The "Bla Bla Bla" Heard 'Round the World
 

http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=1635472

Actual E-mail Exchange

I heard about this and thought about our GC lawyers.

Feb. 18, 2006 — Dianna Abdala, a 24-year-old Boston-area attorney, had apparently agreed to work for William Korman.

Then things went sour in a series of last minute e-mails (see related story).

Following is their e-mail correspondence, obtained by ABC News' "Nightline," that degenerated into a spat that got e-mailed to various attorneys, publications and "Nightline."

I know quite a bit about this, as I work in the Boston legal community. Honestly, this woman's repuation has been ruined around here, especially since the guy is very well respected in the legal community around here.

It's a good cautionary tale; always be on your best behavior, you never know who is watching.

I heard about this last week.

In the business world, we call this burning bridges. It's not a good idea in any profession.

Without knowing what kind of deal this guy was offering, you still have to wonder if a fairly newly minted attorney can really make more money as a start-up business. If it was that easy, wouldn't all new lawyers do it?

My impression is that building a law practice by oneself is a long, tough process -- is that true?

You also have to add in the fact that this Mr. Korman is well on his way to creating a solid practice in Boston. She would have been getting in on the ground floor of something that has a good chance of succeeding.

She'll never work again unless she moves FAR away from Boston.

She needs to get a name and sex change too. She has screwed herself.

Here's the article from the Boston Globe when this first came out.

This was my favorite part from her:

Must be nice to just take it easy after school and not work. Especially with the rent prices here!

It's interesting; she went to Suffolk, which has a pretty good rep with the firms here in Boston, including some of the best in the city. If she did well, she probably could have gotten herself a job somewhere, although after reading some of the comments about her, she burned some law school bridges prior to this whole incident.

I'm sorry, but her next job will make her a lot of money...

She'll make the cover of Penthouse or Playboy...

She'll be the lawyer for those folks...

Larry Flynt is always interested in new lawyers...

I kept thinking of Jessica Cutler when I first read about it.

I don't know how other states do it, but when people apply to take the bar here it lists their name in the Satate Bar Publication. If leasts previous names, and I bet that is a standard practice for most states. It also gives an address so you can contact the bar about the people if they are of poor moral or ethical character.

She's likely out of luck.

I'm upset because of what the twit turned down!! I know for me and my fellow law students, we are all apprehensive about landing the right job next spring after graduation and for her to turn down the offer where the guy set up her computer, email, had her cards printed, etc. etc. etc., it makes me feel like she threw a good, cushiony opportunity away when there are so many other hard-working law students out there who would love to just get a job offer, let alone one that is pretty much a guarantee of happiness and security, at least for the near future.

What a brat. I should call Korman and ask him for her job!

What annoys me most about this exchange is her cavalier and flippant attitude to the initial offer. IMO, I think that her attitude has everything to do with her being a well-to-do spoiled brat, who isn't pressed to pay back six-figure law school loans or hustle for her job.

Notwithstanding her credentials, she should have realized that there are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of new and existing attorneys that would be GRATEFUL for that position and the SALARY that comes with it.

Her attitude gives the general layperson the impression that all lawyers are "rich and arrogant" a**holes who can't be bothered with "real" work and that she can just jump out there and make that salary on her own.

The truth is, even with the "connections" she had before she made an ass of herself, she would have to hustle to build her solo practice.

I think alot of people should realize that all attorneys aren't rolling in dough and counting stacks of money. A lot more of us are regular, middle class people trying to make an honest living too.

I think she deserves the reputation she built for herself after all of this. What intelligent attorney would do that, knowing that the legal community in any major city is VERY close-knit and something like that would completely screw her for any other interviews? Plus given her national noteriety(sp?), she's scewed herself for finding a big-firm job in virutally every major city! DUMB AZZ:mad: :mad:

i heard he changed her salary after she accepted the position.

Yeah, I think that was in the link.

In my opinion, her mistake was not turning down the job, but the "tone" in which she did it.