A few years ago a circuit overseer sent an email to the coordinators in his circuit asking all of them to email him the names of any Jehovah's Witnesses in good standing that were lawyers. The email explicitely said do not tell them that we are collecting their names. I have no idea what the reason for this was for or if it was from the branch or just this one circuit overseer.
how long before an overworked wt lawyer says SCREW THIS!!!
by nowwhat? 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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JW GoneBad
Good question: How long before an overworked WT lawyer says SCREW THIS?
On jw.org podcast show lastnight Irwin Zalkin between 40:00 to 45:00 minutes into the show states that he has over 20 additional cases he's working on involving multiple victims in each case of JW child molestation. WOW!!!
In Irwin Zalkin's own words about 45:00 minutes into the show: 'Jehovah's Witnesses' house of cards is about to fall!'
Based on Zalkin's own assessment I think many a WT lawyer is now about to jump ship before it sinks!!!
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Chaserious
For the in-house WTS lawyers, exit options might be better than some other WTS "volunteers" but probably not as good as some think. From what I have gathered, WTS lawyers enjoy a high status within the org, even if they are paid at standard Bethel rate. Anyone who was in the org at one point knows how much status and prestige are valued. They also likely get to travel frequently on the WTS's dime.
A law degree can be a valuable credential, but there are plenty of unemployed attorneys out there, just like in most other professions. For those who have done nothing in their legal career but in-house WTS work, I doubt there is high demand at law firms or in-house positions for these folks and the skills they have developed. Some of it may be transferrable, such as real estate purchasing, estate planning, etc. But law is also a very reference-driven field. It is common to have to know someone, or at least know someone who knows someone, a classmate from law school, etc, to be considered for a job. At a minimum, employers will usually at least want to talk to references from prior legal jobs. I doubt the WTS legal dept will be eager to help defectors get new jobs.
The other alternative if you don't want to work for someone is to open your own law office, but that requires (1) a lot of up front capital, and (2) a way to attract clients, which if it involves advertising, requires even more capital. The bottom line is they are probably almost as dependent on Bethel as most other volunteers and it would probably take a lot to get fed up enough to break rank and try to hack it in the outside world.
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LV101
I seriously doubt "outside counsel" are devout JWs - that's insane. JW cult is going to hire best defense possible to protect assets/reputation (what's left). They'd have one small arena to resort to looking for great defense sticking to their membership. They don't care what religion a good lawyer is as long as he's a hitter out there in the world.
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Chaserious
Some of their outside counsel are JWs. Don Ridley, who represents Losch in the Lopez case, works for a NYC law firm. He was at one time a WT "in house" lawyer, so I doubt they would keep using him if he exited. I believe one or more of the lawyers involved in the Conti case at the trial level was also identified here as a JW in private practice. Who knows if they might offer their services free of charge. Im sure WTS leans on them to do so. When defense counsel is going to charge $300-400 per hour for litigation that takes years thats no small thing.
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Balaamsass2
An interesting position for JW attornies. Work FOR WTBTS earn= zip. Work FOR WTBTS VICTIMS = $$$$.
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sir82
I seriously doubt "outside counsel" are devout JWs - that's insane.
I know a JW lawyer who often works on their cases - not a Bethelite.
Quite devout - was even DF'ed, while a lawyer, then reinstated, and continues to handle their cases.
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Juan Viejo2
This morning my contact who speaks on occasion with Bethel insiders (many are in WT Legal) gave me a quick call. He told me that he would have to be very careful what he shared because he didn't want to give himself away, but he did share this much:
Many of the attorneys at WT Legal are worried that they may have pushed the judge on the Lopez case too far by ignoring his orders and then appealing directly to higher courts. They are also worried that in future cases this approach may poison the well for them - even in cases that are relatively weak. One of his contacts indicated that this strategy may not have been encouraged by anyone in the legal team, but may have been determined by the GB or even Losch himself. The legal teams are afraid that they may be going into future cases with their guns empty and the plaintiffs attorneys ready to spring that fact (Watchtower refusal to obey court directives) to the court early in the procedings.
While appeal courts and the state supreme courts must rule on the merits of each case, the fact that the Catholic Church took a similar approach and lost badly (in California, very badly), the fact that the Watchtower has refused to respond to a judge's order will surely be recognized and expected as a strategy they will use in future cases. Whether this has any noticeable effect on the Conti appeal is unknown, and the court would certainly indicate that each case stands alone and has no effect on any other cases in their docket, for the future the Watchtower's "go f*** yourself - we answer to a higher law" response to court orders can not help them in the long run.
Looks like the Watchtower may be lining itself up for an early US Supreme Court appeal. They have done well there in the past and the current court tends to bend over backward to appease the religious wackos who appear before them (abortion, contraception, monuments, church use for secular activities, zoning laws, etc.). The only thing really working against them is the fact that they have few supporters within the Christian Right, with the possible exception of the Mormons and Scientology. They are also not political, so they can't help the Republican and Right Wing voting block even if they do win their case. The only reason the Christian Right would ever come to their aid is to enhance their own protections against lawsuits directed toward so many of their sect and mega-church leaders who have been involved in sexual deviance and child abuse cases. They may want to push this now before the court has a chance to become more Liberal leaning. Timing is everything.
They are watching and eagerly waiting to see how the California Appeals Court rules on Conti. That will be the standard that they will have to wrap their future strategies around.
My contact admits the most of his connections work outside of the child abuse cases loop, but they are on the fringes. Patterson is abuzz over the Lopez case and everyone there secretly peruses JWN, JWSurvey and Watchtower Documents. But never on the campus. They use only their own personal cell phones, pads, and laptops and only when they are away from WT HQ. Every email, upload, download and voicemail message transmitted there is being monitored 24 hours a day and IP addresses are being tracked. A few have two smartphones, one set aside for just this purpose.
A few have admitted that they feel like they are working inside the CIA, rather than a religious organization. No one really trusts anyone else. A few have have been burned badly by trusting the wrong person, someone who they were convinced was as reliable as they were. A few are seen packing up and being escorted to the travel vans every month. No one is ever sure why. Those who continue on are staying for shorter periods than was typical just ten or fifteen years ago. Looks like the average stay at one of the Bethel facilities has now fallen below the 24 month mark. There are also fewer younger volunteers. Many who are arriving are pioneers who have been in the field for several years and have held elder positions, with an average age well above 30.
In any case, this is all second and third hand - so take it with cup of salt. I am just the mail man. But it will be interesting to look back in 24 months and see how close this insider gossip came to predicting actual events.
JV
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LostGeneration
Thanks Juan. There may be a few nuggets of truth in there.
The one I hope is true is that the dopes known as the GB are calling the shots and using the "pray to Jehovah and he will make it go away" strategy. I can only hope they are really that dumb.
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Londo111
Thanks for all the intell.