get home. Partly because I'm excited about what I'm doing and partly because I want him to experience it with me. I usually tell him "hypos" about clients I encounter at work.

Today, a man had to come in to a hearing for his wife, the disability claimant, who passed away last week, 2 days before Thanksgiving. The judge wanted to hurry up with the hearing even though the poor husband was mourning the death of his beloved wife. I felt extremely sad for this man, especially while he was holding open his wallet to find his drivers license and his wife's picture was on display, the man's hand trembling.

The judge could have continued the hearing until a later date in order to give the man time to mourn and time to ... whatever you do when your other half... your partner... your friend... leaves this earth and you behind. But she didn't!

Our firm decided it was inappropriate to call the man and have him come in just days after his wife died. The judge didn't!

In fact, she pretty much accused the firm of malpractice because we didn't want to have the poor man come in while he was mourning.

Sometimes, even judges and lawyers lose touch with reality and get numb to specific circumstances surrounding people's lives.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Degree or No Degree... That is the Question

Is it justice... for graduates from highly accredited schools and universities with degrees ranging from Masters in Business to Juris Doctorates with extremely impressive resumes, to be out of work, living with parents, and about to get their automobiles repossessed from unpaid bills??

Some people who did not even finish their undergraduate degrees but who have gone into business at a young age, have more money then they know what to do with?

For instance, Tim Guenther, my cousin, owns a business that is a multi-million dollar business. It's called "Clickstop". He only graduated with his Associates degree. He is now on the "40 under 40 list". 

Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell, Inc., dropped out of college at 19. He first started his computer company in his college dorm room, later using company’s earnings and family loans to expand. In 2008, Forbes ranked Michael Dell #11 in its 400 Richest Americans. As of 2009, he has an estimated net worth of $12.3 billion. 

Bill Gates, a college dropout, has been named the richest person in the world by Forbes magazine 27 times. 

Rachel Ray hasn’t had any formal culinary training, including college, but has several cooking shows on the Food Network, a talk show on NBC, several New York Times bestselling cookbooks, and her own magazine. I'm not even a cooking expert and I know who she is.

Are college degrees really needed in today's world? It seems like an undergraduate degree is a dime a dozen now days. But in some cases, it seems like people would not have made it to where they were going without their degree. 

My 3rd Cousin, Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.A. in Economics. He joined JC Penney as a mangement trainee after graduating from college. Walton then joined the military in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps, supervising security at aircraft plants and prisoner of war cams, eventually reaching the the rank of Captain. After leaving the military, with the help of a loan from my great grandmother, he purchased a Ben Franklin variety store. The first true Wal mart store came from this Ben Franklin store in 1962. 

A lot of other famous people have college degrees:  

Conan O'Brien, after earning the valedictorian title at Brookline High School, went on to Harvard where he studied history and literature. In 1985 he graduated magna cum laude. 


Oprah Winfrey studied communications at Tennessee State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Drama. 
Martin Luther King, Jr. began his college career early, enrolling in Morehouse College at age 15. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, he earned a Bachelor of Divinity Degree from Crozer Theological Seminary. King later completed his doctorate education at Boston University, studying systematic theology.
My husband and I both have Juris Doctorate degrees and are looking for work. He also has an M.B.A.   We seem to be very marketable but since there are not a lot of jobs available, we are still out of work. 

With all of these facts, I would still rather have a Juris Doctorate degree than not. Even without having a job, having degrees still makes people feel better about themselves and it makes them more marketable even in a bad economy.