Law And More

AMC Lenders Hire Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for Restructuring

Both short term and longer term business prospects don't look good for AMC Entertainment Holdings. 

Short term its 1,000 movie houses around the world have been shut down because of the coronavirus. 630 of them are based in the U.S.

As The Wall Street Journal reports that was supposed to be for 12 weeks. Now, most experts on the pandemic anticipate that the kinds of measures which made the shut downs necessary will probably hang on for longer than that. 

But even before this crisis, AMC was in trouble. Going out to the movies was becoming an anachronism. More folks were doing their movie viewing at home through platforms such as Netflix.

Now, because of the movie theatre shut downs more in the movie industry loop are distributing their films directly to the home. The odds are: Current viewing trends will become an embedded habit. That could doom AMC.

Meanwhile, lenders to AMC have contracted law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher for restructuring.

The WSJ notes that AMC's $4.9 billion debt load is trading at distressed levels. Its junior bonds have recently traded at 40-cents on a dollar. Its stock price plunged after the initial shut down had been announced. 

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Feuds, Ranging from Farrow/Allen to Dershowitz/Boies: Refuge from Exhaustion of COVID-19

Cain and Able

Families of Romeo and Juliet

Jack O'Dwyer and the PRSA

Harry/Meghan and The Firm

And, the Farrow Clan and Woody Allen.

Feuds are a mainstay of civilization. In difficult times they are solid platforms for gossip. Nice distraction.

In this era of COVID-19, we need lots more of that. Less Netflix. Less following the news and emails from marketers about the pandemic. Less  losing trust in leadership (with the exception of Andrew Cuomo and where is Joe Biden). 

Along the way, feuds can provide lucrative work for those in public relations and law. Those sectors, just like most of professional services during the pandemic, need the business. The Ford mechanic in my residential complex is among the very few currently making a good living. (I have been saved by those taking out sponsored content on my three syndicated blogs.)

What is most titillating about feuds is this: Entities such as the New York Post take sides, with great passion. That's lots of fun. I had enjoyed supporting O'Dwyer against the PRSA. Most of us who drift into the loop have fairly boring lives. 

Usually both those sides claim they have the upper hand. 

But in the latest round between the Farrows and Allen, the latter might be winning. Not only did he get his memoir "Apropos of Nothing" published. Most know the story of how Hachette backed out and Arcade rode to the rescue. 

In addition, the book is doing well. On Amazon, it ranks a wonderful high: #529. Of the 66 reviews, 76% give it a 5. Only 4% give it a 1.

Most importantly, it allows Allen to raise questions about Saint Mia, supposedly Mother Earth and Global Do-Gooder.

That mirrors how Christopher Hitchens was able to raise questions about Mother Teresa. Many recall his iconoclastic book "The Missionary Position."

No, that didn't destroy Mother Teresa. But it performed enough brand deflation that when she died, around the same time as Princess Diana, the world didn't kick into universal mourning. Interestingly, when Hitchens himself died there was universal mourning.

In the U.S., Allen might be, to borrow that term from "John Wick 3," excommunicado.

 But his work is doing well enough in Europe.

He did extricate himself from Mia. Anyone from what might be a dysfunctional family system understands how difficult that is. I  broke away twice, only to go back, with great regrets. The bonds can be the jaws of spiritual death.

His marriage seems stable.

He can continue to do what he loves: Make films.

And, he made it to age 85. No self-destruction through the usual suspects.

The peril to the new front line of the Farrow faction - investigative reporter Ronan Farrow - is that the dynamics can become all-too-consuming.

The attention shifts from work per se to maintaining the feud.

The branding becomes cartoonish as it tends to do in so many human conflicts. Think about one-time superlawyers Alan Dershowitz and David Boies. They duke it out like out-of-shape former prize fighters. 

Sad, also.

Talented Ronan can wind up that way. 

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A Pox on Both Their Houses - The Feuding Farrows and The Allens

Controversy sells.

Big time.

Just look at how lucrative the entrepreneurial activities of Meghan and Harry are. That wouldn't have happened had they not triggered extreme controversy by breaking free of royal life.

Apparently, Dylan Farrow is clueless about the commercial power of a controversy.

Otherwise she wouldn't be out there decrying the publication of Woody Allen's book "Apropos of Nothing." What she doesn't get at all is that her latest rant will jack up book sales - probably almost exponentially.

Influential tabloid Daily Mail carries her latest vilification of the man whom she has been alleging for decades molested her as a child. Way back in June 1993, Judge Elliot Wilk ruled Allen not guilty of sexual misconduct of his adopted child Dylan. However, his behavior with Dylan had been inappropriate. Because of the latter Allen lost his bid to gain custody of three of his children.

Every so many years Dylan resurrects that contention. She is the front lines or Worker Bee on all that for the Farrow Family. But Ronan also has joined forces.

Specifically Dylan's outcry is against Hachette which will release Allen's book in April. That she positions and packages as a betrayal of her brother Ronan Farrow. Allen is Ronan's biological father.

Hachette also published Ronan's expose "Catch and Kill." That book essentially rehashed without too much information or insight the sexual misconduct of glam celebrities such as Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer. However, it continues to rank higher on Amazon. Those brisk book sales in themselves demonstrate the role of controversy in purchasing decisions. 

The Dylan-generated controversy, though, is an equal opportunity one.

It is the gift which also keeps giving to Mia, the matriarch of the Farrow brood. It props up her brandname, long after her best days as an actress are over. In reality she had been the scorned woman. Allen had dropped her to start a sexual romance with his adopted daughter Soon-Yi. Later he married her.

As William Shakespeare proved out in "Romeo and Juliet," family feuds are wonderful platforms for success. That drama of two families in an ancient conflict continues to be a commercial hit.

May the Allens and Farrows keep fueling their feud. A good time is being had by all - maybe including the players themselves. During 2020, it could provide wonderful theatre. 

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Harvey Weinstein - In Jail, But Prison Won't Be Forever (not necessarily)

Lead defense attorney for Harvey Weinstein- Donna Rotunno -  saved her clients from life in prison.

Yes, he's in jail right now, awaiting sentencing March 11th. But he won't be facing a life sentence in prison. Rotunno attempted to get bail for Weinstein but that didn't pan out. 

As BuzzFeed reports, the jury acquitted him on predatory sexual assault which could have landed him in the slammer for the rest of his natural life. 

What he was convicted of had been criminal sexual act in the first degree and third degree rape. The former carries a 5 to 25 year sentence. The latter a possible 4 year sentence.

Weinstein had breakfast in the Four Seasons this A.M. That could be his last fine meal for a long time. 

More will come on this story throughout the day. For instance, will the defense go for an appeal? There were signs of that early this month.

Also, do experts on prison life anticipate that Weinstein will be a target in prison?

UPDATE:

Yes, Weinstein's legal team will be appealing the conviction.

Instead of spending the night in jail he will be in the hospital. Medics confirmed he was suffering from high blood pressure. Weinstein said he was experiencing chest pains. More details from Daily Mail.

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Kim Kardashian - Future JD, Legal Activist

She stuck with it. 

Back when the legal media announced, usually with a smirk, that reality star Kim Kardashian was committed to becoming a lawyer, there was that universal eye-roll. 

Most experienced Kim's career plan as simply another promotional stunt.

But, Kim has stuck with it. As the Daily Mail reports, she had completed the first year of her four-year apprenticeship in California studying law. Every week she invests 20 hours in that. She anticipates taking the bar exam in 2022. 

In addition, she also has stuck with her legal activism. Her successful campaign to get Alice Marie Johnson out of prison was not a standalone event.

Her mission is to end the mass incarceration in the U.S.

Here is The New York Radio Hour on Mass Incarceration.

On April 5th, on Oxygen, the two-hour The Justice Project documentary will air. In it she features four cases of alleged misjustice. 

Her celebrity could be the game-changer in reforming the U.S. criminal justice system.

Even those who are politically moderate might have come to view the mass incarceration as a job-making system for the middle class. The corrections industry tends to pay well and, even in this volatile economy, provide employment security. 

It's odd that Dick Wolf, in programming such as "Chicago P.D.," doesn't push back against drug laws which result in arrest and incarceration.

If the sale of drugs like heroin and cocaine were made legal, regulated, and taxed, Hank Voigt and his team might be able to focus on other kinds of criminality. It could be the big leap forward if Kim pitches that story line to Wolf. 

Those taxes can fund solutions for homelessness. 

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As Expected, Harvey Weinstein Structures Settlement, to be Court-Approved, with More than 30 Accusers

It's the wonderful way settlements can work.

Harvey Weinstein's  settlement, reports Complex, will provide $25 million to the more than 30 who accuse him of sexual misconduct. They range from actresses to former employees of his studio. He admits no guilt. The agreement has to be approved by the court.

None of that will be paid by him but they get him and the former board off the liability hook.

Instead the money comes from insurance companies for his former studio. The actual amounts they are pitching in totals $47 million. That will also cover some of Harvey's legal expenses and be paid to his brother Bob and other former members of the former studio's board. As a result the latter will have no liability in the matter.

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"David Zindel v. Fox Searchlight Pictures" - Alex Kozinski and the Crisis Management Game

Film enthusiasts probably recall the poignant tale of the female janitor who rescues an Amazonian god from a military research institution. That movie had been "The Shape of Water." 

Well, like so much in the entertainment industry, that wound up as a lawsuit. It was the copyright one "David Zindel v. Fox Searchlight." But U.S. District judge Percy Anderson tossed the case.

Now, former chief of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Alex Kozinski is trying to resurrect that lawsuit. As Law.com reports, he appeared before that same court as the lawyer for the plaintiff. He contends that the lawsuit had been dismissed without a review of evidence or any oral arguments. 

According to the fundamentals of crisis management, Kozinski has managed his situation well. About two years ago, he had been accused of sexual misconduct. Instead of defending himself, he retired from his big job. Then he laid low. He didn't start reputation restoration prematurely.

Incidentally, CollegeAdmissionsGate miscreant Felicity Huffman might have sought rebranding too quickly. Soon after her early release from jail she indicated a mission to help female inmates. That might not help here to relaunch her acting career. Instead, it would have been wise, as had Kozinski, to become invisible. Then, find a platform to return to public scrutiny from a position of strength. No one denies Kozinski's fine legal mind. 

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Cryptocurrency - Winklevoss Twins' Gemini Trust Acquires Nifty Gateway

In the world of crypto, that is digital currency, Cameron and Tyler Winkleloss are among the movers and shakers.

Their journey from being ridiculed in the film "Social Network" to becoming early adopters of bitcoin is chronicled in the book "Bitcoin Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich.

Currently, their every decision is watched and analyzed for both business and technological implications. The interest isn't only in the category of cryptocurrency. It extends to the entire growing fintech sector. 

So, the business media, including BusinessInsider, took note when the twins made an acquisition. Their fund Gemini Trust purchased Nifty Gateway. A side story on that, which members of the press seem to enjoy, is that is the acquisition also had been owned by twins - Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster. 

The Nifty platform accepts payments through credit and debit cards instead of a complex crypto transaction - that is a crypto wallet. However, that is tracked on a blockchain ledger. 

What is purchased is the Nifty or NFT. On the Nifty Gateway website, there is the explanatory statement:

"Nifty NFT is a digital good which is stored in a global blockchain instead of a local or centralized database - usually an in-game video game object."

The significance of nifties is this: They are different from other forms of crypto in that they are one of a kind. Therefore, they aren't interchangeable on the blockchain.

It is reported by Upcrypto.org that one motivation for this purchase is that the Winklevoss twins predict that all collectibles, both digital and real-world, will migrate to the blockchain in the form of nifties. 

For the current time, Gemni Trust and Nifty Gateway will operate separately.

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The Recovery Industry - Lisa Smith Is Doing Well

Like any needed service, recovery has become an industry.

As such, it provides increasing professional opportunity for those who can put together the right positioning and packaging. 

Among those is Lisa Smith, feathered recently in a Law.com podcast. Earlier, Abovethelaw covered her downward trajectory and climb back up. In the successful book "Girl Walks Out of Bar," Smith tells her story. So had Susan Cheever and Pete Hamill.

Smith's struggle with booze took place when she was an employee in BigLaw, both practicing law and in a job developing new business. Currently she is a self-employed consultant. 

Smith, Cheever, and Hamill are hardly alone in getting being taken over by alcohol. According the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 14.1 million of those 18 years of age or older find themselves in that pickle. 

The question is: Does telling your story, as they have, help others who haven't yet had that "moment of clarity" that booze is interfering in one or more parts of their lives? 

Yes, 12-step recovery program Alcoholics Anonymous has institutionalized speaker meetings. At them the recovered share how it was, what they did about that, and how it is now. Yet, at best, AA's success rate is between 8% and 12%. So, no, all those stories aren't creating and sustaining a life without booze.

In my own little life, I have the hunch that sharing my own story, both in formal recovery settings and with those who are slipping into alcohol addiction, hasn't helped anyone.

It probably hasn't helped me either, not in any way. What I realized is this: That story isn't significant to me. I drank and ran into problems. I stopped drinking and ran into new kinds of problems. Both I and, it seems, science are clueless why some recover and maintain sobriety and many more don't. 

Of course, given the devastation alcoholism inflicts on the workplace, the family, and the individual, there is a desperate outreach for what might short circuit the syndrome. That triggers mythologies about what is helpful. Yet, when those illusions are foisted on those in the midst of alcoholism and the recommendations don't succeed, there could be the frustration that accelerates the progress of the disease. 

When it comes to trying to be helpful to another human being who is suffering with alcoholism, it might be wise to take on the mindset and behavior of The Good Parent: Be there, be gentle, be short on advice. Usually retelling all the stories about alcoholism in the family or in one's own life isn't useful. 

Takeaway: This long holiday season give the gift of not sharing your own recovery story or the story of those who managed to climb out of the bottle. Just show you care in an overall way. Download the film "Tender Mercies."

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Ronan Farrow's "Catch And Kill" - Familiar Saga of Power's Abuse, Its Details of Interest to Many Lawyers

On Amazon, Ronan Farrow's "Catch And Kill" ranks #105. The author is an awesome investigative reporter and an equally talented writer. 

But the story he tells is a familiar one: the abuse of power.

That saga stretches all the way to "Genesis" in the "Old Testament."

The higher power (and landlord) over-punishes the tenants Eve and Adam.

Had there been landlord-tenant court back then Eve and Adam might have retained their right to stay in Paradise. That kind of injustice in the bible had been described by famous criminal lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

And, lawyers reading the detailed accounts Farrow presents of proven and alleged injustices inflicted on women by entertainment industry power players will have much to analyze. Those of them not directly in the loop of criminal prosecution, criminal defense or civil plaintiff/civil defense likely envy those who are.

Also, there really do still exist men and women who haven't gotten enough insider information on how the business of entertainment really works. They will also find "Catch And Kill" a riveting read. Afterwards, they may warn their loved ones to steer clear of that industry.

However, for others the 414 pages may become tedious.

The story line seems to be as predicable as the 2019 episodes of "Law & Order SVU." There are powerful men and those who protect them (some allegedly even in law enforcement). There are ambitious women who seem to be naive (didn't their mothers/mentors warn them?). There is then a time of exposure including internal investigations by brandname law firms, actual legal action, negative media destroying careers, and backlash. Regarding the latter, women who did speak up or filed lawsuits told Vanity Fair how they have been blackballed in the entertainment business. Here is that article.

Come on, #MeToo is a movement which has peaked. Much of what is in "Catch And Kill" is already known or has been suspected.

The more interesting issue is: Can power be tamed into humane behavior? That is, in supposed civilization is there progress in values?

At the meetings of the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie, president Douglas Berger leads discussions of that.

In the group there are optimists who argue that some aspects of society have evolved into enlightened norms.

There are also cynics like myself who envision the dark creatures portrayed in "Catch and Kill" simply mutating into other forms. Their predatory activity will shift from alleged sexual misconduct to whatever they assume they can get away with. 

Realists mouth the old adage: In restaurants in Manhattan, if rats stay in the basement, all is well. Chaos happens when a few make it up the stairs and plop in diners' laps. Perhaps the best we can hope for from #MeToo is that the rats have gotten it, for now, to stay in the basement.

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