On April 9, 1995 Ray Jassin wrote:
> ... The key is who the
> contractors are using as law librarians, whether they are professional, etc.
> I find it hard to believe that a firm such as B&M did not have an in-house
> library staff that was not up to speed, but hey, you never know. As an
> independent, I have serviced law firms in the past on a temporary basis
> while they were between librarians, and did not pitch to bring us in to run
> their library. In using my best staff to meet their needs, I had an employee
> of mine snatched from under me. Although what this firm did was legally
> right, I found it to be morally wrong and refused to continue servicing
> their needs. They dangled consulting carrots, etc. in front of me, but I
> stood my ground and gave up the billable hours. My point is that we must put
> professionalism first. We do need to reserve decision on the B&M thing until
> we have all the facts, not rumors. I will gladly participate in AALL's
> investigation of this situation so long as it looks into this situation, and
> does not try and include all independents in a lump. I believe most
> independents come out of prior law firm library experience, which is the
> basis for the possibility of providing high quality service.
>
A couple of points: (1) One the victims of the Friday afternoon massacre at B&M
came out of a major Philadelphia law firm, and was well-respected by both
librarians and attorneys in the Philadelphia area. (2) I agree with your point
about putting professionalism first, and about not condemning independents
(again, my own self-interest speaks here). But I think that one component of
professionalism requires that we also reserve judgment on the qualifications,
or supposed lack thereof, of the fired B&M library staff. With all due respect,
your arguments in support of independent contractors, while meritorious, do not
benefit from egregious ad hominem attacks, even if made only indirectly,
against the former B&M employees. ("I find it hard to believe that a firm such
as B&M did not have an in-house library staff that was not up to speed, but
hey, you never know.") Michael Cassidy made similar comments in his post of
April 7: "My office received an anonymous phone call yesterday, who stated
'This was not an economic decision." This kind of approach does neither one of
you credit.
One further comment: Other support staff besides librarians lost their jobs in
the same way. While I recognize that our main concern should be directed at the
question of ill-treatment of members of our own profession, I believe we should
also recognize that other lives have been disrupted and, perhaps, destroyed by
B&M's actions, and that due note should be made of this in AALL's actions in
this matter. If, as some have suggested here, this matter should also be taken
up with the Association of Legal Administrators and the ABA, it would certainly
not be out of line to include investigation of the treatment of all those who
lost their jobs, not just librarians.
Ann Davidson
adavidso@oyez.law.upenn.edu
Opinions expressed are my own, not those of my institution.
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