Law And More

Beyond Law School: Now questioning value of BA/BS

Thanks to Facebook, I re-entered the lives of some of the members of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania's Class of '67.  Among them have been Lee Harrison, Charlotte Toal, and Irene Nunn. Even before "education bubble talk" dominated the national conversation about college, I asked them what they got out of the four years.  Most felt they had had a safe place to mature, away from the family nest.  At the time, as Americans adopted the value that the more education the better, I felt it was necessary.  I couldn't have gone on to be a full-time employee in communications departments at the Fortune 100 without the degree.

Now, of course, it's a different story as more youth decide to be entrepreneurs.  Their parents might be shocked when they toss off the idea of getting a college degree.  But parents were also shocked when the best and brightest re-considered the long and winding road of getting a law degree and studying to pass the state bar.

What did I get out of college?  Probably the most useful experience was being introduced to diversity. At the time the college, now a university, was all-female.  Some of the women were relatively well off.  They were going to marry lawyers, doctors, and dentists.  Some were a mess, including me, and would need years of experimenting with healing programs before they became whole.  Then there were those traditional women who had no trouble conforming.  They were the amazing ones.  Before second semester senior year they had an engagement ring and, as a backup, a teaching certificate.  To this day I wonder how they could so easily buy into what was expected of our generation, pre-feminism. 

Rajat Gupta: Mirror for examining our own less interesting screwups

Sure, Rajat Gupta's appeal for a new trial is this week. So, he's back in the news.  THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE has a major feature which presents little new but which gets read.  The article doesn't get past the enigmatic fortress Gupta has build for himself and is able to remain behind a drawbridge that's drawn down and a moat stuffed with alligators. Maybe the media as well as us plain-vanilla gawkers will give up on trying to figure the guy out. 

Instead, we might shift perspectives and ask why his story continues to resonate.  My hunch is that he mirrors our universal tendency to screw up. Only he had the opportunity to do it on grander, more public scale than most of the rest of us.  His downfall, as the cliche goes, is Shakespearean. 

However, his seeming weaknesses are all too familiar.  For example, his hunger for more (he was only a millionaire longing to be a billionaire) made him vulnerable.  Machiavellian Galleon head Raj Rajaratnam moved right in on that. 

Between professional identities, after he left McKinsey, he seemed to get lost.  For us, that starts right after college and we often get stuck in adolescence.  Most of my crimes against myself and society came from that immaturity.

And, he seemed to over-value his education and intelligence  As we see with all the unemployed and underemployed lawyers, Ivy credentials and the gray matter are increasingly worthless in an economy which keeps changing.  Best-selling author Nassim Nicholas Taleb provides insight on exiting that black hole in "Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder."

We need the Guptas because their reversals, even if temporary, provide the platform for doing autopsies on our own screwups.  

Sobered-Up Lawyers: Why AA preaches that geographics don't work

"In the rooms" of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), lawyers hear repeatedly that a "geographic" doesn't work.  Most of time that geographic involves professional opportunity.  The lawyer specializing in intellectual property from a mid-sized law firm in the midwest takes a lateral to a large firm in California.  At first he's euphoric.  Soon enough he's miserable, again. Actually, he could be worse off emotionally than before the change. The intensity of suffering could trigger relapse back into drinking.

Psychology professor at the University of California at Riverside Sonya Lyubomirsky explains why these grabs for a better life don't pan out.  It's all in her new book "The Myths of Happines: What Should Make You Happy, but Doesn't - What Shouldn't Make You Happy, but Does." 

In essence, humans are wired for a certain baseline in happiness.  After the positive change, we tend to return to that baseline.  The problem is, though, that simultaneously our expectations on what we are entitled to are raised.  Therefore, the new position, despite its status, intellectual stimulation, and lucrative pay, serves to create a craving for more and more of that.  The lawyer could then start searching for what he perceives as a better opportunity.

How to stop that cycle?  Lyubomirsky recommends what will sound familiar to those "in the rooms." That's an attitude change.  For example, mentally re-experience what your professional life used to be and develop an attitude of gratitude.  Sure, you can go after better professional opportunities. But you do it this time with a grateful heart for what you already have.

 

Fox Mole Joe Muto: That was fun, now it's done, and it doesn't seem worth it

When he was pulling his madcap antics of reporting for gossip tabloid Gawker.com on the goings on at Fox News, Joe Muto seemed to be having a lot of fun.  To some naive communications folks he might have been a role model for taking on and down The Man. After all, at the time he was an employee of Fox News.

The fun is done.  As TV NEWSER reports:

"Fox News mole Joe Muto entered a Manhattan courtroom in handcuffs this afternoon, pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges." 

Court. Handcuffs. A guilty plea.  One wonders if Muto considers the fun worth it. He is paying a $1,000 fine.  The $5,000 he earned doing a whistle-blowing column for Gawker has been donated to a good cause. He is serving 10 days of community service and putting in 100 hours of community service at a nonprofit.  His book about Fox News comes out in a few weeks.  One wonders if the image of this handcuffed boy-man is the kind which sells books.  And, he is going to have trouble for a while getting work comparable to what he had had at Fox.

Obviously the guys at News Corp, parent of Fox News, don't fool around. They brought out the tank to deliver the message not to mess with them.  Roger Ailes, head of Fox, won't be trifled with. This fun gone terribly wrong will deter other potential madcaps from partnering with a gossip rag like Gawker.

"Sullivan v. Flynn" Struck Down: Mental illness no longer viewed as permanent

Advocates for the mentally ill such as John Hinckley Jr., now have increased legal ammunition to argue that the patient has recoverd. 

In THE BLOG OF THE LEGAL TIMES, Zoe Tillman reports that Judge Anna Blackgurne-Rigsby of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals stuck down "Sullivan v. Flynn." That case law from 1892 ruled that contracts entered into with the mentally incapacitated were automatically void.  Not necessarily so, decided Blackburne-Rigsby.  That's because mental illness is not always permanent.

Although the ruling did not resolve the dispute in the underlying case, it strengthens arguments by constituencies ranging from lawyers to mental health experts to allow for the possibility that the mentally ill might have regained their ability to function.  This has applications to situations ranging from child custody to release for mental hospitals. 

Not that it should be surprising that mental illness can run its course.  Game-theory Noble Prize winner John Nash bounced back after decades of not being able to function.  Through his advocates, Hinckley is requesting longer periods away from the mental hospital to stay with his mother.

Unfortunately, the stigma about certain kinds of mental illness such as bipolar remains.  In his bestseller "A First-rate Madness," Nassir Ghaemi presents the link between leadership ability during crisis and mental illness.  However, he admits that society usually does not easily integrate this type of personality into the mainstream. Eventually, the movement for neurodiversity might level the playing field between those whose behavior conforms with norms and those whose might deviate to the point of requiring temporary hospitalization. 

Rehab: Fairy tale of drunken prince/princess who lives happily ever after

The fairy tale in America is that addiction, ranging from alcohol to food, can be cured through the seemingly progressive but expensive institution of "going to rehab." Pack the prince/princess or oneself off to those 28-day stays and the light will be turned on.  The once-addicted will live happily ever after. The monsters of the mind have been slayed.

That's the mythology.  The reality is presented in the book "Inside Rehab" by Anne M. Fletcher.  The author previously published "Sober For Good."  Her research for this book included staying in more than 10 rehabs.

Essentially, "going to rehab" means bcoming a consumer of a largely unregulated industry whose methodologies are unproven and success rate frequently not measured.  Yet since science and society know so little about the causes and "cures" for the chronic disease of addiction, the industry continues to thrive.  That could be easily changed if Congress, insurance companies, and employers demand transparency about approaches and outcomes.

One theme in "Inside Rehab" is the high relapse rate of rehab alumni, although each stay might cost from $28,000 to $40,000.  Often alumni return to the same rehab several times.  Those of us in 12-step programs, which cost nothing but also have no hard data on outcomes, hear constantly tales of those multiple stays, without results, that is long-term sobriety or being free from all addictive substances.  The tragedy of that is the illusion of help. 

Since lawyers have a higher than average rate of addiction they might, through their trade associations, push to get some answers about this approach which might have promised them and their colleagues a second chance and hasn't yet delivered.

Bullying: Can be eliminated with draconian laws

Face it, the law works. Most of us don't bad mouth our enemies in public, stick a steak under our jacket in Wal-Mart SuperCenter, and drive after a few pops because we fear the law.  Getting in trouble with the law means extreme agita, ponying up plenty for a lawyer, and a bad mark on our record that will follow us forever.  So, we manage our darker impulses.

Draconian laws could prevent bullying.  In the book "Sticks and Stones," Emily Bazelon explains how natural it is for human beings to start to bully others and how difficult it is to stop.  Anyone who has been bullied knows that.  Those doing the bullying get caught up in the process in almost an addictive fashion.

But suppose there were laws, like the ones currently on the books against driving drunk, which provided sure and severe punishment?  You bet, parents would educate their children not to bully others. Employers, who could be targeted as allowing bullying in the workplace, would develop zero tolerance, just as they now do with sexual harassment. Spouses would make it their business to treat each other with more respect.

Using the law as an instrument of social change, as with civil rights, is over due here.  The scars from being bullied last forever.  The fattest kid in the fifth grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School, Jersey City, New Jersey, I went on to a major eating disorder. Had I not been bullied being a porker might have just been a phase I outgrew.

Charles Cullen, Serial Killer: Nailed by his computer-snooping habits

Increasingly, miscreants are going to get nailed through their computer habits.  At Somerset Medical Center, New Jersey serial killer and nurse Charles Cullen raised the suspicions of co-worker and nurse Amy Loughren because of the time he was spending on Cerner, a computer system tracking patients. 

What caught Loughren's attention, reports the NEW YORK POST, was that he was snooping into the data about other nurses' patients, not his own.  Meanwhile an atypical number of patients in intensive care were dying of cardiac arrest.  Cullen, with his use of the drug digoxin, was the angel of death.

The book "The Good Nurse" recounts how Loughren shared her concerns with the prosecutor.  Cullen may have offed 400 patients in various hospitals.

The lesson here for those planning mischief is not to leave an electronic trail.

Matthew Warren and Yoselyn Ortega: How little science knows about the human mind

A young man who is the son of a respected religious figure is dead from suicide and a middle-age woman who immigrated to the U.S. will stand trial for allegedly murdering two children. 

As yet, science can't explain their behavior. In addition, it obviously hasn't done much to prevent it.  Despite all the rhetoric about innovation, there really hasn't been much of it in that huge umbrella field we call "mental illness." The key to unlocking the secrets of why the mentally ill see the world as they do remains hidden.

Last Friday, reports THE NEW YORK TIMES, Matthew Warren, the young adult son of leader of the Saddleback Church Rick Warren, committed suicide.  His life has been filled with clinical depression and suicidal ideation. 

Last week also Yoselyn Ortega, who the New York tabloids labeled the "Upper West Side Killer Nanny," had been ruled by the court as mentally competent to be tried for the alleged murder of the two children she was caring for.  Her lawyer Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg objects, moving for the insanity defense.  This case is so riveting in the media because of the "why" - how could anyone allegedly kill innocent children.

Through BigData, particularly predictive analytics, business can forecast with a great deal of accuracy what consumers will buy on X day in Y amount.  But society remains held hostage to the aberrant workings of human brains.  So do those whose brains have that frayed wiring.

Lawyers, as Steven J. Harper documents in the book "The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis," have more than the average share of mental illness, including suicides.  He profiles some of the high-profile ones such as that of Kilpatrick Stockton who shot himself in his office after it was announced he had been laid off.

Since age 11, I have struggled with clinical depression. Clients and colleagues salute my efforts, calling me "an inspiration."  Believe me, I would prefer to be an uninspiring plain-vanilla professional who doesn't have to take my emotional pulse every few hours to ensure that I am centered. 

" ... create a culture that transcends the current year's partner earnings," Steven J. Harper in "The Lawyer Bubble"

One-third of the new book "The Lawyer Bubble: A Profession in Crisis" by Steven J. Harper focuses on the solution.  That's how it differs from most of the media attention to the mess the legal sector and many of its members as well as those who want to be members but can't find a job is in. 

THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FORTUNE, FORBES, BUSINESS INSIDER, and ABOVE THE LAW are among the media properties which have been attracting plenty of traffic, links, likes, shares, and comments in decrying the problem.  Harper goes beyond that with a vision and concrete recommendations on how law, which he sees as a "service profession," can again become "noble."  His tone is also different from that of the media because he had spent a satisfying career at one of the largest law firms Kirkland & Ellis.  Instead of sour grapes, there is sadness at what is.

In essence, Harper divides the problem into two parts.  One is the feeder pool of law schools, focused on maximizing revenue through tuition, which reinforces students' illusions about the probability of lucrative careers.  The other is the transformation of law firms from service providers to profit maximizers. Most of us are all too familiar with what those two forces have generated in terms of human suffering.  Even those equity partners bringing home $1.5 million to $5 million annually are probably unhappy - as well as angst-ridden since keeping their jobs depends on billable hours and rainmaking.

For law schools, just one recommendation is to put a contingency on their "earnings."  Much of the revenue for tuition comes from federal loans, which can leave graduates in six-figure debt which currently can't be eliminated in bankruptcy.  Harper observes:

" ... allowing the federal government to recover guaranteed losses from a law school (and its university) whenever a student loan became a principal contributor to an alumnus's later bankruptcy that the bankruptcy court to make ...  Such a step could encourage law school administrators to rethink their current efforts to sell a legal education." 

For law firms, the healing will come through those who can:

" ... create a culture that transcends the current year's partner earnings."

Harper doesn't accept that the system ensures that leaders at law firms have to and will make a pact with the devil.  Instead, he hammers, they:

" ... have choices.  The cumulative impact of senior partners' actions determines an institution's culture.  Absolving those at the top of responsibility for their decisions implies a deprivation of free will that understates their power and disserves the profession."

In addition to actual solutions, along with a comprehensive analysis of the problems, Harper provides a masterpiece of fine writing.  There is no choice but to grab a magic marker and keep underlining phrases and whole sentences which resonate.  For example, in describing the human consequences of a two-tier partner system, one equity, one plain-vanilla, Harper applies the metaphor of the "scarlet letter."

As we observe his mind at work in "The Lawyer Bubble" we conclude that during his career he might have been among the last of the lawyer-statesmen.