This movie thing is going to be harder than i thought. i couldn't find anybody to go with me tonight. i called Betty first.
"Which one did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Never heard of it. What's it about?"
"Edward R. Murrow."
Betty later claimed she was kidding. Anyways, she couldn't go because tonight was tae-bo night for her. i got stood up for Billy Blanks himself. Only in L.A.
Next, i called Lori. But she and her boyfriend are total homebodies. Even though they work in the business, the last thing they want to do after work is go see a movie.
My brother was a last resort, but if it doesn't involve a car chase, he's not interested. Also he got home late from his job and was too cranky and tired to go out again.
The one consolation to staying home was a big plate of my Mom's Labskovs stew, which we all ate while watching the latest Raymond DVD. What's my Mom's Labskovs stew like, you ask? Holy crap, as Frank Barone might say, it's awesome!
Oh, on a completely unrelated topic, my car is angry with me. She's threatening to go on strike because i've been driving with the check engine light for the last oh 10,000 miles or so. So now she's started sputtering and coughing when i first turn her on. It's just a form of protest, but i'll have to placate her by taking her in to the shop this week if i can.
When the check engine light first came on i took her in right away because i heard that you should never drive a car with the check engine light on. i ended up paying the dealer $100 just so they could tell me it was the catalytic converter. Cool, i thought. i can ignore that, no problem.
#1: from what i understand, the CC is made of solid platinum, and therefore costs about $50,000 to replace.
#2: i'm supposed to smog the car this year, so they will obviously insist that i fix the CC before they re-register me. i'm now late on re-registering, by the way. i just couldn't afford the smog check, the new CC and the fee all at once.
#3: until now, there was no discernable difference in the car's performance, except for the annoying orange light on the dashboard, which i got used to. Actually the light itself was not as annoying as having to hear every single passenger in my car say "hey, did you know your check engine light is on?"
1
Start poppin' some popcorn. You're strapped in... you're in the hands of something much bigger and more powerful than yourself.
So why not just lay back and enjoy the ride?
Posted by: d-rod at December 19, 2005 10:23 PM (Y4xWc)
2
Take it in Annie, or have it quit on the way back to Sacto or some other crucial time when it will cost you twice as much to fix by the place to which it is towed.
Change the oil while you are at it.
I'm guessing you need to keep it going about another 18 months to two years or so. When you pass the Bar and negotiate your deal with the big firm, one of the perks will be a new car so you don't need to deal with this crap anymore.
Law School's not all bad, you know.
Posted by: shelly at December 20, 2005 02:20 AM (6mUkl)
3
Shelly:
What good is a car when you have to bill 70 hours a week?
Posted by: Jake at December 20, 2005 06:16 AM (r/5D/)
4
Jake, check your calculator. A lawyer billing 70 hours a week (3,640 a year)will own the firm in two years. The firms pretty much like to see 2,000 or some ask for 2,200, maybe 2,400 for a real compulsive achiever who wants to make partner on a fast track. Used to be 1,800 when I started.
Besides which, (unfortunately) there is a gap between "billing" hours and actually working them.
On the other hand, I agree with you somewhat; just drive down to the parking areas in any large building in LA before 8:00 A.M. or after 8:00 P.M. in the evening, and all you see are the Porsches, MBZ's and BMW's, with an occasional Corvette or Cadillac.
Life has lost relevance for lots of these kids, and the collegiality of the practice of law that existed when I began has been lost with it.
I'm hoping to do something about that this coming year, but how? Any ideas appreciated.
Posted by: shelly at December 20, 2005 07:33 AM (6mUkl)
5
Shelly;
I misstated the description of the hours. To meet most law firms billing requirements, a lawyer has to work 70 hours a week or more because of vacations, holidays and administration duties.
What to do about it? Realize that the work turned out by an employee who has already worked 50 hours that week is garbage. Those excess hours are a disservice to your clients, burn out your best people and results in excessive turnover.
The agreements I see coming out of "top" law firms are obviously written by overworked, sleep-deprived, burnt out lawyers. The agreements are cut and paste jobs that prove that the writer's brain was so fogged that he could not understand the purpose of the agreement.
As you know, clients are pushing back by starting inhouse legal departments, doing the cutting and pasting themselves or going to India to have their legal work done. It is time for law firms to reform.
Posted by: Jake at December 20, 2005 09:08 AM (r/5D/)
6
The solution, at least in California, is simple. But it's never going to happen. Close down the non-accredited law schools. There are too many young lawyers looking for work, and we keep pumping new ones into the system. No wonder the profession is not collegial anymore. The work of a lawyer can't help but become devalued when there are too many lawyers out there. Shelly, can you track the number of inactive members of the bar. Has it gone up as the number of admittees continues to rise? i wonder what the rate of young lawyers is who end up giving up on the profession and changing their status to inactive after a few years. It seems to me a question of simple economics, supply and demand. When the labor pool gets too big, the value of that labor is cheapened. The only winners in this system are the law schools, who make out like bandits.
Posted by: annika at December 20, 2005 09:45 AM (zAOEU)
7
A catalytic converter is necessary only for emissions purposes; it won't affect your performance unless it clogs up and restricts exhaust flow.
And while it has platinum in it as a catalyst, it's not solid platinum, and shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars installed, unless your car is Very Weird. (A "universal" cat and cheap installation might run under $150.)
The "check engine" light is, in almost all cases, an indication that something trivial is wrong with the emissions system. It does
not indicate an actual problem with the function of the engine. (I believe some very expensive cars, like at least some of the BMWs, actually have indicators for
real engine problems. This is not common, in my understanding.)
(Though the sputter and cough at startup might indicate you need a tuneup.)
Posted by: Sigivald at December 20, 2005 03:52 PM (4JnZM)
8
I haven't been enthused about Good Night and Good Luck after reading a review that says it's pretty much a cartoon. Murrow is Good. McCarthy is Bad. Good triumphs over Bad. End of story.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor at December 20, 2005 04:38 PM (FPdMX)
9
When it doesn't start and doesn't run, you will then have a fair idea that something is wrong with it. Why not do it like everyone else on your side of the gender divide?
Cars are running fine if they start when you turn the key, go when you put it in gear and push on the gas, and stop when you put your foot on the brake.
All these other things are just distractions to annoy you. Ignore them.
So, why worry?
Posted by: shelly at December 20, 2005 05:55 PM (6mUkl)
10
"It seems to me a question of simple economics, supply and demand."
Yes, it is -- and you're arguing for a cartel. Which is precisely what the practice of law has been in nearly all of this country for about a century. But California cartel is weaker than some -- unaccredited law schools pose less of a barrier to entry, and I've heard that the Cal. Bar is no longer pushing enforcement of the UPL statute (although the extra-tough bar exam offsets some of this) -- which increases competition and makes producers' lives harder. Competition always sucks for producers; it means they have to work harder. On the other hand, it's good for consumers. C'est la vie.
Posted by: Matt at December 20, 2005 08:19 PM (vNreC)
11
Annie, we can track the inactive members' numbers pretty well, but a lot of the reason is just that people live longer these days because of advances in medicine, etc.
But the numbers are deceptive, as we don't always know the reason that they elect to be "inactive".
Some just retire, others retire but won't give up the "active" designation. Many who no longer really practice publicly retain the "active" status for ego.
To further complicate the numbers, the Board of Governors is requiring retired judges who seek to practice ADR to be "active" members, and many are in a furor over that issue, although it's not clear whether it is the extra three hundred a year, or the MCLE requirement that causes the upset. Or maybe it is just being regulated.
Some just don't want to be "active" members by designation, so we're trying to negotiate a different designation with the same other requirements for retired judges.
Back to law schools: Lots of the unacredited ones are in trouble, primarily because the Bar is tough. Many are on the verge of bankruptcy.
That is not going to change, at least not on my watch, nor for the immediate future. In fact, we are making it two more questions tougher.
On the age thing: I'm going to ask if we can get an age breakdown on inactive members. I'll let you know what I find out.
The meltdown of the dot.com boom saw many coming back to "active" and looking for their old jobs back, by the way.
Lastly, Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher just bumped first years' back up to $135,00. Go figure.
Posted by: shelly at December 20, 2005 11:32 PM (6mUkl)
12
Dashboard "check engine" lights with accompanying sputtering are usually oxygen sensor related. That sensor tells the engine how to mix air and fuel for combustion. You've already spent more in wasted fuel consumption than it would cost you to fix it. Driving with a bad oxygen sensor will eventually ruin the CC. Put on a mini. Shake your moneymaker, and get it fixed for the $25 cost of the part.
Posted by: Casca at December 22, 2005 09:13 AM (y9m6I)
13
Tsk, Tsk, Casca.
You are talking to a future lawyer here.
Show some respect. A few days at Quantico have caused you to retrogress 30 years.
Posted by: shelly at December 22, 2005 11:13 AM (6mUkl)
14
i used to get cheated at the mechanic's all the time. Until my brother taught me a trick that i believe works. i bought a cheapo t-shirt from Pep Boys Auto Parts. i wear it whenever i go to the mechanic. They never know for sure how knowledgable i am, so they don't try to double-talk me when they see that shirt.
Posted by: annika at December 22, 2005 02:12 PM (zAOEU)
Posted by: annika at December 22, 2005 02:17 PM (zAOEU)
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