Law And More

CT Lawyers: Brutal commute into Manhattan

Not since Sandy have Manhattan lawyers residing in Connecticut faced such a brutal commute.  About 30,000 commuters are nosing around for alternates to Metro North.  Last Friday during rush hour an eastbound and a westbound commuter train collided.  More than 60 were injured, some critically. 

Sure there is telecommuting.  But some lawyers have to be in the office or in court in person.  I faced that extreme pressure during Nemo.  I had to show up in Old Saybrook, CT.  That meant digging out my car from three feet of snow.  Kids are such sophisticated entrepreneurs these days that they only hustle in upscale communities for snow removal.  Mine wasn't one of them.  This blog wishes all the distressed commuters inner serenity.

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.

 

Malpractice Lawsuits Are Sexy: But good care can be compelling legal topic

As an ambitious legal blogger, I know that describing a malpractice medical suit will get me traffic.  That entertains in two ways.  One is showcasing alleged human (or robotic) error.  The other pull force is the cheering for the alleged victim and wishing them a great damage award.

But, after so many national tragedies, there is a growing audience for stories about caring.  First, the lack of caring lead-in. When I got on Medicare I was thrilled. But not for long.  I called medical office after medical office in the New Haven, Connecticut metro area.  The only one which "was taking new patients" was where I would never be seen by a doctor in two years.  Those who did examine and "counsel" me were smug know-it-alls, including smirks.  Medicine a la 1950s.

Then, I checked out the Hartford Metro area, only an hour's ride away.  The Hartford Healthcare Medical Group welcomed me into the system.  I was even going to be seen by a doctor - Judy Chiu.  The medical director is Dr. Spencer Erman. 

Shock.  Dr. Chiu listened.  She provided research to back up my contention that I might not genetically take after the side of my family killed off young by cancer.  After all, here I was in my late 60s, fat but quite healthy.  Dr. Chiu also presented options to me for traditional tests and treatment.  Another shock.  The eating program we discussed is knocking off some of the weight.  Almost unbearable lightness of being.  I could be here blogging at age 150, and model-skinny.

Let's help our healthcare providers through these changing times in medicine.  Maybe lawyers, both plaintiff and defense, can educate them how to be self-protective when it comes to the possibility of malpractice suits.  Caring might be the most important best practice.

We Are Not Safe: Government powers-that-be can't tell us differently

The Boston Marathon "massacre" happened, just as 9/11 happened.

And I can project forward and see myself riding a train to Washington D.C. on business and being blown up, my all-important smartphone and laptop thrown on the tracks.  Maybe that's how it will end for Baby Boomer me and I don't have to invest so much energy lobbying for assisted-suicide.  Perhaps that's less to fear that spending the last years of my life in a nursing home, in a diaper, in and out of reality.

One thing we know and the skilled communications experts representing government figures can't tell us otherwise is this: We are not safe.  We will never be safe.  And we better get used to the idea that if we are in public space, we are open to been blown into a million bits.  There is no Superman-type magic which can intervene and make that not a possibility.

Statue of Liberty as Symbol: Terrorism fear for reopening

The Statue of Liberty is a powerful American brand.  So, post-9/11, its reopening after the Sandy damage is being approached within the framework of preventing a terrorist attack on July 4th. 

As BLOOMBERG reports, the New York City Police Department is not satisfied with how the National Parks Service is ensuring security.  The NYPD demands that those boarding the ferry at the Battery for the trip to the refurbished Statue of Liberty be screened.  What the NYPD wants are measures which will detect any devices which could harm or destroy this high-profile American symbol.  Also, with the reopening set for July 4th, the probability of an attack is raised.

This need for extreme caution is unfortunate but necessary. 

F.W.J.Homm: Why do hedge fund managers get to have all the fun?

Five years ago hedge fund founder of Absolute Capital Management Florian Wilhelm Jurgen Homm stuffed $500,000 in his underwear and luggage.  On a private plane he left Mallorca and his life up until then, including the bimbos and operating the hedge fund. 

Until a few days ago, when he was apprehended at an art museum in Florence, he was enjoying his new life.  Then, as BLOOMBERG reports, he was arrested for allegedly bilking investors out of $200 million.  He faces four counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, and securities fraud in the U.S.  If convicted Homm, now in his early 50s, could spend 75 years in prison.

However, that prospect doesn't seem all that dire to us who are fascinated by the outsized lives and careers of some hedge fund founders.  Compared to them, so many of the rest of us seem to be living lives of quiet desperation. 

Hedge managers' highs and lows are captured in the new book  "The Alpha Masters" by Maneet Ahuja. Producer of "Squawk Box," Ahuja presents compelling narratives about players ranging from Ray Dali of Bridgewater Associates and Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management. 

We will have to wait for Homm's story.  His autobiography "Rogue Financier" has not yet been translated from German.

The Sharing Economy: Disruption provides opportunities for flexible legal minds

When it comes to making a good living by leveraging one's legal way of thinking and skills, it can be a zero-sum game or players can find new niches and effective sustained ways to market in those emerging segments.

One such niche is what is called by various names: Shared economy, collaborative consumption, asset-light economy, and peer-to-peer sharing economy.  As the current edition of THE ECONOMIST points out (subscription required), recently this disruptive force has been running into speed bumps because of issues ranging from insurance to legal liability.  For example, will insurance companies create policies to facilitate individual car owners' leasing out their vehicles now and then and what should middlemen services such as Airbnb be considering in leasing rooms in apartments to tourists?

All these questions are fertile ground for legal minds which have the flexibility to identify the opportunities in the sharing economy.  The way lawyers can take advantage of this possibility might not be through practicing law per se.  They might find they can make their living as business consultants, with a legal background, advising startups or applying for full-time positions in insurance companies which have to absorb this kind of commercial transaction.

In my own field of communications, hit hard by the disruption of digital, those of us left standing have been able to continually take inventory of our knowledge and skills, where we can leverage that, and what kind of marketing do we need to do that.  Back in 2005, I assumed that legal blogging would lead to a great job in marketing for law firms. That didn't happen.  Eventually I moved on to Plan B, then Plan C, and Plan D. On Monday I begin a job in lower Manhattan, which is Plan E, creating content for an ecommerce firm with several niche services in legal.

Smoking in Cars With Children: HB13, if governor signs it, would ban that in Utah

If smoking cigarettes in cars with children gets banned in Utah, the implications are huge for forbidden smoking around any vulnerable group.  Think animal companions, we aging, and the disabled.

The DESERT NEWS reports that HB13 passed the state senate in Utah by a narrow margin.  If signed by the governor, it would not allow cigarette smoking in cars with passengers under 16 years of age.  It's classified as a secondary offense.  Therefore, the police can only incur the $45 fine if they have stopped the vehicle for another reason.  During the first year of the regulation there would be a grace period for charging the fine. 

When I was in the behavior modification program SmokeEnders other members of the class reported that their animal companions had died of cancers around the nose.  I had a hunch that could be a consequence of second-hand smoke.  

Later I would not allow those who smoked to adopt cats I had rescued.  Some contend that dooms the overpopulation of abandoned animals to homelessness.  That's the issue I am concerned about  if the ban on smoking around vulnerable populations becomes standard throughout the U.S.  Funny, though, about the mindset of animal protectors.  It never dawned on me that the couples who smoked applying to adopt the cats had young children in their households.

No Sandy Aid: Did House spank Chris Christie?

The U.S. House of Representatives, under the leadership of conservative John Boehner, didn't hold the vote for the $60 billion bill for Sandy aid.  And, as NEW YORK Magazine reports, New Jersey governor Chris Christie is furious.

However, Christie who mugged for the media with Barack Obmas by his side post-Sandy should have expected this defeat.  Some conservatives blamed him for creating this supposed tipping point for Obama in the election.  And that perceived disloyalty was after his speech at the Republican National Convention was Christie-focused, not gushing about Mitt Romney.  The Gush is an expected rite of passage for newbies at national political conventions as Christie had been.

Might Christie have to migrate to a third party.  He seems to have worn out his welcome in the GOP.  He's too conservative for the Democrats. So, he might have to find a political home somewhere else.

Stamford, CT 2011 Fatal Christmas Fire: Lawsuits, no healing

In America, tragedy often brings lawsuits.  People seek out relief from the suffering by bringing others to court.  Also, given how the law is structured there is usually money involved. 

So, it was expected that after the horrific Stamford, Connecticut fire on Christmas Day 2011 which took the lives of three young childen and their grandfather and grandmother, there would be lawsuits.  The father of the three girls Matthew Badger is suing the contractor who did the renovations on the house as well as the city of Stamford.  His former wife and mother of the children Madonna Badger is suing the city of Stamford for tearing down the house the day after before evidence has been collected. Her lawyer is Frank Corsa.  The insurance company had denied her claim. 

Also, as expected, little healing has happened, reports THE NEW YORK POST.  Tragedy tends to change us, with no going back to who we were and it might take a long time to find a self who can survive and maybe even thrive post-trauma.  That may be a brutal lesson for the Newtown, CT parents who had lost children.  Suffering isn't always ennobling.

This Christmas to get away from the U.S. style festivities Madonna traveled to Thailand to be with girls who were orphans.  However, notes THE POST, that didn't lift her spirit from any of its suffering.  The children reminded her too much of her own three daughters who no longer exist.

America, once defined by its aggressive optimism, is learning to accept grief for what it is.  The loss might be one's children, a job, a nest egg, a pet, or youthfulness.  The pain may never go away, not completely.  In Thailand, Madonna cried often.  She may continue to cry for the rest of her life for the little lives which were taken from her.

The elephant in the room on this one is: Does suing help with the suffering? Tort reformers such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should do research on that.