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CAT Tracks for October 13, 2009
RAPE, PILLAGE & PLUNDER |
Okay, a clear case of "editorializing to heighten emotion"...
My original headline choice was "Cheaper By the Dozen", but it lacked "umph" and was factually inaccurate.
Before I go further, I guess it only proper to explain where this post is going.
Here's a visual...
Talk about overkill...
These two join at least a half-dozen other members of the law firm of Robbins, Schwartz, Nicholas Lifton & Taylor, LTD...the firm representing Cairo School District Number One in its "rape" of James Gibson...the firm hired to "pillage and plunder" the educational resources of Cairo School District Number One.
Yes, the District that has no money for employees and kids has tons of funds for lawyers!
My rejection of "Cheaper By the Dozen"...
(Disclaimer...The "dozen" may be closer to the truth than I know. I forgot about "our old friends" - Barney Mundorf and his partner in crime, Christie Flaherty - who were present...in the beginning. And then there are surely those who labor in obscurity, although NEVER FOR FREE!!!)
Well, in the REAL WORLD, that might be true. Unfortunately, it has already been well established in previous editions of CAT Tracks (and YOUR own personal experience) that comparisons to the REAL WORLD end at the city limits of Cairo!
I would offer as "proof" the September 28th edition of CAT Tracks - when Robbins et al sent not one but TWO attorneys from CHICAGO (in separate vehicles and staying in separate rooms), also hiring an off-duty policeman for "protection"...all to take a deposition from James Gibson at a public conference center on the outskirts of Carbondale, IL.
Talk about "pillage and plunder"...
Why not send ONE attorney - from their Collinsville office - to do the deposition? Eugene J. Hanses, Jr. from that nearby office is familiar with the case, having assisted in the James Gibson arbitration (along with Frank B. Garrett III.) Yeah, they lost that case, but surely Mr. Hanses has the ability to conduct an interview. I mean...he didn't even have to take notes. In addition to the police officer for protection, there was a court stenographer in the room making a verbatim record of the proceedings that was provided to both sides...for an additional fee.
Instead of the DOUBLE charges for legal services...ONE local attorney, driving ONE car a shorter distance, who would NOT require lodging. Hell, who knows, Mr. Hanses might be an "expendable" member of the firm...could've saved the 50 bucks they paid the off-duty policeman for protection!
I mean...if Cairo School District Number One is so financially strapped that it denies paper to teachers to run off assignments and tests, surely their horde of lawyers could suffer some inconvenience...
(Editor's Note: The noun "horde" should not be mistaken for the verb "whored". Under the circumstances, it's completely understandable...)
In two weeks, "Step Two" is scheduled to occur - October 27th, 28th, and 29th - a hearing by the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board over the five unfair labor practices filed by the Cairo Association of Teachers and James Gibson against Cairo School District Number One concerning James' employment and the termination of his services during the 2005-06 school year. ("Step One" was the arbitration held in June 2007. "Step Three" will be the federal lawsuit, probably in 2011. Ahhh...the wheels of justice!)
James and his ONE attorney will be present.
Hey, have you heard to latest lawyer joke?
It begins like this...
"How many lawyers does it take to drain a district dry?"
The "punch line"?
Sorry...you will have to "stay tuned"!
Robbins et al and Cairo School District aren't done yet...