davidnark Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 -can it be true that SLU gets the gift of the bldg downtown and FrB declares it to be the new home of the law school without the law school knowing about it?? I was told that by a reliable source many months ago. I was also told that Biondi announced the law school deal with little internal consultation in order to get the city to support the demo of the Pevely Site. For years, I have been complaining that Biondi has absolutely raped and pillaged the law school to fund his own pet projects. He is like a 1980's-era Carl Icahn. Biondi needs to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 He is like a 1980's-era Carl Icahn. Biondi needs to go! +1 Westy was right on the money, giving him the "Don" nickname. He runs the school like a mafia boss. He answers to no one. His decisions are often based on emotions and how others perceive his power. His underbosses, the vice presidents, play his game or leave. His capos, the deans/department heads, know that large portions of their own department's funds may be pulled out by him at any time, in any amount, for any reason. He is unconcerned with the collateral damage of his decisions, how they affect the students or the city. He pushes through mutually beneficial deals so the city will turn a blind eye as he steamrolls through other, completely one-sided deals. I could continue with this analogy but it's getting too bleak, even for me. The reign of Don Biondi must end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 You refused to meet with the ABA/AALS reaccreditation site team I'm not sure what exactly this entails, but it sounds fairly important to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 The reign of Don Biondi must end. He probably came to SLU as the right guy at the right time, but that time has long since passed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 i have long supported and defended father biondi, but oh boy. that letter is probably the most thought out bridge burning letter i have ever read. one would think if an ounce of it was untrue this woman would be buried in court for eternity. i think i am off the father biondi bandwagon. at least for the time being. but i dont see how he can be defended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Biondi's response: http://molawyersmedia.com/wp-files//special-message-from-the-president-8-8-12.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUTGR Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 This story is getting a lot of play on the legal blogosphere: http://taxprof.typep...8/st-louis.html http://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leiter/2012/08/slu-law-dean-resigns.html http://abovethelaw.com/2012/08/law-school-dean-blasts-university-in-passionate-resignation-letter/ It's also on instapundit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Pine Jim Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Reading this letter of resignation was quite disturbing. I have heard vague negative comments about Fr. Biondi in the past but, wow. He has been in power too long, it seems. Bad things happen when a fresh approach isn't utilized after a quarter-century of increasingly autocratic rule. Do you think that Penn State held on to its FB coach for too long, maybe ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikendave Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Tom Keefe is good lawyer. He is about as cutthroat and adversarial as you can get through. I have substantial concerns about him being named interim dean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUTGR Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Tom Keefe is good lawyer. He is about as cutthroat and adversarial as you can get through. I have substantial concerns about him being named interim dean. I don't know him and I have nothing agianst personal injury lawyers, but it seems like an odd move. You would think one of the experienced faculty members would be a more appropriate interim dean until a replacement is hired. Then again, Biondi probably doesn't trust any of the faculty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billikendave Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I'm not sure what exactly this entails, but it sounds fairly important to me. The ABA is the American Bar Association and AALS is the American Association of Law Schools. To be a functioning law school, these are the entities that provide accreditation. If you refuse to meet with them, that is problematic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Tom Keefe is good lawyer. He is about as cutthroat and adversarial as you can get through. I have substantial concerns about him being named interim dean. So, in other words, he's like Biondi. He's also been - surprise! - a substantial donor to the law school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 If you want to see whether anyone with ostensible responsibility for oversight gives a damn/has any balls, watch whether there's an emergency meeting of the executive commitee of the board of trustees within the next week. I predict a CYA meeting where they appoint some sort of "independent investigator." (And we've all seen how the U. performs "unbiased" investigations and hearings.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I would feel a lot better about Rick,s long term future if Biondi would be replaced , but I am not holding my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMM28 Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 It has long been time for Biondi to go. There should be rules in place regarding age and length of tenure as president of Saint Louis University. Most major corporations have those, and this billion dollar operation should be no different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestCoastBilliken Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 SLU just getting shat on here in the comments: http://abovethelaw.c...gnation-letter/ Great PR all around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Box and Won Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 The ABA is the American Bar Association and AALS is the American Association of Law Schools. To be a functioning law school, these are the entities that provide accreditation. If you refuse to meet with them, that is problematic. Unreal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 -i am not a lawyer and don't know what 'abovethelaw.com' is but i find this a very curious passage in their take on the SLU situation ...At some point, law deans are going to have to tell their bosses that university programs cannot be funded on the backs of law students who are already paying too much for tuition in a still terrible job market. --- can someone explain to me the connection between the tuition law students are paying and the job market?? is someone forcing these students to law school to pay this tuition? seems the market for teaching a law student has put the tuition at its current level, which could change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeSmetBilliken Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I've defended Biondi quite a bit over the years, mainly due to the fact that he did greatly improve the university, plus I found most of the complaints (especially from students) to be rather insignificant and based mainly on the thought that students find complaining about Biondi to be the cool thing to do. With that said, his time has passed and he might be doing SLU more harm than good these days. This could be really bad, and the law school might take a few years to recover from this, depending on how things go. The appointment of Keefe as the interim dean is rather curious to me. He may be an excellent lawyer, and kudos to him on accepting the call to serve his alma mater, but as someone else posted, you would think it would make more sense to name a current faculty member, several of whom have previously been dean or interim dean. Had Biondi been able to get a respected faculty member, it might give credence to the theory that the departing dean was irrational in her expectations. Instead, this gives the idea that the faculty might not like this turn of events. If this is so, they could consider looking for new jobs, which would hurt SLU. Depending on the fallout, either through faculty defections or the work on the new building, this could turn into a real mess. When this news broke today, I'll admit that I was feeling pretty good that I attend a different law school (albeit a lower ranked one) a couple hours outside of St. Louis at 1/3 the price of SLU. I think the big result that could come out this is that this is in many ways the first concrete piece of negative information made public against Biondi. Over the years many people have complained of things he's done, some more substantial than others, but generally they were rather vague, 2nd hand at best, and didn't make it into the media. As a result, you only knew about it if you were in the know or knew someone in the know, and even then the stories were so muddied that it was easy to shrug them off or dismiss them in favor of the goodwill created by Biondi because he greatly improved the campus and the university. One thing I know is that today's news didn't get ignored by SLU Law alums, and they don't seem pleased with the news. With all due respect to the other schools within the university, the alumni of the law school probably tend to be in some of the more prominent positions of SLU alumni around St. Louis, and might be in more of a position to make something happen as a result of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westy03 Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Sadly nothing will happen as a result of this no matter how prominent the law school alumni is. It will be business as usual for Biondi. Heck look at the basketball program, Rick found a donor for the extra basketball hoops to put up in the gym and Biondi refused to install them for god knows what reason. The baskets sat there for over a year then were finally installed. Biondi is a power hungry ego-maniac, just ask anyone who deals with him directly. Everyone is fed up with him but can't do anything about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUTGR Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I was curious what tuition was at SLU law now: http://slu.edu/school-of-law-home/student-life/financial-assistance/cost-of-attendance/tuition-and-fees Just over $36k per year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidnark Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I don't know Tom Keefe, but the appointment of a plaintiff's trial lawyer seems like a recipe for disaster. If you were to appoint an alumnus for the position, I would think you would want someone whose pedigree was high-level academic administration or business management, not a high-profile, legal extortionist (just the facts). I assume that this guy will just be an aggressive street fighter for Don B. As a graduate of SLU Law, I find this all depressing. If my kids want to go into law, it pains me to admit that I will advise them to go elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiseAndGrind Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 I don't know Tom Keefe, but the appointment of a plaintiff's trial lawyer seems like a recipe for disaster. If you were to appoint an alumnus for the position, I would think you would want someone whose pedigree was high-level academic administration or business management, not a high-profile, legal extortionist (just the facts). I assume that this guy will just be an aggressive street fighter for Don B. As a graduate of SLU Law, I find this all depressing. If my kids want to go into law, it pains me to admit that I will advise them to go elsewhere. I have to admit I'm baffled at the appointment of a Personal Injury lawyer AS THE DEAN OF A LAW SCHOOL. With that said, I don't know Mr. Keefe. And Nark, not sure how old your kids are, but hopefully this will be all be fixed by the time your kids are ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 you admit to not knowing a man then label him a "legal extortionist". the keefe family has been very successful as atty's not only in the belleville/st louis area but in the midwest. with that success they have been very benevolent with their success and have donated and supported many causes and helped many many people. i serve on a board of directors with tom keefe's brother and i can tell you that he is a prince of a man and the reputation of tom and the rest of the family is the same. Maybe tom, who like many of us, loves his alma mater and was approached to help with a difficult situation and agreed to serve a purpose until the position can be filled. the man knows many many many influential people and is well respected in his field and amongst fellow alumni. who better to try to put water on the flames then a man just like that and meanwhile assist in raising money needed to complete the new law school. while i have admitted above that father biondi has apparently done wrong, i am sure that the outgoing dean did their share of contributions to the problem as well. as someone else pointed out, there is usually two sides to every story. but one thing that is certain, the assassination of tom keefe's character by labeling him an extortionist was flat out wrong and over the line. tom keefe did nothing to deserve that shot and while it appears saint louis university has issues right now with it's law school and the school leader, i do not see where tom keefe deserved that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majerus mojo Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 Does anybody really want to send their kids to SLU at this point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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