Law And More

Peace of Mind - Why the Need for Ongoing Cushion Time

Hmmmmm. I would look up from my cushion three times a week at the Buddhist meditation center in New Haven, Connecticut.

What the hell are they doing here? That's what I wondered. 

Among them were big-time successes ranging from those partners who commute on the Metro North to their Manhattan law firms to brandname journalists.  If I had their money, fame, and influence, I reflected, I wouldn't need to swing by the Buddhist temple multiple times every week. 

That was 2013.

I was so far away from understanding or experiencing what peace of mind was that, of course, I was clueless that there is no necessary correlation between what appears and what is.

Five years, hundreds of miles away, and lots of cushion time later it all seems so obvious. Actually, it is about what we in Roman Catholic schools were forced to pray for ourselves, our families, and the atheists in Russia: peace of mind.

Essentially, peace of mind represents that paradigm shift from wrestling with what was (as if we could really know that since memory plays many tricks on us), and what could be (assuming planet earth will endure) to embracing in the moment what is. And experiencing the blessings.

The ultimate test of that is when business is slow for an entrepreneur such as myself. Or the managing partner at a law firm.

My meditation teacher instructs me to be grateful for that state of enterprise being.

At the very least, it provides space to strategically and tactically up my game. Actually, that is exactly what happened in the fall of 2016. The outcome had been record revenues. 

More importantly, that pause is full of teachable moments.

I got it that it is counterproductive in personal branding to try so hard. When prospects contact me with possible assignments, I listen. I don't parachute in with the kinds of sales pitches law firms position and package on late-night television. 

Another bit of insight is that there is no way anyone can control what others are thinking or saying about them. Sure, branding experts can achieve some of that for clients. That's a growing trend for individuals and organization which fall from grace in these volatile times. 

But, on a human level, it's the path of madness to be preoccupied with what goes on in others' heads - and hearts. All we can manage is our minute-by-minute response to what the universe seems to be dishing out. Peace of mind is a difficult entity to hold onto.

That's exactly why the BigNames in professional life continue to do heavy cushion time.

Irritated with your communications results? Complimentary consultation. No pressure. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

PwC Switzerland - U.S. Corporations Could Demand Its Innovative/Cost-Efficient Model for Providing Legal Services

It is already well-known that BigAccounting is entering the legal-services niche in the U.S.

But what is less known is how disruptive and comprehensive is the penetration strategy of PwC Switzerland.

Should U.S. corporations demand what PwC Switzerland eventually will provide, that could be the end of BigLaw. In Law.com, Roy Strom explains why that branch of PwC is up to.

Essentially, PwC Switzerland has a three-part strategy. 

Building proprietary technology. It can sell the idea that it's not only leveraging technology. The additional edge is that it has invested in developing the best for clients. No off-the-shelf.

Providing an alternate staffing model (mirroring that of Axiom Global). That lowers the expense of lawyering and related services.

Outsourcing legal departments. Corporations could perceive it as the lifting of a burden to have all its legal needs managed by an external vendor. Just as is happening with other outsourced professional services, corporations could gain increases in quality and decreases in pricing through shopping around for this. Then, they can terminate contractors which don't deliver and put out the bidding again.

Many U.S. law firms are global. Therefore, their lawyers are bound to learn more and more about the PwC Switzerland model. As they do, they will understand the gravity of the threat.

Irritated with your communications results? Complimentary consultation. No pressure. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Getting Jumped and Other Forms of Hood-Style Justice in Upscale Westchester County, NY

Members of iGen are not only victims of digital.

As so many know, psychologist Jean Twenge researched how the smartphone is sucking the inner peace, social skills, and optimism from those born between 1995 and 2012.

But, that's only one kind of suffering for the iGen. The other is the brutal reality that there is no-safe-place for their members. Not even in upscale Westchester County, New York. 

It has been in the Westchester small city of New Rochelle that student at New Rochelle High School - Valaree Schwab - was murdered. By a gang of bullies, her own age. Following that attack, two more students from that high school were roughed up. But they didn't die. Here are the ugly details in the New York Post.

The amazing reality is what is happening in Westchester County usually had been restricted to The Hood. For example, the New York Post description of Schwab's ordeal is that she "was jumped."

Such behavior is what we feared on the mean streets of pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey. That's why we high school students at Snyder High during the early 1960s had to navigate the walk to, from, and inside school hyper-alert.

It's tragically funny. If someone is messing with me and won't stop, I might spit out: "Where I come from, people like you get jumped."

Those who guide youth have to figure out how to help them stay alive in these 21st century versions of The Hood. Perhaps that should be Twenge's next urgent matter to research.

Irritated with your communications results? Complimentary consultation. No pressure. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

"This Is Not Right" - What Will Be Signature Phrase for Joe Kennedy III (and midtern campaigning)

Joe Kennedy III, grandson of Robert Kennedy, stole Donald Trump's thunder (which endured 70 minutes) with a short talk in Fall River, Massachusetts. He characterized the town as having been built by immigrants. 

There in Fall River tonight, Kennedy established what could be the meme of the midterms: "This is not right." What isn't right is that the American way has become a zero-sum game. People are set against people. In order for X group to thrive, Y group will have to lose. 

In addition, Kennedy deflated what could be Donald Trump's signature victory. That is solving the immigration crisis. Panels analyzing Trump's State of the Union noted that he could turn the immigration issue into his biggest accomplishment and own all the credit. 

Speaking Spanish, Kennedy positioned and packaged immigration as one of inclusion. He told Hispanics: "You are part of our story." Trump's version is that immigration is his story. It is a problem he is solving. Not a soul-wrenching matter of human beings living in fear of having family members deported or never being able to join them in the U.S.

Obviously, the so-brief speech in Fall River passed the torch of political leadership to a new generation. That is personified by a 37-year-old Congressman, husband, and father. He's a bit too old to be a Millennial (the cut-off point is 35). But, the aura is youth, along with confidence and optimism.

Irritated with your communications results? Complimentary consultation. No pressure. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Hudson, Pittsburgh, PA - Legal/Technical Writer

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Hudson, Houston, TX - Legal/Technical Writing Specialist

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Government Affairs Firm, Austin, TX - Paid Intern or Paid New Graduate (could open door to politics)

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Marc Salling - Not a Lot of Options

"Law & Order SVU" has been the series to continue on the air. The rest of the original programs in Law & Order franchise have been discontinued.

Among the reasons SVU has endured is that sex crimes, any and all versions, are considered heinous. Viewers feel great satisfaction when the miscreants are apprehended.

That good feeling keeps them tuning in.

Late Glee star Mark Salling had taken a plea deal associated with child pornography.

When he was going to be sentenced on March7, he faced 4 to 7 years in prison.

As he likely realized: In the joint he would not have fared well. The inmate code treats child abusers harshly. If he survived that sentence what would have emerged would have been a broken man. 

As the Daily Mail reports, Salling committed suicide by hanging. Ever the theatre presence, he staged that death on a tree near a little league baseball field. Setting that up in that way might have given him a sense of control. 

Salling was 35 when he took his life. He had made an earlier try last August.

Human beings labeled as child sex offenders have no exit from the shame and stigma. If apprehended their lives are over - socially and professionally. 

In West Hartford, Connecticut, I was supportive of the boy next door who was living with his parents. He had been released from prison after serving a term for molesting a child. I did not have children. The community shunned me. His sister, who did have children, also shunned me.

I myself regretted that support when I was consulting with the real estate agent about putting my house up for sale. I knew I had to ask the question and I did: Do I have to disclose who's next door? The agent said "no." That was the legal answer. But I have always wondered about the ethical one. 

Irritated with your communications results? Complimentary consultation. No pressure. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Large Law Firm, D.C. - Business Development, Including Managing Events

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