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Ex-Baker Botts Lawyer Says Colleague’s Depressing Advice Made Him Leave

Posted Nov 10, 2008 1:21 PM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Michael Weinberg knew he wanted to own his own business when he went to law school, but he followed the traditional career path and ended up as an associate at Baker Botts in Dallas.

"When you're offered something from the big firms in Dallas, you can't turn it down. It was a lot of money, and it was the natural next step," he told Texas Lawyer.

Weinberg liked the law firm and the people, but he didn’t like the work and the billable-hours pressure, he told the publication. He recalls the advice he got that led him to choose a different direction, one that led him to become a Dunkin Donuts franchisee.

He went to a colleague about to make partner and asked if it was true that the work gets better with years of experience. “The colleague responded, 'No, it doesn't really get better. You just resign yourself to [the notion that] this is what you do, you resign yourself that this is an easy, safe way to make a living,' " Weinberg recalled in an interview with Texas Lawyer.

Weinberg said the advice "was just one of the most depressing things I'd ever heard. And I remember thinking, 'I gotta get out of here.' "

Weinberg went on to land jobs with two hedge funds and the corporate investment arm of Mary Kay Cosmetics, the story says. Now he is a partner in a company that is purchasing Dunkin Donuts franchise rights in Texas. He has opened three stores and plans to open 25 more in the next six years.

"For years I've worked in things I've never been able to explain to my children," he told Texas Lawyer. "But now I am in a business they understand, and it's fun. I make doughnuts."

Comments

1.

Neil
Nov 11, 2008 11:44 AM CST

While Weinberg had the integrity to get out of a job for which he was not suited, it points to the larger problem, the imaturity of a number of people who go to law school for the wrong reasons.  Law should be a profession, not just another business opportunity, and those who pursue the later hurt themselves and the profession.

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2.

ariel troncoso
Nov 11, 2008 12:27 PM CST

I applaud Mr.Weinberg’s courage in leaving a lucrative workplace to realize his dreams. It should not reflect on any law school choice but rather a sober reflection on life inside a large prestigious firm. I hope he thrives in his new ventures.

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3.

Ellen Barshevsky
Nov 14, 2008 4:54 AM CST

THIS is what I have been SAYING all along.

WHAT is to applaud, #2?????

You must LOVE the law and what you are DOING, or WHY DO IT?  Fortunatly, I LOVE what I do and I am APRECIATED by the manageing partner at my firm..  So I cannot complain to anyone about things other than my boyfriend, who understands ME.

This person became a MEMBER of the bar, in good standing, for the WRONG reasons.  He should have done more thinking, like I did. 

Mabye if he was more thoughtful, he would NOT have wasted his time in LAW SCHOOL.  Even if he was a Partner, I do NOT think that makes him smart.  Not all of the Partners are smart at my firm, but I will not say which are DUMB.

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4.

absurdillusion
Nov 14, 2008 5:18 AM CST

Dear #3… how much education does it take to learn how to spell “managing” correctly? You make me laugh. Go on with your bad self and myself and other Yale Law grads who are happy and making a living in business will continue to laugh at you and your mediocrity.

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5.

Al Tidom
Nov 14, 2008 7:17 AM CST

#4, why do you pick on this poor little girl for a simple spelling error?  Because you have gone to Yale Law School?  Is that where they taught you to spell?  How about manners?  You need a lesson there, MS YALE LAW.

It has been my experience that hiring women like #3 (Ms. Barshevsky) has paid higher dividends than hiring snotty people who laud their IVY league degrees around.  Your comments show YOUR mediocrity.  Pfuey!

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6.

Einstein
Nov 14, 2008 7:39 AM CST

There are two kinds of people in this world, employers and employees.  If at heart you are an employer, you will never be happy working in a law firm. Even after you make partner/shareholder, you are still an employee of the partnership/corporation and subject to someone else’s rules. The only people happy in mid-sized and large law firms are people that need the security (nothing wrong with that). The truly smart ones go out on their own.

“I ask you, does the belt not go through all the loops? You all see yourselves as brilliant little pebbles just waiting for your code word. Well, what if your code word doesn’t come, huh? Are you gonna sit around in your cruiser and wind up ejected from somebody’s crazy physics package?  (Does anyone even watch RENO 911? It is the greatest show on television.)

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7.

blackburn rfc
Nov 14, 2008 9:05 AM CST

Numbers 4 & 5 - do you come to this site so rarely that you aren’t on to “Ellen” yet?  Or are you just dense?

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8.

Mary J. Easley
Nov 14, 2008 9:33 AM CST

Number 6, the sheer number of mixed metaphors in your make my head spin!  All I can say is, “huh?”

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9.

Peter Clarke
Nov 14, 2008 9:47 AM CST

Resp. 1: Thank Goodness Michael left that firm before it chewed up and swallowed his soul just like a deliciously glazed doughnut.
Resp. 2: Doh! It’s BAKER & Botts, not Fryer & Botts - it you can’t stand the heat, get out of the boiling oil.
Resp. 3: Why not combine your two loves and specialize in something like ‘doughnut law’?

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10.

chu
Nov 14, 2008 9:54 AM CST

And here’s his new advertising campaign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXQKmg5QSbQ

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11.

lawman
Nov 14, 2008 10:59 AM CST

Good for Michael.  I love my law practice but if he wants to puruse this business, more power to him and may god keep blessing us all with opportunities.

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12.

lawslol
Nov 14, 2008 11:06 AM CST

Comment removed by moderator.

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13.

lawslol
Nov 14, 2008 11:14 AM CST

Comment removed by moderator.

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14.

lawslol
Nov 14, 2008 11:16 AM CST

Moderator, what gives?  Hate free speech?  I didn’t use any vulgar words.  Sorry, I thought this was a forum for adults to speak out.  Were my words to harsh?

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15.

Moderator
Nov 14, 2008 11:18 AM CST

The Moderator must be Ellen (#3).

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16.

lawslol
Nov 14, 2008 11:19 AM CST

I love everyone.  Peace is awesome.  Gays should be allowed to marry because they are people too.  No more wars.  Death penalty sucks.  Welfare is good and helps those who have been left behind.  We need to fight aids everywhere across the globe.  Jimmy Carter is underated.

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17.

lawslol
Nov 14, 2008 11:22 AM CST

#3, you are obviously a very smart person.  You don’t make any over-generalizations or poor assumptions.  I mean, you really got down the crux of the issues here and focused on the points that really matter.  Hey, I even like your spelling and your random use of caps.

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18.

lawslol
Nov 14, 2008 11:27 AM CST

Comment removed by moderator.

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19.

lawslol
Nov 14, 2008 11:30 AM CST

Apparently we cannot call others names on this board, even if such names are warranted.  So, I will not call anyone, especially #3, dumb.

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20.

B. McLeod
Nov 14, 2008 12:39 PM CST

Thinly, THINLY veiled, # 19.

# 5, THIS time, I AGREE with YOU.

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21.

Work for Lawyers
Nov 14, 2008 4:38 PM CST

Such as in many places in this world, we have simply been reduced to numbers.  That being said, I can’t understand how anyone for any reason could criticize anyone else for pursuing what they want.  For you Number 3 (since thats your name now), there is a lot to applaud.  Is one to believe that you’ve never changed your mind before?  Or perhaps things weren’t as you thought they would be?  Happens all the time and to bash someone for changing their mind and doing what they want to do screams of your character.

As for you Ms. Yale Law, I’ve met and worked with many people who’ve gone to may different prestigious schools and I assure you, a degree does not speak for their inteligence, much like it doesn’t speak for yours.

As for the rest of the comments, thank you for a slightly entertaining Friday afternoon.  You’ve effectively helped me kill a little bit a time.  Thank you.

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22.

AllGrownup
Nov 14, 2008 5:04 PM CST

Children, children!

I’ve seen some pretty overcharged blog boards out there, but this one really “takes the cake!”  With some 25% of the comments “removed by moderator” and most of the rest either “critiquing” (and anything but nicely, or even objectively, so) whoever posted before them or being so acerbically sarcastic that it alternately makes me laugh, then makes my head ache, I must say I think all of you probably ought to go for some sort of stress management or counseling.

For all of your criticism of each other, practically every one of your posts contains at least one spelling and/or grammatical error:

#3 - “Fortunatly,” “manageing,” and two periods at the end of a sentence, not to mention the incomprehensible use of CAPITAL LETTERS FOR NO APPARENT REASON;

#4 - “and myself and other Yale Law grads…”; 

#6 - ‘Einstein’ - “The only people happy in mid-sized and large law firms are people that need the security (...).”; 

#8 - “The sheer number of mixed metaphors…make my head spin…”;

#9 - “Doh!  It’s BAKER & Botts, not Fryer & Botts - it you can’t stand the heat, get out of the boiling oil.”

Frankly, I’m sure if I waited a few more hours, I could probably go on some more… the point here is, if you are going to criticize others (as some of you do, quite specifically) over misspellings, etc., it usually helps to make sure that you are not “guilty” of the same infraction. 

I suspect that most of the alleged “misspellings” are really just “typos;” the grammatical abuses, however, are another story…in any event, haven’t any of you ever thought to use a “spelling and grammar” checker?

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23.

E
Nov 14, 2008 5:24 PM CST

1.  I wonder how many partners and upper level associates feel the same way as the partner that gave depressing advice.  I know, as a lower-level associate, that is exactly how I feel.  I am looking to pay off my loans and get the heck outta here as fast as possible.

2.  I really really REALLY canNOT stand this Ellen characteR.

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24.

Make Hamburgers, not Donuts
Nov 14, 2008 5:38 PM CST

I live about a mile from a new Dunkin’ Donuts that is being built in Dallas. I live less than a mile from Krispy Kreme and Mustang Donuts. The Dunkin’ Donuts is going in where Ball’s Hamburgers in Snider Plaza uesd to be. I want Ball’s back. They made great burgers and shakes. I used to take my daughter there after her soccer practice. More power to Mr. Weinberg, but give me back my Ball’s.

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25.

AllGrownup
Nov 14, 2008 5:43 PM CST

BTW, #21:

Though you admittedly misspelled ‘many’ (“may”) and ‘intelligence’ (“inteligence”), yours is far and away the most mature and intelligent post in this entire string.  On that note, I graduated from a “top three” law school, and the arrogance and incompetence of some of my classmates, as well as some of my colleagues who went to Harvard and Yale, have never ceased to embarrass me.  Incidentally, I (as I suspect did you) just found myself with some unexpected time on my hands this afternoon, and wholeheartedly concur with your comment.

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26.

Curious
Nov 14, 2008 10:42 PM CST

Reno 911 is the best show on TV!

And how much do I have to pay for the “Premium” ABA website membership, where I can read all the censored posts?

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