To cries of ‘Only in America’ we bring you news of a highly unusual ad for a legal secretary. We’ve previously noted Bruce Carton’s commendable work over at Legal Blog Watch (you’ll recall that he’s the man who stepped in when the estimable Carolyn Elefant forsook blogging for a return to full-time legal practice), and once again he’s demonstrated his eye for unusual in highlighting a complaint brought against an Illinois lawyer who felt that he needed a certain je ne sais quoi from putative legal secretaries.
Actually, thanks to Carton and the good folk at the Legal Profession Blog we know exactly what the lawyer wanted: sex. He posted the ad in Craigslist under the heading ‘Loop lawyers hiring legal secretary/legal assistant’, and while its terminology suggested that a premium was being put on physical attractiveness it wasn’t until an applicant received an e-mailed reply to her expression of interest that things became clear. Very clear, in fact:
You would be required to have sexual interaction with me and my partner, sometimes together sometimes separate. This part of the job would require sexy dressing and flirtatious interaction with me and my partner, as well as sexual interaction.
The lawyer admitted that previous girls had not proved up to the task, and movingly suggested that the applicant perform for him and his partner during the interview so that they could ensure she was made of the right stuff. Astonishingly, they didn’t hear another word, until, that is, she filed a lawsuit.
After initial denials – the lawyer said that someone had impersonated him and that he didn’t post the ad, still less reply making his intentions so abundantly clear – it seems that he has now admitted that he did indeed do both these things.
Confronted by such a remarkable set of facts, Carton says he’s speechless, a state at which we almost arrived, too. However, we found that some questions could not but linger:
1. The lawyer talks of his partner. Is he a he or is she a she?
2. The lawyer alludes to other girls “who couldn’t handle” the sexual side of their job in the past. How many are there and have they now commenced proceedings too?
3. Do PI policies cover this sort of thing in America?
4. What planet does the lawyer come from?
5. Is there a way of finding a PR upside for him?
Oh and lastly, what are ‘loop lawyers’ anyway?
Pictured: Secretary by James Spader (2002), a popular film among Illinois professionals.
Somebody tell this guy’s mother what he’s up to– is he crazy or what? And he probably wanted all that service for a low secretarial salaray too– he’s a loopy lawyer not just a loop lawyer– BTW The loop is a section of Chicago and I assume the term ” loop lawyer” means a lawyer located in the loop– which since it is downtown is probably impressive in some circles– whatever. This guy is nuts. I hope she sues the pants off him( to coin a phrase)
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by WPstudios, adamjones. adamjones said: Wanted: Legal Secretary (must be up for it) http://bit.ly/1wbHVL #HOT [...]
Hi, thanks for your continuing coverage at Blogwatch and for your nice farewell poem. I did want to clarify, though I am focusing on my practice, I do continue to blog at my home blog, MyShingle.com
I agree, Bruce is doing a terrific job.
Carolyn Elefant
[...] we spoke of the American lawyer whose legal secretaries had to be adept at more than mere paperwork. Our occasional scribe, Alex Wade, contacted us as soon as he read our post. “I have a story [...]
Obviously not an employment lawyer then. WTF?!
The headline says it all: ‘Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger takes pay cut‘.
Dan Sabbagh’s piece says a bit more: said editor ‘emailed staff at the newspaper to say that his salary in the upcoming 2012-13 financial year will be £395,010, compared with £438,900 in the current financial year’.
Some voices say: ‘How worthy.’
Others opine: ‘Well, he would, wouldn’t he?’
But we say: good work by Mr Rusbridger. For the sake of the media’s survival, we hope that others in senior positions in the industry will follow suit.
Image of toolkit allegedly deployed by Alan Rusbridger courtesy of Flickr user LollyKnit.
Curious times in the media; strange days at The Times.
Would ‘Dacre Cards‘ – the system of licensing journalists proposed by Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre – have prevented the embarrassment now palpable at the Times over the NightJack story?
Times editor James Harding’s evidence to the Leveson Inquiry seemed heartfelt and contrite, albeit that the paper’s former long-serving and much-respected lawyer, Alastair Brett, seems to have been, er, rather dropped in it. Clearly, mistakes were made with regard to NightJack by young reporter Patrick Foster who, once he had hacked into NightJack’s account and thus discovered his identity, then embarked on a quest to expose it via legitimate methods. This, as Inquiry counsel Robert Jay QC put it, was “rather like working from the inside of the maze out”.
But had Foster been licensed via a Dacre Card, would this unsavoury episode in the Times’s history have been avoided?
We suspect not. A raft of laws were in existence at precisely the time when many News of the World journalists seemed to believe that they were entitled to hack any phone they liked. Those laws forbade them from doing so, and yet made no difference. Aside from the obvious objection to them – that they will squeeze out freelancers and citizen journalists – Dacre Cards would simply amount to something to circumvent.
What is really required is an ethical shake-up, from top to bottom. Society generally – not just journalists – needs a sense that some things are just plain wrong.
Something remarkable happened today. Yes, the Supreme Court launched its Twitter feed. It even has a Twitter policy, one of caveats, disclaimers and little by way of illumination but regardless: who would have thought that the successor body to the House of Lords would stoop to engage with the world of tweets, hashtags and retweets?
We look forward to the day when court business will be conducted via Twitter. Meantime, check out this link for an excellent blog on the Supreme Court.
Is there a geek inside all of us?
Excellent Nike ad
Memo to would-be hacks: good writing is no longer a tool of your trade
Released almost a year ago, Spada’s groundbreaking research report, British Professions Today, is available for free download
This bank is so well designed that many of its staff never go home (allegedly)
In the latest of our series of white papers, Spada Research examines trends in environmental reporting.
After a raft of phone-hacking admissions and allegations, we are no longer seen as the gruff but dependable watchdog. Neville Thurlbeck, formerly of the News of the World (part of his Damascene conversion; to be continued).