So if this was any other blog I, the most consistent female contributor, would be going on some wild zany trip between jobs where I would discover my lesbian side and drive a car that only only people who don’t have to work at all drive. Well sorry guys. If you’re looking for a sex fantasy you’ve come to the wrong place.

Instead I am going to elaborate on the plan I mentioned earlier about how to get the rest of my JD paid for and earn another degree to boot. Read on for the details.

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So rather than regurgitating something from ATL three or four days after it gets posted I thought I’d share my news and my plan.  I think step one is self-explanatory if you read the title.  The last straw you might ask? One of those canned “farewell” emails that a laid off associate who still believes in the networking fairy sends out instead of putting as many of his belongings as possible in a bag before security arrives.  This farewell was special though.

Was it sarcastic? Did it rip the firm a new one? No.  Was it a stream of consciousness nervous breakdown?  No that wasn’t it. Read on to find out but if you’re an above the fold type person I will give you a hint.  It has to do with the length.   It was exactly three and a half sentences.

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Sigh.  I wish Alpha Man had gone to law school or had at least agreed to write this, but he said it was MY responsibility and to tap into my “righteous anger.” Well kids, here it is.

The New York Times reports that law schools are automatically raising grades on PAST EXAMS for CURRENT LAW STUDENTS and PAYING LAW FIRMS to accept their students.  The first question that comes to mind is, why not help out recent alumni who have been UNEMPLOYED FOR 6 to 24  MONTHS particularly since their grades lack the NATURAL GRADE INFLATION already present on the transcripts of more recent classes?  Well, once you no longer affect the employment statistics of these hallowed halls of learning, nobody cares whether you live or die. 

First let me post the link and then I will dissect what it means for us JD debtors.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/22/business/22law.html

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If you’re living off the grid summer is the best time to travel – less clothes to take, easier to hitch hike since more students are on the road, and you’d be surprised how much free food you can get if you know how to find a barbecque honoring a grad, dad, country or a vet, and that’s not even counting block parties.  Recently I have been traveling and I found myself in Washington, DC where I saw Laurence Fishburne at the Kennedy Center in the one-man bio drama Thurgood.  Just in case any next of kin ever read this, yes I wore a coat and tie.  And I was blown away.

Benito says he’d give back his JD, earned in the guilded halls of the ivy-league, if they would just relinquish his debt.  He calls the piece of paper worthless.  It is of course an understatement to say that Justice Marshall’s JD, earned in extremely more modest accommodations at a time where most law schools were still segregated was priceless, not just for him personally but for our country.  The play alludes to the fact that Justice Marshall saved up enough for tuition working in the service industry and that his mother sold her engagement ring and wedding band in order to help pay his way.  I know an author at the New York Times that would have frowned upon that.

Read on to find out why I think debt might be the new Jim Crow.

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For the second article in a row I am posting a link to a story that might be the beginning of the end of our suffering

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/06/could-law-school-loans-become-more-easily-dischargeable-in-bankruptcy/#comments

Could it be true?  I am like a Goat in Narnia that’s just seen Santa’s sleigh.  Perhaps the endless winter is coming to an end.  Now before we get all giddy, let’s explore the two reasons why this isn’t likely to happen and analyze the BEST option for beating the odds and finally getting out of this hell hole. 

The first reason this isn’t likely to happen is of course lawyers.  Remember, it was their bankruptcy declaring asses on the second day after graduation that got us in this damn mess in the first place.  The second reason is the fact that an educational loan has no collateral.  There’s no car or home to repossess in the event you can’t pay…or is there?

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I didn’t realize this until Benito pointed it out: the difference between a market driven and an expertise driven credential. As you know I have been jaded lately and I think the root of all apathy in the medical field comes when you begin to view your daily grind as a job like any other. That was certainly part of my problem. Because I thought of it as a job like any other I assumed the degree that went with other jobs (JDs, PhDs, MAs and MBAs as opposed to MDs) were expertise driven. Doctors need MDs to demonstrate basic competence or people die. Benito then reminded me that not every job is a matter of life and death no matter how much Mike Triforce hams it up when he has a filing deadline. Here’s Benito to tell you what the differences are between credentials as part of our first 200 level class on student debt.

Hi kids. Consider this part of an effort to get back on track as near as it relates to our core mission of providing meaningful advice,insights and commentary into what affects us as student debtors. This is a 200 level commentary because it is a bit more abstract than simply factoring in the effect of taxes and interest on your monthly bottom line. This has to do with assigning a value to the education you received in order to be better informed when it comes to making a decision if the education juice is worth the financial squeeze. Read on to learn how.

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UNC-Greensboro is offering a three year undergrad program with majors offering actual life skills like accounting, information systems and elementary education. That’s great for those not already in debtor’s prison. High School students are in the unenviable position of having to budget for likely stints of unemployment that will overlap with some level of student loan payment. Could this be the great equalizer?

Before I let everyone else weigh-in I’d like to say I think this is a major step in the right direction. With graduate level degrees and additional certifications as prerequisites for even entry level jobs kids need an opportunity to get out into the world before they are 30. Also consider this – say a student lived at home and worked full time, scraping together enough to pay for two semesters of school. Say he then gets into a three year program. According to my Math he’s just cut his borrowing in half.  And that is the name of the game kids.

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My name is Icarus. I am 30 years old. Last week I met a 20 year-old older than me. Only two years into school was he. Yet he had borrowed more than me.

We were at a concert but he could not hear. The debt reached up to his very ears. A twenty year-old older than me. For I had much less debt than he.

A girl approached him. He could have been laid, but instead he talked about his financial aid. Aid if it can be called that. She turned to me and together we enjoyed the majesty of the concert.

He could not stay for the encore. For he had books over which to pour. Lest he remain poor. Every month new loans reminding him what was at stake. A twenty year-old older than me. For I had borrowed less than he.

Sadly I was able to take no joy in this. For on that day many years from now when he takes the podium to accept an award for excellence in his chosen field he will hear muted notes from the concert he missed all around him. And he will think of the girl. And his student debt unpaid. And the fact that the podium is in an empty room and the award one he gave himself. Then he will return to the temp agency, having never found a job utilizing his degree.

A twenty year-old. Older than me. For I have lighter chains than he.