Law And More

Clear Thinking, Don't Know: In the Time of COVID-19

The New York Times is blunt: What was put out there to manage or just create the illusion of managing COVID-19 hasn't been effective.

More than four months into the pandemic in the U.S., the virus retains total control.

Those efforts could go down in history as The Folly of 2020.

The slogans, the pressers, and the platitudes could symbolize the ultimate in human hubris, that is, arrogance. Along with that is a side show of Machiavellian public relations.

Yes, it's a brutal play-out of Humans plan, the Gods laugh.

But, planning must be done. Even as it's announced, though, now-cynical constituencies roll their eyes. Yeah, sure, goes the mindset. 

The University of Michigan, which is currently classified as part of the Ivy League, announced on June 22nd that for fall it will conduct a hybrid: some in-person instruction, some remote. That entails significant risk. COVID-19, which has hit that state of MI hard, could return for an even worse hit. 

In contrast, much of Harvard University, including the Law School, will go total remote. That also entails risk since, for example, Harvard Law School will still bill its usual tuition. Come fall semester, students finding the remote courses subpar could sue, just as they already have.

The lawsuit is "Barkhordar v. Harvard University." 

Note, filed by a Harvard law student, it designates as a defendant the entire university. 

The cruel joke being played by COVID-19 on America, of course, extends way beyond higher education. Government leaders, economists, stock market experts, employers, career coaches, and philanthropists should stop pretending that they know what they are doing. They don't. 

Moreover, what will be increasingly obvious is that, no, we are not all in this together. It will be individuals and families who are evicted from apartments for not paying the rent and from their homes for running out ways to hold off foreclosure. Essentially, they will be on their own. In the best case scenarios, relatives, friends, or shelters can take them in. In the worst, we all know that ...

No, some will not, as the platitude promises, get through this. Way back in May, The Washington Post discussed the uptick in suicides, overdoses, and old-line clinical depression and anxiety.

The normal events of a life, such as a my best four-legged friend being diagnosed with congestive heart failure, become much more difficult to emotionally absorb. Although this isn't the first time I am experiencing this, this time I feel undone. The space in my life without LOV seems not able to be filled. I hear the symptomatic cough of congestive heart failure and I step into a form of catatonia. 

Yes, it's all that bad.

Informally (without all the official fanfare) there should be a Day of National Humility.

We humans have to embrace our extreme cluelessness, overall and during this pandemic.

On that day on National Humility, there can be presentations of how throughout civilization the artists have captured that myopia. In itself, it can resurrect respect for the liberal arts.

From Hamlet in the rotten state of Denmark to Jay Gatsby in Long Island, human beings assumed they knew what they doing. That illusion was fatal.

Then there were those who do make it through to a normal, routine death, along the way enjoying a fulfilling life. Among them has been Virginia Woolf's character Mrs. Ramsay in the book "To the Lighthouse."

Incidentally, the mantra for one school of zen, as practiced by the New Haven, Connecticut Zen Center, is: Clear Thinking, Don't Know.

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Capitalism Doesn't Have to Be Raw (or max profits) - My and LOV's Story

It's like a "store" in the old neighborhood.

That's the ethos of Lewis Animal Hospital, Toledo, Ohio (5104 Lewis Avenue, Toledo, Ohio, 419-476-9106).

There is that end-to-end caring which was part of doing business in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey, in the 1950s. We kids got a slice of cheese from the butcher. The owner of the mechanic shop helped dig out our fathers' cars in the snow - no charge. 

Yesterday in Toledo, the temperature was 90+ degrees. So for the appointment to Lewis Animal Hospital I brought along a bottle of water and a little dish to pour it in. That was to be for my 12-year four-legger LOV. But I didn't need to go through all that preparation. There, right inside the door of Lewis Animal Hospital were two cute bowls with water. 

The receptionist actually listened to what I said. Part of that was thanking her for giving me the appointment. I could have waited weeks, given all the pent-up demand for vet services. But when I explained on the phone that LOV was coughing (red flag for congestive heart failure) she pulled me to the front of the line. Every day before that appointment, in the afternoon I would look at LOV. He would look at me. And, I cried. He was slipping away, I sensed.

Once LOV and I were in an examining room, I gently placed him on the soft blue blanket just laid out. That's the term to describe the ambiance there: soft.

Dr. Tim Mason listened to me. Then he listened to LOV's heart. Not good. He explained the options, with tenderness but realism.

With medication, LOV could make it through a few months or even a few years. He also noted that in France the doctors had done a dog valve replacement. The fee for that had been $23,000. We laughed. He got it that I passed on that option.

Just as in the old neighborhood where the store owners lived among us, not in some newly constructed suburb, there was no raw capitalism. No assumption that profit had to be maxed.

Instead of structuring LOV's treatment as a constant series of office visits, Dr. Mason told me that he could call in the medication refills at a human pharmacy near me. What a stunner. The mission of the Lewis Animal Hospital is to help animals (and their pet parents), not create enormous wealth for the owners.

This morning, after his first dose of medication last evening, LOV seems a bit better. There is less coughing and it doesn't seem to be coming from his soul. 

But, here is what is equally important. For the first time in a long time I feel "safe" doing business with someone I have to do business with. There was no hustle. No upselling. No locked-in ongoing expensive treatment.

On Listserv Nextdoor, there are frequent requests for referrals to vets in the Toledo Metro area who are both good and are affordable. You bet, I will tell my Lewis Animal Hospital story over and over again.

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The Third Rail of Socioeconomic Differences: Growing Up with Roaches

Tears flowed today.

The world attended the George Floyd Memorial. Some did that in-person in Minneapolis. Others through the extensive coverage on sophisticated media such as PBS.

Among the speakers was political activist Al Sharpton. His message cut through socioeconomic differences - not just racial bias. He used the metaphor of cockroaches to describe his mission of tracking down what thrives in darkness. 

Only those of us who grew up in urban areas, most of them poverty-ridden before gentrification, emotionally bonded with that metaphor. As Sharpton pointed out, the entitled Hollywood types could never identify what it was to share one's living space with roaches.

In roach-infested tenements like mine in Jersey City, New Jersey, there was always the fear that one of the would piggyback on our school clothes into the classroom. The bullies would have a field day mocking the unfortunate kid. Vividly, I remember one little girl who had a roach on her First Communion veil. Somehow I can't imagine she ever recovered from that public trauma. 

Food not locked in the refrigerator had to be kept in tightly locked jars. Meals required total alertness, with frequent visual scans, to prevent roaches from joining in. The DIY extermination rituals didn't work for long. 

Floyd was one of us - the roach people. From the get-go, we had to fight to maintain any sense of human dignity. Of course, cockroaches undermined that.

No, that was not the situation only for people of color. My immigrant Italian family, not exactly pale WASPS, experienced disrespect just about everywhere. No surprise the meme of respect dominates the iconic film "The Godfather."

In crying for Floyd we the roach people also cried for what we had endured. Often I wondered if I wouldn't have wound up hating myself if my ancestors remained in Italy.

The ability to love myself came through years of recusing abused animals. We connect with animals via our minds. Theirs chronicled lots of four-legged versions of roach stories. They also sent me constant messages that I was a good person. In addition, a force for good.

George Floyd, like Jesus Christ, died for all of us. May his legacy, as with Christianity, bring love and hope to humanity.

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Amy Cooper - NYPD + Manhattan DA Office Investigating If Laws Were Broken

Amy Cooper lost her big job at Franklin Templeton.

She returned to the rescue shelter the dog she had adopted.

She is receiving death threats.

Now this.

The New York Post reports that the NYPD and Manhattan District Attorney's office are investigating if a law had been broken during that infamous call to the police about an alleged threat to her life by a black man. 

That could fall into the category or "false call" or "falsely accusing someone."

If they have enough law on their side to determine that, then Cooper could be arrested. That ordeal would be not only emotionally draining. It would cost her a good buck for a lawyer. If she takes a plea or is convicted, she would have a record. Good luck landing another good job. 

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Landlord Nation - Evictions Expected to Begin

Leasing residential property is a business - not the mission of a nonprofit to provide shelter for human beings.

This is capitalism.

If the rent isn't paid, evictions happen. And, they are predicted to kick in this June.

As Tounesna News reports, for this month, 90% of those leasing managed to pay the rent. That's no surprise, given that there had been stimulus checks. But that pay-out was a one-time event.

America is Landlord Nation.

Most states have laws protecting landlords, not renters. And those laws will be enforced.

Recently the Texas Supreme Court ruled that evictions can begin. In the Oklahoma City metro area the sheriff was compassionate about the situation but indicated that evictions would take place. Here in Ohio law, the rights of landlord to be paid rent are what are on the books.

In a less regulated era, the solution to financial crisis had been "hot beds." Relatives who had lost their jobs simply piled into the apartment where monthly rent was being paid. That was usual. Leases weren't written with provisions about how many people could occupy an apartment. Landlords weren't legalistic. Their focus was on the rent check per se. 

That was then.

Sure, there is some getting around current terms and conditions. For example, in a residential complex in Toledo, OH, leases specify that occupancy of the one-bedrooms is limited to two people. As the economy worsened, lots more were visible entering and leaving the residencies. There is the danger that snitches could out the situation. But the location isn't the genteel suburbs. Most of the neighbors existing in this pile-up of people have the mindset of Whatever. They got it that they could be next.

Those who don't have a go-around for paying the rent for an individual residence will swell the number of homeless. That's heart-wrenching when there are children and pets.

It could be a summer of so much pain. With the temperature already higher than normal in some parts of the nation, there could be time-travel back to the urban social unrest of the summer of 1967. 

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Amy Cooper - This Is Not Going Away (maybe not ever)

Career 

Reputation as a decent human being

Being a pet parent.

All finished.

At age 41, Amy Cooper is over.

The odds are against her being able to do enough brand reputation restoration quickly enough to bounce back from a comprehensive catastrophe. 

As the world knows and Daily Mail covers, Cooper contacted New York Police (911), contending that a black man in the Ramble part of Central Park was threatening her life.

A video documented that he - Christian Cooper (no relation to Amy) - had only requested that she put her dog on a leash. There was a sign that dogs in that section had to be leashed. Christian, age 51, was there bird watching. 

What has transpired since that game-changing call to 911 include:

•  Amy has made a public apology. Mea culpas are so plentiful as to be meaningless in reputation restoration.
•  She has been put on administrative leave at her job as head of insurance investment solutions at Franklin Templeton. An investigation is taking place. 
•  She returned the dog to the shelter. (There had been concern that she was mistreating the animal. For example, some claimed she had been pulling on the leash too tightly.)

The undertow on this one is this: Will the Brand Professional Woman take a big hit?

Obviously Amy is (or was) a successful female careerist. And, simultaneously she acted like a racist crazed human being as well as possibly an abuser of an animal. There is the issue if women, on the way to climbing the ladder, have lost the qualities which have made them nurturing mothers, caring friends, and ethical decision-makers? 

How, for example, we (both females and males) used to treasure our relationships with the women in our lives. No matter what happened, there would be a woman we could talk to. And that would be that. We would feel better and go on to navigating our work and personal lives.

Another bit of darkness associated with this incident is the question of who the heck did Amy think she was? Likely she had to consider herself "entitled" to phone 911 about the mere presence of a middle-aged black man in a public place during daylight hours. Hasn't our society, especially in COVID-19 time, had it with entitlement?

The most effective leaders during the pandemic are those just being selfless human beings. They range from Ohio's governor Mike DeWine who saved the state from becoming a hotspot to Paul, Weiss chairman Brad Karp who created the unique Coronavirus Relief Center.  

Unfortunately for Amy, she will probably harden into a symbol of all that is wrong with traditional capitalism and individual careerism. 

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Let Us Gawk, Yet Again - Nick Denton, Hulk Hogan, Peter Thiel, Charles Harder, and Apple TV +

Gawker, launched by Nick Denton, had been the fun read for those wishing reputational damage to the powerful.

Roly-poly Fox emperor Roger Ailes, before his own crash, was a favorite.

And it was Gawker which helped out that another roly-poly Bob Dilenschneider, Ailes' personal public relations representative.

Dilenschneider had ponied up $15K to buy advertising in The New York Times Book Review for the vanity Ailes' biography by Zev Chafets.

That was supposed to distract from the publication of not-so-friendly biography"The Loudest Voice in the Room" by Gabriel Sherman.

The problem was that Chafets' book was a year-old. The media smelled something rotten in the state of BookVille. Journalists investigated. A fun time was had by the enemies of both Ailes and Dilenschneider. The scandal helped the sales of "The Loudest Voice."

In addition, Gawker's bloggers, at least those who hadn't gotten caught up in airing of the Hulk Hogan sex video, went on to lasting fame.

Among them has been Ana Marie Cox. She had started out as Gawker's "Wonkette." She picked up on undertows in power in D.C. 

Currently her signature on Twitter (she was an early adopter of that social network) is encouraging her followers to post cute photos of their four-legged children.

Primarily she still earns her living as a political commentator.

Among her many altruistic missions is helping those struggling with booze abuse not to give up on recovery.

You bet, Cox is America's Digital Sweetheart. In the hearts of Americans she will remain forever young.

Of course, nothing, not even the money of Peter Thiel and the courtroom skills of media attorney Charles Harder, could really kill off the Gawker ethos. After the $140 million verdict in "Hogan v. Gawker" (the Florida jury didn't seem to like Denton, et al.) put it into bankruptcy, Bustle Digital Group bought it. However, Gawker 2.0 didn't pan out.

Meanwhile Thiel evolved into a thought leader in tech, instructing youth not to go to college. His bible on entrepreneurnship "Zero to One" remains a best-seller. Although published way back in 2014, it ranks on Amazon at 2,639.

Harder went on to represent even higher-profile media issues such as those associated with Melania Trump. 

But what could set the Gawker wheels going and heading toward a third life (Gawker 3.0) is the reported documentary about that media phenomenon to be streamed by Apple TV+.

In Vanity Fair, Joe Pompeo reports that former Gawker editorial players Cord Jefferson and Max Read pitched the idea. Now, sources say, they are preparing the scripts. 

If that series catches fire, the soul of Gawker could be resurrected from where media outlets too often tend to go which play too close to the third rail of power.

Right now, The New Yorker, where Ronan Farrow took on BigBigs, is being targeted. Among the entities on the attack is The New York Times.

From that war among journalists Matt Lauer could board a fresh platform for a comeback. The guy has talent. Let him back into broadcast. More importantly, let Lauer play this card dealt him smart.

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It Could Be Just That: A Setback

"Signs of career-damaging emotional trouble can be subtle, like a pattern of overreacting to relatively minor work setbacks ... " - Anne Fisher, Fortune, April 17, 2020. 

The current stress about holding on to a job or getting another one after being laid off can unleash dormant demons.

Those monsters of the mind, once let loose, can catapult professionals into self-defeating behavior.

The classic example is to become preoccupied with what doesn't go as planned. You interview for a promotion or a job. You don't get it. Sure, it's smart to reverse-engineer the whole process, then considering changes, next time.

Instead, those thrown off their game by the current extreme stress will shoot an arrow into their confidence. Since confidence is everything, every action following the setback can establish a continuum of failure.

How to contain the damage from a wrench in the works?

You bet, do the audit of what you did and didn't do and create a list of modifications.

Then, let it go - all the way.

• No, don't "confess" your "sin" to everyone in the loop. In this environment, whatever you say can and will be held against you. Confide your emotional upheaval to one trusted friend. Don't rule out the dog for that.
• Refrain from revisiting the "scene of the crime," that is, contacting those who turned you down. It could be useful to request feedback to improve your performance in the future but then leave it at that. One former lawyer I coached who hadn't made partner organized an alumni group of others at that BigLaw firm who also had been knocked out of the box. 
•  Begin learning a new skill to reinforce confidence. A ghostwriter I coached didn't get the contract for a book. She started flying lessons. When she was in the air she had to give the process her 100% attention. Not being able to be distracted liberated her from her tendency to dwell on supposed failure. The reality was that a better kind of contract came later. 
•  Stop comparing yourself with others. No one really knows what it going on in the careers of others. If those others are wise, they are circumspect about their own setbacks. 

Especially vulnerable in this severe economic downturn are those over-50. Here is my book, free to download, on how to tame those monsters of the mind which tend to destroy the confidence of aging professionals.  

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COVID-19 and Four-Leggers - Government Will Have to Make Policies

It's what parents of four-leggers most feared: Their pet children could contract COVID-19.

While the official scientific word is on hold about that, what is known is this: A pomeranian in Hong Kong has tested positive for the coronavirus and is in quarantine. His pet parent Yvonne Chow Hau Ye has also tested positive. Daily Mail provides more details.

This case could be an aberration. Or it could be the beginning of many more reports of dogs and perhaps other kinds of animals being diagnosed with COVID-19.

If the latter is what plays out then there will have to be an investigation of how the transmission takes place. Is it human to animal or animal to human? In addition, there will have to be government - national, state, local - policies on prevention, testing, treatment, and quarantine. 

Meanwhile, pet parents need lots more information on prevention. Should their four-leggers avoid other four-leggers and other humans? Should those walks outside be solitary? Will there be criminal action taken against pet parents who don't alert authorities about illnesses among their four-leggers? 

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It's Official (finally) - World Health Organization Declares Coronavirus Global Health Emergency

Members of the JD Class of 2020 who haven't yet accepted job offers should be wondering: How will the declaration of the World Health Organization that coronavirus is a global emergency impact our near-term career?

Corporations could put off elective litigation.

M&A activity could be put on hold.

Death of spouses could eliminate the need for divorce. 

Actually courts could be shuttered for the remainder of the crisis.

Daily Mail has the latest details of the play-out of what has been called a Black Swan event. For example, the latest case in the U.S. confirms that the disease is passed on from human to human. The husband of the victim who had returned from China to Chicago has been diagnosed with it. 

That means people can and probably will panic. Civilization is a fragile entity. There is no telling what will happen. Law enforcement may be quite busy but not necessarily corporate law firms. 

It is even possible that all schools, including law schools, will be shut down. That happened in Hong Kong. The completion of the JD may be delayed. It takes time to convert classroom instruction to an online version.

Full Disclosure: Since pets could be in the loop I worry about my four-legged son. 

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