News out of Australia

It has been a very interesting week. Out of nowhere a "lead" came through which has turned my entire world inside out(I'll explain why in a minute). In the beginning of the week I discovered that I was accepted to University of Western Australia to undertake the necessary courses to become licensed in Australia. I was initially excited about this but also discovered that upon finishing the courses for $13,000 I would have to complete these PLT courses (practical legal training) for 15 weeks which would cost me another $10,000. So there goes at least $23,000 excluding other costs of attendance. All of these cost factors and hurdles made me substantially cool on the idea of attending UWA. I got burned by going to school once the last thing I want to do is burn myself again. This is why I am REALLY investigating job prospects during school and post graduation.

Thus, I put my contacts on notice that I would be willing to do "quasi" legal work or any other work. The search was on and then came a white swan: some partner at a big firm said he was "fairly certain" that he could find a position for me at their Perth office. Sources have told at the present time not to sign any school documents as I have until the 6th of December to decide whether or not I should attend. However, here is the gist of what's going on: apparently they would hire me as a intern while I went to UWA. Upon graduating I would very likely have a position as a junior lawyer. It is important to note that Australia does not have a bar exam making my entrance into Australian practice much easier than in the US or UK. How true this all is I cannot independently verify at the present time. However, I should be speaking with firm personnel some time next week.

In addition, I received my first interview request for a law firm in California. Remember I recently mentioned that I began sending resumes out here again just to placate my sometimes delirious mother? Well I sent out about 40 and one finally bit. 5 lawyers, 4 support staff and they actually practice better legal issues such as healthcare, public agency law, some contracts and business work, and employment law. This interview is on Monday the 15th. My first real interview since graduating law school in May of 2009. If it wasn’t for my parents my loans would have wrecked me and I will never forget this.

The other day I spoke with a fellow graduate and he told me he was “drowning” in student loans. He said that he would end up paying $500,000 in loans for the rest of his life. This is what happens when you are already levered the fuck up and have trouble passing the bar which means no job, more money spent (bar loans yes they exist), opportunity cost of studying instead of WORKING, and waiting for results. Your loan balance explodes higher especially if it was high to begin with. This is why if you do choose to go to law school it is IMPERATIVE TO minimize your debt and pass the bar as ASAP. If your taking the Cal Bar then good luck as everyone knows the pass rate here is ugly. A 30 year attorney from Maryland who recently failed for the third time basically said that “any exam that a 30 year veteran has this much difficulty with shows that there is something wrong with it or its graders”. The appropriate warning here is that in addition to the dismal job market there is also the risk of not passing the bar for several YEARS which can cause some serious damage to your financial balance sheet.

Updates on the situation will be posted accordingly. Again let me state that I believe the recent Perth lead to be a long shot of long shots. But there is a small chance that I might be able to play with the big boys lol. Not that I find biglaw appealing but I don’t mind working like a slave for 5 yrs and making some coin in the process. Who knows, maybe the Aussies are a bit more laid back then the lunatics out here? Any info on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy the weekend

Subprime

PS: Yes I finally took out the white print on black background even though I loved it that way its hard on the eyes.