Author: TSA Press

This column is about the intersection of finance and the law, and I hope you’ll all indulge me in stretching that premise a bit this week. I want to talk about the value a particular teacher, who we recently lost to a violent crime, added to my life, and many others.

Barry Bennett played 11 seasons in the NFL. From 1978 to 1988, he spent time on the line for the New Orleans Saints, the New York Jets, and the Minnesota Vikings.

But I didn’t know any of that when I first walked into his physical education class at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle High School as a bespectacled, tiny, awkward teenager. He was just Mr. Bennett to me. He had a booming voice and he’d cruise around on his bicycle shouting encouragement and clocking us in at the end as we circled the high school running the mile. He’d jump into our games of bombardment (the Minnesota name for a close cousin of dodgeball) if we begged hard enough. He respected the students. He made us laugh — one time a friend of mine, Jerrod, who also met a brave but tragic end, bet me $20 I couldn’t wax my legs (which sprout hair roughly the consistency of a bear pelt) without making a peep. Another classmate brought in the waxing paraphernalia, and Mr. Bennett refereed the whole silly affair, cracking his own brand of tasteful jokes along with the rest of us. He made a class that could have been a chore a pleasure.

I graduated as my high school valedictorian, and my nearly perfect transcript was marred by only a single A-. It was from that first P.E. class I took with Mr. Bennett. “Wolfman,” he said, “You try harder than anyone else in this class, and I can’t tell you how important I think that is. But if I gave you an ‘A’ instead of an ‘A-,’ what am I supposed to tell the kids who don’t have to try as hard as you do but are still getting a six-minute mile instead of the eight-minute mile you’re at?”

I tried even harder, and I took more classes with Barry Bennett. By the next year, I was getting an A on my own merits. By my senior year, I was taking elective Phys. Ed. Mr. Bennett taught me how to lift weights, and lift them right. We lifted three days a week, and the rest of the days learned the nuances of everything from broomball (hockey but with no skates and a ball instead of a puck, and, you know, brooms) to bowling. He was radiant in the elective class. “Beloved” is not an overstatement. When graduation season came, he carried around a stack of cards, because he was invited to so many graduation parties, and he made the time to stop by and visit and have a little food at every single one of them. He was one of only two teachers I invited to my own graduation party. Years later, he would still stop my buddy Ingman and me for a chat when he saw us riding our bikes around town. He said he thought it was great to see his former students out getting exercise as adults even when it was no longer a class requirement.

I didn’t become an athlete. I’m not an NFL player. But I’ve completed four marathons at this point. I still lift weights. If not for the influence Barry Bennett had on my life, I might have been dead one night three years ago when a couple street thugs jumped me. As it turned out, I had the physique to fight them off, they went to jail, and I spent the night a little bloodied but safe in my own bed. Mr. Bennett didn’t create my stubbornness or drive or whatever you want to call it, but he sure helped it grow and mature. I don’t know if I would have come out of a lot of the experiences I’ve had in as good of shape as I did if Barry Bennett hadn’t been in my life.

Barry Bennett, and his wife, Carol, were murdered last week in my hometown. You can read about the details of that horrible crime in some other news source. But I want to tell you that teachers, good teachers, add real value to people’s lives. There are a lot of studies about it, and replacing a teacher in the bottom five percent for quality with even an average teacher can increase the present value of students’ lifetime incomes by as much as $250,000 per classroom. Barry Bennett was more than an average teacher, he was an outstanding teacher, and I have no trouble believing that he helped contribute to the lifetime earnings of myself and the rest of his students. But he offered so much more that you can’t put a number on. He improved hundreds of lives, including my own. That is what I am going to remember of him. That, and his big, toothy smile.

Jonathan Wolf is a litigation associate at a midsize, full-service Minnesota firm. He also teaches as an adjunct writing professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, has written for a wide variety of publications, and makes it both his business and his pleasure to be financially and scientifically literate. Any views he expresses are probably pure gold, but are nonetheless solely his own and should not be attributed to any organization with which he is affiliated. He wouldn’t want to share the credit anyway. He can be reached at jon_wolf@hotmail.com.

They are attacking two highly accomplished lawyers; it’s hard to believe that they aren’t excellent lawyers. It takes courage to bring this kind of lawsuit… To me, it’s clear that Jones Day has an illegal policy, and it’s a straightforward legal question….

I was surprised that they would be that aggressive. I sue a lot of companies and most are sensitive to optics….

This is on the higher scale of personal attacks, and it’s pretty rare. Most firms don’t do this kind of vitriolic attack on their former all-stars. Most would handle it discreetly because it can hurt recruiting.

I’d think twice about joining this kind of law firm.

— Peter Romer-Friedman, counsel at Outten & Golden, speaking to Vivia Chen of the Careerist about Jones Day’s PR tactics following the latest associate lawsuit against the firm. In the lawsuit former associates Julia Sheketoff and Mark Savignac allege the firm’s non-gender neutral parental leave policy is discriminatory, the firm’s black box compensation system results in unequal pay, and the firm has a practice of altering firm photos to make their women attorneys more “attractive,” which manifests itself in making them look more white. The firm’s response to the suit has been a full out attack of Sheketoff and Savignac, who were highly sought after Supreme Court clerks when they joined the firm. No word — yet — on how/if this strategy will impact the firm’s ability to lure more prestigious SCOTUS clerks to their ranks.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

In a few days, my alma mater Whittier Law School will shut its doors for good. Every student has been accounted for. The faculty and staff have either retired or hopefully gotten jobs elsewhere. All of the school’s records will be sent to Whittier College in case alumni need transcripts. The last few days will be spent packing and cleaning.

Whittier Law School (previously known as Beverly Law School) catered to people who were choosing law as a second career or wanted to work in public service. But the school also took in traditional law students with almost all of them intending to transfer to another law school after their first year. But only a few in the top of the class succeeded. The low bar passage rate and the school’s 4th tier status on the US News rankings did not make graduates attractive to traditional firms.

In recent years, the law school was suffering a crisis. Government and public service work became even more difficult to obtain. This was mostly due to the federal government’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness program which forgives federal student loans tax free after working for the government or a 501(c)(3) organization for 10 years. With students from most law schools leaving with $250,000 or more in federal student loan debt, being debt free after 10 years while working in a more job-secure and relaxed work environment is becoming a very powerful incentive.

Also, it became common knowledge that most graduates of schools like Whittier would have difficulty finding jobs which led some potential students to reconsider their decision to attend.

The leaders of Whittier College considered many options but none of them appeared to be feasible. The school was projected to have financial deficits in future years due to increasing costs and falling enrollment. So in April 2017, the decision was made to stop accepting students and eventually close the law school.

I recently visited the school possibly for the last time. I made an appointment to meet with the last dean of the school Rudy Hasl.

As I approached the campus, to my surprise, the parking lot was packed with cars. But there was not going to be a surprise revival or a mystery white knight buyer. Nor was there a final alumni celebratory event going on. Instead, a local auto dealer rented the campus parking lot to store their excess inventory.

When I went to the administration building where the dean’s office was, it was empty and locked. I next tried the faculty building where the professors’ offices were. That building was also permanently empty.

That left only one building. The building where we went to class, watched the Lakers or Angels games in the lounge, or just hung out in one of the rooms dedicated to student organizations.

As I walked to the classroom building, I passed by the large grass yard. I recall the occasional parties we had there. The yard was immaculate. The grass was lush green and recently mowed. This made me believe that someone was going to continue using the real estate after the closure.

Walking inside the halls of the classroom building, I saw a photo of the old campus. It was first located in a suburb of Los Angeles where I lived many years ago. My sister went to the elementary school next door while I went to the junior high school a few blocks away. Back then, I thought the building had a mystical look and might have been occupied by a cult that trained wizards and witches.

The dean was waiting for me in one of the rooms which used to be the headquarters for the Whittier Journal of Child And Family Advocacy. Since the journal has been disbanded, the space is now being used as the administrative office.

Dean Hasl and I talked about many things at length. Since he is retiring after the closure, I figured that he would not mince words. We talked about the reasons why law schools are expensive, the obsession with prestige in the profession, the quality and necessity of legal scholarship, and how future lawyers should be trained to meet the needs of the underserved. We agreed on some things, disagreed with others.

As I was driving away from the campus, I noticed a Hooters a block away. How convenient that it opened only a few months after I graduated. A few blocks further was an In-N-Out burger joint. For those not living in the West Coast, it is famous for its Double-Double burgers and stays open late. It would have been great comfort food during the late night study sessions.

Since graduating over 10 years ago, I have visited most of the law schools in Southern California and a few in other parts of the country. Visiting them made me appreciate Whittier Law School in ways I didn’t notice in the past. Whittier Law School was a relatively large, quiet, modern looking campus. The buildings had only one floor which means not having to wait for an elevator or walking up several flights of stairs to get to class or to a professor’s office. Some of the other law schools I visited were located in filthy, sketchy and crowded parts of the city. I had difficulty finding parking in others. And visiting a few felt like stepping into a time capsule from the middle of the twentieth century.

I have heard many lawyers say that some law schools should be shut down. But I’m sure they don’t want their alma mater to be on the list. And of course, I didn’t want my law school to close either. On the other hand, things could have ended a lot worse. Some law schools were forcibly shut down in the middle of the semester leaving their students with few options. Some were under investigation by the state’s Attorney General for predatory practices.

Was it possible for Whittier Law School to avoid closure? Perhaps, but it would’ve required all stakeholders to make significant concessions. Tuition and enrollment size would have to decrease. Faculty might have to accept salary freezes, salary cuts or even buyouts, some of whom already have. Students who are not likely to pass the bar exam or obtain jobs should be removed as soon as possible before they accrue more debt. Whittier College could have invested more money to modernize the campus. But I think deep down everyone knew the truth: All of this was not likely to change anything given the industry’s obsession with rankings and the difficulty of meaningfully improving the rank.

Goodbye Whittier Law School. As for myself, I was a member of Moot Court, the Trial Advocacy Team and was the Student Body Treasurer. I met some of my best friends there. And now as a director of the Whittier Law Alumni Association, I will try to stay in touch with remaining alums. The law school has not produced many Biglaw partners or federal appellate judges. But the attorney helping immigrants in Orange County is probably a Whittier grad. The attorney charging a reasonable rate to the middle class is also likely to be a Whittier grad. The judge presiding over cases in a rural county is probably a Whittier grad. While I am sad to see the school close, I am glad that it is closing honorably rather than continuing in the expensive and abusive educational arms race or trying to rebrand itself.

Steven Chung is a tax attorney in Los Angeles, California. He helps people with basic tax planning and resolve tax disputes. He is also sympathetic to people with large student loans. He can be reached via email at sachimalbe@excite.com. Or you can connect with him on Twitter (@stevenchung) and connect with him on LinkedIn.

* What associates love, hate, and fear. [American Lawyer]

* Deutsche Bank admits the obvious — it’s got Trump’s documents. [Law360]

* A quick rundown of all the threats to U.S. elections. [National Law Journal]

* Referrals aren’t enough to make a law firm. [Yahoo]

* Missouri abortion ban blocked because precedents still matter… for now. [NPR]

* Sacklers talking opioid settlement because they aren’t stupid. [Huffington Post]

* MPAA general counsel arrested on sex abuse charges. [Corporate Counsel]

The shrinking of democratic space in Zimbabwe and an update on the key economic and political developments in Zimbabwe: Where to Zimbabwe?

Zimbabwe’s political and economic situation is reaching a boiling point and faced by a myriad of challenges. The political dispute emanating from the July 2018 presidential election has brought the country to a standstill with the economic situation worsening. In the past few weeks, we have seen an escalation of police brutality, with abductions and arrests of activists in Zimbabwe at the hands of the state security forces. Nearly 22 activists from the civil society and the main opposition political party the MDC Alliance are facing trial on treason charges.

In light of the above, the  Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) regional office and the Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum (ZSF) cordially invites the media to a press briefing and interaction on the matter to be addressed by the representatives of the following,

Speakers:

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition

Zimbabwe Solidarity Forum

Human Rights Watch

Date: Thursday, 29 August 2019

Time: 10:00am

Venue: Parktonian Hotel (120 De Korte St, Wanderers View Estate, Braamfontein Johannesburg, 2000)

Post published in: Featured

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has lambasted the regulator of global wildlife trade CITES over the continued ban in international ivory trade.

Global trade in ivory has largely been outlawed since 1989 after elephant numbers plunged from millions in the mid-20th century.

Zimbabwe and its two southern neighbours Botswana and Namibia, had requested a resumption of ivory sales to clear their stockpiles and fund conservation activities.

But their proposal was rejected by governments at the ongoing Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meeting in Geneva.

The three countries’ stockpiled ivory has a combined value of US$600 million (540.7 million euros), Mnangagwa said.

“It’s a lot of money we can use for big projects,” Mnangagwa was quoted as saying by the government daily, The Herald, on Tuesday.

“Our wild animals are being discussed in Geneva, an irrelevant place to the animals,” he said referring to the 183-country forum.

“They bar us from killing our animals for selling ivory, but they want us to protect them from being poached,” Mnangagwa protested.

“Europeans have consumed all their animals, but they want to set rules for us who have managed to conserve theirs.”

Southern Africa is home to the majority of the remaining African elephants where populations have traditionally been better protected and healthier.

The overpopulation of the animals has resulted in them destroying crops and killing villagers living alongside the national parks where they are found.

The ivory stockpiles come from tusks from natural deaths, confiscations from poachers and culling.

Zimbabwe has permission to carry out culling to maintain a sustainable elephant population, but it has not done so in three decades.

“The last cull was in 1987, we have not carried out any because of disapproval by the various animal rights activists,” Zimbabwe National Parks spokesperson Tinashe Farawo told AFP.

Zimbabwe, which has an elephant population of 84,000 against it carrying capacity of 56,000, is permitted to issue licenses to commercial hunters to kill 500 elephants every year, but most of the hunters take the tusks with them as trophies, said Farawo.

On Tuesday CITES imposed a near-total ban on exporting African elephants captured from the wild to zoos.

Post published in: Featured

“The disappointment just keeps getting worse and worse, unfortunately,” said the official, speaking on background to reporters. “The government seems to be getting even more violent in their response to any form of opposition.”

The official said Washington had made clear to the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa what it would take to improve relations between Zimbabwe and the United States.

U.S. officials have previously called on Mnangagwa to change Zimbabwe’s laws restricting media freedom and allowing protests.

Mnangagwa’s government last week banned anti-government protests by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, which accuses the authorities of political repression and mismanaging the economy. Police fired tear gas to disperse crowds and barred access to the MDC’s Harare offices.

Anger among the population has mounted over triple-digit inflation, rolling power cuts and shortages of U.S. dollars, fuel and bread.

In March, President Donald Trump extended by one year U.S. sanctions against 100 entities and individuals in Zimbabwe, including Mnangagwa, saying his government had failed to bring about political and economic changes.