Law And More

Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes/Sunny Balwani - Finally, Trial Date Set for March 2021

It's hard to envision an in-person jury trial. But that could play out again. So bets U.S. District Judge Edward Davila. He seems to be assuming COVID-19 will be a done deal. 

The New York Post reports that that judge overseeing the fraud trial for Theranos' former executives Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani has scheduled it for March 2021.

As some might recall, it has been rescheduled a number of times. The more delays the better for the defendants. They face 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. If convicted each faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,ooo fine.

The Post predicts it will be high-profile.

But, a nation badly battered by COVID-19 and the resulting economic fallout might have lost its interest in juicy courtroom drama. Also, the details have already been covered so comprehensively. Do we really want to hear more about all those old white men on the Theranos Board of Directors or celebrity lawyer David Boies who represented Holmes?

That pile on of expose  began with The Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou's book "Bad Blood."

What might remain of interest could be far away from the courtroom. Move the attention to the offices of psychologists and psychiatrists. Bouncing around are questions if Holmes has some kind of character disorder. Her behavior seemed that of a person devoid of normal human emotion. As an alleged case of aberrant personality, she is fascinating.

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Freelance Glut, Compensation Down - How to Halt Bottom-Feeding

Those in the gig economy, including lawyers doing doc review, have noticed this: Compensation is down. Frequently dramatically. That's how it is. And it extends across almost all the sectors. 

Content-creation assignments in marketing communications, for instance, which used to pay 10-cents a word now offer 2 to 4 cents a word. And, nowhere in sight are assignments posting 20-cents per word.

You got it, it's that brutal law of supply and demand.

Bloomberg Law confirms that reality when so many jobs have vanished, perhaps permanently in Covid-19 time. Actually Bloomberg notes that users of Freelancer.com searching for work have increased 30% and of Upwork 50%.

Incidentally, since Upwork is a global platform, the compensation has always been on the low side. That's because, for example, the freelance legal writer in the U.S. is bidding for assignments along with freelance legal writers in the Philippines and India. The latter can and will bid way lower - and likely get the assignment. 

Those doing the hiring usually don't want or need the assignment done brilliantly. They just want it done. So, they expect to pay peanuts. 

What seasoned gig economy players have already done is stop hunting for assignments on those low-end platforms. They researched where they can connect with more upscale prospects.

Years ago I stopped even checking what was out there on Upwork. I invested search time on more sophisticated platforms in my field ranging from Mediabistro.com to Journalismjobs.com. 

In addition, I followed the advice of "What Color Is Your Parachute?" and pitched cold to those who might need assistance. The response is low but what does come in pays quite well. The book is available free in the public library. There are used copies on Amazon. It's a must-read. 

Also, I put myself out there on social networks. That gets my LinkedIn profile checked out. Work does come in.

Currently, I have managed to strike gold. I can turn down lower-paying assignments.

The past four weeks I have earned more revenue in that kind of time period than I had since before The Great Recession.

A big part of that was that I overhauled every aspect of how I marketed when I recognized how devastating the pandemic would be on the economy. To become more prospect-centered, I re-read "Copywriting Secrets" by Jim Edwards. The meme is that pitching is about the potential client/customer, not about us. The book also stresses the importance of headlines in how we market. 

In addition, I switched my headset to optimistic. Listening to American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron on YouTube saved me from the undertow pulling so many out to despair. Especially helpful has been her lecture on migrating from fear to fearlessness. Fear turns us inward, not outward toward the market. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Age Bias in Firing/Hiring - It Escalates as Unemployment Increases

Age bias in the labor market is worse than many assumed.

MarketWatch reports on the new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

For each 1 percentage point of increase in the monthly state unemployment rate, the rise in discrimination in firing aging workers was 4.8 percent. The uptick in the bias in hiring was 3.4%.

Given the high unemployment generated by COVID-19, the current time is seen as ideal to purge organizations of expensive seasoned workers. Younger ones can be hired at about a third of their compensation. 

In the book "Disrupted," Dan Lyons recounts how, at age 50, he got the boot at Newsweek. He suspected the organization would simply fill his big job with several young people and the whole replacement dynamic costing way less than his salary and benefits.

The specific pickle he was in was that he needed employer covered medical insurance for his disabled wife and two young children.

In my coaching that's the usual point of extreme angst for those with families.

Even the single find themselves desperate for medical benefits. One 62-year-old former executive (pushed out in a merger) joked about marrying her sometimes boyfriend just to gain access to medical coverage.

Before a 59-year-old in-house lawyer landed a job after losing one in the financial sector he had to pony up $2,500 a month for COBRA for his family.

Fortunately, the Ok, Boomer who's been dealing for a while with ageism in trying to earn a living has developed some best practices.

Here are the ones I recommend to those I coach:

• Grab income. Any kind. It doesn't necessarily ruin your resume. Actually some employers salute your willingness to do whatever it takes to earn a buck to support yourself and any loved ones. Here, free to read, is my bible on getting, holding, and moving on to better work, at any age Download Outwitting ageism. Also, the old adage is true: Nothing gets you work like having work.
• Stop pitching yourself the traditional way - that is, through credentials and being polite. Those I coached who were hired into well-paying work took control of the process by letting employers and clients/customers know: This is what I can do for you. To do that you have to understand their business. And, you have to control the interview process without it appearing that you are controlling the interview process. After all, presenting yourself for work is a form of sales call. 
• Bypass age. Move the focus to specifics you can accomplish. This becomes more and more a winning strategy in the current economic downturn. If you ignore age, so will others.
• Embrace minimalism or radical frugality. That's even possible if you have a family. Members of Generation Z and Alpha are aware of how tough you got it. They might even enjoy the collective spirit of sacrifice. 
• Relocate, if possible, to where the cost of living is lower and there is less age bias. An example is Arizona. Can't sell the house for the price you want? Rent it. 
• Sell stuff you don't need. You can post for free those items on app Nextdoor and Craigslist. 
• Longer term, develop multiple sources of income. You learned the hard way you can't depend on a job or operating a business in a particular niche. 
• Put in play those necessary endings. That is, letting go of all people, places, material possessions and mindsets that are keeping you stuck. The best read on that is Henry Cloud's "Necessary Endings."

Lots of older men and women continue to earn income. It's usually, though, not in what they used to do or at the rate of compensation they had previously earned.

But it's more than enough to make ends meet. Once they are eligible for Social Security, they can even begin to sock some of those earnings away. One self-employed marketing expert I coached began investing again at age 70. She had "lost it all" back during The Great Recession. When she has $20k more in her portfolio she will semiretire.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

California's AB-5: The Sophisticated Legal Game Gibson Dunn's Ted Boutrous Is Playing for Uber

AB-5 became law in California, last January. With some exceptions, it mandates that gig workers be classified as employees. That gives them the protections and benefits which employees have under federal and state laws. 

Uber, along with other businesses whose model depends on gig workers, has invested $110 million to have that law overturned.

In November it will appear on the ballot for voters to decide. Essentially it would exempt Uber and app-drivers from the provisions of AB-5 and simultaneously provide new driver benefits. Those include a wage boost and contributions to a Covered California Health Plan. 

Meanwhile, though, reports Bloomberg Law, a legal team from Gibson Dunn, headed by Ted Boutrous, is trying to prevent a final court order mandating that Uber drivers be classified as employees. The objective is to delay that before the ballot initiative takes place.

The strategy is to leverage complex procedural tactics to facilitate the delay.

For years Gibson Dunn has served Uber and other businesses dependent on the gig-economy model. It has been the go-to firm because of its reputation for superior litigation work. The in-house counsels can reassure the chief executive officer and the board of directors that they have put the bet-the-ranch legal issues with the best legal team. 

However, more recently Boutrous has been in the news for representing the legal interests of those publishing negative books about Donald Trump. They include John Bolton and Mary Trump. In those situations it had been Boutrous' first-amendment expertise that had been valued.

In current times, lawyers representing the big names become themselves big names. That has been the way it is for lawyers ranging from Charles Harder ("Hulk Hogan v. Gawker") to Norm Pattis (defense of Fotis Dulos). Media outlets require celebrity props for stories. Brandname lawyers can serve that purpose.

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New Lawyers - Your Performance Will Probably Be Lousy, Don't Cringe Years Later (but meanwhile you'll probably be let go)

The start (of anything) usually involves lousy performance.

Yet, American-style capitalism creates the ethos of shame for those whose beginnings were predictably lousy.

Break out of that looping, recommends marketing/sales communications expert Jim Edwards. In his best-seller "Copywriting Secrets" he admits how "bad" his copy had been when he settled into that niche after bouncing around after his formal education. 

According to Edwards, bad is the platform for developing expertise which does generate results and builds great personal branding.  That is, if the player dissects that performance as well as what the competition is doing doing.

Bad could be a necessary step into genius. His initial bad management triggered Steve Jobs' later ability to save Apple and have it positioned and packaged as the go-to for digital technology. Incidentally, Jobs never seemed to be consumed with any regrets about past performance. 

Attend trials in which inexperienced lawyers are representing clients. Even non-lawyers  -educated by "Court TV" and the old-line "Law and Order" -roll their eyes.

But return in a few years and those same lawyers not only have gotten up to speed on sophisticated skills. They have presence. 

Essentially, the game is about: Professionals have to start somewhere. 

Unfortunately, amid the harshness of capitalism and the up or out system of most law firms a bad start could end not with the bang of congratulations: Look at how much you have improved. Instead it usually winds up as a whimper of extreme self-doubt by those ousted. In my coaching we walk through that corridor of shame. 

Instead, along the way newbies can bypass shame. They adopt the joyful mindset: Wow, I learned so much. And careers are about continual learning. 

Reflection: Elite institutions, whether it be a New York City law firm or a university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are unforgiving. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Reality Check for Law Firm Manpower - Corporate CEOs Abandon Hope for Quick Recovery

Call it the end of magical thinking.

The current severity of the pandemic and the possibility it could circle back a second time have made corporate chief executive officers admit that recovery won't happen in a matter of months.

The Wall Street Journal reports that their current mindset is that the bounce-back from COVID-19 could require years.

The implications are broad-based.

For example, some corporations such as GM, to preserve cash for the long haul, have eliminated dividends for shareholders. Of course, that kind of initiative could worsen the financial situation on Main Street. The U.S. economy is 70% consumer-driven.

To navigate all that, corporations are being forced to change. It's back to the drawing board both for cost-efficiency and for growth.

That can be bad news for law firms. The financial distress of clients and prospects directly affects their business - and, in turn, their management of manpower.

Over and over again, watcher of the business of law firms Hugh Simons has hammered that really hard times are coming when it comes to law firm employment.

Already, Bloomberg Law documented that for the JD Class of 2020 there have been not only delayed start dates but rescinded offers.

Abovethelaw has begun receiving insider tips from law firms where actual layoffs, not just pay cuts and furloughs, are happening. Those include Bryan Cave. 

And aging lawyers have contacted me for complimentary consultations on how to frame a career transition.

If knocked out of the box, lawyers over-50 are realistic about not being able to land another position practicing law. The hiring will be for laterals who are still working and have a brandname and/or a book of business. Yes, in an old-line sector like law firms, there remains a stigma about unemployment.

The obvious recommendation is for lawyers at all levels to anticipate being cut loose. That could be through being shamed out of the job, forced retirement, buyouts, stealth layoffs, or an announced reduction in force.

The time is now for all lawyers to research how to leverage their education, experience, and skills to sectors in which a good living can be made.

Over decades, the proven guide is "What Color Is Your Parachute?" Annually there is a new edition. Those are available in the public library and used from Amazon.

The sustained meme of that bible on job search and career change is this: The professional hired is not necessarily the most qualified. The success comes from being the best at how to  find a job or navigating career change.

The being-hired game doesn't operate on the fundamentals of a meritocracy. The dynamics boil downs to superior skills in that whole continuum of chasing after work. 

Based on insights from "What Color Is Your Parachute?" lawyers should analyse the marketability of various backgrounds. Then they put together trial resumes and cover letters. Yes, multiple. Simultaneously, role play interviews with those trusted on a network.

In addition, they have to get over the potential blow to self-esteem of taking on survival jobs or gigs. It really is true: Nothing gets a job like a job. A crazy-seeming job can be the bridge to a new career path. The leasing agent for an apartment complex can wind up in the real estate firm's corporate headquarters. 

In outplacement, if the law firm provides that useful benefit, it's imperative to be aggressive about seeking guidance on a job search in a glutted labor market.  

Meanwhile, investigate building or enhancing social branding. Employers factor that in. So do potential clients. 

On LinkedIn, displaced general counsel from Salary.com Colin Levy has created fresh personal branding. His example is encouraging other lawyers, unemployed and employed, to also go social. Through that, Levy is picking up contract work. This tactic may or may not land a full-time job practicing law. But is is a solid platform for career change. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

BigLaw + Unemployed Lawyers: Pro-Bono Front Lines for COVID-19 Victims w/o Health Insurance, Housing

BigLaw has been downright proactive in its pro-bono outreach during COVID-19 time.

Iconic is the example of Paul, Weiss, under the leadership of Brad Karp, of the Coronavirus Resource Center.

Unfortunately, the human fallout from COVID-19 is escalating. The pandemic, at least in a growing number of states in the United States, is unmanageable.

California had no choice but to return to lockdown. Say good-bye to jobs, again.

The result of that sustained unemployment has been the loss of employer-funded health insurance for 5.4 million.

It had been a leader with a legal background - Barack Obama - who gave America Obamacare. Currently, the current health insurance issues, triggered by COVID-19, could again become the focus of lawyer types. Lawyers understand not only legalities. They have deep experience in leveraging power, federal, state, and local. So much of that had been captured in Hedrick Smith's classic "The Power Game."

The problem which has been receiving more media attention than health insurance, of course, has been homelessness. After federal and state moratoriums on evictions are lifted, homelessness could become increasingly normal. Even before those deadlines, for example, courts in Tucson, Arizona, a coronavirus hotspot, there have been more than 50 daily evictions versus the previous 10 to 30 cases.

And homelessness is what "everyone" is talking about. That can make the lack of health insurance a sleeper. That doesn't have to happen if lawyers become the loudest (and most effective) voices in the room for social justice.

In history, lawyers could be celebrated, just like healthcare workers, for their selflessness during the time of COVID-19.

And those lawyers will not just be the big names.

The heroes could and should include the knocked-out-of-the-box lawyers.

As they (Hugh Simons predicts there will be plenty of layoffs) figure out The Next they can plow their expertise in law and power to make a difference for pandemic victims.

It is well known: Doing good leads directly to doing well.

Yes, that growing group of Lost Generation lawyers can be creating a fresh platform for success. Currently, on LinkedIn, displaced general counsel from  Salary.com Colin Levy is doing just that. He shares information and insight with the jobless, both from law and other sectors. From that have come contract assignments. But I have a hunch the longer-term payback will be career transition. 

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Reflections of Child of Great Depression Grandparents/Parents: The Great Simplification

Part of the uncertainty about a post-pandemic economic recovery in the U.S. is what consumer spending will be. After all, that generates about 70% of GDP. 

MarketWatch puts out there the possibility that consumers could adopt a depression-era mindset regarding spending. 

Anyone whose family members lived through The Great Depression understands how damaging to economic growth that can be. My grandparents, parents, and uncles/aunts were almost phobic about spending money.

In addition, it could negatively impact the stock market. Of course, many of those struggling through The Great Depression assessed investing in the stock market as too much of a risk. That served to impede their ability to build wealth for themselves. No surprise, another MarketWatch article forecasts a kind of crash in the price of equities, analogous to that in 2007.

The child of Depression parents (I was conceived during the WW II economic uptick), I inherited plenty of risk-aversion. Yesterday, when the stock market was very up, I had my financial planner at Edward Jones - Michael Hernan - lock in my gains.  I had the funds put on-hold in an Edward Jones money market account. Yes, that will buy more equities on the dip - which I anticipate to be deep. 

Meanwhile, in spending, as with an increasing number of senior citizens, I have embraced radical frugality or minimalism. In that powerful memoir "Making Toast," Roger Rosenblatt observes that we don't need much as we age. 

Most of the revenues from my ghostwriting and marketing communications boutique are plowed back into the business or deposited with Edward Jones.

Meanwhile, those in professional services, ranging from public relations to law, shouldn't be optimistic about preventing layoffs through tactics such as furloughs and pay cuts.

PR giant Edelman tried that and had to cave to a reduction-in-force. As management guru Hugh Simons predicted, law firms will have to resort to layoffs.

Recently Miller Canfield and Hughes Hubbard & Reid had to cut loose lawyers.

Eventually, among those could be partners, forced into early retirement. Recent research shows that's becoming a standard rite of passage older members of the workforce have to navigate. The pivot is producing a new kind of pioneer in the ability to land, hold, and move onto better work - any and all kinds. The concept of "careers" could be mutating into simply "earning a good living." That, a fallout from COVID-19, might be labeled "The Great Simplification."

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

The New Normal in Time of COVID-19: Forced Retirement

There is a confluences of forces.

One is that the aging, always targeted for the ax, are finding themselves shown the door more often during COVID-19. That's just the way it is. The route could be accepting a package, being on the list for a reduction in force, harassed into resigning, or a stealth layoff, that is being terminated for supposedly performance reasons. 

The other is the fear of returning to a communal work situation in which the risk of COVID-19 is high. 

The result, observes Alicia Munnell in MarketWatch, has been a significant increase in early retirements, that is, leaving a career or long-term work situation sooner than intended.

According to the findings on the Current Population Survey, in April 2020 - only one month into COVID-19 - there had been a 7% uptick in the number of those who had been employed and suddenly fell into the retirement category. For those between 55 and 64, the percentage was less but still significant enough to get on the radar.

Overall, the feeling about this development is: blindsided.

Because of the shock, there could be a rush into pessimism.

At the top of the list is assuming that the only way to continue to make ends meet is to apply for Social Security early. Usually, that's at age 62. Long term, that means a reduction in the monthly benefit.

The reality is that being knocked out of the career box doesn't mean the end of the ability to earn income from work per se. There is always work. Here, free to download, is my bible on that Download Outwitting ageism.

That stopgap can be the bridge to a new career path. For example, an in-house lawyer, who had been a communications client, had been forced into early retirement. He spotted an ad about being a residential leasing manager. Eventually he became licensed as a real estate agent. He made the contacts to sell at the high end. 

Another bit of pessimism is the mindset that relocation to where the cost of living is lower comes with shame. Those who thrive, despite the reversal of fortune, frame that as the unique opportunity to start over again. Also, many, to their surprise, discover it is a relief to leave their former life, embedded with careerism, behind.

There is also the predictable syndrome of regret - that is, replaying the past. It consists of the If-Onlys. When I lectured at the New York State Bar Association to displaced lawyers over-50, most were replaying their earlier decisions. The pattern was the magical thinking that if they hadn't done X, Y, that is, their termination, wouldn't have happened. Sure, it's important to learn from what could have been ineffective behavior.

However, nothing will change the past. What has helped some of my coaching clients in shaking off that preoccupation with the past is studying forms of Buddhism. Several schools recommend not perceiving the past - or any entity - as good or bad. It just is.

There are plenty of resources out there to navigate this new kind of rite of passage: early retirement.

Since the 1970s, for instance, "What Color Is Your Parachute?" has been a game-changer for those who need to market themselves to land work. Its tenet is that the person who is hired or gets the account is not necessarily the most qualified. Most often the winners are those who are best at presenting themselves in the labor market.

The search for income from work is a game. That game keeps mutating. Currently, my clients who are hired use the direct approach. In all their marketing materials, ranging from the cover letter/resume to the interview, they state and back up with data what they can accomplish for that employer or prospect for their business. Essentially, the pitch is: Here is what I can do for you.

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Remembering Edward Kleinbard - "Woke" From Focus on Tax Legalities to Government Spending Policy

On June 28th, reports The Wall Street Journal, the lawyer with multi-dimensional interests - Edward Kleinbard - died of cancer in California. 

He was noteworthy enough to be chronicled in that influential media outfit because of that broad range of intellectual commitments.

As a boy his passion had been medieval times. He loved the details of that part of history. When visiting Europe, he was the family tour guide when it came to abbeys and so on. His dream was to study to become a professor of history.

However, his father - Martin Kleinbard - reminded his son of his love of the good life. On a professor's salary he couldn't afford that. Martin had been a partner at elite law firm Paul, Weiss. Currently that firm is a leader in social justice initiatives. The chairperson Brad Karp has integrated that mindset into the business of how Paul, Weiss practices law. Recently the firm launched a sustainability practice.

Edward enrolled in Yale Law School. At Cleary Gottlieb, as a partner, he specialized in tax law. His mission was to reduce the tax liabilities for clients.

Then, in 2009, he circled back to his dream - sort of. Instead of teaching medieval history, he taught law at the University of Southern California. 

It was then that he shifted his focus from tax collection policies to tax spending. His mission was to raise consciousness on how government should spend the revenues collected. His wish list included increased funding for education and infrastructure.

At one time, it was fashionable to label such minds as "renaissance." But that term is no longer cool.

What would pay honor to the legacy of Edward Kleinbard, at least in some circles, is to capture his intellectual orientation as "woke." Several years ago, he published "We Are Better than This."

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