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demmiblue

(36,841 posts)
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:31 AM May 2019

While teaching, Elizabeth Warren worked on more than 50 legal matters, charging as much as $675 an

Sen. Elizabeth Warren worked on more than 50 legal matters during her career as a professor at Ivy League law schools, charging as much as $675 an hour to advise a variety of clients, from people with asbestos disease to a corporation facing possible liability over ruptured breast implants.

Warren’s presidential campaign released a list of 56 cases on her website on Wednesday night, revealing a far higher number of cases than Warren (D-Mass.) had previously disclosed and lending detail to an aspect of her career that she rarely discusses in public.

When she first ran for the Senate in 2012, Warren came under pressure from her Republican opponent and the news media to discuss her legal work. At the time, she released a list of just 13 cases without saying whether it represented a full accounting; at least one other case came to light during the race.

“Elizabeth was one of the nation’s top experts on how to make sure victims hurt by bankrupt companies eventually got paid,” Warren’s website said Wednesday night. “Throughout her career, she worked to help set up trusts and other mechanisms to return $27 billion to victims and their families.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/while-teaching-elizabeth-warren-worked-on-more-than-50-legal-matters-charging-as-much-as-675-an-hour/2019/05/22/9ce56840-7ce0-11e9-8bb7-0fc796cf2ec0_story.html













If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
48 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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While teaching, Elizabeth Warren worked on more than 50 legal matters, charging as much as $675 an (Original Post) demmiblue May 2019 OP
Bezos really doesn't like Warren's plans for Amazon BeyondGeography May 2019 #1
+1 Ponietz May 2019 #26
I don't get the problem here. madaboutharry May 2019 #2
Read. Understand. Research. Let's not eat our own in the name of competition. Nt Ninga May 2019 #3
Who's eating our own? demmiblue May 2019 #8
I'm not sure what that means. No one is raising eyebrows here. But in my experience someone Ninga May 2019 #10
Ah, I see. demmiblue May 2019 #11
ratioed means more replies than retweets or likes, with most of the replies being negative nt Celerity May 2019 #17
Got it. I'm not familiar with Twitter lexicon. Ninga May 2019 #25
You're lucky. Twitter is a sewer. BannonsLiver May 2019 #38
Meh. Partisan D May 2019 #4
Agree. ananda May 2019 #13
Supporters, I think, follow the lead of their candidate. Partisan D May 2019 #18
Too funny jberryhill May 2019 #5
And that's bad how? PatrickforO May 2019 #6
Yeah, wasn't she supposed to charge corporations $6.75 an hour? dalton99a May 2019 #7
All this says is that she is brilliant and is able to do more than one thing at a time. Double, monmouth4 May 2019 #9
I haven't decided on a candidate yet, watoos May 2019 #12
Why Can't a Woman Earn Money in a Professional Capacity? dlk May 2019 #14
If this is a bad thing... wyldwolf May 2019 #15
The only question that I would have TexasTowelie May 2019 #16
Very unlikely. LisaM May 2019 #28
I doubt it also. TexasTowelie May 2019 #30
She's not an attorney for the school jberryhill May 2019 #48
Irrelevant questions, actually HopeAgain May 2019 #40
I'd imagine those matters were addressed in her employment contract comradebillyboy May 2019 #42
shameful 'crab in the barrel' hitjob by the two female reporters, Elise Viebeck and Annie Linskey Celerity May 2019 #19
so the fuck what? n/t Brainstormy May 2019 #20
Makes her look only better HopeAgain May 2019 #21
Not about Warren, goodness, there are way richer people walking around. pangaia May 2019 #22
You mean Harvard Law professors don't work cheap? bluedigger May 2019 #23
Article uniformly trashed in the comments section elias7 May 2019 #24
Sounds good to me. Polly Hennessey May 2019 #27
No news "new". So what. centrarchus May 2019 #29
Wow. She must have been a freaking great lawyer. Voltaire2 May 2019 #31
Good for her mcar May 2019 #32
Why so low? WhiskeyGrinder May 2019 #33
Good for her. This is what is called a lead balloon. nt Kahuna7 May 2019 #34
So? matt819 May 2019 #35
LOL Blue_Tires May 2019 #36
Good question! Blue_Tires May 2019 #37
$675/hr is cheap for her caliber NYMinute May 2019 #39
Who cares? Tarheel_Dem May 2019 #41
She probably didn't personally collect that much Shrek May 2019 #43
She helped defend a corporation that sold faulty madville May 2019 #44
Even shitty people deserve lawyers Recursion May 2019 #47
Good for her. If it was ok with her employer, I don't really care. Vinca May 2019 #45
Four years ago, otherwise intelligent people convinced themselves there was an ethical problem Recursion May 2019 #46
 

BeyondGeography

(39,369 posts)
1. Bezos really doesn't like Warren's plans for Amazon
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:34 AM
May 2019

This won't hurt her in the least, Jeff. Try harder.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

madaboutharry

(40,208 posts)
2. I don't get the problem here.
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:38 AM
May 2019

Was she suppose to work for free?

It seems to me that some people have a problem with women who make their own money.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Ninga

(8,275 posts)
3. Read. Understand. Research. Let's not eat our own in the name of competition. Nt
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:40 AM
May 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

demmiblue

(36,841 posts)
8. Who's eating our own?
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:46 AM
May 2019

The article is getting completely ratioed on Twitter.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Ninga

(8,275 posts)
10. I'm not sure what that means. No one is raising eyebrows here. But in my experience someone
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:49 AM
May 2019

surely will.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

demmiblue

(36,841 posts)
11. Ah, I see.
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:51 AM
May 2019

And you're probably right.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Celerity

(43,317 posts)
17. ratioed means more replies than retweets or likes, with most of the replies being negative nt
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:04 AM
May 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Ninga

(8,275 posts)
25. Got it. I'm not familiar with Twitter lexicon.
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:48 AM
May 2019

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

BannonsLiver

(16,369 posts)
38. You're lucky. Twitter is a sewer.
Thu May 23, 2019, 12:45 PM
May 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Partisan D

(43 posts)
4. Meh.
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:41 AM
May 2019

This is nothing. Yawn.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

ananda

(28,858 posts)
13. Agree.
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:53 AM
May 2019

Yawn.

I like Warren.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Partisan D

(43 posts)
18. Supporters, I think, follow the lead of their candidate.
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:06 AM
May 2019

Joe made it clear he's not slinging mud at any other Democrat. I will follow Joe's lead.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
5. Too funny
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:42 AM
May 2019

Accomplished leading attorney in the field was paid market rate for work.

In other news, water is wet.

Is this "news" because she is a woman or something?
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

PatrickforO

(14,570 posts)
6. And that's bad how?
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:43 AM
May 2019

Gosh, a law professor earning extra money by taking cases on the side! Oh, the humanity!

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

dalton99a

(81,451 posts)
7. Yeah, wasn't she supposed to charge corporations $6.75 an hour?
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:43 AM
May 2019





If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

monmouth4

(9,694 posts)
9. All this says is that she is brilliant and is able to do more than one thing at a time. Double,
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:49 AM
May 2019

triple tasking is a great thing. You go Liz.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

watoos

(7,142 posts)
12. I haven't decided on a candidate yet,
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:53 AM
May 2019

but her agenda and platform are closest to mine. I am liking her more and more.

Yes, I sport Tulsi's pic, I do so to defend her.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

dlk

(11,552 posts)
14. Why Can't a Woman Earn Money in a Professional Capacity?
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:55 AM
May 2019

This echoes the complaints about Hillary's "outrageous" speaking fees. Funny, it's never an issue when a man earns money.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

wyldwolf

(43,867 posts)
15. If this is a bad thing...
Thu May 23, 2019, 09:59 AM
May 2019

... then I am completely out of touch with how a good 'progressive' is supposed to behave.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

TexasTowelie

(112,124 posts)
16. The only question that I would have
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:04 AM
May 2019

is whether billing her time while she was also "on the clock" with the law school of if she was taking an adversarial role to the law school's interests. Otherwise, I believe that she is welcome to get paid whatever the market will bear.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

LisaM

(27,801 posts)
28. Very unlikely.
Thu May 23, 2019, 11:12 AM
May 2019

Many law professors are also in current practice, and law firms do rigorous checks for conflicts of interest under ethics rules. I find is almost impossible to think that Warren wouldn't have conformed to the highest ethical standards.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

TexasTowelie

(112,124 posts)
30. I doubt it also.
Thu May 23, 2019, 11:22 AM
May 2019

However, if she wasn't working for a law firm there wouldn't be anyone there to check for a conflict of interest.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

jberryhill

(62,444 posts)
48. She's not an attorney for the school
Fri May 24, 2019, 07:28 AM
May 2019

The notion that there could be a conflict of interest between her and the school is absurd.

She's already an employee of the school, and thus inherently in a position of conflict because she and the school are on opposite sides of her employment contract. You want to see a clusterfuck sometime, then watch a group of law professors negotiate their working conditions with a law school. Hooo boy.

If she wanted to represent a party with a claim against the school, there would still be no conflict of interest. In fact, in regard to the relationship between faculty and the institution, there is ordinarily at least one faculty member who is the elected representative of the faculty in faculty/school matters. (e.g. https://www.wlu.edu/provosts-office/resources-for-faculty/committees/permanent-committees/faculty-representatives-to-the-board-of-trustees )

Law schools EXPECT professors to be publishing or consulting on actual litigation. The most frequent practice is drafting appellate briefs.

This story might as well be titled "Anteater Found Eating Ants". It is that fucking stupid. A law professor practicing law does not raise any interesting questions, ethical or otherwise.

This may come as a shock to some, but engineering schools expect professors to be doing engineering, medical schools expect professors to be doing medicine, and law schools expect professors to be doing law.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

HopeAgain

(4,407 posts)
40. Irrelevant questions, actually
Thu May 23, 2019, 04:07 PM
May 2019

Law Professors aren't paid as hourly employees and most do things on the side like part time practices, writing and publishing. That is not only accepted, but encouraged where it lends some prestige or gravitas to the school. As long as they fulfill their duties, the school doesn't care what they do with the remainder of their time.

As for conflicts, it's pretty unlikely that there was any issue since 50 is a tiny number of cases. Plus, why raise it since it could be a "question" for any lawyer who takes any case at any time?

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

comradebillyboy

(10,143 posts)
42. I'd imagine those matters were addressed in her employment contract
Thu May 23, 2019, 04:39 PM
May 2019

with Harvard.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Celerity

(43,317 posts)
19. shameful 'crab in the barrel' hitjob by the two female reporters, Elise Viebeck and Annie Linskey
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:12 AM
May 2019

Bezos is truly worried.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

HopeAgain

(4,407 posts)
21. Makes her look only better
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:22 AM
May 2019

So she could easily make much, much more money, but chooses to serve the public, especially the poor and underserved, instead.

Makes me love her more...

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

pangaia

(24,324 posts)
22. Not about Warren, goodness, there are way richer people walking around.
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:24 AM
May 2019

But it just reminds me of the difference between the top 1% or .1%... and me and the rest of us.

It's a depressing way to start the day.




If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

bluedigger

(17,086 posts)
23. You mean Harvard Law professors don't work cheap?
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:42 AM
May 2019

Almost destroys my belief in supply & demand. Good for her!

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

elias7

(3,997 posts)
24. Article uniformly trashed in the comments section
Thu May 23, 2019, 10:44 AM
May 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Polly Hennessey

(6,793 posts)
27. Sounds good to me.
Thu May 23, 2019, 11:05 AM
May 2019

Most teachers have second jobs/moonlight.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Voltaire2

(13,009 posts)
31. Wow. She must have been a freaking great lawyer.
Thu May 23, 2019, 11:33 AM
May 2019

I'm impressed.

Wait, that wasn't your intention with this op?

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Kahuna7

(2,531 posts)
34. Good for her. This is what is called a lead balloon. nt
Thu May 23, 2019, 12:11 PM
May 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

matt819

(10,749 posts)
35. So?
Thu May 23, 2019, 12:11 PM
May 2019

This sure is a non-story.

Lots of professors do work on the side. They publish books. They consult. If the market says that their rate is $675/hour, so be it. How much is the buffoon-in-chief paying his personal lawyers? I doubt they're billing at anything less than $750 per hour.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

NYMinute

(3,256 posts)
39. $675/hr is cheap for her caliber
Thu May 23, 2019, 12:53 PM
May 2019

Similar lawyers charge between $1500 to $3000/hr

Also, SHE disclosed this and I have no problem with it whatsoever.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Shrek

(3,977 posts)
43. She probably didn't personally collect that much
Thu May 23, 2019, 04:48 PM
May 2019

Surely some of that goes to pay for overhead like office expenses, paralegals, office staff, and so on.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

madville

(7,408 posts)
44. She helped defend a corporation that sold faulty
Thu May 23, 2019, 05:27 PM
May 2019

Breast implants to women? That's the only thing that looks interesting, everything else seems trivial.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
47. Even shitty people deserve lawyers
Fri May 24, 2019, 05:51 AM
May 2019

And if she found a valid procedural protection for them, well, that was her job.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
 

Vinca

(50,261 posts)
45. Good for her. If it was ok with her employer, I don't really care.
Thu May 23, 2019, 05:30 PM
May 2019
If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Undecided
 

Recursion

(56,582 posts)
46. Four years ago, otherwise intelligent people convinced themselves there was an ethical problem
Fri May 24, 2019, 05:50 AM
May 2019

with working the lecture circuit. It's starting again.

If I were to vote in a presidential
primary today, I would vote for:
Joe Biden
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