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Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

bppe.ca.gov

261–270 of 364 posts

Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#261

It’s true. Our counsel informed us that we didn’t need to register. Counsel was wrong. Now we have new counsel :) We’ve submitted all the paperwork and have worked closely with California. This all happened a long time ago. I’m not sure what the right level of regulation is (it’s hard taking care of 50 states at once - one state registration was 2,277 pages and weighed 25 pounds https://twitter.com/austen/status/1153…

Lambda School is preparing to enter India as well right? How is it regulated there? better or worse?

Given all the dodgy looking "English School" signs and graffiti I've seen in several Indian cities, I'd guess there's a lot less regulation. That might of course differ for a large foreign company, so I would still be interested in hearing from the OP on this :)

Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#262
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Legal counsel is about risk mitigation: do we fire this person? The question isn’t whether it’s moral or ethical. It’s what the risk exposure? What are the likely outcomes? Do we have our bases covered? Fire them! (Or, we can’t, it overexposes us, create a new department, assign them and then dissolve the department some time later and declare them redundant).

I'm not sure what you mean by this. When counsel tell you something is legal, and it isn't, there's little subjectivity.

> When counsel tell you something is legal, and it isn't, there's little subjectivity.

Stating that a thing is or is not legal is making a claim about the opinion other humans in positions of authority (whose specific identity is unknown) will have on a similar question in the future.

There is always subjectivity in it, since you are literally predicting someone else's subjective opinion. The objectivity of law is a conceit, not a reality.

Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sue your old counsel? They will probably settle.

Giving advice that turned out to be wrong is a long way from proving legal malpractice.

Otherwise you could sue your lawyer every time you lost a case.

Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. When counsel tell you something is legal, and it isn't, there's little subjectivity.

The law has a few concrete, definitive truths but a huge volume of interpreted and subjective (and contradictory) statutes as well. Otherwise we wouldn't need lawyers in the first place

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Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#265
post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May not be that simple. Attorneys understand the "send a threat letter and hopefully they will settle" model well. Also, their current attorney will probably charge just to send that letter.

> Also, their current attorney will probably charge just to send that letter. Surely not $75,000 for a letter. A few hundred, yes. Recouping even $5,000 (in a "f u, go away please" payment) would be a big win for a scrappy startup, no? Their old law firm probably would prefer not to be drug around town making it known they gave very wrong, and very costly advice. They'd prefer the matter just went away. Those conditi…

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Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right but it'd be worse if you had the student loan debt AND don't get a degree (or at least a reputable one) because it's a scam.

I mean, is a university education not a sort of scam? They are giving people degrees that cost far too much to justify the kind of job you'll get coming out.

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Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#268
I decided to parse what was given to them. Slightly restructured:

> A person shall not open, conduct, or do business as a private postsecondary educational institution (a private entity with a physical presence in this state that offers – advertise, publicize, solicit, or recruit – postsecondary education to the public for an institutional charge) in this state without obtaining an approval to operate under this chapter. The institution must be approved to operate, which means approved to establish, keep, or maintain any facility or location in this state where, or from which, or through which, postsecondary education programs are provided.

I think the key part is the determination of their location. Their California headquarters counts as a facility through which programs are provided. The fact that the classes are fully online is unrelated. They would have to argue that their headquarters don't have anything to do with providing postsecondary education programs.

Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right but it'd be worse if you had the student loan debt AND don't get a degree (or at least a reputable one) because it's a scam.

I mean, is a university education not a sort of scam? They are giving people degrees that cost far too much to justify the kind of job you'll get coming out.

Study something that will get you a good job, if that’s what you’re interested in.

Re: Lambda School fined $75k by CA for operating without state approval [pdf]

#270
post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sox was passed in response to Enron. While that may have been a big failure, it had no effect on the wider economy. In fact Enrons scandal only came out after the 2001 recession ended... the economy grew during and after Enron’s failure.

Destroyed the pensions of many people, though.

Why are Americans invested in their own employer? It serms excessively correlated. My company pays my pension into index funds.
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