# Pro bono bullshit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 9, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132 "2010-09-09T02:43:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 97
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1921 "2010-10-27T10:17:06Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Why do you think he’s making cat noises now? What’s this about cat noises, meow? I’ve got cider for this thread if you need it, meow. But I’m afraid I’m out meow of cheddar cheese. I guess you’ll meow have to settle for some fresh cinnamon toast. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1922 "2010-10-27T16:15:42Z")
Hoorah, cider for all! Do you think we could get ELIZA and Dr. Sbaitso to make out? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1923 "2010-10-27T16:24:22Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Prr, what is Muffin’s point that you think I am making for him? His point, if you really require translations from the English, is that you are a grinder, supposedly working hard, logging in your billables and impressing the hell out of your employer, but in reality (as we know with each succeeding post) wasting hours of your employer’s time posting and reading here. If you answer this (and please don’t) you will cement his case. If you would go away and never post again, we would be pleased, and your employer would be getting useful work out of you. If you would go away and pound salt up your ass, I would be ecstatic, personally. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1924 "2010-10-27T16:34:00Z")
That’s a terrible waste of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1925 "2010-10-27T16:39:47Z")
Why do you say have to settle for some fresh cinnamon toast? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1926 "2010-10-27T17:00:28Z")
Because I accidentally the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1927 "2010-10-27T17:52:12Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > His point, if you really require translations from the English, is that you are a grinder, supposedly working hard, logging in your billables and impressing the hell out of your employer, but in reality (as we know with each succeeding post) wasting hours of your employer’s time posting and reading here. If you answer this (and please don’t) you will cement his case. If you would go away and never post again, we would be pleased, and your employer would be getting useful work out of you. If you would go away and pound salt up your ass, I would be ecstatic, personally. Yeesh. I love how people with no ability to actually participate in a discussion announce that fact to everyone by going for one of the classic SDMB dumbass responses. It really shows that you’ve got nothing when you are reduced to arguing that the simple fact that I post here is an act of hypocrisy or contradicts something I’ve said here. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2010, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1928 "2010-10-27T19:03:26Z")
RR, what do you love about people with no ability to actually participate in a discussion who announce that fact to everyone by going for one of the classic SDMB dumbass responses? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1929 "2010-10-28T04:04:56Z")
I read the first and last pages of the thread,… sorry but 39 is simply too many for me. So if this is a repeat question, I apologize. Morality aside, and taking for granted that pro-bono work creates no happyfuzzy feelings in you, I wonder why the fact that your total lack of pro-bono work \*\*will \*\*hamper your career prospects is not a sufficient motivator for you to at least go through the bare-minimum motions. Yes, it’s an intangible. But it’s something that shows you’re a team player. Whether you actually are/n’t a team player is irrelevant, it’s the image that counts. I am not a lawyer, merely a white collar worker. But I am savvy enough to play the corporate game while realizing that it’s a bunch of bullshit… why aren’t you? Even though staying 20 extra minutes after work (let’s say to make a team-building poster) won’t earn me any monetary compensation, and definitely doesn’t give me happyfuzzy feelings, it provides brownie points for later promotions. And in the end, a few minutes a week isn’t a lot of skin off my back. So why not? Do you really never want to be a partner? Do you want to risk being let go because you’re the lowest-hanging-fruit in the office? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1930 "2010-10-28T13:30:26Z")
1. I really like your name. 2. I’m already a partner. 3. No offense, but you said it yourself–you aren’t a lawyer. And you definitely aren’t a lawyer at a large law firm. There’s basically one thing my firm cares about as far as my advancement, and it isn’t how much pro bono I do. I do think my lack of pro bono could hold me back in certain areas (certain firm committees, certain bar positions, certain politial offices), but I don’t want to do any of that anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1931 "2010-10-28T15:27:34Z")
You think not being a lawyer makes her unqualified to comment–and yet, you also think that the fact that every other lawyer in this thread thinks you’re wrong (barring the one who thinks that pro bono doesn’t go far enough to fixing the problem) is irrelevant. You can’t have it both ways, **Randy** , no matter how hard you try. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1932 "2010-10-28T17:59:01Z")
SFG,if you had a single intact brain cell, you’d be really embarrassed about your performance in this thread. Here are some problems with ýour latest “contribution”: 1. It is not the case that every lawyer in this thread thinks I’m wrong. Several have posted to say that I am exactly right. 2. I don’t think you understand what I’ve posted in this thread. Therefore, when you say I’m wrong, I don’t think you even know what the issue is that you think I’m wrong about. Prove me wrong–tell me exactly what I’ve said that you believe is wrong. 3. Your last post doesn’t make any sense. The point being discussed when I said she’s not a lawyer is her knowledge of what it takes to advance in a large law firm. That has nothing to do with the issue you think I’m wrong about (which you don’t understand anyway). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1933 "2010-10-28T18:12:27Z")
RR, why do you think that if \*\*Shot from Guns \*\*had a single intact brain cell, she’d be really embarrassed about her performance in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1934 "2010-10-28T18:15:46Z")
Because of HIS mother. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1935 "2010-10-28T18:46:24Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > if you had a single intact brain cell, you’d be really embarrassed about your performance in this thread. Man, the longer this keeps going, the more I’m wishing I’d started an actual list of all of these “actually applies to the writer” gems. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1936 "2010-10-28T19:33:20Z")
Boy, you got me, SFG. I know when I’m got and now is most assuredly one of those times. Keep asserting and insulting–you’re just shoring up my case that you got nothin’ but ugliness and a dead-end life. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1937 "2010-10-28T19:43:14Z")
What do you think about one of those times? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1938 "2010-10-28T20:05:27Z")
That he’s rubber and \*\*SFG’\*\*s glue. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1939 "2010-10-28T20:12:31Z")
Well if you’re already partner I guess the discussion of promotion is moot. I personally don’t indulge in moral outrage over professional choices, so I’m not judging based on that. Did you do a lot of pro-bono work before you were partner? Do you feel that was a significant criterion for advancement up the “food chain”? (and thanks for the compliment! I feel polygonal) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132/1940 "2010-10-28T20:22:37Z")
If you’re really a partner, why not just go ahead and \*tell \*the senior partner that his memo don’t mean nothin’? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132.md?page=96) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pro-bono-bullshit/553132.md?page=98)