Stupid legal threat of the young century -UPDATED

Boing Boing has been on the receiving end of one or two stupid legal threats in our day but this one from the firm of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh takes the cake, the little cake topper, the frosting and all the candles, as well as the box and the cake-stand and the ornamental forks.

Back in July, I posted about the research on the academic advantage some people with autism exhibit. In the comments, someone else used the word "scam" in a message board post. Here's the quote: "Went to college expecting it to be the place of knowledge, an all encompassing and way to get information instantly. I quickly found its a scam..."

Here's where it gets good. The legal eagles at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh represent an (apparently extremely touchy) company called Academic Advantage and they apparently earn their keep by using alerts or searches for "Academic Advantage scam" to see who's badmouthing good old AA, and then they fire off a legal threat and demand that the content be removed from the Internet posthaste. (Funnily enough, Boing Boing isn't even in the first screen of Google results for academic advantage scam -- though there are certainly plenty of people who seems upset with AA's service!)

There's no legal merit to this, of course. "Commercial libel" is damned hard to make stick (that pesky First Amendment!), and it takes a lot more than a blog post that contains the words "academic" "advantage" and "scam" to make a workable legal case.

No, this is pure legal thuggery, a completely indiscriminate bid to intimidate bloggers and publishers into censoring themselves by threatening dire legal consequences.

And the sad thing is, it probably works. Most people don't know the law (see EFF Bloggers' Rights articles), and can't afford to ask a lawyer what they should do in a situation like this. All we can hope is that the next time someone gets a letter over "academic advantage scam" or similar false positives, they get to this blog post and discover that our legal pals at ~~Dewey, Cheatham and Howe~~ Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh know even less about the law than they do about the Internet.

As always, your first stop when receiving stupid legal threats should be the good, good people at Chilling Effects. And to the lawyers at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh (whose motto is "Experienced Attorneys. Proven Results." and who boast of degrees from Harvard, NYU and UCLA): shame on you. What would your parents say if they could see you squandering your top legal educations with this kind of careless, sloppy farce?

Update: Academic Advantage has fired Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh for making this spurious threat.

Re: Libel committed on your BoingBoing website (PDF)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Action • Business

More at Boing Boing

Eurovision 2013: An American in London

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

Anonymous

To think popping up under academic advantage scam will get you lawyer’d… we’ll have this on the 1st page in no time. ;)
bardfinn

“… libel committed in your BoingBoing website …”

As no libel actually occurred, this statement would itself be libel. And it was issued without good faith and due diligence. That seems like something that ought to be answered with a good public thrashing.

Nuts to lawyers who make themselves finders of fact — they get everything that’s coming to them.

ianalinaylatinla.
Jonathan Zittrain

Whoa, I hadn’t appreciated just how awful the threat is; your post made me think that a commenter had said something bad about the company. But the commenter simply used the word “scam” in an unrelated sentence, and the words “academic advantage” in the main post also plainly had nothing to do with the company.

So the lawyer fired off the letter without even the slightest glance at the site. The complaint isn’t merely ill-founded or wrong, it’s incoherent. Honestly, I’d report it to the California Bar. …JZ
shmageggy

This makes me wonder, is Academic Advantage really a scam? Their website looks legit but how am I to know if Academic Advantage is fraudulent? Although I’m soothed by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s presence on their home page, I really have no way of knowing whether their service is a hoax. I doubt Academic Advantage is practicing extortion, blackmail, cheating, deceit, or deception, but who really knows. For all I know it could be a total con job, racket, rip off, shell game, or sham.

Also, Academic Advantage has never publicly denied the rape and murder of a young girl in 1990. Just sayin.
- Snig
  
  On an unrelated note, I heard Glen Beck, George Soros, David Kock, Al Franken and Bill Clinton had no signs of being affiliated with American Advantage. They may have just covered their tracks really well using black ops, black helicopters, Black Panthers, Halliburton and ACORN, but it’s likely just a coincidence that they were all allegedly uninvolved.
- Jim
  
  Well played!
- Inventorjack
  
  “Academic Advantage rape” is #1 on both Google and Bing
  - sapere_aude
    
    “Academic Advantage Hitler” is also #1. Kudos to baccaruda.
gornzilla

Wow, when I protested a DMCA, Pair Inc told me I was the first client to do that and that they would remove my site if there was another complaint. I didn’t remove the “infringement”. That was from me posting 17 questions of 600 on the MMPI test that I thought were funny. It’s not just most people, it’s also web hosting sites.
mlc

looks like Yelp caved to some similar threat. 74 reviews removed for allegedly violating the â€œcontent guidelines or terms of serviceâ€; two remain but are filtered (you have to enter a CAPTCHA to see them); and none are plainly visible without special effort. http://www.yelp.com/biz/academic-advantage-los-angeles http://awesomescreenshot.com/04b61f5cc
Anonymous

Very cool. As a result of this post, I learned about the “Streisand Effect” – which is the unintended consequence of causing far more attention to something which you were trying to hush up. Thank you to The Academic Advantage!
baccaruda

Academic Advantage Hitler.
Anonymous

I herd you like scams, so Academic Advantage will scam in your scam while teaching you to scam. Also, I heard it’s all a scam.
Salviati

Well, it looks like this post already ranks #13 on a Google search for “Academic Advantage Scam”. Ironic, I guess.
Rob Gehrke

Academic Advantage is a scam?
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters?
What’s this about?
Anonymous

Maybe this firm lacks confidence in its reputation, or its attorneys are not sure they represent a totally clean business ? Funny anyhow.
Maurice Reeves

Academic Advantage is Keyser Soze. And they are holding Tyler Durden hostage. Also, Academic Advantage were the ones that originally scammed the Lenape on Manhattan Island with their superior machined wampum. Spread the word.
sapere_aude

Perhaps the good folks at Academic Advantage and their lawyers at Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh are not familiar with the Streisand effect. I somehow suspect that they’ll soon be learning a lot more about it than they ever wanted to know. Perhaps some of the readers of this post might even help with their education by spreading the word to other blogs and news organizations about just how sensitive Academic Advantage and its lawyers are to any association, no matter how remote or unintentional, with the word “SCAM”.
- MatanArie
  
  It seems some handsome reader has added this story as an example on Wikipedia’s Streisand Effect page. I wonder what kind of affect this will have on the search engine for results “Academic Advantage Scam” (Mind you, I’m not claiming that Academic Advantage is a scam).
  
  The example might be removed by moderators or users of Wikipedia, or possibly even by a representative of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh (Who represent Academic Advantage, which may or may not be a scam). Then again, it is quite possible that Boing Boing readers (Who may or may not maintain that Academic Advantage is a scam) will support the addition of the example in Wikipedia, thus preventing its deletion.
  - sapere_aude
    
    As the kids say: kewl!
    
    (OK, I don’t know if the kids say that anymore. I’m old and square. I shouldn’t try to sound hip.)
    - sapere_aude
      
      Spoke too soon. It looks like it’s been removed from Wikipedia already. I guess the folks at Academic Advantage and Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh are on their toes. They really don’t want anyone to read anything online suggesting that Academic Advantage is a scam.
Pip_R_Lagenta

I tried to make “Academic Advantage is a Diluvial Tragedy” register on the Google, but I have no google-foo.
Utenzil

Bad lawyers replaced by bad algorithms, seems like a win-win to me.
lonelyhunter

Scamademic Scamvantage scammy scam scam.
- Cowicide
  
  So I herd they’re a scam.
Antinous / Moderator

“Irrevocable damage”! Welcome to the world of self-fulfilling prophecy.
Doctor Device

unfortunately, I can’t think of a clever way to add to the chorus of thinly-veiled ‘Academic Advantage is a scam’ comments (would that be considered reverse-SEO?).

but I have to wonder if anyone else briefly misread the name of the law firm as I did. I thought “who would trust a firm called Lazar, Akiva and Yog-Sothoth?”
billstewart

So have Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh hired Serdar Argic as a junior partner or something? Does calling their website “laylegal.com” indicate that they’re amateurs as opposed to professionals?
Anonymous

The term ‘Academic Advantage scam’ is now listed as a suggested search term for both Yahoo! and Google. It’s the first suggested term for Google and the fourth for Yahoo!.

Ahh, I â™¥ the Internet.
oheso

I’m sure, as practicing lawyers, that the partners at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are well aware that the following are some common synonyms for the word “shyster”: unscrupulous lawyer; swindler; ambulance chaser, cheater, chiseler, crooked lawyer, mouthpiece, pettifogger, scammer, trickster, unethical lawyer. I also believe that the partners at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh must be aware that the word “shyster” itself is a synonym for some of the following words: cheat, bluff, charlatan, chiseler, con artist, confidence operator, conniver, cozener, crook, deceiver, decoy, defrauder, dodger, double-crosser, double-dealer, enticer, fake, hypocrite, impostor, inveigler, jockey, masquerader, pretender, quack, rascal, rogue, scammer, shark, sharper, shyster, swindler, trickster.

One hopes that the partners at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are aware of such bad, malign, unethical, crooked and downright quackish synonyms for the word “shyster”.
Anonymous

I wonder how Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh would feel if their names were paired with phrases such as Douche Bag, shyster. Of course now on some web search the words academic advantage will be paired with Douche Bag also. Damn, it just keeps getting uglier.
Anonymous

Excellent, now *this* might become the first hit for “Academic Advantage” +scam. Good job shooting your clients in the foot there incompetent Los Angeles based personal injury lawyers/legal firm “Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh”. Good. Job.
MrJM

I certainly hope that the innocent juxtapositioning of the words Academic Advantage & Scam don’t mislead people into thinking Academic Advantage is a scam.

D’oh!
YarbroughFair

I’m really confused. The following statement from the firm: “We represent The Academic Advantage, Inc. (â€œThe Academic Advantageâ€). It has come to our clientâ€™s attention that there is a link on your website which defames The Academic Advantage.” Doesn’t this mean they are accusing you of inserting a link to http://www.academicadvantage.com/ < <<<<< like this?

Is that what they were charging? If so, It was utterly false and there should be some legal recourse. Anyone in the law office, even the security guard could have read the BB article and known there was not a "link". So did the law firm play with words and not really mean a "hyper link" like I am thinking and are accusing BB that some form of witchcraft word association link existed? That must be it.

However: Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh have a great legal blog, it's information some people pay a lawyer to hear.
http://www.laylegal.com/blog/

Anonymous

Academic Advantage scrotal trauma, Academic Advantage meth mouth, Academic Advantage cauliflower ear, Academic Advantage erectile dysfunction, Academic Advantage anal beads, Academic Advantage Hitler youth, Academic Advantage child molestation, Academic Advantage indictment, Academic Advantage pedophilia, Academic Advantage do not let them near your children

Anonymous

I think the response is along the lines of that set out in Arkell vs Pressdram (1971) http://paracommunications.org/blog/2007/10/22/arkell-vs-pressdram/
Anonymous

I’m having scam, scam, scam, scam, scam, scam, scam, Academic Advantage and scam.
- Anonymous
  
  My school provides Academic Advantage to our students. The lawyers know more about scam than academic than the word scam.
- Anonymous
  
  Can anyone tell me of any parents that donÂ´t want an Academic Advantage for their kids? So why should educational institutions not be allowed to let the parents that the school is worthwhile?
Anonymous

Is Arnold Schwarzenegger really supposed to make me feel secure about their services? I mean, how would he know?

Also, it’s funny that my browser spell check knew how to spell Schwarzenegger. :P
Anonymous

Is there any way to countersue for libel? As they’re saying you’re defaming their client while you’re clearly not? Or would that be petty?

Or do you have any recourse through the LA bar? As you point out in your post, boingboing is capable of handling this kind of badgering, but many smaller blogs may not be.

Seriously, given your stature, it kind of falls on boingboing to launch the maximum possible retaliatory action. Just to set these guys and similar lawfirms straight about the intent of the law.
Havelock Vetinari

Does anyone think the phrase “It is clear there is no purpose to this web address” is awesomely clunky, even for lawyers? “Web address”? There is “no purpose” to boingboing.net except to publish those three little words and defame their client? What have you been doing in the meantime, while you waited to get around to perpetrating this awful slander?

They need to get onto dictionary.com and gutenberg.org. I understand those two “web addresses” have used the three little words, too. What other purpose could they have?
sapere_aude

Funnily enough, Boing Boing isn’t even in the first screen of Google results for academic advantage scam

It is now.
bardfinn

It’s also worth noting that the author of the notice is a “Jubin J. Niamehr”, who claims to be an “Attorney at Law”.

From his profile on laylegal.com:

“Prior to law school, Mr. Niamehr was an investment banker …”

Suddenly, all becomes clear.
deepfried

Created a comment account just to say bravo BB.

Legal representation and seo reputation defending: You’re doing it wrong.
PeterNBiddle

Anyway, I wonder, with the Superbowl coming up, if Academic Advantage will be running Superbowl Ads saying Academic Advantage is not a scam! Those would be great anti scam Superbowl ads and would counter act this whole ‘Academic Advantage is a scam’ thing. After all, when people go around saying you are a scam, you need to advertise, and if the Pittsburgh Steelers are playing in the Superbowl, well we know that their fans need every Academic Advantage they can get, so if anyone needs the record set straight about whether or not Academic Advantage is a scam, it’s the Pittsburgh steelers fans at the Superbowl.

Also I heard that Academic Advantage destroyed the Deathstar. Or maybe that was Luke Skywalker.
Anonymous

You should at the very least report them to the BAR..
Laroquod

Academic Advantage is a scam sensitive company. Academic Adventure is a scam wary organisation. Academic Advantage is a scam keyword searching site. ‘Academic Advantage is a scam’ is a subsetion of the last three sentences. Perhaps indiscriminate google alerting really is the best way of determining if Academic Advantage is a scam? That be sum smurt lawyering.
middleclass

Academic Advantage has also refused to answer questions about their possible involvement in Armenian genocide. This would not be so troubling if their council at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh were not alleged Nazi sympathizers.
Anonymous

I’m seeing this post at #7 in Google SERPs for [academic advantage scam].
u62

All reviews of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh on yelp and Citysearch are 5 stars. Is it a scam that the following comment is identical on both sites?

LAY Legal worked on my PI case. I can be a tough client (sorry!), as the car accident I was involved in was frustrating, but they were super professional and worked with me the entire way. They ALWAYS returned my calls the same day and kept me posted on the progress of my case which I really appreciated. In addition, they got me an amazing settlement! What is really crazy about this is that the insurance company denied my claim, at first! I highly recommend this firm to anyone with a personal injury case.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lazar-akiva-and-yagoubzadeh-los-angeles-2

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/604168372/los_angeles_ca/lazar_akiva_yagoubzadeh.html#profileTab-reviews

There are also repeat comments between those pages and Insider Pages. Is that a scam?

http://www.insiderpages.com/b/15253496386/lazar-akiva–yagoubzadeh-los-angeles
delt664

Also, I would like to go on record as offering my services as a technology consultant to any law firm such as Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh who may require perspective, advice, recommendation, or specific knowledge of a technological nature. This service is invaluable to any law firm dealing in technological matters, as it would be very likely to prevent a firm from looking extremely stupid, losing business, potentially being exposed to liability and litigation.

Please visit my website for more information : http://lmgtfy.com/
middleclass

Counsel, rather. I hope these questions are answered soon.
Anonymous

Academic Advantage IsALie!
Anonymous

This is definately a scam.
ACS:Law and other “boilerplate letter” law firms have been shown repeatedly to be threat scams designed to scam money from you.

Sue them in the UK for defamation – as this web address does have a purpose – I’ve no idea what it is yet, but I’ll keep reading until I find out what it is :-)
SonOfSamSeaborn

When it’s against someone like bb, I don’t think it’s thuggery. I think thugs are the sorts of people most would run from/submit to. These guys are more like the crazy guy with soup down the front of his jacket who’s shouting across the road at you that he’s going to sue you for eating his laser wasps.
- bibulb
  
  Look, I said I was sorry about the laser wasps thing – it’s just that they were important and I was SURE that I saw you eating them.
  
  Still haven’t forgiven you for replacing my internal organs with polyethylene bags, though. That’s just not cool.
tweeds

Is there an American equivalent to “[we] refer you to the reply in Arkell v Pressdram (1971)”? Shame if there wasn’t.
- sapere_aude
  
  Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, there is no American equivalent.
  
  But, I think the precedent is still relevant, nonetheless.
  
  For those unfamiliar with Arkell v. Pressdram (1971), here is a brief summary: http://jackofkent.blogspot.com/2010/05/reply-given-in-arkell-v-pressdram.html
  - Anonymous
    
    The only American equivalent I can think of is:
    
    http://boingboing.net/2010/12/23/epic-response-to-a-c.html
Anonymous

Clearly this is just a form letter they use. It is not directly relevant to the matter at hand.
SonOfSamSeaborn

academic advantage did wtc
- Anonymous
  
  Academic Advantage flooded Queensland.
Akheloios

Have you refered them to the case of Arkell vs. Pressdram yet?
Akheloios

Pfft, tweeds beat me to it.
freshacconci

Arrived at this late. Can’t really add anything of value to the whole Academic Advantage is a scam dealy.

I do hope we will get an update on this. Will there be a response? Will the fine lawyers at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh send further threatening letters?
lonelyhunter

The question of whether or not this uproar was caused by Boing Boing is merely academic. Advantage wise, this site is not superior to the firm of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh, which has already been demonstrated to threaten first, consider consequences later if at all…scam scam scamdiddly scamness.
Anonymous

No, definitely thuggery. I mean, these guys have no idea what BoingBoing is, as evidenced by their letter. So they’re sending it out in the belief that their status as attorneys is going to scare laypersons into submission. Pure thuggery.
Dave

Streisand effect powers…. ACTIVATE!!!!
Max

In the end “Academic Advantage” are going to suffer by using such a bunch of clearly irresponsible legal thugs. I would never have thought they were remotely connected to a scam until the law came along and so strenuously denied it on such weak “evidence”.
Manny

Boing Boing is moving up Google hits for “Academic Advantage” +scam fast!
bobbybobby

Oh my gosh! I actually applied for a job at this company back in 2008. I just looked it up in my email archive. I remember I was suspicious because I had one short phone interview, then they called me in with a couple dozen other folks to sign me up. They wanted like 70 bucks up front for some FBI check, and when I looked at the terms of the tutoring they claimed that they could fine you lots of money if you didn’t get the hours done by a certain time. They were hustling everyone through to sign these contracts, but I just peaced out because it seemed like a S C A M. Sounds like maybe it is.

Am I in trouble now?
Anonymous

LAYlaw!

You’ve got me on my knees.

LAYlaw!

I’m begging, darling please.

Not.
mathdemon

Idiots. Academic advantage scam.
Anonymous

As an Academic, I help students understand that it is to their Advantage to use critical thinking to sort the true scams from those that only appear to be scams.
Anonymous

Went to a couple of sites that review Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh and they are apparently a bunch of ambulance chasers (personal injury lawyers). This notice would be an effort by them to branch out into a new legal area that they (sadly) aren’t very familiar with.
Anonymous

I know I’m late to the party, but I just need to point out (as Oliver Stone hinted at in his film JFK), that Academic Advantage was actually present in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

So we should probably be asking ourselves whether Academic Advantage assassinated John F. Kennedy… or was at least involved in the scam / conspiracy to kill him.
Anonymous

This brings up an interesting question – is it a violation of legal ethics for a lawyer to make legal threats against someone if they haven’t done the slightest due diligence to assure themselves that the threats are justified ?

(Of course, I’m not saying that this is the case with Jubin J. Niameh’s threats .. this is a general question that Mr Niameh’s actions brings up)

So if a lawyer walks up to someone on the street and says “I’m a lawyer and you are doing something illegal. Your actions are prima facie defamation” … yet doesn’t bother to do any due diligence to confirm that the statements are true … is it a breach of ethics?

Are ethics rules for lawyers just a myth?

Does anyone here know the answer ?
- Astragali
  
  Ath any Britithh lawyer will tell you, Ethics ith a county in Eathtern England.
  - SonOfSamSeaborn
    
    For shame.
- tweeds
  
  What happens when solicitors attempt (to a degree) what you describe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACS:Law
- Anonymous
  
  They are a myth currently.
  
  There are a huge number of cases in this country right now where the lawyers know their “evidence” is based on speculation and they make demands for huge amounts of money and the courts and bar systems seem to be looking the other way.
  
  BB should file a counter suit, and a complaint with the Bar and AG of what ever rock these morons are located under. It is apparent they lack the ability to read English and comprehend what they are seeing. A highly educated person, such as a lawyer, should be able to actually review material before sending out laughable complaints. Abusing the legal system in this manner should result in penalties that will make lawyers consider the actual facts rather than some fairytale they imagine in their own mind.
  
  If I were Academic Advantage, I would sue their current legal representation for tying their name more concretely to the concept of a scam. Bad reviews aside, allowing flawed legal advice to magnify your issue seems to be the reverse of the underhanded attempts to silence critics of your business. Any benefit they received from this laughable attempt to separate Academic Advantage from the word scam has now been undone. Anyone searching the Internet for Academic Advantage will now see more results including the word scam.
  
  Considering Academic Advantage is so highly motivated to undo any connection with the word scam using questionable legal actions, one is left to wonder if the critics are correct. These are the actions of a company more concerned with perception of being seen as scammers rather than dealing with the issues that make former employees refer to them as a scam.
PFR

Back in the Olden Days (ca. 1990) I recall some law firm trying to use the Internet for advertising, which Shocked and Appalled the netizens of the day. (Yeah, it was a different era.) The firm, whose name I’ve long forgotten, was rewarded by hundreds of pages of black paper faxed to them.

What’s the penalty for being a net jerk today? Ideas?
SonOfSamSeaborn

Not sure if it’s bb’s doing (I suspect not) but type “academic advantage ” (with that space following) and it’ll suggest “academic advantage scam”. Of course, it also suggests “academic advantage tutoring scam”.
- sapere_aude
  
  Not bb’s doing. If you search Google for “academic advantage scam” you’ll see lots of pages suggesting that Academic Advantage is a scam. Here are just a few quotes from the top hits:
  
  “The Academic Advantage is a SCAM. Complete scam.”
  
  “Academic Advantage Scam, Do Not Work For This Company”
  
  “SCAM ALERT: Academic Advantage is a scam. Do not accept employment with this company.”
  
  “Academic Advantage â€“ ‘A big scam and waste of time’.”
  
  So, apparently, lots of people online were saying that Academic Advantage is a scam long before bb ever got dragged into the whole thing. But I suspect that lots more people will be saying that Academic Advantage is a scam now that this post has appeared.
  
  DISCLAIMER: Personally, I don’t know that Academic Advantage is a scam, and have no opinion about whether or not Academic Advantage is a scam. However, the actions of the law firm of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh toward BoingBoing cause me to wonder if Academic Advantage is a scam. But I have no hard evidence to prove whether or not Academic Advantage is a scam. So, I will withhold my judgment about whether or not Academic Advantage is a scam.
  - SonOfSamSeaborn
    
    Yeah, I started reading through a few. So, is it true that Academic Advantage is a scam? Because now I’m wondering whether Academic Advantage is a scam. In addition to you, of course, because you’re wondering whether Academic Advantage is a scam. There are a few Google results for “Academic Advantage is a scam” so I really do find myself wondering whether it’s true that Academic Advantage is a scam or false that Academic Advantage is a scam. If it’s false that Academic Advantage is a scam then I can stop worrying. But if it’s true that Academic Advantage is a scam, I’ll feel bad about people not knowing that Academic Advantage is a scam.
    
    You got your text to align pretty well there, by the way. On those three lines that say “Academic Advantage is a scam”.
    - sapere_aude
      
      Yeah, I was surprised at how well the text lined up so that it read “Academic Advantage is a scam” at the start of three consecutive lines. Kinda cool how that worked out. And, like you, I feel bad for anyone who doesn’t know that Academic Advantage is a scam, assuming, of course, that Academic Advantage is a scam. On the other hand, if it’s not true that Academic Advantage is a scam, then people really shouldn’t be going around saying that Academic Advantage is a scam. I could certainly understand why the law firm of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh would be upset with folks who said that Academic Advantage is a scam if they knew, for a fact, that it was not true that Academic Advantage is a scam. But, then again, I have to wonder why Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh would send a take down notice to BoingBoing about a post on autism that had absolutely nothing to do with their clients at Academic Advantage simply because it contained the words “academic advantage” in the body of the article, and the word “scam” in one of the comments. It’s this sort of overreaction on the part of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh that make me suspect that their clients, Academic Advantage, are not good people. Of course, that doesn’t prove that Academic Advantage is a scam; but it does raise some alarm bells in my mind. Though, again, I’m not making any claims one way or the other. As far as I know, it’s completely false that Academic Advantage is a scam. But I have no proof of that.
      - SonOfSamSeaborn
        
        This is the most fun I’ve ever had at work on a Monday morning.
      - IrishmanErrant
        
        A possible result of this
        Could be that
        A
        Daily newspaper such as The
        Economist could pick up this
        Magnificent story, and thereby
        Initiate a more widespread
        Confusion on the nature of this lawsuit.
        
        Additionally, I hope the judge in this case
        Decides to find this
        Veritable laughingstock of
        A lawsuit frivolous and
        Not worthy of further hearing.
        The idea that
        Attorneys would
        Go so far as to threaten an
        Entirely
        
        Innocent blog is a
        Shame, and
        
        Also
        
        Speaks volumes about the
        Convoluted justice system we use today. It
        Always seems to be about nothing
        More than money.
      - sapere_aude
        
        Very well put. :-)
        
        Perhaps we should help the good folks at Academic Advantage and Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh by getting the word out online â€“ to sites like Reddit, 4chan, Digg, etc. â€“ that the law firm of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh wants everyone online to know that they are desperately trying to quash the rumor that Academic Advantage is a scam, and will take legal action against anyone who says that Academic Advantage is a scam, suggests that Academic Advantage is a scam, implies that Academic Advantage is a scam, or even uses the words “academic”, “advantage”, and “scam” on the same page. I think if we try we can quickly get the word out to the entire internet that Academic Advantage, represented by the law firm of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh, doesn’t want anyone to believe that Academic Advantage is a scam, and is willing to do anything necessary to prevent anyone from hearing that Academic Advantage is a scam. I think we could really help Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh a lot by spreading the word on their behalf.
        
        Oh, and I don’t believe that either Academic Advantage or the law firm of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh have a Wikipedia page yet. Someone might want to help them out and create one.
Inventorjack

Any info yet on just exactly what sort of scam Academic Advantage runs?
- SonOfSamSeaborn
  
  I believe they specialise in both academic and advantageous varieties.
- cortana
  
  Most of what I see is (ex-)employees complaining about not being paid, or given the runaround in trying to get what they’re due.
Anonymous

Wow, Imagine if boing boing turned up on the first page of Google for *academic advantage* That would be a real suprise.
neilwalker

Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh

Poor lawyers, but a good score in scrabble…
Inventorjack

Google: #6
Bing: #7
Dogpile: #13

(No wonder my once-favorite [c. 1999], Dogpile, never made it as a real contender in the Search Engine wars. Can’t even compete in this little race to the top)
Anonymous

The ninjas of Academic Advantage killed my family.
Anonymous

I know I’m late to the party, but I just need to point out (as Oliver Stone hinted at in his film JFK), that Academic Advantage was actually present in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

So we should probably be asking ourselves whether Academic Advantage assassinated John F. Kennedy… or was at least involved in the scam / conspiracy to kill him.
Anonymous

My interest was piqued so off I went to both the lawyer site and the “educational” site. Both are extremely generic as websites go. Good spotting by whoever picked up that stock photo by the by.

Searching the three key words also picked up a slash dot reference too. No luck yet but I’m digging away. 52,800 results according to Google as of the time of this comment.

This has been a fun unproductive endeavor so far.

Kudos to Boing Boing for fighting the good fight.
middleclass

Going to pop in here to take credit for putting this post at the top spot for google search “academic advantage genocide”. I realize that I’m not so clever but am interested that it was indexed by google so quickly. I’m slightly tickled to have such power to influence google searches by merely posting stupid comments on BB!
Bertil

Oh, look! They have a Yelp, and a Facebook, and a everything at the bottom of their page. I’m sure prospective clients would not want to sign with them and find they unrelated cases muddled in a disbarment trial, would they? I mean, it would be unreasonable to call for a deserved sanction, and not take the necessary step to warn all the stakeholders.
danegeld

It’s unclear whether or not Academic Advantage deny the holocaust. Just saying’
SonOfSamSeaborn

Academic Advantage is a high-ranking scam, the whole way from handbags scams to jewelry and sunglasses to scams. The Academic Advantage has been one of the most popular and brilliant designer scams and accessories on the market name. They are distributed through Academic Advantage scams and more than 1200 joint U.S. lawyers. As a result of extreme marketplace competition, Academic Advantage website, as well as scam merchants are encouraging and offering Academic Advantage scam outlet coupons for reduced prices. These scams are emailed to clients or it can be exploited by visiting the discount scams offered by the company websites. You can easily find websites offering an Academic Advantage is a scam through the popular search engines. What you need to do is simply type the words “Academic Advantage is a scam” and you will get a list of sites from where you can avail promotional or discounted scams for the purpose of buying Academic Advantage of you desired scam. Some other search terms which can help you to find out an Academic Advantage scam include “Academic Advantage is a scam”, “Academic Advantage is a scam”, “Academic Advantage is a scam”, and “Academic Advantage is a scam”.

To shop for fashionable Academic Advantage is a scam, visit boingboing. We give you best in the world and that too at very high discounted rate.
Louis A.

Academic Advantage is a scam.

However, this post, any related post, and feedback thereby with which this post could be associated and the associated author(s) in question of any such posting or feedback are in no way represented by or take part in such views or posts or such things such that could otherwise be misrepresented or somehow alleged to be related to or associated with, in any case, the original author(s) or posts.
fnc

Also, boobs.
Ambiguity

However, in asking “is Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh a rip-off?” only yields the fourth spot on Google. But it’s not bad for a day’s work, I guess.
dr_awkward

From http://www.laylegal.com:

Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh’s Legal Services Include: Animal Attacks, Brain Injury, Broken Bone Injury, Car Accidents, Dog Bites, Lemon Law, Negligence, Personal Injury, Premises Liability, Slip and Falls, Soft Tissue Injury, Whiplash Injury, Wrongful Death.

They sound like a bunch of ambulance-chasers to me.
- SonOfSamSeaborn
  
  That sentence, as I read it, claims that they will perform those acts and conditions as a legal service.
- sapere_aude
  
  Does it say anything about “scam law”? Are they scam lawyers? Are there any online rumors that the law firm of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh is a scam? If not, I would hate to start one.
capl

I love their Stock photos on their law firm’s site:
The first keyword is “Taking a break” How fitting.
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-4256020-teamwork.php
- SonOfSamSeaborn
  
  God, I fucking hate stock photography. Look at them! Just look at them.
  - Anonymous
    
    Are you implying that stock photography is a scam?
- Anonymous
  
  I get very distracted by the tilt of the shot, and keep wondering how come the cups don’t just slide off the table.
Anonymous

Please, for once, file a complaint about improper use of legal process or whatever the state equivalent is with the state bar association. Nobody does this and it is the beginning of the proper remedy for these idiots.
fxq

Not on the first page of Google??? Bastardoes! Here: Academic Advantage scam, Academic Advantage Hitler scam, Academic Advantage pedophile Hitler scam, son of the Academic Advantage pedophile Hitler scam, return of the son of the Academic Advantage pedophile Hitler scam, and of course, penis.
PathogenAntifreeze

Although Academic Advantage has made the mistake of hiring the apparently literacy-challenged law firm Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh, and the firm’s behavior has resulted in some new search engine dynamics for searches on “Academic Advantage,” I find it interesting that searches for “Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh” do not currently reveal any of their embarrassing misdeeds. Are they simply better SEO gamers than BoingBoing’s readership? Is it merely a matter that the best approach is for those capable and familiar with the protocol to take this to the CA Bar vs. playing petty SEO games? Would a double-pronged approach of both be better? Should law firms like Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh go unscathed in situations like this, while their clients take all the heat for their inanity?

Frankly, if I’m shopping for legal services, I’d like to know about a possible Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh scam association. I’d ask if Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh is a scam. I’d appreciate if search suggestions for “Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh Idiots” or “Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh Unprofessional” appeared when googling them to alert me to their actions in this case.
Anonymous

i dont post here often becuz of the size of the fanbase dedicated to Boing Boing. But feel proud knowing the are people out there doing perfectly fine things and there are people also out there doing perfectly messed up things and the good people finally know how to shut them up. Keep up the fight Boing Boing, you’ll have my support.
Anonymous

the academics advantage scam is as follows 1. hire unwitting legal assistance. 2 sue for them for incompetence.
tsm_sf

It seems pretty clear to me that this law firm couldn’t care less what BB writes about their client.

It seems to me that they’re just padding their bill.

Academic Advantage may or may not be a scam, I don’t know the first thing about them and don’t really care, but it certainly looks to me like Lazar, Akiva & Yogg-Sothoth are willing to exploit their client’s internet naivete.
akicif

When a law firm is so quick to assert that their client doesn’t sell stinking fish that they dive in wherever something that looks like their client’s name even appears on the same page as “stinking” and “fish”, one begins to wonder if there isn’t really a bad smell coming from somewhere….

One might say it serves the client right for picking such a “clever” name.
Anonymous

I’m not going to say that Academic Advantage did 9/11, but what happened to Building 7 does raise some questions.
Anonymous

the letter is hilarious! I wonder what they billed their clients for sending it.
jowlsey

This post is shooting up the google charts- it’s now up to number five with a bullet.
greermahoney

Academic Advantage is not a witch. Academic Advantage is you.
Anonymous

I’ve heard around campus, and this is just uncomfirmed hearsay, that Academic Advantage and Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are responsible for the increase in autism among children, Alzheimer’s in the elderly, and obesity in the general population. One young student I encountered claimed that Academic Advantage was poisoning the nation’s water supply and contaminating precious bodily fluids. I scoffed of course, but having seen this post, I am beginning to wonder if there is a seed of truth to all of these vicious and scurrilous rumors. If Academic Advantage would come out and disclaim these rumors, along with the one I heard that they were somehow responsible for the beating of Rodney King, the alleged child molestations by Michael Jackson, and murdering OJ Simpson’s wife, I would feel a lot more relieved and secure in the knowledge that Academic Advantage and their fine legal representation at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh were not in fact a scam. Until such time as I read a public declaration to such effect, I shall remain wary.
TM Wrangler

Anon wrote:

“Let me be sure I understand this….

“Academic Advantag scam” is somehow a verboten phrase?
So I am not supposed to use the words academic advantage and scam in the same sentence?

Does it matter that i post academic advantage scam and not Academic Advantage Scam?

I mean…. surely the folks at Academic Advantage don’t think they can block all use of the phrase academic advantage, right? What a SCAM!!”

It absolutely does matter. This all comes down to a distinction between using “academic advantage” as a descriptive term (not applying to any specific company) or using it in the trademark/trade name sense to identify a specific entity. You can use the phrase descriptively however you want (i.e., with the word “scam”) and it *shouldn’t* trigger any kind of defamation claim. Using Academic Advantage to identify the company in connection with “scam” is another story. Which is why the letter from L, A & Y is totally and completely out of line – BB’s use of “academic advantage” is purely descriptive and not even related to Y,A & L’s now-former client. Someone really should report Y, A & L to the bar.

If nothing else, this is a good example of one of the perils of picking a company name that uses really common/descriptive terms – it makes it hard to distinguish through Google alerts and the like whether people are talking about you or just using words that you’ve put in your name.

Okay, I’m done now. [/trademark law geek]
brix

Academic advantage scam
Scam academic advantage
Is academic advantage a scam?
Academic Advantage is a scam.
Anonymous

Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh disbarred
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh malpractice
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh sanctioned
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh reprimanded
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh contempt
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh jail
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh sanctions
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh disgust
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh were sued
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh grievance committee
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh unethical
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh unlawyerly
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh stupid
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh deleterious
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh contemptuous
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh misplaced
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh insurance
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh uninsurable
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh hacks
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh complaint
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh so ordered
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh why people hate lawyers
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh suck
Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh scam
- Anonymous
  
  You left out incompetent.
Anonymous

what is an academic advantage is it like going to an academy of learning? what is the scam?
baccaruda

Man:
You sit here, dear.

Wife: All right.

Man: Morning!

Waitress: Morning!

Man: Well, what’ve you got?

Waitress:
Well, there’s egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and scam; egg bacon and scam; egg bacon sausage and scam; scam bacon sausage and scam; scam egg scam scam bacon and scam; scam sausage scam scam bacon scam tomato and scam;

Vikings:
Scam scam scam scam…

Waitress:
…scam scam scam egg and scam; scam scam scam scam scam scam baked beans scam scam scam…

Vikings:
Scam! Lovely scam! Lovely scam!

Waitress:
…or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and scam.

Wife: Have you got anything without scam?

Waitress:
Well, there’s scam egg sausage and scam, that’s not got much scam in it.

Wife:
I don’t want ANY scam!

Man:
Why can’t she have egg bacon scam and sausage?

Wife:
THAT’S got scam in it!

Man:
Hasn’t got as much scam in it as scam egg sausage and scam, has it?

Vikings:
Scam scam scam scam… (Crescendo through next few lines…)

Wife:
Could you do the egg bacon scam and sausage without the scam then?

Waitress:
Urgghh!

Wife:
What do you mean ‘Urgghh’? I don’t like scam!

Vikings:
Lovely scam! Wonderful scam!

Waitress:
Shut up!

Vikings:
Lovely scam! Wonderful scam!

Waitress:
Shut up!

(Vikings stop)

Bloody Vikings! You can’t have egg bacon scam and sausage without the scam.

Wife:
I don’t like scam!

Man:
Sshh, dear, don’t cause a fuss. I’ll have your scam. I love it. I’m having scam scam scam scam scam scam scam beaked beans scam scam scam and scam!

Vikings:
Scam scam scam scam. Lovely scam! Wonderful scam!

Waitress:
Shut up!! Baked beans are off.

Man:
Well could I have her scam instead of the baked beans then?

Waitress:
You mean scam scam scam scam scam scam…
(but it is too late and the Vikings drown her words)

Vikings:
(Singing elaborately…) Scam scam scam scam. Lovely scam! Wonderful scam! Scam spa-a-a-a-a-am scam spa-a-a-a-a-am scam. Lovely scam! Lovely scam! Lovely scam! Lovely scam! Lovely scam! Scam scam scam scam!
Anonymous

Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh: Defamation threats- just a minor speedbump on the fast track to career flameout.
AT203

Irony? The original Boing Boing post was not libel. The letter from Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh however, does appear to be defamatory. (Although, defamation requires communication to a third party, and Boing Boing’s publishing of the letter is probably insufficient to hold Lazar et al responsible for publication.)
- AT203
  
  Actually, because Cory was the author of the original article that Lazar et al claim “has no purpose but to falsely accuse AA…”, and the letter was delivered to Mark, third-party communication is likely established.
delt664

I hope BB posts up their response, as it is sure to be snarky.

Later today, perhaps I will create a wikipedia entry for Academic Advantage.
Forteto

Academic Advantage… what scammers. And were only number six now!

SCAMMING ADCADEMIC ADVANTAGE WEASELS!
Anonymous

I find this quote on their website very ironic: “The Trusted Name for In-Home Tutoring ”

Well… ahem… not anymore, I guess.
- social_maladroit
  
  I find this quote on their website very ironic: “The Trusted Name for In-Home Tutoring “
  
  A friend of mine hired them because he wanted them to come over and tutor his dog. Boy, was he surprised at the result!
nygeek

Some wag once noted that he didn’t care what was said about him, so long as they spelled his name right. The Academic Advantage folks have certainly gotten their fifteen minutes of fame courtesy of their attempt to abuse BoingBoing. Way to save advertising dollars, Academic Advantage!
Anonymous

Academic Advantage a scam? I never heard of Academic Advantage, so the idea that Academic Advantage might in any way a scam, a rip-off, fraudulent, vexatious, evil, illegal, a con trick, a shabby, fly-by-night get rich quick scheme is quite new to me. I would have assumed it simply conferred an academic advantage, as it says. But then I’m pretty naive.
skraeling flummerjort

I also have no personal knowledge of Academic Advantage being a scam.

But the different reviews at mojopages were compelling in terms of persuading me that there were scam-like issues with Academic Advantage: http://www.mojopages.com/biz/the-academic-advantage/los-angeles/ca/90064/10615221

It appears that through incompetence or design, some people work for Academic Advantage, then have significant trouble getting paid. It’s unclear from those reviews if Academic Advantage deliberately chooses to not pay people, or if they are just not good at the basics of running a business.

In all fairness to Academic Advantage, looking at the reviews on other sites, there appears to be one person who repeats the same complaint about them, using the same language. Perhaps that has bedeviled them to the point that they hire law firms to send off meritless complaints, or perhaps it’s just more evidence that Academic Advantage is a scam. Note finally that Yelp has suppressed negative reviews, although Google still points to them using the keywords.
Anonymous

I typed in “Academic Advantage” + Scientology in google and learned that Scientology schools offer no Academic Advantage over regular schools.

No connection at all between Academic Advantage and the Scientology Pyramid Scheme other than their misuse of the law.
brix

While I have thus far seen no evidence of malicious fraud or any outright scam, Academic Advantage may be troubled to learn that anyone making dubious claims that their representation at lazar, akiva, & yagoubzadeh has done its due diligence would be guilty of outright falsehood. If it were then to assume that such claims were made in bad faith, academic advantage might be forgiven for claiming that, as they were the victims at the center of the matter, a malicious academic advantage fraud, an extortionist academic advantage scam, even an an academic advantage pyramid scheme, an academic advantage ponzi scheme of sorts, had been enacted by the con artists who spread such malicious lies. But it would be totally overstepping the bounds of reason that the irresponsible attourneys of academic advantage, Inc were directly responsible for genocide. For that matter, to suggest even that the lawyers of academic advantage lied, cheated, and conned their clients would be a totally dishonest claim.

Academic advantage AIDS 9/11
perchecreek

academic scam
advantage looking for new
law firm, firing old
traalfaz

ISTM that the very fact that they pay a legal firm to monitor for their name connected with the word “scam” indicates that they are probably a scam operation.

I mean, seriously, do you think that legitimate businesses have auto-lawyers sending out C&Ds whenever their name googles near the word “scam”?
Anonymous

I used to work for Academic Advantage several years ago when they were new on the block. The company was legit back then and the twin brothers running it were very good at using Google for marketing purposes. Bad move on trying to sue Boing Boing and making scam the first thing that pops up when you search for academic advantage. Better luck next time.
lolbrandon

I’m not saying Academic Advantage is a scam, but you’d think it would just be cheaper and easier to provide a service that isn’t a scam instead of threating websites with bogus takedowns and censoring Yelp reviews (most of which are 1 star). This kind of PR is a lot worse than a few Google search results. Talk about disadvantages (did you see what I did there?).
Anonymous

Dear Mr. Niamehr,
We are in receipt of a letter dated January 13, 2011, which is attached for your reference. Please be advised that some asshole has stolen your letterhead and is sending out stupid letters.
Warmest Regards,
Mark Frauenfelder
professor

Here’s an interesting question: since the actions of the law firm have resulted in Academic Advantage becoming far more closely associated with the word “scam”, does Academic Advantage have the right to take the company appointed to protect their image to court and sue them for damaging their image?
- sapere_aude
  
  That’s a really good question. I would advise Academic Advantage to consult with a lawyer about the possibility of suing Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh for malpractice, for taking actions that sparked an online rumor that Academic Advantage is a scam. I mean, let’s be honest here: Would any of us have even suspected that Academic Advantage is a scam if it weren’t for the take down notice that Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh sent to BoingBoing? Seems to me that, if anyone has gotten the false impression that Academic Advantage is a scam, it’s because of the irresponsible actions of Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh.
- Anonymous
  
  Sounds reasonable.
  
  I vote for AA sueing LAYlaw for proxy-libel.
andy_m

The question should be how many letters are these guys sending out??

The letter sent to Boing Boing is obviously automatically generated and they are sending so many that they can’t physically check them.

How many other word combinations are they searching? Academic/Advantage/Fraud? Academic/Advantage/Bad?

How many other companies are using these guys services?

Its SEO via lawyers threats..
Nageki

The funniest thing I can see is is that the post in question, at least the comment on the post in question has NOTHING to do with Academic Advantage. The dude who commented said “Went to college expecting it to be the place of knowledge, an all encompassing and way to get information instantly. I quickly found its a scam, knowledge comes slowly and given with blinders on keeping you down a certain path and forcing you to overlook your own intelligence for “the way things are done”". How does that link AA and the word scam? This is a STUPID STUPID (I can’t put enough stupids in all caps here) attack. You should sue them back. That’s what I say. Would serve them right to have sanctions against them for doing this sort of thing.

** walks off muttering “Stupid ass lawyers…” **
Nageki

And for the record, the comment in question is #42. So it’s like way down there in the comment section. Good job lawyers. Shooting yourself and your “client” in the foot.
MrMike

So using the word “scam” in the same paragraph as “Academic Advantage” will let loose the Lawyers From Moronville?

Maybe someone should tell them about the Streisand Effect, because my guess is that their actions will do more to link the words “scam” and “Academic Advantage” than anything else in the world. And I’m not even saying that Academic Advantage is a scam, I’m just pointing out that if they don’t want the phrase “Academic Advantage scam” to be come prominent then they shouldn’t draw attention to sites that contain the words Academic Advantage and scam. But what if Academic Advantage is a scam, then what?
Anonymous

Yes, report them to the Bar but it is not clear whether or not American Advantage are Bar Stewards or not…
classic01

That’s a great Streisand effect.

Now every time I think of Academic Advantage the word “scam” pops in my head.
SonOfSamSeaborn

“The advantage of studying at a major academic institution is that you will generally be well-protected from the tricks and scams that smaller and online academies have been known to use”.
Legit sentence. Unless you’re a lawyer, yo.

Has anybody told Anonymous about this?
- Anonymous
  
  I know I’m late but my nation is partially under water right now.
  
  Anyways…SonOfSamSeaborn has something…Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh MUST be an anagram.
  
  “Okay aha a vague blizzard” might describe their approach to perceived threats and “OK! A lazy, avid, huge bazaar” may be how they see their own offices, but neither are complimentary.
  
  Adding LEGAL gets… “Okay valuable dazzle, gaga hair.” Great for background dancers for my next stage-show, not for a law firm.
  
  Is “Legal” too impersonal? Lazar Akiva Yagoubzadeh LAWYERS = “Warlike haze as a bravado! Lazy guy.” Aha! A description of their company style, but why mention that one lazy guy? 2nd try got “A hazy or laudably weak savagizer.” You ALWAYS want your legal team to be savagizers, but hazy and weak? No thanks!
  
  Then it clicked; the full name on their site – Lazar Akiva Yagoubzadeh ATTORNEYS AT LAW!
  
  “OK gaze valuably, await a hazard. Neat story!”
  
  THAT’S IT! A simple description of their service, followed by a proud little declamation.
  
  As you were.
  - Mushimatosis
    
    you from Colombia? Australia?
    - Anonymous
      
      Australia…I know, I know, Colombia has it worse.
Anonymous

apparently the lawyer never got many Academic Advantage from his schooling since a first year law student could have done something better.
SonOfSamSeaborn

We all like anagrams, right?

Lazar Akiva Yagoubzadeh

…

A dark labia voyage. Huzzah!
SonOfSamSeaborn

Balls! Extra h.
Gordon Stark

I think that the law firm committing the crimes in this case should get into the business of promoting their internet clients/victims, instead of pretending to defend clients from manufactured internet adversaries and/or critical unsatisfied customers/victims, where the current case if nothing else qualifies as first class viral marketing which advertisers spend millions attempting to artificially replicate in the first degree.
SonOfSamSeaborn

“BoingBoing cannot in good conscience allow this hyperlink to remain.

Please kindly remove or rename the above listed link from your site immediately.”

So you can leave the page up as long as the URL doesn’t point to it anymore. Or you can rename it. Change the case of one of the letters.
AirPillo

That’s probably the single best, most factually provable example of a legal threat not being made in good faith that I’ve ever seen… and I’ve seen some moronic form letters from lawyers before.
Anonymous

I’ve never read a single newspaper article or blog post that associated Academic Advantage with child abuse, rape, arson, forgery, Scientology, money laundering, pyramid schemes, falsified documents or incest, so surely there is no evidence of that either. If there was such a thing, it would most assuredly be nothing more than a scam on the part of the article’s author.
Cynical

Man, it’s so strange that this would come up. I mean, just the other day someone said to me that Justin Bieber thinks Academic Advantage is a scam.

I mean, I’m not in any kind of position to say whether or not it’s a rip off, or a dodgy organisation, or they have shady business practices or anything like that, but if someone like Justin Bieber thinks that Academic Advantage is a scam, well, it certainly makes me pause for thought.
poppyholiday

This absolutely made my day…. I’ve always known that company was run by complete morons, but this far exceeds my presumptions about them.

To shed a little light on this absurd company, I actually had the displeasure of being employed by them last year – they’re a tutoring company that is mostly funded by No Child Left Behind. I needed some extra cash and a friend referred me to Academic Advantage for tutoring gigs… little did I know that the entire organization was just a big ole’ Amateur Hour. I was a private tutor for a handful of fourth graders… unfortunately, the company didn’t care about helping these kids learn so much as just boosting their test scores so their company would get more government funding. I was actually told during orientation (multiple times, broken record style) that “Under NO circumstances was I EVER allowed to help a child with their homework or schoolwork if they had questions.” I was only allowed to teach them what was on their standardized tests, and only allowed to use their “approved” worksheets, which I can definitely say would have just made these poor kids stupider. This company actually expected you to say “NO” if a child asked you for help on any of their work, or even if they asked for advice on going to college. Considering most of these kids come from non-English speaking families, I think it’s flat out irresponsible and neglectful to refuse them the help they need. Needless to say, I disregarded their “Don’t teach the students” rule, and at the end of my term, promptly told the company I wanted nothing more to do with their sham services. This company IS a scam… not in the traditional sense, but in that they’re an “education” company that forbids their teachers from actually TEACHING.

As for the scallywags at LA&Y, come and get me… If I remember correctly “truth” is always a defense to defamation. I hope this atrocious company gets what they deserve. Have at ‘em, People of The Internets!
Anonymous

If you pick and choose letters from LAYLegal.com (the website of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh), it can spell out “Cory is a doodiehead”.

It is clear there is no purpose to this web address but to falsely accuse the Cory of being a doodiehead or at least associating Cory with doodie. There is absolutely no helpful reason for the website to have the words â€œCory,â€ â€œisâ€, â€œaâ€, and â€œdoodieheadâ€ which leads me to believe it was created for malicious purposes
Anonymous

I love the totally interchangeable usage of intarweb words: “The following
hyperlink is where the libelous [sic] web address can be found”.

Furthermore, when did it become acceptable to use Calibri in a legal document?
Mutation Engine

Is there an academic advantage to murdering a professor who gives you a bad grade? Possibly an academic advantage to disemboweling the professor with laser wasps. In any even it would pretty much be a scam for a legal firm to search for every site that has “academic”, “advantage”, and “scam” posted anywhere and the to send that site threatening messages and then charging Academic Advantage for it. It disadvantage Academic Advantage to do that even if the Academic Advantage Streisand Effect wasn’t already in full swing.
It’s like those lawyers are trying to make an Academic Advantage Scamming Hitler out of the Armenian Genocide connection or something.
There’s really no advantage in making academic advantage look like a scam, and that’s not an academic point.
Pusher

Dear Mr. Doctorow et al:

You will shortly be receiving by post a notice of prima facie defamation by your website against our client The BoingBoing. Such notice will include a legal order to remove the website on which this comment appears. We are taking the step of posting this comment so that you may remove said website immediately and thus avoid an unnecessary escalation of these matters as between my client and BoingBoing.

The above-mentioned notice reads in part:

“It is clear there is no purpose to this web address but to falsely accuse the BoingBoing of being a scam or at least associating the BoingBoing with a scam. There is absolutely no helpful reason for the website to have the words “Boing,” “Boing” and “Scam” which leads me to believe it was created for malicious purposes.”

Very truly yours,
The law offices of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh
Mutation Engine

My previous post fails to contain many missing letters. i’m undecided whether to blame my glitchy keyboard, my glitchy brain, or Academic Advantage for scamming me out of those desperately needed letters.

Even though it seems terribly unlikely that Academic Advantage was involved in the theft of letters that resulted in my previous post being rendered nearly incoherent i must admit that their legal firm certainly displays an irrational and ill-conceived approach to dealing with online criticism.

Not necessarily a scam per se, but certainly very poor judgment.
HotPepperMan

Reporting them to the Bar? Hmmm? What if American Advantage are Bar Stewards?
Anonymous

So….

Let me be sure I understand this….

“Academic Advantag scam” is somehow a verboten phrase?
So I am not supposed to use the words academic advantage and scam in the same sentence?

Does it matter that i post acdemic advantage scam and not Academic Advantage Scam?

I mean…. surely the folks at Academic Advantage don’t think they can block all use of the phrase academic advantage, right? What a SCAM!!

If Academic Advantage is a scam, then their claim to provide an academic advantage is a scam as well. Otherwise- if they don’t want” academic advantage scam” to be in the top of all search results, they should stop trying to bully folks who use the nouns “academic advantage” near” scam” and instead focus on those who are clearly trying to proclaim “Academic Advantage is a SCAM!!” — which none of us are doing…
Anonymous

I heard that Academic Advantage have WMD’s. Might just be a rumor though.
Jose_X

I wonder if this company, Academic Advantage, is working hard to scare into submission competition for Google’s top spot on the search term “academic advantage”.
joshhaglund

I had no idea who Academic Advantage was until this baseless legal action showed they are a scam.
chumpmeat

Don’t criticize this approach – it works!

Example: You notice how nobody on the internet calls Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh a bunch of shysters? It’s true! Google “Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters”. Nothing! “Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters” on yahoo, nada! “Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters” on bing, zilch!

You’d think that a million monkeys on a million keyboards filing a million lawsuits each might eventually produce the string “Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters” but you’d be wrong. So either nobody anywhere thinks that Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters, or suing the jujubes out of people on the web when they say “Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters” is a really really effective method of shutting people up.
MattT

Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh has a very quiet Twitter account @laylegal. #scam not yet trending. Y’know, just in case anyone was interested…
sapere_aude

Here’s what I want to know; and I hope someone can answer these questions for me:

Is it true that President Barack Obama said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Sarah Palin said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Glenn Beck said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Keith Olbermann said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Rachel Maddow said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Bill O’Reilly said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Rush Limbaugh said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Jon Stewart said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Stephen Colbert said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Anderson Cooper said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Oprah said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Miley Cyrus said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Justin Bieber said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Johnny Depp said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Lady Gaga said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Katy Perry said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that Kim Kardasian said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that the United States Supreme Court said that Academic Advantage is a scam?
Is it true that the law firm of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh said that Academic Advantage is a scam?

And is it true that the law firm of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are being disbarred for cheating their clients?

Now, personally, I believe that the answer to each of these questions is “no”. But, to be perfectly honest, I have no proof of that.
Fred

This is fun;

1. don’t cheat
2. guess how long this “partner” has been admitted to the practice of law
3. put his name (Niamehr) in here:

http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/MemberSearch/QuickSearch
and here
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/attorney/AttorneySearch

4. . . .
5. Profit!

For additional profit, try it with all the “partners” in this esteemed firm.
upso

I logged in to ask if Academic Advantage is a scam? After reading this page, I’m unsure if Academic Advantage is a scam? Anyone have any idea if Academic Advantage is a scam? I was sure boing boing of all places might know if Academic Advantage is a scam. I’m really hoping someone can figure out if Academic Advantage is a scam so I can sleep peacefully at night. Academic Advantage is a scam? Really? Academic Advantage is a scam? Hard to believe.
Anonymous

This is done in many other areas as well. Companies or police or any organization will do something unconstitutional and expect those they harm to be too ignorant of the law to know their rights are violated, or too poor to argue that in court. It happens with file sharing, it happens with peaceful protesting, it happens with car/home searches, etc. Someone I know was pulled over recently for “suspicious eye contact” with a cop. Of course he can’t afford to fight a police officer in court. The constitution is just being sh*t on with the expectation that nothing would be taken to the supreme court and that the American people don’t understand the constitution or America itself after being fed inverted nonsense by the media.
mdh

http://www.nelsonhaha.com/
Hopeful_Greis

Update on the stats:
Google # 4
Ixquick #5
Yahoo #5

Bing !!! #1 !!!!!!!!

Time for Xeni to pour champagne over Cory’s head?
farnorthtx

It’s really just a revenue generator for Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh. They troll the internet then fire off a C&D letter and simultaneously fire off a bill to Academic Advantage. It’s called “cha-ching” or boat payments.
- EeyoreX
  
  So how long before this C&D by Google practice becomes the new nigerian scam?
  I mean if the entire buisness model is just to search for the phrase “Academic Advantage is a scam” on the internet and then fire of form letters at random, then surely the “spamming sweatshops” on the other side of the earth would have the advantage in performing that task, since you hardly need an academic degree to operate a search engine.
  Suppose this is allready the case? Maybe Academic Advantage exists only as a baiting farm – for the sole purpose of enabeling the shysters at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh to carry out this scam? Spam scams works bacause the sheer volume allows you to win at hit-and-miss.
  
  Of course, this is all hypothetical. I donÂ´t know if Academic Advantage is a scam or if Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are shysters who should be disbarred. But somebody ought to look into it, at least.
Anonymous

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth”.

It is ironic that Lazar Akiva & Yagoubzadeh’s misguided efforts on behalf of their client actually create the impression that Academic Advantage is a scam, even among people (like me) who had never heard of Academic Advantage and previously had no reason to think that Academic Advantage is a scam. Their theory–that a post saying that “Academic Advantage is a scam” fosters the impression that Academic Advantage is a scam even though it is not the case that Academic Advantage is a scam–seems quite sound, but their practice of it–threatening one of the most widely-read sites on the internet over a post that did not even say that Academic Advantage is a scam–had damaged their client more than any actual post falsely claiming that Academic Advantage is a scam could have done.
Anonymous

Just wondering if it would make any sense to
counter-sue the A A folk for barratry.

Clearly their suit is based on the mere coincidence
of the words showing up on one web page.

Certainly the A A folk have filed other
specious lawsuits. If there is no downside
to their filing such suits, then there is no
reason for them to be more careful in the future.

I think they should really be made to pay for
the trouble they put innocent people through.

Maybe a class-action lawsuit, composed of all
those who they have wrongly sued?
Anonymous

C’mon, everyone, calm down. It’s just a letter from clueless lawyers. Academic Achievement is _not_ a scam. Academic Achievement is hot girl-on-girl naked nude megan fox natalie portman bj lesbian lesbo lezzie milf gilf barely legal dwarf xxx porn porno pron totally legit.
Brock_Lee

Pfft, amateurs, all of you. I’m off to Facebook, Reddit, Digg, Wikipedia, Gawker comments, etc.
Flying_Monkey

It’s at times like this that I feel a deep love for Boing Boing and all its contributors and commentors… well played, everyone. For sure, this site ain’t no scam.
Anonymous

Utterly ridiculous.
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2011/01/17/legal-thuggery-or-law-as-transaction-cost/
Elmo Gearloose

I am Scam
I am Scam
Scam I am

That Scam-I-am
That Scam-I-am!
I do not like that Scam-I-am

Do you like green eggs and scam?

I do not like them, Scam-I-am.
I do not like green eggs and scam.

Would you like them Here or there?

I would not like them here or there.
I would not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and scam.
I do not like them, Scam-I-am

Would you like them in a house?
Would you like them with a mouse?

I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
I do not like them here or there.
I do not like them anywhere.
I do not like green eggs and scam.
I do not like them, Scam-I-am.

Would you eat them in a box?
Would you eat them with a fox?

Not in a box.
Not with a fox.
Not in a house.
Not with a mouse.
I would not eat them here or there.
I would not eat them anywhere.
I would not eat green eggs and scam.
I do not like them, Scam-I-am.
Anonymous

I love all of you guys for this so much :-)
My subconscious is already connecting “Academic Advantage” with “scam” and I’ve never heard of them before now.
That Streisand effect sure works wonders :-p
I’m going to venture a guess and say that regardless of what Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh may want, the genie is out of the bottle and the Academic Advantage scam combination is out there to stay :-)
For a lawfirm to be so stupid that they manage to do what they were being paid to prevent, namely the association of Academic Advantage and Scam, is beyond words.
There, I think I’ve now properly contributed with at least 3 references ;-)

PS: I can’t get the recaptcha window to open in Firefox (even with Noscript and Adblock disabled); any clue what the problem might be? Had to use IE to post this.
Anonymous

There may not be an actual American equivalent to Averell v. Pressdam, but I believe your own “sue and be damned” comes close.

I loved it the first time I saw it and enjoyed seeing it again.
Comedian

Seems as though Mr. Jubin J. Niamehr should receive a copy of the legendary Cleveland Browns letter to Dale O. Cox.

http://hypervocal.com/sports/2010/customer-service-in-the-1970s-the-cleveland-browns-letter-you-have-to-read/

“I feel that you should be aware that some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters.”
Rob Knop

…sometimes I think that all of civil law is a scam.

(I realize this is the result of confirmation bias. I see the results of lawyer thuggery and chilling effects all the time in the various free culture / open source biased blogs and such that I read. But, still.)
Anonymous

“…shame on you. What would your parents say if they could see you squandering your top legal educations with this kind of careless, sloppy farce?…”

They don’t have parents. They hatch from vulture eggs.
Anonymous

So, is Academic Advantage a scam or not a scam? I are confused.
Anonymous

You people are so mean.

Obviously, some mentally challenged baboons have gotten hold of some company stationery and are impersonating them.

Someone should contact them and let them know before this gets embarass….oh, never mind.
Kerouac

I can only assume Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh is upset because someone else was called a “Scam”, and Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh have some claim of exclusivity to that descriptor and will vigorously defend that claim.
chgoliz

As I understand it, Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh is representing Academic Advantage because of a concern about a scam.

Why would Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh be representing Academic Advantage because of a concern about a scam?

Has Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh ever represented Academic Advantage because of a concern about a scam before?

Does Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh represent Academic Advantage because of a concern about a scam before on a regular basis?

How often will Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh represent Academic Advantage because of a concern about a scam before in the future?
leighton

Having worked at a law firm, I doubt that an actual lawyer was responsible for printing and mailing that nonsensical letter. It is more likely that a legal assistant or possibly a careless paralegal sent it, instead. However, since attorneys do bear full responsibility for supervising their staff, it is fair to hold the attorneys at Lazar, Akiva and Yagoubzadeh responsible for this nonsensical claim that a post about autism somehow claimed that Academic Advantage is a scam.
- billstewart
  
  Leighton’s probably right that the letter in question wasn’t generated by a full lawyer, as opposed to being robogenerated by a computer and mailed by a clerk who didn’t bother fact-checking it. The real question is whether Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh billed Academic Advantage for this dubious service, because that would be a scam. Hmmm, I wonder where Academic Advantage could get a bunch of cheap ambulance-chasing lawyers to sue Lazar, Akiva, & Yagoubzadeh for scamming them?
Anonymous

As a former employee for Academic Advantage, I can unequivocally state that the company is a total scam.

1. They hired me without verifying my academic credentials beyond bringing in a copy of my degree, which could’ve been a forgery.

2. They make you sign a contract saying that you’ll pay them $27 an hour for the time you don’t complete tutoring a student under the provisions of No Child Left Behind. I had to cancel my credit card to avoid the possibility of that.

3. They give you reams of paperwork to fill out and won’t pay you if it doesn’t meet draconian standards supposedly set by the federal government.

4. When you do send your paperwork correctly, they’ll make up some convenient excuse for not paying you on time, if ever. I had to file claims with the Better Business Bureau and the state labor board before I saw payment.

It’s just not a reputable company and I would advise anyone even in these hard economic times to steer clear of Academic Advantage.
Anonymous

Well, I guess Academic Advantage has now become the laughing stock of the Web.

Great going, guys!

I wouldn’t advise putting scam on your toast, it might not taste very good.
TakeThatSubspace!

Famous Internet Law Expert says Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh Suck.

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/infolaw/2011/01/17/legal-thuggery-or-law-as-transaction-cost/

Professor Derek Bambauer (a considerably more experienced lawyer than those at Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh) says Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh should know that boingboing is immune from any tort action. Professor Derek Bambauer, FAMOUS INTERNET LAW EXPERT says Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh should know this because it’s Internet Law 101.

This RESPECTED LEGAL BLOGGER FROM HARVARD also says Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh misstates material facts: thereâ€™s no way that the â€œlink addressâ€ mentioned is unlawful or “impermissible”.

This WELL KNOWN INTERNET LAW EXPERT also said Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh ‘s language is confusing. Specifically â€œimpermissibleâ€ isn’t a civil violation in law.

THIS HANDSOME AND RESPECTED LEGAL BLOGGER FROM HARVARD WHO IS AN EXPERT IN INTERNET LAW AND SAVES KITTEHS FROM BURNING BUILDINGS agrees with what many others say about Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh – there was never a possibility of liability and Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh whipped off a lazy “threat-o-gram”.

He, THE HIGH PROFILE INTERNET LAW BLOGGER OF EYE-PLEASING PROPORTIONS that is, believes that Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh hoped to bully boingboing into removing the post.

The WIDELY READ HARVARD LAWYER EXPERT IN INTERNET LAW guy thinks that Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh were using incompetent legal thuggery.

THE STEELY-EYED BUT PERSONABLE HARVARD INTERNET LAW EXPERT thinks that Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh may have committed an ethical violation.

Yes that’s right A FAMOUS INTERNET LAW EXPERT says Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh committed an ETHICAL VIOLATION.

Maybe.

Because Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh asserted rights where there are none, and implied the threat of litigation without any grounds.

Also, the FAMOUS, RESPECTED HARVARD TRAINED LAWYER WHO IS AN INTERNET LAW EXPERT (and tall) believes that Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are evil or incompetent and Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh need a refresher course in basic tort law.

So there we have it. If this FAMOUS HARVARD LAWYER who blogs here http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ is right then hiring Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh is a total waste of time.

I mean I’m no expert, but wouldn’t it mean that Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh are bad at their job?

Oh well, it’s not like word will get out.
Traska

What’s amusing to me is that before today, I’d never heard about Academic Advantage, or about it being a scam. And now, today, I am introduced to this fine institution, and thanks to the law offices of Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh, my introduction is the phrase “Academic Advantage Scam”. I’m also amused that Lazar, Akiva & Yagoubzadeh has helped BOing Boing climb onto the main page for Google hits for the phrase “Academic Advantage Scam”, thus insuring that even more people will hear about whether or not Academic Advantage is a scam. Also:

Academic Advantage Scam
Academic Scam Advantage
Scam Academic Advantage
Advantage Academic Scam
Advantage Scam Academic
Scam Advantage Academic
Anonymous

I think we should let the professionals decide. I suggest everyone who feels as such should file a complaint with the bar (http://www.calbar.ca.gov/ContactUs.aspx).

Oh, internet outrage is fine,
But washes away given time.
Losing listing with the bar,
would be worse for dumbnuts by far.
Anonymous

LAYlaw might want to read Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure before filing frivolous complaints with no evidentiary support: http://bit.ly/h2cPA9

(b) Representations to the Court.

By presenting to the court a pleading, written motion, or other paper â€” whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating it â€” an attorney or unrepresented party certifies that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances:

(1) it is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation;

(2) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law;

(3) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery…
5ynic

Nude girls’ academic advantage advantage is that their (male) professors tend to give them better grades.