Unemployed Lawyer Offers Pizza, Soda And Legal Advice

At the Gorham House Of Pizza in Gorham, Maine, you'll find a rather unique combo: pizza served with a side of legal advice.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, George Sotiropoulos, 29, an unemployed lawyer, fills pizza orders at his parents' restaurant.

He lives at home, enjoys his mother's cooking and dons a sauce-stained T-shirt with a cheerful, wistful smile. His wages, almost the same he earned while working there in high school, go towards paying off his $175,000 student loans (a figure he finds so ridiculous he can only joke about it: "I am stuck with my student loans till I die.").

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sotiropoulos indulges in his higher education: he works pro bono as a foreclosure prevention lawyer at Pine Tree Legal Assistance.

In Maine, like in many states since foreclosure claims began to skyrocket, lenders are required to try mediation with a homeowner before the home can go into final foreclosure. As a pro bono lawyer, Sotiropoulos helps underwater homeowners argue for loan modifications, salvage their credit histories and sift through documents for evidence of predatory lending. In less than a year Sotiropoulos has clocked in approximately 1,300 hours of service and made nearly as many pies.

He is the person most shocked by his current situation. In 2008, Sotiropoulos was an aspiring entertainment lawyer who had moved to Hollywood for a year to pursue his dream. Not only did he not make it, but after a year of working odd jobs unrelated to his field, he was forced to move back in with his parents and take on his old high school job of serving pies at the restaurant.

Shortly afterward, he met an associate at Pine Tree, who suggested that Sotiropoulos help out at the firm's burgeoning pro bono foreclosure practice. For free, of course.

Sotiropoulos, who never harbored any public interest ideals while attending law school, was hooked. "I remember my first foreclosure case. It was during Christmas and we had gotten the bank to agree to modify a woman's home. When she found out she wasn't losing her house, she burst into tears," he says softly. "It feels so great being able to use my education to help others. This has been the best legal work I've ever done."

And although his hopes of marriage and kids-- an expectation coming from a big Greek family-- have been pushed back indefinitely, Sotiropoulos feels incredibly grateful for his situation: "As tough as my life is, this experience has taught me that a lot of people have it tougher. At least I have a safe place to live and a phenomenal relationship with my family."

"If you have your health, your family, a safe place to live, there's an opportunity to give back. Trust me, the payback forward feels amazing."

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Comments

[netaholic13]

12:17 PM on 09/22/2010

this man is a truly motivator for those who are struggling with their livelihoods

[Jerome Morrow]

12:15 PM on 09/22/2010

Well it turned out to be a good story. But truth be told, he got into the profession with just a goal of making big money. Not a wise thing to do. You should always try to work doing something you love.

But it turns out that he found his niche. Now about those student loans...

[gavrielle]

02:31 PM on 09/22/2010

True as to his reasons for choosing entertainment law, but that does not mean he didn't have a love for the law, or a talent for it. It's when life deals you a crushing blow and you suddenly find out that your priorities were wrong that you can often learn the real meaning of those words "the pursuit of Happiness".

[tucsoncindy]

07:36 PM on 09/21/2010

Mr. Sotiropoulos story is a testament of the human spirit. With so many of us trying
to come to terms with our loses, Mr. Sotiropoulos included, his story has given
me hope in the goodness of mankind. I applaud your work Mr. Sotiropoulos and
wish you the best. Your future will turn around for you ...

[immunostudent]

06:00 PM on 09/21/2010

Why isn't that law firm paying him? Whatever law firm it is, well all of them that employ these kind of practices should be ashamed of themselves. I'm sure they are making money somehow, especially if they're advertising their good deeds. It's one thing to have internships for high school students but it's just pathetic how big companies/Universities expect free labor in the name of education. Paying people for work should not be a novel idea.

[poprox]

10:54 PM on 09/21/2010

Pine Tree Legal Services is a Legal Services Corporation (LSC) non-profit. They receive government funding (similar to government funding set aside to represent indigent criminal cases) in order to represent the poor who cannot afford their own attorneys. Outside of the big cities, these organizations are typically the ONLY legal non-profits in the area, and they rely on pro bono work from the local legal community in order to fill the need of their indigent client base. While LSC organizations do have their own attorneys, they receive mediocre pay and have huge caseloads. Without pro bono work from non LSC attorneys a lot fewer poor people would have legal representation in their housing, family law, or other civil cases. What you are asserting is similar to someone telling Doctors Without Borders that they need to pay their doctors better.

Not only that, but you should also be aware that when a lawyer is sworn in to the bar of his jurisdiction he is ethically obligated to perform pro bono work. It's part of their responsibilities.

[JStading]

12:46 AM on 09/22/2010

Pro bono isn't an ethical obligation for the majority of states, it's an "aspiration" the bar creates.  Even if we were playing with the aspirational side of the bar, most states reccomend only 20-50 hours a year.  There is no reason to work when you're drowning in debt for nothing.

[JStading]

05:42 PM on 09/21/2010

Pro bono work's for suckers, especially when it's being done for a for-profit law firm that WILL be suing for attorney's fees as part of the foreclosure suit.

I've been vigerously arguing that all law students need to stop pro bono outright until two things happen: (1) law school tuition stops being used to subsidize the other programs at the college [much of law school tuition is diverted to non-law school uses because the assumption is that law students will shell out more cash to get their education than a nursing grad student], (2) student loans become discharagble (again) in bankruptcy. 

[immunostudent]

06:02 PM on 09/21/2010

Agreed. And he's not a law student, he has his degree.

[JStading]

06:29 PM on 09/21/2010

Yeah, I know.  But as a law student, I typically preach to other law students about the evil that is inherent in giving away our services for free to for profit enterprises.  

[icerink]

07:19 PM on 09/21/2010

Ironically, he's also working hard to make sure that home prices won't fall to a sustainable level where he could afford his own home.

[PubliusEsq]

04:45 PM on 09/21/2010

Not to mention he is emplyed by his parents and lives with them. Would he be on the street if he wasn't? If he had to pay rent would he be able to do the pro bono work? What if he had a family to support? He is actually in a much better situation than many with student loans. Sure sonny, you'll pay off that 175k in debt in no time pounding dough into pies. Oh yeah, and the 7 years of your life you spent pursuing an education, you can have that back too.

[gavrielle]

02:52 PM on 09/22/2010

Why does everyone assume he's stuck where he is? He's getting valuable experience in the law, professional contacts with other lawyers and judges throughout that area, and setting up a potential client base for when/if he decides to go into private practice. Word of mouth is the best advertising anyone can have when just starting out. Just because his current clients are indigent doesn't mean everyone they know is poor, or will always be poor. When they need a lawyer just whom do you think they will think of using first? And whom do you think they will recommend to their friends and family?

I needed a housing lawyer once and got one at my local legal assistance foundation. She eventually opened a practice, renting space from a small real estate agency. She got business from them doing closings and even more business from people like me, who are now paying clients who send their friends to her. Now she has a comfortable office, a nice home, a husband and two kids. There are other ways to success than climbing the corporate ladder and being just another cog in the wheel of life.

As for his student loan, he is only required to pay 10% of anything he earns on it thanks to a change in the law. He really is in good shape for the future.

[PubliusEsq]

04:27 PM on 09/22/2010

This anecdote is better suited to a different time and does not take into accout recent structural changes within the economy that have elimintated thousands of attorney jobs. Combine this fact with the increase in the number of law school grads every year and you have a high unemployment rate for lawyers with many more lawyers available than are necessary within the economy. His private loans are not limited to 10% if not coverered under the recent legislation and are not dischargeable in bankruptcy. If he can't pay the 10% then he defaults and his creditors execute a lien on his income. This guy is in a better position than many because his parents are employing him and paying his rent. However, he may still never find a job as a lawyer, setting aside all of the fantastical speculation of the contacts he will be making. Often contacts made in pro bono work do not result in a job offer for various reasons, a very tight job market being the foremost. The larger point is that many law grads are suffering and things are not working out for them. One positive measure to alleviate that suffering would be to reinstate student loan discharges into the bankruptcy law. The banks had this provision in the law eliminated to absolve their own risk because they could had the resources to bribe congress to do their bidding, unlike the students which had no lobby and no voice.

[Collette777]

05:41 PM on 09/22/2010

When I read your comment PubliusEsq, your ending sentence made me think of years ago, when after surviving a car accident, my face required immediate reconstructive surgery. I was moved from one hospital to another where a plastic surgeon was able to save the skin on my face. I'm so grateful for that surgeon's skill - for the years that he spent learning his skill. I do not care what his motivation was to become a doctor, I only know that his abilty at a time when I needed him changed my life. I'm sure that the families who have retained their homes thanks to George Soritopoulos feel similarly grateful to him. This man should not regret the seven years of his life that he's spent learning his skill. It speaks to everything valuable and meaningful in human character and spirit that Mr. Sotiropoulos is using what he knows to help others. How many people can say that they have the ability to help people in a way that forever changes or improves their lives?

[enhara]

04:39 PM on 09/21/2010

maybe he can rescue the lawyer name

[fortressfountain]

04:38 PM on 09/21/2010

The politicans ideas are to make everyone indentured debt slaves.

[ResearchtheFacts]

04:26 PM on 09/21/2010

While he is providing a service to the community his debt is not going away.  To live with the burden of having that tied around his neck each day is astounding when the only jobs he can get with his education is slinging pies and providing free labor.  He could be living with mom and dad forever.  

[PubliusEsq]

04:00 PM on 09/21/2010

A good example of how the banks actually write legislation is the bankruptcy reform legislation of 2005. In the bill Congress produced, private student loans were no longer dischargeable in bankrupcty. The banks were able to write this bill because students have no organization or lobby paying favors to congressmen. I have seen it done with mine own eyes. The bank's inside counsel draft the legislation and then pass it on to congressional staffers that they have quid pro quo relationships with, often the staffers and bank's attorneys went to the same schools, and the bills are then introduced into committee in the form drafted by the banks. No national purpose was served by this legislation. In fact, the bill has served to cause many who tried to better themselves through higher education to wind up as indentured servants slaving away for banks. American's families are impoverished and generations will live in poverty because the banks pay legislators lucrative rewards in the form of campaign contributions and high paying jobs. These private loans, because of little regulatory oversight, often become unpayable because the interest and fees increase to an amount larger than the original loans. The only reason former students are discriminated against in bankrupcy (other bank loans and gambling debts are dischargeable) is because students have no lobby, and the corrupt political process favors the disproportinate influence of the banks which use the legislative process to do their own bidding.

[PubliusEsq]

04:00 PM on 09/21/2010

Support the Franken/Dodd bill (Fairness for Struggling Students Act (S 3219)) and the house version (Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act (HR 5043)) which will stop the discrimination and allow student loans to be dischargeable in bankruptcy. HR 5043 has been voted out of subcommittee and is now in the house judiciary committee. Call your Congressmen, Senators Franken and Dodd and members of the house judiciary committee to show your support.

Americans should not have to live in indentured servitude because the economy cannot provide a job for them at a living wage, often because the banks and corporations use their undue influence in the political process to shape the economy for their own purposes, not for the good of the country.

[nolookpass2]

10:56 PM on 09/21/2010

So everyone can get a law degree and just declare bankruptcy while representing themselves?

That is rediculous. Noone forced him to get a law degree or to go into that much debt, it was his choice, why should the rest of us be impacted by his decisions.

There is no discrimination in his case, everyone wants everything for free, life it tough especially when you make really poor decisions.

[PubliusEsq]

01:46 PM on 09/22/2010

Really Einstein? So if he had accumulated that much debt because of gambling debts and then went bankrupt that would be ok? Or if he was starting a business and failed then its ok for the rest of us to pay for that, but not for an education that does not lead to a job to allow the debtor to repay the loans. So screw those deadbeats who worked hard and played by the ruled up until the economy and corporate and government leadership screwed them.

Its ridiculous to assume that anyone who is a student is going to declare bankruptcy to get out of their loans. You are ignorant of the fact that there is strict criteria that must be meet to declare bankruptcy, not just anyone can do it, you must be at the end of fyour inancial rope. Getting an education is now a poor decision for an individual to make in America? Especially when every bank in the land is willing to loan you money for it and the law schools publish false emplyment statistics to induce you to go? But, of course, the banks shouldn't bear any risk for their decisions. Can you think for yourself Einstupid?

[ml 82]

03:57 PM on 09/21/2010

You can either be like this young man, work your butt off and wait for it to pay off.. OR you can hold a sign that says "I'm unemployed please help" and ask ppl for money! Life is a choice, you can either work hard and struggle to make ends meet or you can give up and walk the streets!
Keep up the hard work, you'll pay off that student loan in no time.. I've been there, and my hardwork is finally paying off, as I'm sure it will for you as well..

[JStading]

05:46 PM on 09/21/2010

Ha! You've been there?  Do you know that $175k in student loans comes to about $2k per month in debt payments?  Did you know that the $2k number assumes you make every payment on time and don't get nicked with any penalty?

Let's all do some basic accounting.  If he's doing piza work at a charitable rate of $10.00/hr, he's making about $20k/yr pretax.  Let's call it $16k post tax.  If he's in the hole $2k/month for student loans and there are 12 months in a year, he's going into debt at a rate of $24k for every period that he earns $16k.  i.e. his preexisting obligations outpace his income by over a third.  Good luck getting out of that.

[ml 82]

07:24 PM on 09/21/2010

I went to medical school, so yeah I've been there.. Where did you assume he makes $10/hr, it's his parents pizza shop, so I'm pretty sure he's getting paid more and he's getting help from his parents, trust me he's in way better shape than most ppl. Like he said, at least he has a safe place to stay and a family to love him.

Besides, why do you seem like you're attacking me here, I was just wishing the guy good luck as I HAVE TOO BEEN THERE. Except I didn't have anyone to help me, if you only knew the hell i've been through..

[ulrike creighton]

03:35 PM on 09/21/2010

We need more Sotiropoulos's on this planet in all kinds of professions :)

[InedaName]

03:25 PM on 09/21/2010

In a just world, someone like Mr. Sotiropoulos, who contributes to society and serves others selflessly, would be elevated to celebrity status instead of unwed teenage mothers like Bristol Palin or whatever Kim Kardashian is. Mr. Sotiropoulos is the real star.

[Self Evident]

04:13 PM on 09/21/2010

Agreed. Fanned.

[Ann-Pittsburgh]

06:54 PM on 09/21/2010

If Mr. Sotiropoulos were offered as many lucrative speaking engagements as Bristol accepts to talk about her struggles as a single mother, Mr. Sotiropoulos could pay off his student loan quite quickly.

[obaasima]

02:54 PM on 09/21/2010

What an inspirational and selfless story! Thanks for sharing!