Law And More

Clayton Osbon & The Meltdown: Happens all the time, now

Clayton Osbon, the Jet Blue pilot who exhibited erratic behavior, needs a good lawyer.  His actions got him in legal trouble.  When all this is over, he might consider becoming an advocate  for humane treatment of those who just lose it.  The Preachers's Wife Mary Winkler sort of got that, thanks to her splendid lawyer Steve Farese, who worked pro bono.

When I was growing up in Jersey City, New Jersey, of course there were meltdowns.  But it was before the media age and they were kept under wraps.  Afterwards no one spoke of them.  It was also before it was a mobile society, so those who had lost it were frozen in not only time but also place.  They were "the nut."

With so much upheaval in society, more are "just losing it." A pillar of society in our complex, an evangelical Christian called me sobbing.  Another of the residents had conned her and she asked me if the same thing had happened to me.  Of course it had.  She knew that.  That's why she was calling.  I slid into the cliche about it was a learning experience and got off the phone.  She called back.  Yeah, lost it.  Life had not been easy for her.

Instead of gawking and giggling, can't we re-learn compassion? After her meltdown, my neighbor was sheepish.  I shared with her my own struggles, sometimes unsuccessful, to stay centered.  We became friends.  Today we agree that it's hubris which makes us so self conscious and society so judgmental after we spiral into that descent into emotional hell.  A useful read is "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach. 

Morgan Stanley's William Jennings Requests Case Tossed

From the get-go, it seemed a fairly weak case of he said/he said.  A New York cabbie accused a Morgan Stanley executive of refusing to pay the fare and then stabbing him during an altercation.  Yet, the executive William Jennings was charged and put on temporary leave from his job. 

Well, now the whole thing gets even weaker.   Jennings' lawyer, reports BLOOMBERG, filed a motion for dismissal of the case.  The reason is inconsistencies in the various official statements the cabbie Mohamed Ammar had made.  BLOOMBERG provides details. 

All we know is that there was some kind of dispute.  What the sophisticated among us also know is that if Jennings perceived himself as being overcharged or whatever he should have been aware enough of how the world works not to act on his feelings. He could have simply paid whatever, then address the situation through official channels.   He probably even had the clout on his job to get some official someone to complain to the cab company.  No cab company wants that and the cabbie would have been in the soup.  Even I, who has no big title, understand not to engage in a hostile encounter with a service provider.   You bet I keep mum on the bus when I see myself as being treated rudely by the driver.  Afterwards, there are any number of remedies I can seek out.

Providence, RI, Home to Infamous Lead Paint Trials, Could File for Bankruptcy

These are not happy times in Rhode Island.  Already Central Falls had filed for bankruptcy.  Now, Providence, home to the infamous lead paint public nuisance trials, might be next to declare that it can't pay its bills, reports BLOOMBERG. 

Providence has a $20 million budget gap. The Mayor Angel Taveras is putting the muscle on nonprofits such as Brown University to help out.  But if that dosen't work then the city which could become so much, such as the affordable Provicetown, could become a national joke.  Will we hear about it on "Letterman?"

Dewey & LeBoeuf: Partner exits, negative publicity result in governance change

After sitting through the intense media coverage of  Steven Davis' memo about layoffs,  defections by more than 35 partners, and financial distress,  Dewey & LeBouef has made its move.  In AM LAW DAILY, Julie Tiriedman reports that the law firm has created a plan to change its governance structure.

In the current 1, Davis is the firm's only chairman.  If the partners approve, then there will be a 5 member office of the chairman. That proposed structure could make it more responsive in real time.  Among what it has to respond to is the media.

Dewey & LeBoeuf has had the bad luck of becoming a story brandname media, both in legal and in business, closely follow.  Every group of partner exits, for example, had been covered as they developed and in great detail.  Often this kind of momentum is set in motion by an oddball incident such as when Davis issued his memo whose tone and content caught fire in the media. 

Because the legal industry has been thrown into upheaval since its boom ended in 2007, it's been the setting for so much drama which appeals to reporters.  A major story, for example, has been the lack of jobs for newbie JDs with 6-figure student loan debt.  That took on added theatrical flavor when those graduates sued their law schools for allegedly publishing misleading data about job placement and compensation.  Among those benefiting from the twists and turns has been legal tabloid Abovethelaw.com.  Its tipsters are positioned throughout the industry, making it a force both the legal sector and the media itself have to reckon with.

Dewey & LeBoeuf could harness this media attention to put out there its emerging branding.  That would be positive publicity.  Everyone from talent interested in working at the firm to prospective clients would become curious about the new culture and how it operates.  Positive momentum would develop.

That Big Palin Branding Mystery: Arlen Specter settles it

What was it about Sarah Palin that made her such a phenomenon?  Well, we need not deconstruct that 1 any longer. 

In NEW YORK Magazine, Brett Smiley reports that Arlen Specter of U.S. Senate fame had sat next to her on the campaign bus. Sort of knee to knee.  What grabbed him, and he didn't go into greater detail, was her sensuality. 

That gets us thinking.  Should female elected officials also exude that sort of thing in order to get more for their constituencies?  Could Hillary Clinton have come into her own much sooner if she had taken on some of Palin's attributes?

On Thursday I am going to an interview for a part-time communications assignment.  I will experiment with a little more Palin and a little less Jane Earnest.

Rajat Gupta's Lawyers Lose on Wiretap Evidence, Gain on Access to Prosecutor Info

A number of observers of the two cases against former McKinsey head Rajat Gupta contend much of the evidence is not strong.  In fact, had his lawyers won in their motion to suppress the tapes of what he allegedly said on phone calls which were tapped by the federal authorities, he might have gotten off.  But that was not to be.

As BLOOMBERG reports, U.S.  District Judge Jed Rakoff in New York ruled that the recorded material would be included in the trials.  Gupta's lawyers also lost out on their bid to have 3 of the counts dismissed because they were vague or redundant.  In addition, which is more bad news for Gupta, the prosecution revealed that they had 2 former Galleon traders who participated in the insider trading schemes with Gupta and head of Galleon Raj Rajaratnam.

On the plus side, Gupta's lawyers were able to force the prosecution to turn over any evidence which could clear Gupta.  Among that could be the identity of that alleged other inside leaker at Goldman Sachs which the judge calls "Mr. X."  His existence could muddy the waters for the jurors in determining who might have leaked what and what relationship it might have had to gains realized through trading on that material information.

The trial starts at the end of May.

Trial of William J. Lynn: Implications for the Roman Catholic Church in America

Yesterday was a milestone in legal history in America.  The criminal trial began in Philadelphia for an official of the Roman Catholic Church Monsignor William J. Lynn. 

He is being tried, reports THE NEW YORK TIMES, for felony charges of endangering children and conspiracy.  This is the first time that an official who had been in charge when proven and alleged sexual abuse by children happened in parishes is being held accountable.  No one is contending that Lynn actually abused children.  What the prosecutor does want the jury to decide is that a member of the Roman Catholic hierarchy failed to prevent and/or punish the abuse.  If the prosecutor succeeds, Lynn could face decades in prison.

Victims of sex abuse and the advocacy organizations which represent them are watching this trial closely.  A guilty verdict for Lynn could embolden them to file similar charges against officials in other parishes.  What supports this kind of legal action has been the Vatican's argument in its own legal problems that the Roman Catholic Church is decentralized.  The hierarchy at the Vatican has little to do with the daily operation of the parishes in America. 

This mirrors the decentralization stance of "Dukes v. Wal-Mart" whose class action status was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.  Defendant Wal-Mart convinced SCOTUS that, given this decentralization, managers at the stores were relatively autonomous and therefore could not have conspired to discriminate against women.  The Justices threw out the class action part of the lawsuit.

Theoretically, every diocese and archdiocese in America could be the setting of the kind of trial going on in Philadelphia.  Such exposure could disclose, over and over again, how the Roman Catholic religion operates as an organization.  Officials could wind up in prison, just as some priests have.  The legal fees could bankrupt parts of the Roman Catholic Church.

Here in the diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bishop William Lori, after negotiating settlements with the alleged victims, approached SCOTUS several times to keep the records sealed.  Recently, the Vatican appointed Lori as Archbishop of Baltimore.  At the time of the settlements, he had been praised in some circles for how he had managed the sensitive manner.  Then media outlets such as THE NEW YORK TIMES requested that the legal documents be made public.  They won.

Disclosure: In 2004, I was a paid communications consultant to the diocese of Bridgeport.

 

France: DSK charged with "aggravated pimping"

The legal system still has Dominique Strauss-Kahn to kick around.  This time it is in France. 

As CNN reports, DSK has been charged today in France for "aggravated pimping."  That has been in connection with his alleged involvement in a prostitution ring.  Although prostitution isn't illegal in France, what is is profiting from the activity done by another person.  He is out on bail.

DSK's lawyer Henri Leclerc said that his client had attended sex parties but was not aware that the females at them had been prostitutes.

Perhaps this is normal in the French legal system but it seems odd to someone reared in the U.S. one.  According to CNN, DSK:

" ... is not allowed to have contact with other people involved in the investigation, nor is he permitted to talk to the media about the case."

"The Good Wife" Shows Ugly Underbelly of Career Issues: Alicia squeezed between integrity and playing it safe

Alicia has grown into a skilled lawyer, maybe too good for a legal system operated by human beings to absorb. 

On "The Good Wife," Diane assigns her to a blue-ribbon panel investigating the fatal shooting of a black civilian by white police officers.  Diane says it will give her exposure to judges, which could help her career.  Incidentally, 2 of those judges are presiding over 2 of the firm's tax cases.  Also, earlier the shooting had been investigated by the state attorney's office - which Peter her husband heads.

It turns out Alicia asks the wrong questions as a panel member.  That could not only hurt her career.  It could also hurt the firm and Peter's standing in his current job and in a run for governor.  In the end she does compromise.  Since Peter is involved she chooses to recuse herself.  That means she will not be writing a minority report arguing with the panel's overall conclusions.  Therefore, she did not help the family of the man who had been gunned down.  But she did reduce the damage to her own career, the firm, and Peter's future.

At the firm, Will is replaced as partner not by any of the sharks Gold or David. Instead Howard steps forth to take the slot, as sort of a place-holder.  The feeding frenzy is over for now.

On another note, the purchase of her old house in Highland Park was supposed to be a process filled with good memories and joy.  All that has gone sour when Jackie butted in and signed a contract for the house.  This episode ends with Alicia going to the beauty parlor and confronting Jackie.

 

The Apology: Lawyers will have to frame "The Sorry" or "I regret" in way that doesn't incriminate

Step up to the mic and make that apology.  Everyone has to do it. 

Chief Executive Officer Joe Ratterman of BATS Global Markets apologizes for technical malfunction, reports BLOOMBERG.  Last night on television's "Mad Men," copywriter Peggy Olson, w/o mic, apologized to agency partner Don Draper for her self-pitying sarcasm at his birthday party.  Soon enough always ingenious Bill Clinton could apologize for sometimes being overlawyery in his public life.  That could clear the way for yet another shot at something significant in politics.

Given that The Apology is both a rite of passage and expected social ritual, lawyers have to get very good at framing them for clients.  On the 1 hand, they shouldn't imply the kind of guilt associated with illegal or unethical activity.  On  the other hand they must be artfully scripted enough to come across as unscripted.  Law firms might start having on contract professional scriptwriters who simulate conversational prose.