Law And More

Insight into Raw Rage, From Marlon Brando

The confluence of COVID-19 and a dicey economy is unleashing a tsunami of raw rage. That could reach from the client biting your head off to the murder down the block to parts of city going up in flames. 

But even in more tame times rage has cost society much. Also, individuals have lost their freedom. Jails and prison are packed with those who let their rage run its course.

In addition, my hunch is that frequently associates don't make it to partner in the highly political environment of the law firm because of rage under their internal floorboard.

Obviously, those anger management courses haven't been effective in reducing rage. 

However, help could be coming from a surprising source. That's Marlon Brandon. Last year, a new Brando biography- "The Contender" - was published by William J. Mann. 

The total dynamic of rage, from its source to simple ways to push it down (as Brando thought about it), is made so clear. No one needs to take Psychology 101 or tune into Dr. Phil. 

Here's what you will get from "The Contender":

• Rage can take shape because of an abusive childhood. The trauma of that may never go away. So much for the platitudes of healing. REPEAT: If you were an abused child, as Brando had been, you can be embedded with the kind of emotional setpoint that results in your throwing a punch after what others consider a minor assault on your dignity. 

 

• Own the rage. Through years and years of therapy and meditation Brand accepted that there was that force within him that it was his responsibility to control it.

 

• It's possible to create a DIY in your head to prevent the rage from rushing up to the surface - and getting you in trouble. As Mann notes, Brando was admired but not widely liked or loved. The tactic to manage the rage is analogous to what some anger-management courses teach: Find the midpoint in that powerful feeling. That is between being a doormat and exploding. Place the emotion at that safe midpoint. Then, stop. Think.  

If you are part of the post-book generation, however, the 624 pages could be too formidable to even order from Amazon or check out from the public library (they are open again).

That's the rub in this amazing resource for rage management. The author is a professor. Likely he leveraged researching and publishing this tome as a needed credential for his academic career. No surprise, although it's well-done and an engrossing read, it only ranks in the 200,000s on Amazon. It should rank higher.

Those with no intention of plowing through "The Contender" can grab onto this takeaway: Admit your childhood was that bad. Recognize when rage is building up. Push it down. Hold that position.

According to Mann, Brando finally did achieve peace of mind. That's what he chased. Not fame. Not even to create great art through his acting. 

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

BigLaw - Differentiation, At Last

"While law firms have been criticized for often demonstrating a 'follow the leader' mentality, the recent divergence on layoffs, associate bonuses and lateral hiring suggest the legal industry may finally be breaking away from its herd mentality." - Patrick Smith, Law.com, October 19, 2020.

For years consultants to the legal sector have been hammering the need for large law firms to differentiate.

In other sectors, that had been for decades a fundamental of marketing. The classic book on that - "Blue Ocean Strategy" by W. Chan Kim and Renee Muaborgne - argues that creating a unique presence allows for premium pricing. It also prevents winding up competing through discounting. 

The bonus wars in BigLaw are an example of its breaking away from the traditional formula of how elite law firms should look, talk, walk and create human resources policies. 

In addition, some risked taking heat in the court of public opinion and laid off lawyers.

Others took another kind of risk: laying off staff.

Some might have annoyed clients and prospects by not laying off at all.

There also had been wild poaching of laterals. That, interestingly, was and is in itself a mode of differentiation.

An example is Paul Weiss, guided by chairperson Brad Karp. It established for itself an identity as a shrewd deal-maker. Among the competitors it siphoned talent from had been Boies Schiller.

Yes, Boies Schiller is a weakened player, However, a number of media outlets positioned and packaged the serial raids as a sort of battle of the titans. Conflict gets attention. In the case of these lateral moves, it got the right kind, at least for Paul Weiss and its leadership. 

Yes, there has been an Ah-Ha Moment. in BigLaw. The reality is sinking in, finally, that elite law is not immune from the current marketing reality that there is no space for generalists. That has long been the must in other sectors. Refusing to become a niche player doomed one to generic status. The game mutates into price wars. Exhaustion follows. And it shows.

Recently, I reimagined my two boutiques - one in communications, the other in career coaching - for a narrowly defined niche. That is The Future of Work. Business surged. So did interest in my branding. Download ReimaginingYourCareerWithJaneGenova.

Within that space there is a subcategory in pivots for aging professions. The mission is to mentor them on landing, holding and moving on to better work, no matter their age. Here is the free book on that.

Because of my new clear brand identity, it's easier to get articles published in third party media. Last week Odywerpr.com posted my analysis of the need for multiple sources of income. Some might recall that millennial lawyer Kevin Ha who has 13 side hustles, in addition to his full-time day job.

Why did it take me so long to pivot to differentiation? 

Answer: The same reason BigLaw dragged its feet on this one. It seems counterintuitive. After all, businesses had been socialized to go for all the action, not just a piece of it. 

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

 

Darkness Can Fall Fast (Quartz for Sale, California Sunday Shuttered) - But Those Who Suffered Enough Are Letting There Be Light

" ... Quartz and California Sunday were publications that both seemed to be thriving just a short while ago." - Joe Pompeo, Vanity Fair, October 8, 2020.

For so many institutions and individuals, darkness has fallen fast. JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon predicts that any semblance of normal won't return until summer of 2021.

But, over and over again, there also are instances of those who seemed to have suffered so badly and yet are creating the light.

At the top of the list is James Murdoch.

So long under the thumb of his tycoon father Rupert, James has broken free. With his vestiges of rage and considerable financial resources, he can rebuild journalism. That seems to be his mission.

Many in the legal sector know that three black lawyers have started the black owned and operated Bradford Edwards & Varlack. As its website showcases, it brilliantly differentiates itself from other law firms.

Achieving differentiation, in a sector with so much cookie-cutter positioning and packaging, has become the Golden Grail. Of course, we assumed those black lawyers have suffered. 

The April 2015 article "The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous" by Gabrielle Glaser delivered brutal hit to the AA brand. No, it hasn't been able to shake it. Yet, during COVID-19, some districts have managed to pull off launching and keeping going in-person meetings. That's with no paid help. My hunch is that has been saving lives. Some define "alcoholism" as the disease of isolation. It gets you alone - then kills you. In-person meetings directly addresses that.

In my career coaching practice, I have also bore witness to miracles Download ReimaginingYourCareerWithJaneGenova A disbarred lawyer managed to forgive himself. That's even though his ex-wife and stepchildren hadn't. He returned to his pre-college interest of music, setting up an e-business. Don't most professionals blow it because of self-hate?

An uplifting read for these roller-coaster times is "Humankind" by Rutger Bregman. It puts out there a radical theory: People are decent. 

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

 

Subtext of Bonus Wars: The Pickle Associates (and most millennials) Are In

As recently as the headlines in legal media last Friday, the bonus wars dominated. That's a long time in this era of a rapid news cycle for any story (beyond Trumpworld) to remain marketable to editors. 

So, obviously, there is a story embedded in that story.

The subtext, I have a hunch, is the pickle associates - and most millennials - are in. It's a painful state.

That includes, reports Business Insider, financial stress, burnout from too long hours, loneliness as human connection becomes elusive, and, yes, decline in health, both physical and mental. Overall, that demographic (ages 24 to 39) is aging faster than earlier generations had and are.

Also, suicide, direct and passive, is increasingly common. That drug overdose many would label a form of "passive suicide." The rooms of recovery are experiencing more and more of those. 

Ironically, the millennial plight had been captured in the book "Disrupted" by over-50 Dan Lyons.

Knocked out of the box from his media job (he suspects because of age) he grabbed a position in a startup.

There he observed the syndrome of "Burn and Turn." Enthusiastic millennials were hired in and worked to near death. Then, when they limped away on their own or were pushed out, they replaced by another batch to "Burn and Turn." There was no shortage of new recruits. Startups are the ultimate cool.

That pattern does mirror the Up or Out system of many law firms. Also, there is no shortage of new recruits. Who doesn't want the prestige of being an associate in a brandname law firm! 

Skilled capitalists (that's how they got to the top), the law-firm brass is usually not transparent about who will make it all the way to partner. Therefore, hopeful associates give their all.

Actually, in itself, that's not the end of the world - or necessarily of their physical health and health.

If only they entered that space with the right mindset ...

Associates could come out ahead of what seems like a brutal game by positioning and packaging it as damn-good experience they can leverage. Meanwhile. they are probably enjoying very good compensation. If they can last long enough they can pay off student loans. 

But, come on. The prevailing mindset, thanks maybe to Mr. Rogers, is usually that they will become partners.

However, there's much more contributing to the mess that associates and other millennials are in than simply career fantasies.

Among the drivers are debt along with inflation in fixed expenses such as housing and groceries, escalating employment insecurity in most sectors, great expectations (followed by dashed hopes) about relationships, and stress-induced negative impacts on all the healthcare numbers which signal premature aging. About the latter - as any Baby Boomer like myself will tell you: Worrying about your health can throw shade on your entire existence. 

Since associates lug around some or most of that, it's no surprise that those who didn't receive the off-season COVID Appreciation bonus would become the loudest voice in the legal sector about suffering. The tone was and is downright Dickensian.

One solution, of course, is career coaching. During that, two things can happen. One is the ability to make choices about how to earn a good living. The other is how to up the odds about being successful in that choice. Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova

The more general one, though, is what just about every gen does as part of "growing up." That's realistically sizing up what is and then struggling to make the best of it. The rub is this: Giving up assumptions or hand-me-downs from parents or high school guidance counselors about how the world is supposed to work.

Those who manage that brutal rite of passage can not only make it professionally. There can be inner peace. Bill Gates shook off the mythology of the higher education system.

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

 

Howdy, Partner at Heidrick & Struggles - Shareholders Might be Puzzled by Use of Resources (and more)

The  current business model for cost-efficiency is to push down responsibility and accountability to lower-paid but highly trained resources.

In healthcare, for example, for five years I have been served well by physician assistants. Not medical doctors.

Tuesday, one issued me a prescription for an antidepressant. The intake was efficient and comprehensive. No, I didn't have to consult (and pay for) a mental health specialist.

So I was puzzled in my encounter with search/executive development corporation Heidrick & Struggles to be dealing with a partner. 

After all, I was applying for a part-time contract coaching opportunity. Here, let me introduce myself - Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova

No, I wasn't applying for a permanent full-time C-suite position such as Senior Vice President of Search.

I approached Heidrick & Struggles through an unsolicited resume, transmitted via email.

I learned that very effective tactic from "What Color Is Your Parachute?" by Richard Bolles.

Back in the late 1970s when I read that career guide (it's updated annually right up to the present time) I tried it out.

Within three weeks I catapulted from nonprofit to the private sector. My compensation went from about $11k to $22k. I received a country club membership. My superiors assessed my developmental needs, rotated me around the company and flew me to specialized training. Days of heaven. 

In the late 1980s, when I launched a boutique, I again leveraged that way of pitching. Within seven months I was earning $30k more than I had been grossing in corporate (healthcare insurance was very affordable then so that wasn't a significant expense I had to deal with in self-employment).

But there is plenty of rejection or just no-response in that mode of a search for work. So, I was over the moon when Heidrick & Struggles responded to my pitch. It listed three time slots for the one-hour video interview. That was a Monday. 

The standard MO, at least in my experience, is for the company to lock in automatically the time as soon as you indicate you continue to be interested.

There was no such notification all day Monday.

Nothing Tuesday.

I figured, perhaps wrongly, that the on-the-ball thing to do was to follow-up. That I did on Wednesday.

The rest could forever remain a darkness in my memory bank.

Get this: A partner was in the loop. He was a point of contact on the email.

That partner responded. And, that email response was with a tone and content I never had expected. Also, I hadn't bumped into anything similar in my decades in professional life.

Immediately, I responded by email that I seemed not to be a fit for Heidrick & Struggles, withdrew my application for assignments and cancelled an appointment that was then made after I had made the contact.

First let me tell you: I am from the mean streets of Jersey City, New Jersey. That ability to "roll with the punches" is embedded.

In addition, I had been socialized by the Frank Hague political machine. I understand how power operates.

However, after the partner's email I speedcycled through two anxiety attacks.

No, I am not a cry-baby. But I decided to share that experience with Heidrick & Struggles' human resources, the legal department and the chief executive officer's office.

The response came from Heidrick & Struggle's in-house legal department.

I experienced that email as lacking human connection. To me it also seemed inward looking, not focused on me.

Specifically, I perceived it not aligned with the investing ESG ethos of including people in what business is about. That is, going beyond the one-dimensional bottom line or the total focus on maximizing profits. ESG is also called "the triple bottom line."

As I noted, I have been on medication for clinical depression for three days. It should kick in another week or so.

I know from my legal training and being a syndicated legal blogger, that it is inappropriate to even suggest a correlation between X and Y, never mind a cause-and-effect relationship. I am not making any accusations. It is indeed possible that the anxiety attacks and the clinical depression are just the result of the reality that life is an existential tragedy. 

But I also know, as an investor myself (but not in Heidrick & Struggles), that it is curious how this corporation seems to function.

Recent analysts' decisions about the stock should raise concerns. In Q2, Nuveen Asset Management lowered its stake in Heidrick & Struggles by 14.6%. Zacks Investment Research changed its rating from "buy" to "hold."

Why am I sharing these two encounters with you?

My mission is that this sort of thing doesn't happen to other vendors to this corporations and other firms in professional services. It can stop right here.

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

Kamala Harris and Other Female JDs - The Challenge of Personal Branding

During the Vice Presidential debate, Kamala Harris seemed to smile too much.

Smiling more than is necessary in a social context can be interpreted as a too-eager-to-please gesture.

Yes, in social situations the expectation is to frontload with a smile. Then ... 

Some professional women I coach admit that they have to learn to control that smiling impulse. That was the way they had been socialized. They want to establish a personal brand that creates more of a strong, confident presence. 

Others admit they have to smile a bit more, softening their all-business persona. That's the standard pivot for these COVID-19 times. Soft skills are mandated. Lack of them can be unforgiveable in some professional interactions during the current unprecedented crisis.

Such a struggle with the presentation of self by female JDs, both those no longer practicing law and those in employed in law firms, usually still exists.  Even with the acquisition of title, power and wealth, it can't be ignored. To do that sets the woman up for how she will be ambushed. Every professional has periods of vulnerability. She can anticipate that enemies will target her persona. Remember Hillary Clinton's ordeals. 

Given the importance of personal branding, more and more new JDs are warned not to apply to workplace X or Y unless they "fit." The term "fit" is shorthand for all the terminology associated with how professionals position and package themselves.

Sure, if they are nimble in personal branding they can "fit" in a range of cultures. If not, they are restricted to narrow options where they can apply, be hired and thrive.

Okay, the work world is changing. We read about all that. But it isn't changing quickly enough for those not tuned into the right personal branding for the right setting to "be themselves." As every effective salesperson knows, it's imperative to "mirror" the prospect - everything from dress to rhetorical patterns. In professional life, the "prospect" is whoever does the hiring and promoting.

Little of this is new. Way back in the 1970s, the career guide "What Color Is Your Parachute?" hammered that who gets the job are those best at the presenting themselves in all aspects of the search process. No, it's not necessarily the most qualified. The book is still in print, updated annually.

What is new is that there is less margin of error for all professionals, but especially for female lawyers, to bungle their personal branding. Competition for opportunity has become so intense. 

Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

2020 Anti-Semitism - Ranging from Elite Corridors of Congress to the Hood

"Jewish members of Congress are facing anti-Semitic attacks on Twitter in the lead-up to the November election, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League." - Rachael Levy, The Wall Street Journal, October 6, 2020

The key targets in Congress are elite brandnames such as Chuck Schumer and Jerrod Nadler. A side target is that influential brandname George Soros.

The Twitter hate speech, which hasn't been removed from the social network, accuses them of sundry crimes against American society. On the list are nurturing civil unrest and attempting to undermine U.S. President Donald Trump.

But anti-semitism is embedded even in the hood. In the Americana midwest.

On the mean streets of Toledo, Ohio, I had been roughed up. Verbally. My vehicle was vandalized. There also had been old-fashioned standoffishness, that is, shunning. 

The irony? I am not Jewish. It was and is assumed that I am. 

I have a deep Brooklyn type accent. For those outside the New York Metro area, that's associated with being Jewish. In addition, because I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood, Yiddish words slip into my speech. Example: To refer to a pain in the neck errand as, "it's a schlep."

My body style and facial features are Eastern European, where many Jews have come from.

My complexion is dark, as with those from Israel. 

Since anti-semitism has become so rampant (think the terrorism in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) it's also assumed that I would attempt to conceal those ethnic origins (which don't exist). When I used to explain that I am not Jewish, there were smirks. Yeah, sure. Tell us another one. I have ditched that narrative. Let me be Jewish.

The solution?

For me it has been to relocate to a better neighborhood and social groups. I had been doing some aggressive saving for retirement (in five years). That's why I was renting in the hood. Research indicated it didn't have more crime than other spots in Toledo. I assumed I was being quite financially smart. Hahaha.

The solution for anti-semitism?

Maybe there is none. Growing up in immigrant tenements I recognized that oppressed human beings need to feel superior to and to bully those they feel they can get away with doing that. Irish Catholics, who were in the area before us, held back jobs. The top bully had been Frank Hague who had created an iconic political machine. 

In the new book "Humankind," Rutger Bregman asserts that essentially people are decent. He knows that's radical. So radical that he's featured in erudite programming on PBS. Well, the book didn't move the dial on my dark understanding of the human species.

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

 

Marketing in Legal Sector - Pivot to Soft Skills

During COVID-19, among what's changing is marketing - at least the kind that is effective in developing new business and retaining current clients.

At the 2020 LMA Tech Midwest Week, a necessary focus, reports Law.com, had been the shifts in marketing. 

Of course, some firms are relying on technology and old-line prospecting such as trolling on LinkedIn. And some of that is successful. Yes, the technology of podcasting, video and presenting webinars is useful. Linkedin is a power tool.

But what has become a best practice in these isolated, angst-filled COVID-19 times is the return to soft skills. Those include reaching out directly. Yes, pick up the phone. Or custom-make a concerned email asking about the client's or prospect's concerns.

The tone is everything. Be authentic. That means shaking off the Professional Persona we all wind up adopting (and often don't even realize it).

In addition, it's imperative to differentiate yourself. You have to be putting yourself and your pitch out there in the unique way. How to do that? 

One way is to ensure you don't transmit platitudes. Not that you have to become a contrarian. But you don't want to attempt to take others' time with what they have already thought or picked up in the legal space. 

Another is to provide real insight about their business and the legal issues impinging on it now or in the near future. Nothing is more disarming than a sincere "We have been thinking about you ..." Naturally, that can't sound like a sales pitch.  Sales is about not selling.

A third is a fundamental of successful sales. That is, sketch out an image of how their professional lives could be easier and their business more profitable if they try X or Y. 

In career coaching, I raise social intelligence (SI) through role play. A lesson can proceed as "The prospect is hesitant. Bad tactic would be to push. Instead, let's experiment with pull tactics. Among the counterintuitive ones is suggesting that the prospect interview a number of firms. The message sent is genuine caring. Now, let's simulate the prospect not quite at the point of purchase, yet ...'

In these wild times, it's not surprising that the old is new again. A useful guide book is Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends & Influence People." The meme is: Develop a sincere interest in others. Marketing is not about you. It's about the prospect. 

In addition, there are Dale Carnegie seminars and coaching. When I was in career transition I enrolled in a marketing and sales course in Central Connecticut with Michael Francoeur. I knew I had to create a new persona for the new path. The essence of sales is the presentation of self.

Small changes can have big impacts. Results-driven career coaching.  Affordable rates (sliding scale).  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download UnleashingPossibilitywithJaneGenovaCareerCoaching

Transcending Marketing & Its Discontents - Sales w/o Selling

The gameplan for marketing keeps mutating. And, during COVID-19 times, with so many businesses failing, survival of the fittest keeps requiring new plays.

While some law firms are engaged in the bonus wars others are still wobbly. 

Sure, for certain players, the tactics can still include publishing a book. Venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal Peter Thiel put out there "Zero to One." That was in 2014. Currently it still ranks high on Amazon - 8,140. Expect an uptick.

In that guide for entrepreneurs, Thiel discusses applying to clerk for two justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, being rejected and lessons learned. Given the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, sales of any book reflecting on SCOTUS dynamics are bound to soar.

In addition, if layoffs become the norm should COVID-19 circle back or a contested election throws the world economy into disarray, those in the RIF loop will have to reflect on what Thiel had to find out. Namely that a setback can be opportunity. Those suffering that blow have upped the odds of winding up on their right career path. 

Here's another kind of lesson to learn. Public affairs Manhattan boutique owner Bob Dilenschneider published "Decisions" on December 31, 2019. Currently it ranks quite low on Amazon - 1,024,555. That makes publishing a book, at least for Dilenschneider, a - not a +. His shop does have a niche for the public opinion aspect of litigation as well as tort reform. The Dilenschneider Group helped promote Philip Howard's "The Death of Common Sense."

You bet, book publishing is risky for the non-Thiels as well as the non-Woodwards. Sales are made public on Amazon. That is information available to the author's competitors and enemies. Prospects for the author's services are also aware of the rankings. In America, we count. That's why resume experts hammer to quantify accomplishments. Your team's wins and settlements totaled X amount for 2019. 

What Dilenschneider ignored was this: All the other cool marketing tactics he could have invested his resources in. They include podcasting, YouTubing and Instagram. The content of those could have been entertaining. 

The essence of marketing is a distraction from the existential tragedy that is life. Ginsburg, like all human beings, really did die. 

The marketing message is supposed to lift the targeted demographics from focusing on what is to the promise of what could be. That ability characterized Don Draper's creative talent in AMC's programming "Mad Men."

Successful marketing is actually a process of not-marketing. The response is built-in. The targets respond, kind of on autopilot. And it transcends the inherent hatred of being sold to that iconic Harvard professor Ted Levitt warned about. He made famous the meme Marketing and Its Discontents. 

In constructing his gameplan for 2021, Dilenschneider can dismantle his in-place marketing machine and conjure up the voodoo of sales w/o selling. So can law firms. 

The genius in that category is chairman of law firm Paul, Weiss Brad Karp. Each and every outreach doesn't look, walk, talk or smell like marketing. Those range from social justice initiatives to acquiring brandname laterals from his competitors. There is no heavy-handed marketing imprint. 

When I consult with displaced lawyers for my career coaching services, early into the session it is usually appropriate to introduce the question: Have you considered experimenting with how you are marketing yourself? 

Their answer is always "yes." That is because the answers for our economic survival are always within us. Otherwise, caveman wouldn't have had endured long enough to produce the next generation of the human species.

If what's inside you is sending out signals to assess your marketing, then Stop, Listen, and experiment. Most things in business don't pan out. All that's needed are for a few to produce results. 

Small changes can have big impacts. Results-driven career coaching.  Affordable rates (sliding scale).  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download UnleashingPossibilitywithJaneGenovaCareerCoaching

Sorry, SCOTUS Clerks, Law Firm Hiring Bonus Stuck at $400k

Is the business of recruiting SCOTUS clerks in a bit of a recession?

Back in 2018, the going bonus for joining an elite law firm after serving as a SCOTUS clerk had been about $400k. Now, discloses the Supreme Court Brief, the rate is stuck there in 2020, notes Abovethelaw. 

That leaves those former SCOTUS clerks onboarding in 2020 with only the funds to continue to pay off student loans and put a hefty down payment on property in a major metro area such as Washington D.C. or Manhattan. They probably won't have much left over to purchase a gateaway in the Hamptons or even the Jersey Shore.

The law firm which is the major recruiter of SCOTUS clerks is Jones Day. But that platform for enhancing its brand and insight into how the high court operates recently bit Jones Day in the backside.

Two former law SCOTUS clerks sued Jones Day in 2019 in a complaint about alleged gender bias in paid parental leave.

That lawsuit is "Mark Savignac and Julia Skeketoff v. Jones Day." Recently federal judge Randolph Moss allowed the lawsuit to move forward, reports the American Bar Association Journal. Here is a copy of the complaint.

An interesting anecdote about SCOTUS clerking is presented in Peter Thiel's "Zero to One." After that billionaire venture capitalist received his JD at Sanford he applied to two justices for clerking positions. Both turned him down. At the time, Thief was devastated.

But, the career lesson takeaway in that real-life story is this: Rejection can deter you from a career path on which you might have been lackluster and onto one in which you could star. Thiel's first professional homerun was co-founding Paypal. 

Do you have a reversal of fortune story which catapulted you onto the right path? Please share that with his blog (janegenova374@gmail.com). 

Small changes can have big impacts. Results-driven career coaching.  Affordable rates (sliding scale).  Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download UnleashingPossibilitywithJaneGenovaCareerCoaching