Posted by David Post: Law Firms' Breach of Contract?: http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_04_19-2009_04_25.shtml#1240234810
Like many law professors these days, I've watched in dismay as many graduating students find that the jobs they thought were waiting for them after graduation are no longer there, either eliminated entirely or deferred into the uncertain future. [I'm dismayed on a personal level -- as a social and economic phenomenon, this retrenchment might well be a good thing; law firms are built on an entirely unsustainable business model; there is no rational marketplace in which a first-year associate can earn money for a firm paying her $150,000, and I'm not surprised to see that model stressed and deformed when adverse economic conditions hit]. It got me to wondering -- aren't these firms breaching their contracts with these students? I'm no contracts expert -- am I missing something? Firm X makes Student Y an offer, Y accepts, and then X withdraws the offer, or alters it without additional consideration being exchanged. Is that not a breach? And if it is, how long will it be before some student sues for damages? _______________________________________________ Volokh mailing list [email protected] http://lists.powerblogs.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
