Anybody know attorney. You know what I'm taking about. Please only those with non-obvious substantive answers need apply. I'd appreciate it. I have a good case with solid documentation. I'm in Florida.
Thanks
10 replies (most recent on top)
153704 you don't know your ass from a hole in the ground--bet you are in admissions
Thank you again posters. I hear the wisdom and travail in your words. Now, does anybody know where I can purchase a small nuclear device--just kidding NSA.
Be carful with EDMC, they have a lot of lawyers, a lot of money (yes they still have 100's of millions), lots of insurance and they fight these things aggressively. I have personal experience with this. Had a great case, a huge paper trail, three lawyers on contingency and still lost because they hired two different law firms and 23 lawyers who found a way to prevent it from going to trial. So for example, during depositions, answers that came out supporting our case would then be combed through by their army of lawyers after the fact and would issue a restatement of some sort to change the answer. According to my legal team this was not that uncommon and in court it would have been seen as the lawyer telling the client what to say, but at the end of the day, this technique worked for them in getting the case thrown out before trial.
They are so lawyered up I know for a fact they didn't even have to touch their insurance money to fight the case. Almost every case I have seen with a small individual gets squashed in one way or another. Only the government or big group of million dollar investors seem to have the fighting power.
R07's comments are very accurate. One thing I might add is that they will create a false negative story about you to defend themselves. If this thing goes public, which is likely considering who they are, your name will be blasted all over the internet with their false story weather you win or loose. Not so much media, more from blogs from law firms who mostly defend corporations (FYI 90% of employment law firms defend corporations, deep pocket, continuous cash flow). They will summarize the court ruling in a way that probably puts you in the disgruntled employee bad light. Not in a slanderous way, more as an attempt to point out how they can defend corporations from rouge employees such as yourself.
Think long and hard before you do this, not discouraging you, just want you pass on some tips from experience. Plan on a 2 year ride, make sure you have strong emotional support and seasoned legal team. The younger guys have no idea what they are up against and how dirty they will play.
Camden is a wanna be disrupter . Not an ex employee or student. But he really does care....
Depends on what you want--
if this is a whistle blower -r Qui Tam
Google, The key words "qui Tam" Florida, EDMC, schools, etc for what it is worth Ratzan and Margan & Morgan are actively seeking EDMC flesh, among others
if it is a labor or discrimination suit--start with the State Department of Labor, then if necessary the EOC. They will guide you through their process and then you will be permitted to sue. No sense getting an attorney until it is necessary--they will do it all for you unless it is vague enough that you needs other help. Then just get an attorney from your county and you will be good to go. Keep in mid that if it has anything to do with discrimination or employment the government is where you need to start no matter what--there is no such thing as a "good" attorney until that is exhausted. Contacting any attorney is a waste of your time and theirs--they need you to complete the due process which if you delay may expire.
Camden Kid
What is your relationship to EDMC? Are you a lawyer? Writing a book? Do you profit from this situation? Why are you collecting data?
@Anonymous153453, you can email me if you wnat me to look at your information. If it's work related, you probably are out of luck in getting a financial judgment. If it's about fraud, David Halperin is swamped with work and does not practice labor law. EDMC won't have any money to pay you, even if you win. If you are a student, you should join "I Am Ai" on Facebook for a Debt Collective "defense to repayment" application.
@ 704. By far you the most seasoned, knowledgeable poster o this site!
If this is an employment issue, contact two or three attornies with your specifics. Be as comprehensive as possible, clearly laying out your situation. Explain your documentation. If you have a reasonably good case they will ask to meet you face to face. After that, if you continue to have a good case, you should be able to have your pick of the lawyers. Of course, you want to check their ratings, ask them about their experience in similar situations, etc. once the lawyer is on board, the real work starts. Prepare yourself for the most turbulent, gut-wrenching, anxiety-making couple of years you'll ever live through. You'll need to be fanatical and persistent, they (defendant) will beat you to death, through discovery and deposition. Be prepared for some real lows along the way, they have the advantage of time on their side, they will make it appear that they can outlast you. Oh, and absolutely listen to and do exactly what your lawyer advises you to do. The best piece of wisdom I got was when a lawyer said, "I can't get you your job back, and The law won't make them change their ways, you aren't going to win a great moral victory. All I can do is get you money." A lawsuit is not a good way to resolve an ethical dispute and especially not good for creating social justice. It's tedious, costly and the civil justice system is unpredictable. If you have a good case (that is, you can prove they treated you unfairly or in an illegal way) then you will probably end up feeling that you won something, but for the wrong reasons.
If you are a student who can prove, with a preponderance of evidence, that you were defrauded deliberately- and the operative word is "deliberately"- which is very difficult to prove, you might still have a hard time getting an attorney to take your case forward. It would be even better if you had a group of students who could show that they were all defrauded in a similar way, then you might be able to prove a pattern of illegal behavior. Otherwise, my advice would be to take your losses and move on. Good luck. I hope you kick their asses.
You may be able to get help from David Halperin, dhalperin@republicreport.org, who is an attorney and journalist who is investigating for profits and other public interest concerns. If you do a whistle blower lawsuit, you get a solid percentage (non-trivial) of whatever the government's case against the company wins, which is often far larger than any individual lawsuit might win.
Interestingly, the severance packages we were offered required that we sign a promise to keep quiet about practices, but, if we receive subpoenas, I think we are able to talk; I think many of us would like to receive a subpoena.