Back in March, we posted a story about how some law-school students were blaming their lack of success in the job market on
message-board postings that had been made about them. Of course, it wasn't at all clear if the messages themselves really played any part in the students' job hunts, and we noted at the time that if they did, it was probably a bit of an overreaction on the part of potential employers. Now, another law student has lost a job offer because of the site -- only this time,
it's one of the site's employees. Even though the student was the site's "chief education director" and had no control over the message boards, a law firm that made him a job offer last August has withdrawn it, saying the site was against the "principles of collegiality and respect that members of the legal profession should observe in their dealings with other lawyers," and refused to change its mind even after the student resigned his post. Some see it as the guy getting what he deserved, but this still seems like little more than an overreaction on par with other firms basing their employment decisions on anonymous postings by third parties beyond job applicants' control.