Law And More

Life Or Death For Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - Judy Clarke v. William Weinreb

In a brilliant move, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's defense lawyer Judy Clarke stated in opening arguments that her client was guilty. She quickly followed that with her key strategy of positioning him as having been controlled by his late older brother Tamerian Tsarnaev. Here is the coverage by John Kamp in The Wall Street Journal.

Instead of the jurors' focusing on the grim details of the bombing, Clarke is trying to shift their attention to the human being on trial. She has a strong track record saving unpopular defendants from the death penalty.

Her foe in the courtroom is formidable, though. In his opening, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb created the portrait of a monster. He explained that just before he activated the bombs, the defendant was standing right near children at the finish line. After the bombing, the defendant returned to the University and tweeted that he was a "stress-free guy."

While Weinreb was delivering that oration, two dozen victims of the bombing were sitting in the courtroom. As the jurors were listening to his words, their visual field was filled with the long-term tragic consequences of this supposedly misguided youth's actions.

Can Clarke create compassion in jurors for terrorist bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?

Reflection: We'd love Clarke to play a barrister in "Downton Abbey" next season at the trail of servant Anna for allegedly murdering Green.

 

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Trial Opening Arguments - 2 Dozen Victims Attend

"Two dozen victims crowded one side of the courtroom, with some of them staring daggers at the Chechen immigrant. Among them was Heather Abbott and Marc Fucarile, each of whom lost a leg in the attack." - Bev Ford, Corky Siemaszko, "'He believed he was a soldier in a holy war against Americans': prosecutor opens trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarvaev," in the New York Daily News, March 4, 2015. Here is the article.

It is shrewd and not unexpected to have the victims in the courtroom during opening arguments. No one can resist the heart-breaking pull force of that physical and emotional tragedy. Of course, that's within the visual field of the jurors.

The impact of the content of the prosecution's opening remarks can be just as devastating to how the world, including the jurors, perceive the defendant.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb noted that Tsarnaev positioned himself behind a bunch of children near the finish line. Afterwards when he returned to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, he posted on Twitter:

"I'm a stress-free kind of guy."

Depicted is a creature devoid of human feelings. It would be all too easy to sentence him to death.

 

 

$50,000+ Annual Law School Tuition - Worth That, And More

No surprise. In Abovethelaw.com, Staci Zaretsky flags the National Law Journal coverage by Karen Sloan on the high cost of annual law school tuition.

At elite institutions, the range can be between $50,000 and $60,000+. This is at a time, we are to note, when the overall demand for the JD degree declines.

However, such framing in terms of supply and demand for a particular degree neglects the real power which results from attending law school. That advantage can be acquired even for the typical 1L who enrolls in law school for the wrong reasons and leaves.

Law school introduces us to how to leverage points of law in any and all situations, professional and personal. That manner of approaching a commercial transaction, dispute on the job and the financials associated with a romantic relationship usually cannot be acquired in any other way. It is summed up by the phrase "learning to think like a lawyer." You bet, that's a mouthful.

But there is more to it. Even as a 1L, we get it how the legal system dominates U.S. capitalism and everyday encounters. In the latter, reasonable human beings know not to take on a neighbor in the courtyard with a loud voice and raised fist.

It's amazingly obvious even one month into law school: No other code can entangle a business or a life in so many complex, expensive, time-consuming and put-on-the-record consequences.  Clearly, the sensible adults among Americans eagerly welcome compromises which prevent getting into such a pickle. The conventional wisdom is to steer clear of the law.

In addition, our 1L experience can trigger a paradigm shift toward certitude. When putting a legal argument out there, even in a petty consumer purchase, I am confident. Sure, there are myriad ways to interpret the law. However, once we select that arena to approach whatever, we tend to be on solid ground. And, damn it, don't we know that. And, even more importantly, doesn't everyone else. Even if we don't win, we realize that we might have eventually, if we continued to pursue our legal strategy and tactics.

Also, consider the satisfaction of having a proven tool to take on what we perceive as the forces of evil. Both on a macro level (like the journalists at Abovehthelaw.com) and on an individual level we can make a difference. In the U.S. some of the most seminal reforms have come through the court system.

Full disclosure: I am a Harvard Law School dropout. I regret neither going there nor leaving there.

"Brownouts" In Legal Sector - Radical Indifference, Even To Code Of Professionalism

" ... the daily grind of being a contract attorney sets in and you're repeatedly treated like a child that's been dropped on its head and micromanaged to the point of checking in after pee breaks and the veneer of professionalism begins to crack." - Alex Rich, "What Motivates You To Do Good Work At Your Job?" in Abovethelaw.com, February 25, 2015. Here is the article.

In the legal sector, document reviewer, Alex Rich, confesses to, well, not giving much of a damn. That's radical. After all, from the get-go those heading to law school have been hammered with the code of professionalism. It's about doing backflips to do that whatever better than anyone else. Anything less is a mortal sin. You are going to go to hell.

Of course, Rich is not alone. An epidemic of "brownouts" is sweeping across The Professional Class in America. 

Unlike those burnouts who can't even go through the motions of professionalism, brownouts simply lose passion. There is no fire in the belly. They don't go that extra mile to ensure a bang-up job at their job. And, internally and sometimes externally they smirk at those who are still following the boy-scout code of professionalism. Actually, we smirk at those girl scouts outside the supermarket hawking their cookies with all their heart and soul.

The tragic reality is this: There are more reasons to brown out than to emotionally suit-up to win one for the gipper.

At the top of the list is the deflation in compensation. Another is the failure of superiors and clients to engage workers or vendors. And, now that the economy is purring again, it's also due to lessening fear about winding up homeless. To be candid, a few years ago, homelessness had appeared like the good life, free of mundane concerns. I craved the challenge of learning to panhandle. Could I deliver monologues in Grand Central about post-careerism?

Of course, many brownouts wonder: How can they return to the state of caring a lot again?

There are no right answers. How I did it was this: I regained control over my work. Every aspect of it. That extended from where I did it to how much I charged.

No longer could I be a victim of the hyper-frenetic world of communications in the Northeast. I packed up the car, dog and laptop and headed to the laid-back Southwest. Here it's different. My new clients in Texas and California are fun people who know how to succeed, including in making money, without being tense messes.

The strength which came from actually doing something about my work situation has empowered me to stick with billing what I'm worth. You don't agree that my work is worth that? See you later, dude.

I even have a theory: Like clinical depression, brownouts are a signal that something is very wrong. Do course correction or else. That else, as with depression, could even be death. You bet, checking out can seem like a solution.

Had I not reached that point of radical indifference I likely would have drifted into being a has-been. "She used to do good work," they would whisper.

Leverage your brownout to succeed on your own terms. It's about time.

 

 

Prestige Trumps (Just About) Everything: And, Not Only In Legal Sector

"That 'prestige' enjoys an outsized influence in the legal profession is established beyond all argument." - Brian Dalton, "Top Litigation Firms By Pedigree: Is Prestige Fate?" in Abovethelaw.com, February 18, 2015. Here is the article.

The aura of prestige extends way beyond the legal sector. 

When I was a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, on the elevator at the MLA annual meeting that was palpable. Riding the elevators, everyone of every rank seemed to take a peek at others' name tags. Those listed the academic institution you were associated with. I got it: I felt less than because I wasn't from Harvard or Yale.

Perhaps it was that awful feeling which triggered my compulsion to get to Harvard. Finally, when I was in my early 40s I applied to and was admitted to Harvard Law School.

In the trenches of public affairs, which is supposed to be a meritocracy based on talent and client outcomes, prestige dominates. Clients want to be represented, even at the basic retainer cost of $15,000 a month, by the firms with the pedigree. That makes them feel safe. So much for the supposed "reasonable man."

Even in the so-called "craft" of writing, prestige trumps mostly everything else. My marketability is primarily determined by the big-brandname thought leaders for whom I ghostwrite content and the influential media outlets which publish me under my own byline.

The grim lesson here is this: Chase prestige, at least early in your career. Correct that. Chase prestige, always.

Unemployed/Underemployed JDs - Don't Wait For Systems Solution

"The January edition of the Journal of the Missouri Bar has a piece by an anonymous document review attorney containing, 'A Call for a Bar Task Force to Address the Lawyer Underemployment Problem.'" - Alex Rich, "Document Review Monkey Calls For Task Force To Fix Everything. How Cute," in Abovethelaw.com, February 18, 2015. Here is the article.

The lawyer who called for a macro solution to the lawyer-glut problem probably feels better, having issued a manifesto. But, the brutal reality is that systems-changes take time. And time is not on the side of any attorney who has to pay bills. In fact, the joke is that the new definition of success is being able to make ends meet.

The downsizing of slots available in practicing law is not the first time the supposed best and brightest were sidelined. Yet, this group seems to be slow realizing that the burden of making ends meet is on them. Yes, they have to find work or create work through self-employment.

Accepting that means that the game they had been playing or hoped to play is over. The odds are that never again will they be anywhere near practicing law, as they had set out to do.

In the early 1970s, the market for college humanities professors tanked. That meant that promising doctoral students, even at elite universities, would never get into that game. Surprisingly, many of us who were shut out regrouped quickly.

At the University of Michigan, several including myself landed government jobs. That paid the bills, at least temporarily. Others entered consulting, leveraging their analytical skills. One lucked out with a fantastic job in a financial institution. No one wound up living out of car.

Certainly the transition was emotionally overwhelming. But, back then we didn't look to the system to help us. Perhaps that's what saved us from our own sense of assuming we were special because of so much education.

Law Firm Rainmakers - Twitter Is Short-Cut To Influence, In Real Time

Had rainmakers in employment law been on Twitter during the global pile-on of tweets against Justine Sacco, they could have put out there, in real time, their legal expertise. That could have generated new business.

If they usually represent companies, then they could have sketched out IAC's options. Because Sacco was employed in public relations at IAC, the tone of the tweets was especially vicious. Some called for her firing or resignation.

If the law firm primarily represents individuals with an employment issue, then rainmakers could have presented Sacco's legal options.

With social media it's all too easy to get into the soup as did Sacco. So both companies and employees are eager for briefings on their legal wiggle room.

In addition, through their Twitter account rainmakers can have the settings follow other thought leaders. That would not only enhance their network. It could bring in concrete business.

The old-fashioned ways to influence for rainmakers are increasingly ineffective, lack immediacy and cost a bundle.  Here are just a few of those approaches which could be downsized or enhanced if rainmakers are smart and aggressive on Twitter:

• Traditional books, published through establishment houses such as the Harvard Business School press or HarperCollins, take a long time to develop and get out there in the marketplace. There is also the risk that they won't sell and receive low rankings on Amazon.com. The rainmaker looks foolish. Yes, a book is still the price of entry. But it can be an e-book knocked off on the computer with great infographics. You can copyright that through the Library of Congress for peanuts. Distribute the book on Twitter, in addition to your website.

 

• Placing opinion-editorials in establishment media or with bloggers is difficult. Even with the best publicity pro handling your account you will probably not make it into The Wall Street Journal. Instead try sponsored content. Here is the guide for how to do that Download SponsoredContentbackgrounder. Link that to as many of your tweets as you can manage without becoming a public nuisance.

 

• Landing interviews with establishment media and even bloggers is time-consuming. You have to build the relationship with the media to contact you for your point of view when legal news breaks. While you're waiting for that to develop, you should be jumping on that opportunity yourself and tweeting. Incidentally, that might be how the media notice you.

 

• Delivering keynote addresses at trade associations will have increased reach through tweeting. In fact, you should have your in-house marketing pro or external public relations agency tweet the speech in real time.

 

• Even high-profile trials aren't being covered end-to-end by media. Hire a skilled tweeter to do that coverage for you. Yes, that the tweeter is associated with law firm should be made known. That matters less since those in the loop but can't attend all court sessions are hungry for information.

Twitter has evolved into the all-purpose power tool for influence. From that the business will come.

 

Making The "Overrated List" - Don't Blow Chance By Dumb Reputation Management

"Just in time for the Washington's Birthday holiday, two political scientists [Justin Vaughn and Brandon Rottinghaus] are ready to release results of a Presidential Greatness survey of presidential scholars ... Overrated ... and Kenndy, Ronald Regan ..." Jonathan Bernstein, "Kennedy and Regain Lead Overrated List," in Bloomberg View, February 13, 2015. Here is the article. 

Both Kennedy and Regan were masters of public relations or reputation management. Unfortunately, many lawyers, accustomed from the get-go to be rated based on cognitive performance, not only neglect their branding.

When they have opportunities to ehance their image they also blow it by inappropriate humility or confessing to have an "Imposter Complex." Instead, they can navigate that praise by, for example, attributing the success to, say, the legal team, the resources of the law firm or the extreme fairness of the judge. 

Another way lawyers undercut themselves is through what could be called The Worry Monster. Instead of allowing the full extent of their accomplishment to play out, they downsize its reach by angst about the future. They might even say dumb things such as "Sure, but let's see if I can do it again." 

Kennedy and Reager, if they had that level of angst, managed to conceal it. That allowed others to project positive feelings onto these graceful characters. Currently, to rid oneself of the Worry Monster, a growing number of professionals are trying out mindfulness or meditation.

A third dumb move in reputation management is the simple lack of self-promotion. You have to do it. But you have to also do it right. It can't survive a heavy hand. For DIY public relations, observe what the high-profile winners in the legal sector do. Those range from Ted Olson to Mark Herrmann. 

Overrated is the best of all image options. 

 

The Brutal Etiquette For The Search For Work: Never Lose It, Keep Saying, "Thank You"

" ... you have to make a lasting, positive impression on the people you meet." Shannon Achimalbe, "Why Following Generic Job Search Advice Is Not Enough," in Abovethelaw.com, February 11, 2015. Here is the article.

Yes, the economy is purring. But, not in all sectors. In January, the legal sector lost 1,400 jobs. And even in sectors such as public relations (my field) which is growing, there is a glut of talent.

Therefore, the search for work - full time, part time, just in time - requires new rules. At the top of the list is how we present ourselves in all mediums - print, in-person, voice, digital and video. There is a new etiquette. It's all about exercising high emotional intelligence (EI). That requires extreme impulse control and the ability to identify with others' own pressures. That plain-vanilla partner might have been just kicked around by an equity partner.

For example, it's never okay to lose it. The person in charge of hiring offers us peanuts. Blowing up is not only counterproductive. It also closes a door which could lead somewhere. Instead, thank the person for valuing your services and the offer. However, at this time, you need more money because of debt. A better offer could come right then or in the future.

They keep you waiting. So? The point is that you are not waiting. You are continuing your hunt.

They ask you to do an original work sample, unpaid. That has never panned out for me. Now, I just say no, I am sorry, but I found that not a prudent investment for myself. But thank you for your possible interest in my services.

They are nasty. Again, so? Thank them for their possible interest in your services but you have secured lucrative contract work elsewhere. That white lie removes them from your life. But you can bet they will be back. The next time, with more respect. Your self-restraint is like catnip to those with garlic in their souls.

In addition to alienating sources of work, poor manners drain us. One bad encounter can preoccupy us for days. During that time period we are not conjuring up fresh ideas how to find work. 

How to boost your emotional intelligence? Observe how winners comport themselves. Read books like "Making Conflict Work" by Peter T. Coleman and Robert Ferguson. Try out different ways of showing respect to others, ranging from the guy/gal delivering the pizza to the partner who isn't listening to us during the interview.

 

Gavin Escolar - Leverages Uber Driver Job To Peddle Jewelry

Liberals tend to focus on ways in which Uber might exploit its drivers. Well, a capitalist at Forbes picked up on another side of the story.

One of the drivers - Gavin Escolar - leverages his ride time with customers to exhibit his jewelry collection. He makes about $252,000 a year, reports Jon Youshae1 in Forbes. He uses the soft sell, hanging attractive pieces around the vehicle.

The entrepreneurial concept occurred to him when he recognized that customers were up for a chat. He connected the dots and began to look for openings in the conversation to discuss his collection.

Escolar's earnings are not far from what an experienced law associate might be pulling down, at least before the recent bonus season.