Law And More

Dominick Dunne: Father of Courtroom Blogging, Tweeting

Gossipy, theatrical, opinionated, personal. That was how the late Dominick Dunne captured what went on in courtrooms.  Despite the reality that he was an old print guy, he introduced the conventions which would become part of trial blogging and tweeting. 

Before Dunne, courtroom reporting was fairly dry. Intuitively he knew that he could grab and keep eyeballs if he mentioned who sat next to whom, who talked with whom on breaks, and who avoided eye contact with whom. 

He also developed diverse sources. Through them he filled out what was happening in the courtroom. X, for example, would give him background information on the plaintiff which wasn't widely known. He bashed through the supposed code of objectivity by sharing his feelings about the players.  For instance, he noted that he looked into the eyes of the defendant and saw evil. You bet, Dunne took on the role of the Greek Chorus.

No surprise, the media gave his legal-oriented work big play. Vanity Fair assigned him to the high-profile trials. If it hadn't readers would have rebelled. 

For years I had been following Dunne. So, when I blogged the lead paint litigation I already had the template. Gossipy, theatrical, opinionated, personal. 

"Moore v. Hartman" - A Bill Moore Win Means Hollywood Film About Little Guy Taking on Government

In the film about the 23 years of litigation "Moore v. Hartman," Robert Redford could play plaintiff Bill Moore. Redford has the right balance of inner suffering and drive for what's right.

And there is bound to be that film if the jury agrees with Moore that he has been a tragic victim of malicious prosecution and retaliation.  

For 23 years he has sought this right to have his case presented before a group of his peers.  The case has been argued six times in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and once in the U.S. Supreme Court. Here are details.

In "Moore v. Hartman" he is taking on the Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). That gives an eye twitch to most of us who even think about going up against such powers that be.

The saga is essentially about a little guy with a big mouth.

Exercising his freedom of speech, Moore criticized the USPS decision about a technology. That didn't go over well.

Maybe Moore shouldn't have been surprised to find himself being charged as a player in a USPS kickback scheme. Although the judge threw out the case, Moore was to lose his health, career and professional reputation.

In 1991, he pushed back with a civil lawsuit. Closing arguments to the jury are scheduled for the end of this week. He is asking for $280 million in compensatory damages from the government, plus punitive damages. 

Why should this case resonate with us? We are afraid that Moore's alleged ordeal could happen to us. And, would we continue to duke it out like Moore? Or would we commit suicide like Aaron Swartz, another alleged victim of malicious prosecution?

Ruby Mazur, Mick Jagger & Trademark Rights: Use it or lose it

Media outlets like the New York Post are gleefully reporting on the alleged character flaws of super star Mick Jagger.  This follows the suicide of Jagger's girlfriend L'Wren Scott.

The latest supposed evidence of bad character is the contention by artist Ruby Mazur that Jagger "cheated" him out of the value of the "mouth and tongue" logo he designed. In the 1970s Jagger paid Mazur $10,000 to do the job. At that time that was big money. Mazur didn't negotiate trademark rights. After the fact, Jagger didn't grant them.  Here is the coverage from the Post.

Mazur was naive in not requesting those rights. Jagger was being a typical businessman in not giving them. That happens all the time to us creative types. So?  

Mazur seems to be still naive. Currently character matters little, if at all.  This is especially the situation in the entertainment industry. When deciding whether to pony up the money for a ticket to a film, I read the reviews by critics.  I do not do due diligence if those in the loop are of good character. Woody Allen has had an alleged sex abuse allegation following him since the 1990s. Sure, his brand did take some hits.  But, he remains a force in his trade. I haven't missed one of his films.

Law is the only thing which does matter. Don't break the law or, at least don't get caught doing so, and one's career can proceed with only a blip here and there. 

Dinesh D'Souza: Does his saga have the making of a Shakespearean tragedy?

The Dinesh D'Souza conservative brand has been taking hits since 2012.  There he was riding high with his anti-Obama documentary "2012: Obama's America."  That reinforced his credentials as a GOP Idea Entrepreneur. That was then.

Then in 2012 he got the boot from his job as President of King's College, which frames sexual intercourse as a gift only for heterosexual married couples.  The institution accused him, a married man, of using that gift with a young female conservative blogger.

Now, reports Bloomberg, D'Souza got whacked by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for illegal campaign contributions during the New York U.S. Senate race in 2012.  He, states Bloomberg:

" ... was accused in a grand jury indictment of having others make contributions to the unidentified candidate totalling four times the maximum of $5,000 that an individual is allowed to give during the campaign cycle."

During that campaign the GOP candidate was Wendy Long.  She lost to Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand.  Here you can read the Bloomberg coverage.

One wonders if D'Souza has the stuff of one of Shakespeare's tragic heroes.  

Did he have the intellectual range and capacity for suffering of a Hamlet?

Was he as deluded as a King Lear or Othello?  

Or, could he have been as malevolent a creature as MacBeth?

Perhaps a documentary should be made about him.

Meryl Streep, Judi Dench, Bruce Dern, June Squibb: Has a paradigm shift taken place about aging?

Four aging film stars have been involved in movies nominated for Oscars.  

Perhaps aging no longer necessarily has to mean "finished."  And maybe lawsuits and other kinds of legal action taken regarding alleged discrimination against older workers will be viewed differently.  And will the media be less sympathetic to contentions about aging workers' getting raw deals. 

The older actors are:

Meryl Streep, 64, "August: Osage County"

Judi Dench, 79, "Philomena"

Bruce Dern, 77, "Nebraska"

June Squibb, 84, "Nebraska."

None of them seemed to be trying to look or behave younger.  

 

 

"Inside Llewyn Davis" - Harbinger of today's underemployed lawyer

Before his partner jumped off the George Washington Bridge, Llewyn Davis was a moderately successful guitar player and singer.  After that loss, he got lost.  The story is set in the 1960s.

The new Coen Brothers film "Inside Lleywyn Davis" chronicles his inability to accept help that's offered or grab onto "starter" opportunities.  He is stuck, painfully so. Along the way he manages to wear out his welcome mostly everywhere.  In contrast, the orange cat he accidentally lets out of the Manhattan apartment where he crashed finds its way back.  His name is Ulysses. 

This second decade of the 21st century is producing way too many Llewyn Davis memes.  Obviously, they proliferate in the legal sector.  I have spoken with a number of lawyers who had been forced out of practicing law.  Some had been in BigLaw.  Others had legal jobs in professional services firms such as real estate.  None have found a satisfying career path.  The suffering is huge.  And, like Llewyn Davis, they are tending to alienate those who could give them support - and even paid work. 

Of course, former lawyers aren't the only lost.  Across all professions are former major players who woke up one day and found they were no longer on the radar screen.  They still have jobs or businesses. But after that loss, they often become as pitiful as Llewyn Davis. 

The hymn "Amazing Grace" has been so uplifting because we recognize how difficult it is let oneself be found. 

 

"Wolf of Wall Street" - The supposed good guys/girls aren't hot

In terms of career paths, the ones belonging to the FBI and judges don't come across as very attractive in "Wolf of Wall Street."  On the other hand, the guys and girls who learn to sell, even if it's near-worthless penny stock, seem hot.  

There are plenty of lessons buried in the film under the drugs, raw language, compulsive sexual activity and fleecing regular joes and janes.

One is that work can be fun.  Before things get out of hand, Jordan et al. have a hell of a lot of fun at not being Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.  Unlike the earnest FBI and judges, they enjoy having a quick eye for finding how to get from Point A (no money) to Point B (plenty of money) in a way that doesn't require too much heavy lifting.  Law students and lawyers watching their moves might drop some of their own plodding mindset and behavior.

Another key lesson is that the ability to sell is everything.  It might be a point of view or a stock.  Jordan regains his influence, power and easy action in federal prison because he is a trained salesperson.  After release he has a whole new career path as an international sales trainer.

The third lesson is never to give up.  After he lost his first Wall Street job during the Crash of 1987, Jordan found an even better fit for himself in a boiler room hawking penny stocks.  When the feds tied the noose around his neck, he knew it was time to rat.  That got him three years instead of 20.  In the slammer he figured out the angles.

Those offended by "Wolf of Wall Street" should grow up.  There are fun, easy ways to make a good living and hold onto hope.  That I see as the film's message.

Newbie JDs/Current Law Students: Trapped in time

Getting trapped in time, when the economy is shifting can result in financial ruin and heart-break.  So many of newbie JDs and current law students got caught in the assumptions that the right education, along with good grades, would bring success.  The mindset was The Meritocracy.  

As Joseph Epstein chronicles in THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, that ethos replaced the WASP monolith for success.  There was a time when we had to be born into a White Protestant family in order to get anywhere.  The article is titled "The Late, Great American WASP."  Here you can read it (sub. req.)

Then everything changed.  Again.  Sure the likes of a Bill Clinton had risen from a working class background to the top, via Yale and good grades.  But, in a growing number of career paths that is no longer enough.  Actually, it could be a liability.  When I was down and out in 2003, I did not list attending Harvard Law School on my application for a temporary job as a security guard in retail during the Christmas season.  Here is my ebook on that time of transition Download Geezerguts.

Sure, some outstanding graduates from the Top 14 law schools are on their way to partnership.  But they are fewer than had been the situation before.   Those who are more likely to be on their way are the hustlers, those who living by their wits.  The economy has changed to an opportunistic one.  The game is now about identifying how to make a buck and then going after that.  That's what the startup culture is all about.  That's what getting a job in fast food to learn the business in order to start your own version is all about.  That's what doing odd jobs for the surging number of senior citizens by an over-50 guy who lost his job is all about.

No surprise, the film "American Hustler" has us mesmerized.  There are plenty of Aha moments.  We muse: So that's how it's done.

Dementia: 21st Century AIDS, With Huge Legal Issues

The grim film "Dallas Buyers Club" depicts a time when AIDS was a new epidemic in the late 20th century, with only a few experimental treatments and certainly no cure.  The legal issues hammered in the movie were primarily about the legality of certain drugs in the U.S.  The establishment came off looking pretty bad and the rogue seller of drugs unapproved in the U.S. as a folk hero.  That was then.

The 21st century epidemic is dementia.  According to Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI), by 2050 there will be 135 million cases worldwide. Currently there are about 44 million.  Here is the coverage in Reuters. The legal issues are huge.  It's unlikely any institution will come off looking good.  Likely the nearest thing to a hero will be simply the person who is candid about the horror of this disease so little is known about. 

Those of us who live in senior housing bump into the legalities all too often.  Last week I gave a woman I thought only was suffering from minor memory loss a ride to a special musical event. It would last to at least 10:30 P.M..  We agreed I would pick her up at 10:15 P.M.  

Then she called me at 9:20 P.M., furious.  She ranted that the event was over and where was I.  I got it: She was senile.  Had she wandered off and froze to death or been robbed and murdered, a lot of legal questions could have been raised.  

As for me, was I negligent allowing her to be out there without supervision?  Should I have "known better?"

As for others, is any family member taking advantage of her financially? Who's monitoring her financial affairs or who should be? Was the residential complex remiss in not mandating she relocate to assisted living? Should the aides who assist her have reported her deteriorating condition to her family and demanded immediate action?  And once in custodial care, what should be the standard procedures to ensure safety of the client?

It's human to want to err on the side of enabling the human being as full a life as possible. But that could get society into a real legal mess. Because of fear of legal liability those with dementia could find themselves with very limited lifestyles.  Meanwhile, the pain of losing their ability to sort out what's going on in the world is etched in their face.  When I picked up my neighbor she looked as if she had had a major anxiety attack. Of course, I am in terror of signs that I also may be losing my marbles. 

"Hunger Games - Catching Fire" - Useful game-theory refresher for lawyers

Game theory was all the rage when media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, 82, studied at Oxford.  The guy has survived every public relations and business (think death of newspapers) crisis so far.  

So does Katniss Everdeen in "Hunger Games - Catching Fire." Bypassing her youthful default to emotion, she approaches simple survival and revolution through the kind of strategic mindset of game-theory players.  

Essentially, that system of thinking mandates you create your strategies based on what you have good evidence to believe opponents are doing.  Say, you're applying for a job.  You present yourself and your edge framed to demonstrate why you are a better choice that the competition.  Of course, brandname lawyers leverage game theory all the time.  Lackluster performers stick to points of law in isolation.

The ultimate smart move in game theory is to conceal your strategy.  That's exactly what Everdeen learns to do.  The not-so-surprising ending reveals that the Panem's chief gamesman Plutarch Heavensbee had revolution as his hidden agenda.  

In this media era and the craving for celebrity, it's tempting to be transparent, gushing about your game plan.  But outcomes, at least the Big Bang ones, come through stealth.  The moves should be so Machiavellian that even game theory experts can't deconstruct them.  That applies to the whole enchilada, ranging from getting a job to winning for clients.