Law And More

American School for the Deaf - Legal Investigation Shatters Trust in Upscale West Hartford, CT

West Hartford, Connecticut, unlike nearby Hartford, was and is a thriving community.

The enclave is noted for successful players in professional services, excellent public education, and globally famous healthcare facilities.

It houses Jonathan's Dream, an innovative playground accessible to disabled children. The leadership behind that had been local mother and community leader Amy Barzach. Had her toddler son Jonathan survived he would have been disabled - and unable to use the local playgrounds. 

West Hartford is proud of Jonathan's Dream. It's a model for similar facilities throughout America.

Many residents also had felt good about having an institution like the American School for the Deaf in their midst. That was at a time when the controversy over using medical intervention to restore/create hearing made deafness high profile in the media.

That was then.

Now, as influential tabloid Daily Mail reports, the West Hartford brand has been tarnished. 

An investigation by an outside lawyer turned up allegations of both sexual abuse and physical mistreatment. 80 of those in the loop between the 1960s and the 1980s were interviewed.

Among the allegations was that the late executive director from 1935 through 1970 Edmund Boatman had abused a child. Children were said to be disciplined with belts, being locked in closets, and made to kneel on broomsticks. As is typical currently, child abuse also took place at the institution's summer camp. 

The current powers that be at the School apologize to all those who might have suffered. That common ritual of crisis management has become almost meaningless. It triggers an eye-roll.

Obviously trust has been shattered in a genteel corner of the super-competitive Northeast Corridor. It had been known as a wonderful place to rear a family.

Parents, pastors, and teachers currently have to explain plenty to the Alpha generation. Yes, yet another vulnerable group has been bullied. What is the new message to the generation growing up in West Hartford about values? If they display weakness will the sharks circle? 

It will be more difficult for the School to recruit students, raise funds, and land media coverage for its accomplishments. 

Could the unthinkable happen? That is, could West Hartford become a symbol of the ugly underbelly of a town touted as the place to rear a family? Of course. All that would take is for media to run with the story. Eventually, it would find its way onto a kind of "20/20." 

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Husch Blackwell's Greg Smith, et al. - Does That Kind of Sharing Really Make a Difference?

The tone and content of Law.com's coverage of Greg Smith's sharing the saga of his alcoholism at a Husch Blackwell partner meeting are positive.

The takeaway could be: outing the stigma of having been addicted to booze can encourage lawyers still in that pickle to have an Ah-Ha moment. They will embrace they are in trouble with alcoholism and get treatment. Nice scenario.

When he was 33, Smith turned off his inner hard-charger and focused on recovery. Although he still went to work it was no longer the top priority. For him, that was a successful treatment formula. But how useful will it be to others who are suffering? Some might succeed in their recovery by leaping more into their jobs. 

There is a trend currently in the legal media to showcase the problem of alcoholism in particular and substance abuse in general. Just look at the attention, for instance, to the book "Smacked" by the ex-wife of a partner who died from an overdose. 

In a sense, the legal media has been transformed into an Alcoholics Anonymous speaker-meeting platform. During those AA rituals, the sobered-up share how it was, what they did to turn that around, and how it is now. Very vulnerable sharing. But, even the most rosy estimates for AA success are between 8% and 12%. While inspiring, those bearing witness about their struggle with alcohol and finding hope aren't exactly making much of a difference. 

Therefore, while it is fashionable (and institutionalized in recovery programs) to share one's story that might not be a significant variable in how human beings put the disease of alcoholism in remission.

Despite all the current efforts, the rate of alcoholism is up in America.

More young people are dying from alcohol-related liver disease. 

The opioid epidemic has masked the growing threat of alcohol abuse.

Instead of putting too much confidence in Smith's kind of sharing and media coverage, those concerned about alcohol abuse in the legal sector, extending all the way back to law school, should admit how little is known.

Standard approaches aren't producing great results.

Instead of rushing to impose those modalities on human beings in the midst of alcohol abuse, why not be willing to experiment. Yes, pilot a variety of programs. Ask those in the programs if they experience that any of that helps. Listen. Obviously, all the brilliant analysis of the disease with its expert opinion hasn't resulted in adequate long-term good outcomes. 

During my first months of recovery in the late summer of 1981, a wise member of that program clued me in: Don't analyze. It's irrelevant how you got this front-row seat where drunks wind up. Just focus on how you will not take a drink for the next 24 hours.

Decades later, I bumped into that same philosophy in a zen center. The mantra is: Clear thinking, don't know. Somehow, and I don't understand how, I no longer destroy my life through alcohol abuse. 

The tone and content of media coverage and personal sharing about problems with alcohol might be: Maybe this will be useful. Maybe not.

Those who think clearly admit they don't know. I asked a Millennial I met in recovery how she made partner in a law firm. She shrugged: I don't know. 

Full Disclosure: The less I admit I know about marketing for my two boutiques the more revenue comes in. 

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"A Million Little Things" - The Lawyer Stays in the Picture

Network television is usually the land of stagnant characters.

The powers that be might assume audiences can't handle change in the characters they have come to love, just as they are. For instance, Olivia Benson on "Law & Order SVU" essentially remains the same, despite adding on a job promotion, love affairs, and the adopted son Noah.

So, it's brave for those in the loop of "A Million Little Things" to allow the lawyer Katherine to mutate.

The series started out with a tightly wound legal associate preoccupied with making partner. Her husband Eddie falls into bed with D. In the process, Eddie and D. created a child. They were in bed together when D.'s husband Jon committed suicide by leaping off his office balcony.

Then, there is a softening in Katherine.

When offered the role of partner, Katherine puts on it the contingency that she be allowed to go home for dinner with her son Theo, then return to the office. The partners were having none of that. So, as Katherine puts it, she gets her life back. She stays an associate. Fortunately, there is no up or out and she holds onto her job.

With that life back she works to create a new kind of marriage with Eddie, who has moved out.

There is then a gigantic test when he discloses to her that he is the father of D's daughter Charlie. She makes it through that brutal emotional rite of passage. Now, she has become the group of friend's spiritual rock. Recently he provided pro bono legal services to the young girl carrying the baby whom Reginal and Rome plan to adopt.

This capacity for change might be what is making "A Million Little Things" popular.

When it first came out, it was on life support. Now, according to TV By The Numbers, it has 4.7 million viewers, compared to the 2.3 million for "Law & Order SVU." The two are pitted against each other in the Thursday 1o P.M. ET time slot. 

Created by production genius Dick Wolf, "Law & Order SVU is the last of the "Law & Order" programming to keep producing new episodes. But one wonders if it can hold on for another season. The plots have become convoluted. The only interesting character is the addictive personality Amanda Rollins. And the camera spends way too much time panning on Benson's face.  The reruns on Saturday on ION, with other tormented Detective Elliot Stabler, are more engaging. 

Perhaps the message here to network television is: Let the characters grow, especially through pain. 

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Battle Royal over Term "Royal" - Trademark Lawyers Likely Envy Meghan/Harry Brilliant Marketing Moves

International lawyers will probably agree with Meghan/Harry: No one owns the term "royal."

However, there could be a royal (pun intended) legal row over the issue if the term "Sussex Royal" can be considered a trademark. 

But, the odds are that likely Meghan/Harry are not into the linguistics or legalities of their high-profile renunciation of what could be thought of as Meghan/Harry 1.0. Meghan/Harry 2.0 could be construed as totally business.

As the Daily Mail reports, the feud between the entrepreneurial couple and The Firm (headed by Queen Elizabeth) has moved to a new level. Since controversy, many public relations representatives contend, is a megawatt promotional tool, this latest Meghan/Harry verbal outburst could be good for their commercial activities.

Yes, it was a setback for their enterprises that they did cave to Queen Elizabeth's banning their use of the Sussex Royal brand. Financial experts predict it will cost them millions of dollars to remove that brandname from their digital networks such as Instagram. 

But, the publicity from this reversal of fortune could be the platform for a whole new branding. That would be for Meghan/Harry to be the global symbol for freedom. Archie could be the mascot. The Ok, boomers who participated in the Counterculture realized later how profitable that movement had been to savvy entrepreneurs. Recall all those peace bumper stickers and eastern philosophy paraphernalia sold. 

Hail to capitalism, in all its global versions. 

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NDA in Play - Now Conde Nast Partially Ends Practice, Other Media Outlets Pledge Similar Moves

With just one fiery statement, Elizabeth Warren set in play the hardened practice of imposing Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) on employees.

With the #MeToo movement, those contracts have become a symbol of how organizations allegedly protect the powerful from being outed for sexual misconduct. On stage, during the Democrat debate, Warren attacked the use of NDAs in the business interests of fellow candidate Michael Bloomberg.

Things happened fast.

First, Bloomberg announced he was giving three employees the choice to opt out of the NDAs they had signed. Over the decades they had sued him for alleged sexual misconduct.

Now, reports the New York Post, Conde Nast also announced it was banning NDAs in situations involving harassment, discrimination and retaliation. On a case by case basis it would review requests from those who had already signed NDAs to be released from them.

In addition, other media outlets such as the Daily Beast and New York Magazine have given pledges to the NewsGuild to stop mandating that employees sign NDAs.

The first line in Warren's obituary might not be that she was a presidential candidate. It could be that she ignited the revolution which could go down in history as #StopNDAs. 

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Michael Bloomberg Releases 3 from NDAs

What a reversal. And it was one many didn't expect from Michael Bloomberg.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, Bloomberg agreed to release three women from their Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). That is, if they choose to do so. During the past decades, they had filed lawsuits against him for alleged sexual misconduct. 

During the debate, when challenged by Elizabeth Warren, he had held his ground. 

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Meghan v. The Firm - Bring on Global Trademark Lawyers, Life Coaches

Queen Elizabeth, forever head of The Firm, announced that the rogue team Meghan/Harry couldn't use Sussex Royal branding because they will no longer be royalty. The financial types weighed in and calculated not using the brand will cost the two entrepreneurial types plenty. For instance, they had branded their website as an extension of their royalty.

Well, tabloid Daily Mail reports that Meghan indicates she may push back. Sources say that she contends there is nothing legally stopping the two from leveraging the Sussex Royal brand. After all, both Harry and Archie have royal blood. That The Firm can't take away.

Whether Meghan is right about the legalities will have to be determined by global trademark lawyers.

The decision to actually go ahead and defy Queen Elizabeth, et al. could be guided by life coaches. So much is at stake, including Archie's relationship with his cousins. What is the probability that Harry will regret the estrangement and turn on Meghan?

Feuds are fascinating. They can go on for centuries. Throughout the 22nd century, the Meghan/Harry contingent could continue battling with the front lines of The Firm.

UPDATE:

Meghan caves. Her spokesperson says she and Harry won't use the Sussex Royal brand. Here are the details in the New York Post.

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Displaced Lawyers - The Peril of Becoming Rusty

He had been the mayor of a large city. Several terms, actually.

So, he should have done much better than he did in the Democrat debate.

The reality is that he came in dead last, in a number of polls, assessments by political pros, and myriad media outlets.

The man who stumbled so badly is Mike Bloomberg.

The meme bouncing around for capturing that failure is RUSTY!

The guy had been out of politics too long. Since he was out of the game, he couldn't get up to where he should have been in that big game of the high-profile debate.

The takeaway here is obvious: If there is even a chance a professional wants to stay in a game or return to it later in time, that person should figure out how to keep playing in that sandbox. There has to be some presence.

Too often, for example, the displaced lawyer or public relations representative snatches the toys from the sandbox, heads home to sulk, and maybe tries out some other line of work or sphere of influence.

That doesn't pan out.

They get it that it would be smart to be back in that sandbox.

But they are rusty in all the moves they would have to make to re-enter. Actually their performance is cartoonish. Yes, Bloomberg came off as looking foolish. 

When in transition, don't disconnect from the past. Otherwise the knowledge base and skills atrophy. The price of acquiring them was high. Maybe that line of work won't be full-time any more. But it could still bring in substantial income. 

A client had been a former practicing lawyer. After that soured he wanted to create a kind of Witness Protection Program for himself and hide out. Instead he forced himself to stay in the loop.  Within 18 he was back in the legal sector, this time around it was on a contract basis: overseeing the legalities in property management. He pulled me in to create handbooks. 

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Kent Mawhinney - Allegedly, Beyond Traditional Advocacy

Sure, lawyers often become friendly with clients.

After all, socializing is a major piece of new business development.

Embedding oneself in a client's network can open myriad new doors. What a competitive advantage that is over other lawyers in town or in a law firm. 

So, it's no news that lawyer Kent Mawhinney, when representing the late Fotis Dulos, developed a personal connection.

What has become news in a crime story, which is the gift that keeps giving to the media, is that he allegedly went beyond the traditional advocacy role of a lawyer.

Now in jail - he claims he can't afford the $2 million bail - Mawhinney had been arrested for allegedly being in the loop of what transpired in the disappearance of Fotis' estranged wife Jennifer Dulos.

That allegedly includes creating a makeshift grave on the property of a club in Connecticut. By that grave had been found a tarp and two bags of lime. Investigation did not produce any evidence that a human body had been interred, even temporarily. The New York Daily News provides more details.

Mawhinney has entered a not-guilty plea. 

If this saga makes it to "Dateline" or "20/20," Mawhinney will be included in the programming.

What will be most interesting is this: How will he be portrayed? Will he, if he changes his plea to guilty or is convicted, come across as naive, a psychopath, and/or just another one of the growing number of lawyers who implode? 

Daily, the legal, business, and general media outlets chronicle how lawyers manage to jump aboard the express train to hell.

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"A Millon Little Things" - Katherine's Restraining Order Can Be Meaningless, Tragedy Could Be Ahead

Nothing is simple. 

At her six-month check-up Maggie realizes that, no, she does not have her whole life ahead. Not necessarily.

All she has ahead is life until her next six month screening. At that time she could find out that the breast cancer has returned. After all, it did come back once before.

She's freaked enough to contact her ex, that is, Gary. Their relationship continues to be what they can't figure out. Meanwhile, Gary too only has a life until the next six month screening. 

Theo, it turns out, is not okay with the half sister Charlie and the fact that his mother Katherine had temporarily disappeared out of his life. He becomes belligerent.

Eddie and Katherine have to break down Eddie's affair with D into very small bits. That's so that Theo can understand it. Right now, he seems back on track but that might not last. It's obvious that he picks up a lot of what is going on but cannot process it. He spun out before. He could spin out again. The next time he could find himself in serious trouble. 

Yes, Danny has found the guy who understands him. But Elliot will be moving because his father has another job. It's almost impossible for Danny to believe he will find another lover. D has to nurse her son's broken heart. 

Sophie is back in D's house but Gary discovers marijuana. It's in Sophie's quilt. D has lots of new challenges guiding Sophie into adulthood. Like Theo, Sophie had spun out about the affair. She had bashed Eddie's guitars and moved out of the house. Luckily, Regina and Rome took her in. If she spins again another time there might not be another soft landing. She has a habit of attracting the wrong people into her life.

The biggest complicating situation is that the violent biological father of the baby Regina and Rome are going to adopt, when he or she is born, has tracked down Eve, the birth mother. Katherine has helped with the legalities of a restraining order and a safe house has been arranged. She is doing that pro bono.

But that father, who doesn't know Eve is pregnant, could put the kibosh on the adoption after the baby is actually born. The couple could be setting themselves up for heartache.

In an earlier episode, Regina had predicted this could happen and wanted to back out. But Rome persuaded her to stick with the baby Eve is carrying. If the adoption falls through, that could destroy the marriage. After all, Regina could blame Rome for not seeing her point. Eve, too, could wind up murdered. Katherine, as a seasoned lawyer, knows that could happen. 

Yes, "A Million Little Things" is very soap opera.

But the pull force is that these Millennials in Boston have been able to stay friends through a suicide, cancer, betrayal, an illegitimate birth, ending of a romance, and children acting out. That kind of friendship has been the holy grail so many from generations ranging from Silent to Alpha are searching for. Hovering over the digital era are the lyrics from the Beatles' song "Eleanor Rigby." It's about all the lonely people. 

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