Asshole of the Week: I Would Never EatWork Here Anyway

In the throws of a job search myself, I get a peculiar and not entirely laudable pleasure from seeing other job-seekers in my field implode spectacularly. You may have heard about this, but let me quote certain aspects of the email exchange:

Korman was miffed that Abdala notified him by e-mail this month that, after tentatively agreeing to work at his law firm, she changed her mind. Her reason: ''The pay you are offering would neither fulfill me nor support the lifestyle I am living."

In his e-mail reply, Korman told Abdala that her decision not to have told him in person ''smacks of immaturity and is quite unprofessional," and noted that in anticipation of her arrival, he had ordered stationery and business cards for her, reformatted a computer, and set up an e-mail account. Nevertheless, he wrote, ''I sincerely wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors."

Her curt retort: ''A real lawyer would have put the contract into writing and not exercised any such reliance until he did so."

(Closed-circuit to upcoming law graduates, you know nothing about practicing law yet. I don't think your hundred page Contracts outline is going to impress anybody. Sit down, shut up, stop thinking (bad for the team), and start reviewing documents in 6-minute intervals. That is all, back to your regularly scheduled rant.)

His: ''Thank you for the refresher course on contracts. This is not a bar exam question. You need to realize that this is a very small legal community, especially the criminal defense bar. Do you really want to start pissing off more experienced lawyers at this early stage of your career?"

A sensible question, though a certain degree of...brusqueness might be considered a good thing in a new attorney. However

Abdala's final three-word response: ''bla bla bla."

Too far, madam, you go too far.

Something about the whole incident makes me think of the Monty Python How Not to Be Seen sketch - "Ms. Abdala will you stand up please?" Which also allows me to gloat:

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Abdala, a self-decribed "trust-fund baby" (of another Boston-area lawyer. I'm sure he'll take no shit at all from the local judiciary for the next few months: "I'm not sure how it happens in your house, Mr. Abdala, but we try to keep it civil in my courtroom,") is less than chastened:

I'm more worried about whether I've left my hair iron on than this little email exchange

Because that's what I'd want in an attorney - attention to the little things detail.

Update: In the comments, Frankie tries to let facts get in the way of a good smear.