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Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:44 pm
by PeanutsNJam
favabeansoup wrote:Confirmed Chinese immigration/money laundering scam? I can buy a better website design for $100.

Can we get some NY people to go in person and scope it out?

Will start a go fund me towards student loans for person who goes and records interactions.
You owe anon a go fund me.

Why is this firm so fucking Chinese when a founding partner is white and it's all old white dudes? I mean I guess that's 1/99999 questions but still.

http://en.cityoneus.com/professionals/

4 white dudes and 6 young Asian women

They have a youtube video commercial and it's 3 old white dudes and 9 young Asian women. Wtf? Is this "firm" just an elaborate yellow fever fantasy played out by 3 old white guys?

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 6:30 pm
by proleteriate
bump for "Ting Shao, Esq"

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 6:48 pm
by foregetaboutdre
Anonymous User wrote:Got a call for an interview.

I researched this firm, found this thread.

Got called in for a second interview, got offered a job, and against my better judgment, I accepted a job here.

Worst decision ever.
Lots of RED flags.

Here are just some of them:
1. Zero training or orientation.
2. No westlaw/Lexis Nexis/Bloomberg Law access. They legit tell you to 'google it'.
3. No letter/document templates
4. All employment contracts are purely in Chinese. When I asked for an English copy, they said they'd read the terms to me. I refused to sign it unless it was in English. They legit put the contract translation into 'Google Translate' and gave me a really poorly translated contract.
5. We have to eat lunch at our desk. At all times.
6. I worked 12 hour days. Monday through Saturday.
7. They pay you as an I.C.
8. They make you sign in and out of the office when you go to the restroom.
9. They don't have office chairs. . . The entire time you're working, you're sitting on folding picnic chairs.
10. The entire office support staff barely speaks English.
11. None of my higher ups or supervisors were NYS Bar admitted attorneys.
12. They make you stand up and bow to the Asian partners when they walk in the office every morning. (Yeah, I didn't do this because that's some weird shit and got spoken to several times in regards to it.)

Note that none of the above items were listed in the employment contract but the more I type about my experience, the more dumb I feel for staying more than my first initial day.
1. Did you have to wear a name tag?

2. I would check into if you were missclassifed as an IC with a P-side employment lawyer.

3. Can you give any details about the office dynamic between the odd old white guys and exclusively female Asian attorneys (partners?).

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:03 pm
by Yugihoe
Lol please tell us more

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:05 pm
by 1styearlateral
Turn this into an AMA.

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:13 pm
by Thesaurus
What in the world? How can this be real?

FWIW I googled “Ting Shao Esq” and this document is the first result that came up:

https://www.nycourts.gov/courts/ComDiv/ ... -Xiang.pdf
I have received a letter in opposition, dated November 8, 2016, from the Law Office of Ting Shao, an attorney purporting to represent the plaintiffs; however, no consent to change attorneys has been filed in this action.

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:17 pm
by foregetaboutdre
Their youtube video is a MUST WATCH. Especially when the older partners speak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BajXt55TrSA

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 7:18 pm
by Danger Zone
LOL wow

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:25 pm
by TooMuchTuna
Out of everything I just read, the folding picnic chair thing really stuck out. Can you please provide an Amazon link as an example?

ETA: Disappointed that I did not see any picnic chairs in the YouTube video.

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:36 pm
by encore1101
TooMuchTuna wrote:Out of everything I just read, the folding picnic chair thing really stuck out. Can you please provide an Amazon link as an example?

ETA: Disappointed that I did not see any picnic chairs in the YouTube video.
Oddly, it was the bowing every morning that stuck out to me. It wouldn't be unusual in a korean or japanese company, but it's a bit formal for a chinese business.

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 9:18 pm
by chargers21
This is amazing

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:58 pm
by jhett
The women sitting next to the partners have a look of "They're forcing me to give them a handjob under the table. Send help now."

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:20 pm
by kellyfrost
I was really looking forward to reading the comments on that YouTube video. Unfortunately, there are none. :(

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Tue Dec 05, 2017 11:26 pm
by perfunctory
I feel like the "just google it" and picnic chairs are flame. How would they have gotten by without lexis/westlaw. and picnic chairs when they're renting ny office space??

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:57 am
by generaltoast
Check the picture on their front page: http://en.cityoneus.com/

The girl in the conference room in the back. Likely the chairs in question

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 1:10 am
by LaLiLuLeLo
generaltoast wrote:Check the picture on their front page: http://en.cityoneus.com/

The girl in the conference room in the back. Likely the chairs in question
Holy shit

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 2:10 am
by foregetaboutdre
generaltoast wrote:Check the picture on their front page: http://en.cityoneus.com/

The girl in the conference room in the back. Likely the chairs in question
good catch...this thread could be epic if the anon who worked there returns and does an AMA

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:05 am
by strawberrieee
Best thread on TLS ever.

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:35 am
by fauxpsych
Anonymous User wrote:Got a call for an interview.

I researched this firm, found this thread.

Got called in for a second interview, got offered a job, and against my better judgment, I accepted a job here.

Worst decision ever.
Lots of RED flags.

Here are just some of them:
1. Zero training or orientation.
2. No westlaw/Lexis Nexis/Bloomberg Law access. They legit tell you to 'google it'.
3. No letter/document templates
4. All employment contracts are purely in Chinese. When I asked for an English copy, they said they'd read the terms to me. I refused to sign it unless it was in English. They legit put the contract translation into 'Google Translate' and gave me a really poorly translated contract.
5. We have to eat lunch at our desk. At all times.
6. I worked 12 hour days. Monday through Saturday.
7. They pay you as an I.C.
8. They make you sign in and out of the office when you go to the restroom.
9. They don't have office chairs. . . The entire time you're working, you're sitting on folding picnic chairs.
10. The entire office support staff barely speaks English.
11. None of my higher ups or supervisors were NYS Bar admitted attorneys.
12. They make you stand up and bow to the Asian partners when they walk in the office every morning. (Yeah, I didn't do this because that's some weird shit and got spoken to several times in regards to it.)

Note that none of the above items were listed in the employment contract but the more I type about my experience, the more dumb I feel for staying more than my first initial day.
I'm super excited that my favorite summer thread has revived.

Can we treat this as an AMA?

How long were you there?
What was the final straw?
What was the clientele?
Was it just a money laundering front?
Do you have an affirmative duty to report them for UPOL?

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 10:47 am
by mjb447
On the plus side, I learned a lot about the history of lorem ipsum.

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 11:55 am
by PeanutsNJam
ANSWERS

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:27 pm
by Anonymous User
Jesus. I did not expect this to blow up the way it did. I just wanted to make sure nobody ever had to endure the same shit I did at this office.

AMA it is. I have to be careful because I'm sure they'll know exactly who I am if I go into too much detail. There were a lot of questions but I'll try to answer them in order. If I miss one, just lemme know:

I am not OP. I think OP was smarter and didn't even go for the second interview unlike yours truly.

Firm- It's a general practice firm. They do indeed do all the stuff it lists on the website.

Partners/Associates - Only partner I met was Shotkin.

Tina - I don't think that's even her real name. Put her info into the NYS bar website to see if she's an admitted attorney, came back negative soooo. . . Don't know if she's single but y'all could try.

Office dynamic - The whole office is run purely by Chinese females. The only white presence in the office is Shotkin, who sits in the back making personal phone calls. They legit only use his signature to sign legal documents. I have not seen another other partners or white males.

Name Tags - No

Youtube Ad - The YouTube video is for their old firm. Some of those people featured in the video no longer work there. The ad apparently still runs on the Chinese channels in the tristate area. (I only know because they have an ad run time schedule posted in the conference room) The law office itself has changed it's name several times over the past year. It was Shotkin, Lee, and Wang. Then Shotkin and Associates. Then the name we have now.

Picnic chairs - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DQC9HRG/re ... kAbESJ8F4R and they probably bought the 4 pack to save money.

Clientele - amazingly all sorts. But some very. . . Odd ones would include English speaking male trying to prove a legitimate marriage to USCIS to his non-English speaking wife.

Reporting - I would report them but apparently it's non anonymous and I have no proof or photos to back any of the things up. They refused to give me a copy of my employment contract and I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS, They confiscate your cell phone when you show up at work and hold on to it until you leave for work.

These following questions, I can't answer. It's too specific because they'd know exactly who I was.
How long were you there?
What was the final straw?

And yes, somebody please pay me because they refuse to claiming I broke our employment contract and they threatened to take me to court. :/

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:34 pm
by Thesaurus
Amazing.

Why don’t they have any Asian men working there or any other age/gender/race demographics?

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:54 pm
by Anonymous User
No idea. There's an older Asian gentleman, he's the one who did my interviews. And he's around the office. . . But he's not an attorney or anything. Maybe just the money man. . . LOL

Re: Anyone knows about Shotkin Zhang & Associates - NY?

Posted: Wed Dec 06, 2017 1:05 pm
by strawberrieee
Anonymous User wrote:Don't know if she's single but y'all could try.
Can you learn "are you single?" in Chinese and ask her for us?

Seriously though, are you still working there?
Also, I'm amazed that they have enough employees that the already revealed information hasn't helped them identify you yet.
Anonymous User wrote: And yes, somebody please pay me because they refuse to because I broke our employment contract and they threatened to take me to court. :/
Sue them before they sue you :lol: