Law And More

Empower All Members of All Law Firms - High Cost of Unequal Power

The joint survey by the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts and the Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership found that unequal power in all sizes of law firms generates inappropriate behavior. That ranges from sexual harassment to bullying.

The victims are those with no or little power. The consequences include reduced employee engagement, higher attrition, tarnished brands, and the threat of litigation. Here are more details from Laureen Stiller Rikleen in Law.com.

One obvious solution can be to empower all members of the law firm. I would like to extend that to vendors serving law firms.

Because of lousy experiences, I no longer directly render services to law firms or lawyers. Of course, just as with the law firm employees, I never made the bad behavior public or reported it. Indirectly, I do work for them when the middleman is a public relations agency or think tank. That provides a buffer.

Maybe the legal sector can learn from academia.

Years ago, the unequal power in higher education also generated inappropriate behavior, ranging from sexual abuse to turning students into unpaid work slaves on behalf of professors. There is less of that since students feel more empowered. There are channels now for reporting bad behavior, along with policies such as banning romance between professors and students. Of course, given the high stakes involved in studying at a university, many students continue to feel relatively powerless. 

Actually, empowerment is a mindset.

In coaching those over-50, I find that ageism has eaten into their souls. Once confident professionals, after missing out on a promotion, being demoted, or losing a job, they can be overwhelmed with a sense of being powerless. Here is my ebook, free to download, on those monsters of the mind. 

Can those who lose their center recover? Yes. Usually that entails creating a new playbook about how to get, hold, and increase their own power. For instance, they learn that power of position is just one form of power. A useful read on all that is an old guide by Hedrick Smith. That's "The Power Game." Here it can be ordered from Amazon. 

It had been through the reach of my three syndicated blogs that I had the power to get a financial institution to settle with me and a deadbeat client to pay up. My thinking and talking like a lawyer had had no effect.

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

 

Lawyers - Rebranding DYI

The world of Trump Administration watchers has noted that the president's  former personal fixer Michael Cohen has dropped that credential from his LinkedIn content. Here is the coverage from BusinessInsider.

The reason the deletion is significant is that LinkedIn has become the platform for rebranding. Its power is so intense that much if not all of reconfiguring our professional identity can be done as a Do It Yourself (DIY). 

About seven months ago I decided to transform a side hustle - coaching those over-50 - into my primary profit center. The one I had nurtured for decades - communications strategy and content creation - had become glutted. The results included reduced average compensation and abrasive treatment by clients. 

As with all startups, positioning and packaging the coaching business involved plenty of mistakes. But, we learn.

The bits of success I was experiencing were happening on LinkedIn. Therefore, I invested lots more energy on that platform.

That included taking the risk of overhauling my LinkedIn profile. I put myself out there as a coach, first, and a communications expert, second. Of course, I was scared.

The articles I published on ageism such as on Odwyerpr.com I repurposed on LinkedIn Updates and put links to them on my formal profile.

I refocused my blogging on my three syndicated sites and on the new one I launched on WordPress on aging. Those posts I also repurposed on LinkedIn.

I wrote and published four ebooks on some aspect of aging. You bet, there were links to them on LinkedIn Updates.

There were two results.

One was expected: Coaching assignments came in.

The other was unexpected: High-end communications work was offered to me because of the rebranding. Some clients assumed that since I am a coach I would demonstrate more empathy with who they were and what they needed. Others were thrilled to find out there was the hybrid who knew aging issues and communications.

What didn't work? Among the tactics which didn't have a high return on investment were email blasts, unsolicited pitches to carefully selected targets, messaging to contacts on LinkedIn, comments/likes on others' posts about aging, and posting on Facebook and Twitter. 

What also has been promising is posting content on Medium. It has no gatekeepers and its readers are hungry for fresh perspectives. 

Along the way in this rebranding, I also performed a Stalin-like purge on those on my network associated with my specialization in social media. That was necessary for me to fully embrace my new identity.

In the breakthrough book "Necessary Endings," executive coach Henry Cloud hammers the need to continue to prune people, places, and things which keep us tethered to the past. In the 20th century, Judith Viorst developed the same meme in "Necessary Losses."

When in the past we can't discern opportunity in the present. 

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Jones Day - Night of the Long Media Knives

Clients seem to be content with Jones Day's services and pricing.

It's a different situation with some media.

For example, here is Vivia Chen's article today on Law.com about the possible end of Jones Day's black-box system of compensation. That would be in response to the Wendy Moore lawsuit against her former law firm for alleged gender discrimination.

Gawkers who follow Jones Day are also aware of Joe Patrice's ongoing coverage at Abovethelaw about its alleged sins, mortal and venial. Here is a Patrice column about a venial sin.

Of course, now that Jones Day has become a wonderful target for negative press it will be the long night of media knives. Since public relations intersects with the legal system that law firm will have to assess legal moves on the Moore lawsuit with how they will play out in the court of public opinion. 

The danger for Jones Day could be that negative media coverage scares off clients and new business. This is the era of media - establishment and social. No one can ignore it.

A cunning member of media, determined to make hay out of the Moore litigation can position and package the leadership at Jones Day as a sort of a Goofy character from Disney.

The default would be set to watch for signs of dumb mindsets and dumb moves. No one needs to go to a Disney theme park to have a lot of fun. The summer in media could be one to remember. 

Jones Day may have to contract with a top reputation restoration expert to help it rebrand for 2018 and beyond. That can run $1,100 an hour. 

Along with the rebranding of the organization, individual members of the law firm may need coaching to develop a more accessible persona. The lawyerly image has fallen on hard times since The New Yorker outed the stealth activities of superlawyer David Boies.

The encouraging news is that lawyers who want to remain effective and attract new business can overhaul their personal branding on their own. Here, free to click on and read, is my new book on finding that exit out of a comfort zone  Download Over50OutsmartingYourComfortZone.

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Not Always Enough to Think/Talk Like a Lawyer

Twice it happened. 

The first situation was a mistake my financial institution made which caused me to lose out on interest.  In addition to the amount of interest I didn't receive I thought/talked like a lawyer to try to also be reimbursed for having gone through an ordeal. 

The second situation was a client who stiffed me. I had referred the matter to a professional collection agency, with the legalities of the mess clearly outlined. 

In both, no dice. The financial institution stood firm with its offer only to pay the interest. The client didn't send a check to the collection agency.

Obviously, thinking/talking like a lawyer is often not enough.

The next step I took in both of these frustrating situations was to describe them in detail, with storytelling cool, on my three syndicated blogs. Because the blogs were launched way back in 2005, Google rewards that longevity with high rankings. In addition, over the years, the blogs picked up brandname inbound links.

Then I repurposed the blog content on social media, ranging from Twitter to LinkedIn Updates.

Within hours:

• Two divisions of the financial institution contacted me. Both proposed settlements for the hardship I had been through. I accepted both.
• The collection agency informed me that the client had paid in full.

At times, the law - or the threat of imposing it - seems so powerful. Then there are those developments in our finances which demand cunning communications. 

And, no, I didn't delete the original blog content or the postings on social media. They stand as reminders to the miscreants not to mess with me. My number-one weapon is not my knowledge of the law. It's the ability to influence online. 

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Burning Bridges - Usually Not Recommended in Legal-Sector Networks

It dawns on us: I don't feel safe with X or Y. 

Every time we post on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter, there is the undertow of self-consciousness. We, you got it, don't feel safe opening up. So, we hold back. We spin. We default to brittle wit.

Or, when click on our email there is a flash of panic when we spot the incoming transmittal from you know who.

And, thanks to digital technology, we can escape that riptide and not be dragged out into the ocean of self-defeating behavior, substance abuse, and even suicide.  We Unfriend, Remove, or Block.

The concept of safe people first floated into mainstream consciousness with the book by that title from Henry Cloud and John Townsend. More recently, in "Scary Close," Donald Miller gave us total permission to steer clear of all that. 

Sure, Miller notes, we can have compassion for that twisted human being.

For instance, he explains that those he knows in law enforcement have empathy for criminals. They recognize: Hurt people hurt. The serial killer or Ponzi scammer probably had been abused or neglected during childhood and beyond. Tragic.

But society must protect itself from them. And, the same goes for us. We owe it to ourselves to do our enforcing of personal and professional boundaries.

My two business niches - communications and coaching - began to catch fire after I purged my networks - online and in-person - of human beings I simply didn't feel safe with.

I kicked that off in May 2014. I unfriended acquaintances from the Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania Class of 1967. Not easy. For me, it took 47 years from when I left the mean streets of Jersey City, New Jersey to join the middle class to do that. Post-purge, success came easily. I no longer operated from a platform of fear.

In the old days when professional life was a monolith, there had been a risk attached to the behavior known as "burning bridges." Mothers, mentors, and even psychotherapists urged us to err on the side of caution.

The cliché, so annoying, had been: You never know when you will run into that person again. Such an ethos dominated the Jersey City political machine during the era of Frank Hague. 

Currently, the world of commerce, driven by technology, is in the state of ongoing disruption. That toxic client we so feared?

The probability is, in this period in time when high Emotional Intelligence wins, keeps, and lands the new business, the monster likely has been sidelined. Professionals are unwilling to put up with that extra stress.

There are exceptions, though. The legal sector, for example, remains hardened in the past. Eventually, that could bring it down. But right now, risk taking in relationships usually just brings down those with little power such as associates in BigLaw. 

The outlier on all that has been digital-only legal news outlet Abovethelaw.com. Its signature is taking on the establishment in the legal sector, including law schools, Inside the Beltway power players, and myths about career paths.

Abovethelaw.com lawyer-journalist Joe Patrice has created a cottage industry in analyzing the moves made by law firm Jones Day. Some seem cartoonish. Patrice's photo is on the left. His next job could be a top leadership one with liberal media.

Also, there are the games politicos and lobbyists play. Those are providing plenty of headlines for members of the media. Usually, we can avoid that force field. One day, most of us have that ah-ha moment: All that has nothing to do with me. And, we impose our own criteria for whom we will deal with.

For those between jobs or careers, the timing is ideal to do due diligence on networks. A sorting mechanism to apply is: How did I feel connecting or failing to connect with that professional? Here, free to click open, is my new book on diagnosing and exiting comfort zones  Download Over50OutsmartingYourComfortZone

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Midwest Acceptability Test - Communications Comfort Zones Have Changed

The "C-Word" used to refer to a medical condition: cancer. 

Now, because of the power of pop culture, the bit of language has shifted in meaning - quickly.

The "C-Word" currently indicates a vulgar term for a part of the female body. 

The change has come as a result of comic Samantha Bee's routine on "Full Frontal." She took on First Daughter Ivanka Trump. Here is an update on the fallout in the New York Post.

It is likely that Bee could be shut down as had been Roseanne and Kathy Griffin. These are times of extreme sensitivity to the implications of words and images. 

In addition, like comic Joan Rivers, Bee will probably remain controversial. Many will dislike her because her humor is hard-edged - and not perceived as an acceptable fit for a female.

Meanwhile, all of us who make public statements should have become circumspect in all mediums - digital, print, audio, video, voice, and in-person. Regarding the latter, I have gone low-profile even when walking the dog. I have no idea whom I could offend and how they will object to that. Yes, we are a nation in fear, at least if we are smart.

In addition, I recommend to those I coach in a job search or when positioning and packaging themselves for a promotion to put their verbal behavior through what I call The Midwest Acceptability Test: Would the attendees at a town meeting about economic development in Lordstown, Ohio take in your meaning or become distracted by your tone and language?

Those not passing that test will not have influence. Those, of course, include lawyers. So much of success in the legal success is based on the language of persuasion. Trial attorneys will have to re-think everything about opening and closing arguments.

What had been the communications comfort zones of so many of us have to change - for now. Here is my new book, free to click open, on how to exit rigid comfort zone looping  Download Over50OutsmartingYourComfortZone.

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Meghan Markle's Wedding Gown, Reception Dress - Legal Bloggers, Maybe You Should Have Opted for Fashion

Producing erudite (think Law.com) or even in-your-face (a la Abovethelaw.com) legal content has its rewards. The mind is a beautiful thing.

But the big action, especially on Meghan Markle's wedding day, has been among the fashion commentators. Her wedding gown and the dress she wore to the reception (plus her mother's outfit) were what launched a thousand posts by fashion bloggers and establishment media types. 

A colleague who teaches in Manhattan told me that one of his undergraduate students has almost 90,000 followers on Instagram. Her focus is fashion. Yes, she is a paid influencer.

Sure, the world of fashion is hyper competitive, with plenty of sharp elbows. That might discourage some from dancing even on the rim of the industry.

However, BigLaw isn't a game with sweetness and light. Those I coach who had been knocked out of the box have an unusually difficult time both healing and adjusting to other kinds of work. 

Meanwhile here in SmallTown America the lawyers on Main Street are falling all over each other struggling for enough business to keep the doors open. 

Legal positions in government not associated with the White House could shrink if the GOP remains in control. 

So, lawyers might advise their children to pay attention to style. They may become more successful than their parents.

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism.  

 

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Lawyers - Even They Can Learn to Feel the Pain, Forgive

Faith-based music biopic "I Can Only Imagine" plays out two profound memes: feeling the pain and forgiving.

If lawyers pay attention during the film they may find refuge from the demons which overtake too may fine legal minds. And lead to depression, addiction, and even suicide.

Here is that recent study by the American Bar Association and the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. 

The plot for the real-life story in "I Can Only Imagine" focuses on Bart Millard, a child abused by his father Arthur and deserted by his mother.

He gets a peek of what it is to have something to hold onto during his week at a Christian youth camp.

There he is introduced to Jesus as a friend and a real life friend Shannon.

Also, memes such as forgiveness are featured. In his journal at camp he is instructed to insert whom he should forgive. At the time he can't do that. 

As a high school student he tries to please his father, a former athlete, through football. After being injured, Shannon guides him to the singing course. The teacher notices his talent. She makes him the lead in the school musical. 

Later he chases music to run from the pain. Lawyers might be doing the same thing by involving themselves in the complexities of the law.

But Bart can't make it big until he is able to feel the pain and then forgive the source of it. He returns to his roots.

Arthur, dying from cancer, has also found Jesus. The two bond in this similar spiritual sanctuary. In his journal Bart fills in the name "dad" for whom he has forgiven.

That experience opens him to his talent. He pens the song "I Can Only Imagine." Essentially it's about walking with Jesus. It becomes the all-time Christian music hit. 

Through forgiveness he also restores his relationship with his mother. He asks forgiveness from Shannon. Hurt people hurt. They marry. 

Yes, the memes do inspire in this era when so many middle class folks are enduring financial uncertainty and upheaval in social values. They are invited to feel the pain. And forgive anyone whom they perceive caused it.

No surprise, the film has been a box office success.

Way back in 2005, starting a blog gave me a platform for sorting out my pain.

Once I felt it, especially that associated with professional challenges, then I could extend part of myself to helping others.

The group needing the most help in this volatile work world are those over-50. My coaching service, billed on a sliding scale, has lifted more people than I have ever dreamed possible out of career despair and back to work. 

Here, free to download, is my book about the mental agony they have suffered. Here is an introduction to what to expect  Download IntroducingYoutoCoachJaneGenova,

When it comes to forgiveness, I still haven't filled in the names. A Buddhist monk, who has been guiding me, positions and packages them as my "teachers." He hammers that it's up to me to take full advantage of those lessons - and be grateful to them. 

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism. Complimentary consultation.

 

Coaching Introductory Offer - $19 for 15 minutes. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Mature professionals who are working advance their careers. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Law Firms Get Stiffed, Too - My Much Smaller But Very Distressful Ordeal with Stratas' Romeo Spino and BMG's Rodney Burrell

The assumption might be: Don't mess with a law firm - including not paying your bill, in full, on time. After all, they have all the know-how and the resources to go after you.

Well, in an article in Law.com, Brian Baxter reports on the many law firms which have been stiffed, at least so far. That information usually has become available through their bankruptcy filings.

For example, Gibson Brands owes White & Case about $140K. 

So, it might create schadenfreude among us small businesspeople to know that the powerful big players also have trouble collecting on accounts receivable. 

Collecting on a client debt is an ordeal. Time-consuming. And emotionally distressing.

Last fall, I was spinning around in that loop. The invoice for several ghostwritten tech articles had been sent to government contractor Romeo Spino of Stratas and the middleman who hired me Rodney Burrell of Pittsburgh communications firm BMG. The amount due was a bit over $1100. Tech writing takes time, at least for me, so I was determined to be paid.

Pleading with the two was a mistake. Lesson learned: After one warning, put the matter in the hands of a collection agency. Yes, those services have the resources to take legal action. For small businesses another option would be small claims court or the state labor department. That's information I picked up during that worst of times. I had consulted with my U.S. Senators about all this.

For the actual collection, I used AccountsReceivable.com, which can bill 30% and up for its services. Initially, no payment was made by Spino or Burrell. 

It might have been a coincidence but this happened. On my three syndicated blogs I shared with readers the points of law involved in my claim for payment. Here is one of them. Very soon after, the collection agency notified me of payment. It turned out that wasn't the end of it. But as 2017 was ringing out I received the funds, minus the commission.

That was lesson number-two. As the cliché goes, the pen is mightier than the sword - or threatened legal action. The possible harm done to their brands could have motivated the needed action.

Lesson number-three is to demand, at the get-go, a show of good faith - and an ability to pay. In both my communications and my coaching/auditing ageism businesses I require a down payment. 

Not being paid for work performed eats right through to the soul of a professional. I wish I could say I was above taking the action personally. But I wasn't. 

Coaching, auditing, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on ageism. Complimentary consultation.

 

Coaching Introductory Offer - $19 for 15 minutes. The displaced over-50 get back to work. Contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Michael Cohen - He Should Have Known Legal Matters Are All-in-the-Family

There has been a pile-on of legal problems for Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

The nuts and bolts focus is the payment he made to Stormy Daniels. Did it cross the line from a generous gesture for a buddy/client to illegal?

That goes with the territory of working in the big leagues. Trouble can be big time.

Yet, the New York Post reports that Cohen lamented to former ad executive now a television personality Donny Deutsch that the development is causing his wife distress. His exact phrase was: She didn't sign up for this.

Any spouse of a lawyer who does the assignments Cohen does is in the loop. That's just the way it goes. The ramifications could be as simple as tension at home to the possibility of the husband or wife spending years in prison.

That represents the extreme case. More often, even ordinary litigation such as an age-discrimination lawsuit or a DUI can wreck havoc in a household. 

For instance, it was all-in-the-family for a management consultant forced out in his late 50s. He filed an age bias lawsuit. Then he sat around the house waiting. Eventually it was settled but not before every member of family suffered. 

When human beings become intimately connected to other human beings they face the possibility that the legal can intrude. Some will stick around. Others will exit. 

Legal puts all relationships in play. Will Cohen's wife stay or leave?

Any size business can promote itself like a big business. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. Here is a brief backgrounder.