News & Tips

I left BigLaw after five years and was excited to begin my true passion: helping students and young professionals achieve their academic and career goals. I received three offers at large, for-profit companies that conduct college and graduate school counseling. However, in the process of negotiating the offers, I was so disturbed by what I learned about their profit models and labor practices that I had to decline all three offers and instead set up my own firm. Here’s the dirty little secret: Large for-profit companies offer exorbitant fees that, frankly, approach predatory rates. Meanwhile, the college and grad school counselors at these companies, who perform 100% of the substantive work for their clients, are not full-time employees, but instead are contractors. And they are paid shockingly low rates. One company offered me a mere 10% of the client rate for my compensation. I was floored. I always encourage my clients to negotiate job offers, so I proposed 12% (a still exploitative rate). Then - they immediately withdrew my offer. I have never experienced a withdrawn offer after first negotiation attempt in my decade-long career. Meanwhile, the contracts at all three companies contained provisions that made my jaw drop - including absurdly broad-reaching non-compete clauses and insistence that contractors pay back all their earned fees if the company decides to fire them at any time, with no cause. I spent hours redlining my contracts just to ensure basic standard labor practices (I would recommend that my clients seek out employment counsel for employment contract negotiations). However, not a single one of my proposed terms was accepted at any of the firms. How can consultants provide the best advice to their clients if they are working in abusive and predatory job environments? Ones where they’re pressured to add as much profit to the company as possible? And if these companies are exploiting their labor, they are most certainly exploiting their clients. I knew that if I wanted to pursue my passion for helping students and professionals, I would have to set up my own firm. At J. A. Blanton Consulting, LLC, I provide all the counseling myself - no exploited contractors at my disposal.