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Woman suing law school testifies in court

Posted at 6:58 PM, Mar 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-16 21:58:16-04

Nearly five years after filing her lawsuit, the woman suing her law school shared her side of the story in a San Diego courtroom.

Anna Alaburda graduated from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in 2008. Her lawsuit states even though she graduated with honors, she has been “unable to secure a full time job as an attorney.”

Alaburda filed her lawsuit in 2011, claiming she would not have enrolled in the school had she known the school's statistics were misleading. 

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She spent several hours on the stand Wednesday. During testimony, she said she filed the lawsuit to  “stand up for myself and others.”

Alaburda is suing for fraud. In her lawsuit, she claims the Thomas Jefferson School of Law provided information that is “false and misleading.” She says the school included all post-graduate employment in its numbers, including if a student works as a part-time waiter or convenience store clerk.

She said she did get an offer in 2009 at a law firm as a consumer bankruptcy attorney in a probationary position. However, she turned down the position because it seemed “predatory” and there were “a lot of red flags.”

A friend advised her that the law firm was “not a good place to work.”

She eventually found work after graduation at a legal publishing company, where she worked for six months. Alaburda said the company ended up laying off many of its employees.

In 2011, Alaburda read a New York Times article that said Thomas Jefferson misrepresented employment figures. It was after reading that article that she decided to move forward with a lawsuit.

She is suing for approximately $125,000, which covers her tuition and lost wages.

Alaburda said during testimony she takes responsibility for things she can control.

“I was a very hard worker,” Alaburda said.

She said she does not take responsibility for Thomas Jefferson “being dishonest about their employment figures.”

Alaburda, who is married with two children, said she worked at several law firms under temporary positions reviewing documents.