Law School Classmate appearing semi-nude: Injurious to her classmates?

[Campion]

Happy, sorry about the continued hijack. I’m not sure how this turned into “BigLaw lawyers are tools,” but there you have it.

@Quiddity Glomfuster

If that is the case, then the number of idiots allowed to be lawyers must be massive, because only the dimmest of bulbs could actually think that the actions of a single person represent all the characters of all the members of the entire student body.

Which is, of course, not at all what I said. In retrospect, I was not as clear as I could have been. Mr. Excellent played devil’s advocate (and, no offense, did a piss poor job of it). I suggested an alternate explanation, and one that accords with my understanding of BigLaw.

But to the extent that your suggestion is that human beings do not generally take what facts they know and extrapolate from them, we disagree. The truth is that law schools, like any other association of people, tend to develop certain common characteristics. For example, in LA, we’ve found that graduates of the local law schools tend to act in a certain way. I can’t disagree with Happy’s concern that people may tend to look differently at BC because of this incident (although, as I’ve said, this is fleeting – by Friday week we’ll all have moved on to something new).

Oh, but yes – the number of morons permitted to be lawyers is stunning. That is, however, irrelevant to the issue at hand.

@Dinsdale

Eek! One young adult out of a student body of how many hundred did something unconventional! The horror!

Dude, you cannot cannot tell me that the misuse of the the word “affect” in the “interview” didn’t grate. For that alone, that woman should never be employed.

@Beaucarnea

Seriously, if you aren’t safe from sexually charged questions at a law firm interview, the you people don’t have the reputation that you think you have.

You must have missed the part where I said that I’d be surprised if the issue came up in OCI. But you’re right that law firms are just like any other employer when it comes to sexual harassment (are those M&M’s in your pocket?)

@Beaucarnea

Choosing to represent the needy and the downtrodden automatically grants you immunity from public scorn.

Right. And with the same breath, you disparage the lawyers who represent the needy and downtrodden because they represent corporations as well. Whatever.

@Oakminster

I appreciate the sentiment…but I ain’t no hero.

If if matters, Oakminster, I still think you’re an asshole. But if you’re ever in LA, hookers and blow are on me.

@pravnik

What’s so evil about public defenders?

I think the point is that if you judge lawyers by who they choose to represent, you’re gonna have a problem with the public defenders if you have a problem with the people who defend the Fortune 500. In other words – don’t judge a lawyer by the client.

Anyway, sorry for the hijack. I only posted originally to say that I understand why Happy posted originally, but I disagree with the conclusion that he drew. I didn’t mean to turn this into a huge stinking deal.

[Beaucarnea]

@Campion

**Happy[/Right. And with the same breath, you disparage the lawyers who represent the needy and downtrodden because they represent corporations as well.

No, I didn’t disparage the career of law. In this post, I lauded it. You cannot blame me for the public’s vaguely unfavorable view of the profession of law. (Heard any good lawyer jokes lately?)

@Beaucarnea

Happy Scrappy Hero Pup, I appreciate your concerns about the importance of reputation in the career of law. But unless I have grossly misunderstood the purpose of your chosen field, then your job and the job of your mentors would be to assure the equality, the fairness, and the right to a peaceful existence that is as free from prejudice as possible for all people. Your profession is also tasked with defending our freedoms of speech, expression, and press. You of all people should enter a job interview without fear of even the slightest tinge of a sexually charged discussion.

I feel strongly that you are projecting your personal feelings about your classmate’s cheesecake pics onto others. And though you responded to me with such a lengthy post, there are numerous others here who also disagree with your self-righteous indignation. Of course, you reserve the right to pose the question on a message board that caters exclusively to lawyers if you feel that the hoi polloi didn’t give your fears the validation you were expecting. But none of your postulation is going to convince me that your professional reputation has somehow been irreparably damaged by your classmate’s sexy pics.

As an aside, I feel that yours is a valuable and necessary profession, and I, just like most other American citizens will at some point require the services of a lawyer. Your profession has handsome financial rewards because it is tedious, time consuming, and requires years of study and very specialized knowledge. You should make money. Good money. No profession should be discredited simply because of it’s profitability. But I refuse to believe that your chosen field is somehow morally superior by virtue of its sometimes unfair infamy.

I disparaged the pretentiousness of HSHP’s self-righteous attitude. Lawyers are not exempt from practicing in real life the very freedoms they fight for.

Several people have pointed out that the OP’s assertion that his classmate’s pics in a local mag will not harm his career chances. Did you see Duke of Rat’s reference to the Duke scandal? Let that sink in.

My final answer is, her sexy pics will likely be forgotten the next time a fellow student does something scandalous. And you know what else? Those scandalous students will also get high paying respectable careers in spite of their classmates’ self-righteous contempt.

Let me ask you something. Did any of John F Kennedy’s Harvard classmates do anything scandalous? I can’t remember.

[Oakminster]

@Campion

If if matters, Oakminster, I still think you’re an asshole. But if you’re ever in LA, hookers and blow are on me.

Sweetie, if I’m ever in LA, I fully intend to apply the full spectrum of my seductive charms to winning your favor. I’ll be playing Danny to your Sandy. A classic “Nice Girl/Bad Boy” thing. Might even let ya wear my leather jacket.

[Oakminster]

@Beaucarnea

I disparaged the pretentiousness of HSHP’s self-righteous attitude. Lawyers are not exempt from practicing in real life the very freedoms they fight for.

Well, it ain’t 'zactly like that. BigLaw culture is what it is. Their clients have certain expectations that must be met. Yes, it’s kinda crazy and the screening process eliminates a lot of good lawyers, but that’s the way the game works.

As a minor hijack, I took perverse joy in making a couple BigLaw guys very uncomfortable the other day. I had to get an Ex Parte order signed, so I headed over to the Courthouse to get the Judge before she takes the bench. When I entered the hallway, there were two obviously BigLaw guys from out of town waiting outside her office. I’m dressed as my normal self–Jeans, boots, leather jacket, ponytail going on. The BigLaw guys damn near freaked. They looked at each other, eyes big as saucers, start backing away discreetly and looking desperately for a baliff. About that time, the Judge opens her office door, spots me, smiles “Hi, Oakie” and invites me into chambers. The looks on the faces of the BigLaw guys was priceless…and they got to stay their snooty asses out in the hall and wait until I was done

[XJETGIRLX]

I think that if you’re already trying to figure out how someone else’s harmless actions can be interpreted to be all about the harm it might possibly cause to you, you’re going to make a great lawyer. Congratulations.

[Anaamika]

@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup

S

1. Would you feel unsettled by something like this? How much so?
2. Why or why not?
3. Of what gender are you?

1. No absolutely not.
2. What business is it of mine and what skin is it off my back?
3. Female.

I am hoping you can come up with some kind of reason as to why we should be unsettled. She’s a stranger, she’s not a cousin, nor a friend, she’s less than nothing to me.

(Although those ribs are really creeping me out in this picture. I am prepared to believe the photographer caught her at a bad angle, but the fact that he published it anyway - yeah, I find that singularly unattractive.)

Edit: This is what I get for typing on the laptop. With this resolution I never even noticed there was more than 1 page.

[Oregon_sunshine]

1. Would you feel ticked at something like this? How ticked?
   No. Not one bit, at all etc.
2. Why?
   She doesn’t affect my abilities as a potential lawyer(presuming she’s my law school classmate when considering it hypothetically)…? Plus she’s cute.
3. Of what gender are you?
   Female.

[NajaNivea]

@Winston Smith

1. No. She’s not even naked for Og’s sake. Don’t be such a prude.
2. Sexy, sexy coeds have a long and proud tradtion of posing nude and semi nude.
3. Male.

Do you really think this will effect your ability to get a job? Dude, you need to get some perspective.

What he said. Except I’m female. I find it mind-boggling that anyone actually gets their panties in a twist over this, or imagine that it somehow besmirches your school’s name. Get a grip, homeboy.

[msmith537]

@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup

Although it’s probably telling that the first thing I wondered was “can she legally use BC’s logo and banner in something like this?”

I think there may have been a few cases some years ago about similar “Hot Girls of the Big 10” type spreads in Playboy but I don’t remember the outcome, if any.

@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup

1. Would you feel ticked at something like this? How ticked?

No.

@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup

2. Why?

Because Jimmy cracked corn and I don’t care.

@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup

3. Of what gender are you?

All man baby

@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup

Please explain a little bit. I’d like to know whether I’m in a vacuum or whether my being miffed is justified?

No, it sounds like you have self-righteous lawyer douche syndrome. It’s basically where new lawyers or law students spend an inordinate amount of time using their newfound legal experience to nitpicking situations to the point of tedium.

@Walloon Quote

And I’d like you to explain what “fratboy” means in that context.

I’m sure it’s the standard SDMB prejorative against anything perceived as juvenile and male.

@Campion

If you’re talking BigLaw, we’re all snobs. We make snap judgments about recruits based on where they went to school. Hell, there are some firms that won’t even take your resume unless you’re at a tier 1. But you’re at BC, which is tier 1 and pretty well known, particularly regionally. The fear I’d have is that outside New England, where BC isn’t as well known, all people would know about it is that some moronic chick who doesn’t know the difference between effect and affect decided to strip for some cheap magazine.

Well in all fairness, if they haven’t heard of BC, most likely they’ve never heard of “Barstool Sports”

[Hey_It_s_That_Guy]

1. Would you feel unsettled by something like this? How much so?

Not in the least, and I graduated law school in 2003 (from one of the largest party schools in the country that just happens to have a top-tier law school).

2. Why or why not?

It’s not me, it’s not my girlfriend, it’s not my business, employers SERIOUSLY won’t care, and because it’s a local publication, I doubt anyone will even remember it a year from now.

3. Of what gender are you?

Male, 28 years old.

Happy Scrappy Hero Pup, I remember some Pit thread you started a long time ago where you complained about some jock from some prep school who allegedly raped some girl (or something like that), and you were incensed because that was the prep school YOU attended, and it dishonored and defamed THE SCHOOL. Maybe it’s because I’m a Florida boy and not some blue-blood Bostonian, but I distinctly recall how alien I felt your reaction was, how I couldn’t relate to your comments in any way. You claimed that the incident affected you and every student and alumnus of the school, and it was a great school, and someone had sullied its sterling reputation. I didn’t see that – I just read a story about another asshole jock who thought he could get away with anything. Just like then, I’m not understanding your outrage either, or why you’d even give it a second thought.

[BMalion]

@Big Bad Voodoo Lou

…Happy Scrappy Hero Pup, I remember some Pit thread you started a long time ago where you complained about some jock from some prep school who allegedly raped some girl (or something like that), and you were incensed because that was the prep school YOU attended, and it dishonored and defamed THE SCHOOL. Maybe it’s because I’m a Florida boy and not some blue-blood Bostonian, but I distinctly recall how alien I felt your reaction was, how I couldn’t relate to your comments in any way. You claimed that the incident affected you and every student and alumnus of the school, and it was a great school, and someone had sullied its sterling reputation. I didn’t see that – I just read a story about another asshole jock who thought he could get away with anything. Just like then, I’m not understanding your outrage either, or why you’d even give it a second thought.

I had a high school classmate who was raped by a Kennedy.

I feel so soiled.

[Gary_T]

@Happy Scrappy Hero Pup

I have to tell you all that I feel that this significantly hampers my ability to get a job, because it paints a picture of an irresponsible student body.

Not in the minds of 99.9% of the people in the world. To them, if they even disapprove, it paints a picture of an irresponsible student (singular). This is far removed from your “Nobody likes it when a guy who hangs out with you all the time feels up the waitress in your favorite diner” scenario. Reasonable people understand that there’s a HUGE ENORMOUS GIGANTIC difference between someone you hang out with all the time and a fellow student out of, what - hundreds? thousands? tens of thousands? - at a school where you have no say in who attends. What are you supposed to do - quit the school in protest? Organize demonstrations against her actions? Get her expelled? Have her burned at the stake?

Get real. That you think that this lone person’s questionable behavior reflects on you in this situation says a lot more about your willingness to blame a large group for an individual’s action (in a setting outside of said group’s normal endeavors, no less) than about anything she did.