As I read these posts, it all seems to stem from us being really scared. They all basically revolve around the criticism of OCS not telling us 'the truth' (which I deal with below), but I can't help but think that if you really believe what Eben has said than 1) you already know the truth, so what difference does it make, and 2) why would you care, and why were you at EIP orientation anyways? The only conclusion I can come to is that we all apparently still desperately want these jobs, so we are freaking out when people aren't telling us that they aren't there (as if that would somehow make us feel better).

Obviously it would be nice if they were straightforward, but maybe it's worthwhile to think about why they weren't. First of all, the law firms don't give them clear numbers about deferrals, etc. so it's hard to pin down exactly what the stats are. Second, they are under HUGE pressure from the dean to keep employment numbers up in whatever way possible. They are under an enormous amount of stress to find whatever scraps are left, and are doing their best to do so. You think if they went into orientation and told us 'sorry, no jobs left' some heads wouldn't roll? Would you put your job on the line for that? Lastly, they are also under huge pressure to keep numbers up so we don't drop in the rankings. Maybe we all don't think it's a laudable goal, but ask yourself why you went to CLS instead of plenty of other cheaper law schools before you write it off (and if you say for quality of education/professors, think about how that might be tied to rankings in this admittedly crazy system we're in).

Of course it would be nice if they were straight up, and OCS is certainly not innocent of some smokescreening. My only point is that we should all do a little self reflection about why it happens, and why it bothers us so much, before we lash out.

(And I like the textualist/formalist analysis of the office of CAREER services, but we all know their job is to place students in private law jobs. Maybe the name isn't great, but it's just a name)

-- RorySkaggs - 23 Apr 2010