Law And More

2017 - May We Be Spared Any More Recovery Stories

Had Augusten Burroughs published "Lust & Wonder" even a decade ago, the recovery part of it might have been interesting. Even helpful. The memoir came out in spring 2016.

But with the current glut of recovery confessionals, along with so many scientific articles on addiction, it's tedious. How many times do we want to hear: I drank and I lost? Lawyers and law students are impatient creatures. They quickly classify that as nothing but a platitude.

Also, Burroughs' recovery lacks the juice flowing freely during the best of speaker meetings at Alcoholics Anonymous. At them, there is real drama in the tale:

Raped, beaten and being left for dead while drunk

Serving years in prison for armed robbery committed during a blackout

Going from Wall Street to living under a bridge and

Being the cause of a fatal car accident.

Unfortunately, the rest of the memoir doesn't make up for this lapse in editorial judgment.

Over and over again we readers are presented with the details of his past. Yeah, all about the crazy mother and being reared by the equally nutty psychiatrist. We had consumed that in his previous books. Their shelf life has expired.

Also, there is the sex. So much space devoted to gay sex might have sold some books to that particular target market. However, I found it adolescent. A lost 15-year-old in boarding school could have scribbled that, not a grown man who has known success.

Moreover, the author's obsession with his own mental obsessions might have cut it back in the days of "Portnoy's Complaint." That was the end of the 1960s.

Currently, in this post-therapy era, it seems an anachronism. Back in the early 1970s, I trotted out all those emotional clichés to a David W. Harder at the University of Michigan Outpatient Psychiatric Unit. Even then, I knew damn well that kind of wonder at my neurosis wasn't helping me. The fact is I remained a mess until I bumped into cognitive therapy or learning to change thought processes. To keep them changed, I practice daily mindfulness.

The time may have come for Burroughs to search for copy outside his inner life. Perhaps he should hang around a refugee camp and capture that suffering.

In 2006, when I was an early adopter in legal blogging, my disclosure of self related to litigation sold well. Then, one day it no longer did. Fortunately, I was able to refocus content. Will Burroughs be able to do that?

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

Martha Moxley Will Always Be 15 - Will Michael Skakel Always Be Branded "Killer"

In the collective visual global memory bank, Martha Moxley will always be 15.

That's the best of ages. It's when the human body is at its best. It's before the emotional burdens of entering a larger arena in college. It's the fun of playing with the power which comes with youthful sexuality.

At age 15, Moxley, reared in the privileged community of Greeenwich, Connecticut, was beaten to death. It was Halloween.

On the other hand, another Greenwich resident at that time may always bear the brand of "killer." That's Michael Skakel. He was convicted of that murder. Then he was released on bond pending a new trial. His cousin Robert Kennedy Jr. published a book "Framed," arguing Skakel's innocence. Kennedy's mother Ethel is Skakel's aunt. Kennedy is a lawyer.

The legal system in CT was, legal experts told me, gearing up for the new trial.

But, there will be no new trial.

This week, reports LawNewz, the CT Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Skakel had had adequate legal representation for the original trial. At the time, his lawyer had be the then famous  Mickey Sherman. Later Sherman went to prison for $420,000 in tax evasion.

Shakel's current lawyer, Hubert Santos, continues to contend that Sherman hadn't been up to the defense task. For example, Santos claims Sherman should have cast suspicion on another brother in the Skakel family.

Both the murder and the hunt for the killer have haunted Greenwich. To those who pay through the nose to reside there, it is supposed to be The Best. Everyone there is special. The offspring go on to illustrious careers. And career setbacks are unpleasant developments not discussed.

However, the reality is very different.

Throughout Greenwich there are probably more 12-step recovery meetings per square foot than any other upscale community in the U.S. Not everyone is special. Some just have enough money to pay for the country mansion and its taxes. Yes, they can be house poor. Children often flounder. And, as happens so often among the privileged, those who lose the big jobs are often unable to catch on with another way to make the big bucks.

In a sense, that murder in Greenwich has become a symbol of what has gone so wrong with the supposed American Dream of extreme wealth, status and power.

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

Immigration Lawyers - Angst & Ethics

The Drudge Report takes this last day of 2016 to hammer the growing mess of illegal immigration.

Recently the number of illegals crossing the southwestern border of the U.S. has surged 15%. As for the raw numbers here they are from Homeland Security for the past 12 months, ending in September:

• 530,350 illegals arrived, with many from Central America
• 450,954 sent back.

Since more are arriving from Central America, not Mexico, the cost of re-directing them home is higher.

So, the problems associated with illegal immigration are not only competition for jobs or a suspected criminal background.. In addition it's the big bucks involved in the process of monitoring the border, maintaining detention centers and deporting. Here is the coverage from The Washington Post which the Drudge Report links to.

Meanwhile, as Bloomberg reports, immigration lawyers in the U.S. face extreme angst from their clients.  Both the lawyers and the clients fear the policies of the incoming Trump Administration.

Some of those clients are already in the U.S. and want to stay. Others are still in their homeland and seek permission to enter the U.S. And, the reasons go beyond fleeing political persecution. At the top of the list is the contention that they will be an asset to the U.S. because of an extraordinary talent or accomplishment.

In my communications assignments for U.S. immigration lawyers, I have assessed too many of the petitions to be "weak." I wondered if there is an ethical responsibility to inform prospective clients that the odds of their case turning out successfully are low. Meanwhile, the lawyers collect a fee.

Interestingly, though, not all foreigners in the U.S. see this as the Economic Promised Land. Some studying here at American universities perceive greater career opportunities in their homelands. After graduation, they will return to places such as the Arabic nations for good. Currently they are attending academic institutions such as Youngstown University in Eastern Ohio.

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

 

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Will X Walters - Strongest Argument for Not Filing Iffy Lawsuit

Will X Walters' lawsuit was not frivolous. At least not to him.

In 2011, when he put together his expensive gay-parade costume he had been diligent that it did not violate any San Diego laws. It was a leather gladiator outfit.

But, humans plans, and reality often plays out differently.

The police assessed the costume as constituting a form of public nudity. They gave Walters options to avoid arrest. He didn't opt in.

Long story short, he filed a lawsuit against the San Diego police five years ago. On December 13th of this year, after piling up $1 million in legal fees, a federal jury acquitted the police. His attorney Chris Morris didn't hear from him since then.

Now we know why. Walters committed suicide. According to this media coverage, the reason was the despondency over that big nut of a legal bill.

Of course, this stands as a strong argument for tort reform, that is, the movement to discourage lawsuits without merit. Walters, of course, assumed his cause had merit.

What those savvy about litigation should have told Walters is how expensive and difficult it is to win a lawsuit - even one with seeming merit. Moreover, litigation is in itself a wild card.

Giant corporations with the best lawyers lose lawsuits, even after years of appeals. That high cost of litigation with no promise of positive results is a major reason why litigation practices in BigLaw are flat or are experiencing a downward trajectory.

Suicides such as Walters can be prevented. Caring people in the networks of those who perceive themselves as wronged and want to make a cause of it should knock down the litigation option.

Instead, those with a grievance can complain to regulatory bodies, start a foundation, leverage social media and hire a retired (affordable) media representative to get their beef to the attention of establishment media.

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

 

Drudge Report - "Smirk" Diplomacy, Putin Borrows from Trumpism Playbook

The Drudge Report captures well the new brand of diplomacy, at least between Russia and the U.S.

It might be labeled "The Smirk." As we know from our teenage years when we were bullied, subtle derision can be the cruelest cut of all.

In the days-old schoolyard-like brawl about Russia-U.S. relations, Vladimir Putin has scored a public relations smackdown by not throwing a punch.

Instead, Putin borrowed a page from the Trumpism playbook. That's to just make fun of the enemy. Even the Drudge Report now is leveraging that powerful tactic.

For example, as this media coverage describes, Putin refused to boot American official types from Russian territory.

Instead, he smirks about what he perceives as dumb moves by the lame duck administration of Barack Obama.

Obama is exiling 35 Russian diplomats, censuring Russian intelligence and closing down two Russian-owned compounds.

In a sense, Putin is positioning and packaging that as Obama's getting his undies in a bunch. The smirk delivers the humiliation of making Obama the victim of a diplomatic wedgie.

Along the line, Putin praises Donald Trump, who has taken on the role as America's president. Yes, there has been the phenomenon of America's Two Presidents.

In the process, those of us in the public relations business ask: Is Obama delivering the death blow to his legacy - both in history books and in his obituary in The Economist? Will the latter start out with, "Shamed by Machiavellian Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama lost much of his influence in both domestic and world affairs. He went gently into the night out of the White House."

Clearly, the diplomacy game is changing. Those advising U.S. and global players have to analyze Trumpism.

In addition, they should reach back in time to the rigid Machine Politics of urban areas such as Jersey City, Philadelphia and Chicago. A useful read is this book about Jersey City's Mayor Frank Hague. He said, "I am the law." He meant it. He got away with it. So might Trump et al.

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

Robert Kennedy's Grandson, Conor, Charged with Alleged Disorderly Conduct

The Kennedy dynasty is again in the news. This time the coverage is negative.

The focus is the oldest son of Robert Kennedy Jr. and grandson of the late Robert Kennedy - John Conor Kennedy. He is 22 years old.

Conor has been charged with alleged disorderly conduct. Until this development, he was best known for dating Taylor Swift in 2012.

The Daily Mail reports that in Aspen, Colorado, today police allegedly attempted to break up a fight between Conor and another man. The Kennedy was observed allegedly hitting the man in the head several times.

As the police were intervening, Conor allegedly took on one of the officers.

A bystander helped that officer restrain and handcuff Conor.

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

 

Drudge Report - Russians Channeling Donald Trump

The news platform Drudge Report is back to its conservative political mission.

It had taken a short break from that to mourn Hollywood icons Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds.

This evening the Drudge Report headlines with how the Russians are channeling Donald Trump. Those Russians are leveraging both Trump's use of Twitter and his blunt sarcasm.

Their target is the current U.S. president, Barack Obama. The Russians position and package Obama as nothing but a lame duck. That reduces him to a cartoonish status.

The Russian Twitter attack is in response to Obama's booting out 35 Russian officials, closing down two Russian-owned compounds and sanctioning Russian intelligence.

Obama blames the Russians for the hacking of the Democrats during Campaign 2016. Here is the coverage in The Independent, which the Drudge Report links to. 

The Russian tweet refers to the Obama White House as the "hapless administration." And it accuses it of resurrecting the ethos of the cold war.

Obviously, through this, the Russians are deepening their bonds with Trump. There is that old insight about networking: If you and I share the shame enemies, that makes us allies. Both the Russians and Trump have been showing an antipathy toward Obama.

Continually Trump humiliates Obama by playing the role of U.S. president even though the official transition of power is weeks away. The meme created is that America now has two presidents.

That throws Obama off his game. Trump is a Machiavellian genius about power dynamics.

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

Jonathan Urick - Scalia Orphan Adopted by Thomas

Now we know: SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas has a big heart.

On Abovethelaw, lawyer-journalist, Kathryn Rubino, tells a story a sweetness and light.

After Justice Antonin Scalia went to help St. Peter determine who enters the Pearly Gates, Jonathan Urick became an orphan.

He had been hired by Scalia as a new clerk. Now that career chance of a lifetime looked like career nightmare.

Thomas "adopted" him.

With that on his resume, then Urick went on to be hired later at McGuire Woods.

What a heart-warmer to end 2016.

Meanwhile, some of us are still bursting into tears when we reflect on the deaths of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. No matter what generation we are, one or both gave us great entertainment.

The world has changed.  Contact Jane Genova for complimentary consultation to get the competitive edge in your marketing communications (janegenova374@gmail.com).

 

Fraud Investigation Writer, Austin, TX

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