Apparently, some firms feel that it’s ok to charge clients for the time their interns put in even though the interns work for FREE.
According to RollOnFriday, Baker Botts –“true capitalists”— have found a way to boost profits in the economic downturn. The firm has been accused of paying its interns zilch, zippo – while charging out their time to its clients. I guess Baker Botts is following in the footsteps of other, smaller firms, namely Gavin Edmondson, which recently advertised for a voluntary paralegal.
Notwithstanding being a big, rich US firm with offices around the world and profits per partner of nearly £500,000, it seems some interns at Baker Botts don’t get paid anything, not even travel expenses, despite the fact that they may work the same hours as the firm’s lawyers. RollOnFriday writes that some have worked after midnight and on weekends. Talk about the true office slave—I hope all of this is done in the sincere hope that sometime soon these interns will be paid employees.
To make matters worse, it is claimed that the firm charges for the work done by these interns at standard paralegal rates.
No money out but money in—clever!!!
According to RollOnFriday, a spokeswoman for Baker Botts refused to comment—shocking.
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