Law And More

Boies Schiller Transformation - In Speeded-Up Business Cycle, The Past Quickly Can Become Irrelevant

Partner defections?

Allegations of a too aggressive litigation style?

Media pile-on?

Questions about conflict of interest?

All that, darkness associated with Boies Schiller's past, could be becoming irrelevant to its branding - or, more accurately, its rebranding.

Given the accelerated pace of business, what counts is the now. Call it The Zen of Business. Now is the fundamental of the Zen philosophy. 

Stakeholders don't care about Microsoft's falling behind in the tech world. They focus on what Microsoft is about currently. The same applies to laggard IBM. Its recent split into two hasn't impressed myriad watchers of its stock. So, its now is not promising as transformation.

For distressed Boies Schiller it could be a very different story. A major move forward in its transformation has been the work of partner Sigrid McCawley. She represents alleged Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. Last Thursday, McCawley's defense team achieved the release to the public of Ghislaine Maxwell's 2106 deposition.

As The Guardian reports:

"This document ... is among about a dozen long-awaited Maxwell files that have been unsealed, with the first filing involving Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s lawyer alleging the British socialite avoided a question 'about allegedly adult sexual activity related to Jeffrey Epstein.'" 

Therefore, it's no surprise that McCawley has been designated Litigator of the Year by American Lawyer. Law.com framed that recognition in this way:

'There aren’t too many 408-page transcripts of evasive deposition testimony that would warrant Litigator of the Week honors. Then again, there aren’t too many cases like the one lawyers for Boies Schiller Flexner have been handling for Virginia Roberts Giuffre for the past half-decade-plus."

Given how many unanswered questions are associated with Epstein, Maxwell and other big-name players such as Prince Andrew, this story is major. And, it's exactly the media platform Boies Schiller requires for a comeback. 

On other fronts, the law firm is also focusing on restructuring. As FN reports, that has included:

• Like many other elite law firms, becoming more cost-efficient through RIFs of staff
• Consolidating 13 locations into six or seven
• Promoting new talent, moving away from relying on the singular star founder David Boies
• Beefing up bankruptcy and restructuring practices, including lateral hires.

Partners and promising associates still with Boies Schiller could decide to stay put. Fresh talent can decide to interview with the firm. Client churn can be reduced. And prospects could be more receptive to a pitch.

Congratulations, Sigrid McCawley.

Meanwhile, Paul Weiss and its chairman Brad Karp have developed a branding aura during numerous lateral hires of Boies Schiller partners. 

Overall, the branding game has mutated into the challenge of sustaining the unique positioning and packaging. Differentiation is mandated reality. Elite law firms have developed the confidence to pull away from the herd. That has included decisions about:

• Fall bonuses (not being intimidated by high-profile bonus wars).
• Representing controversial clients, without an apologia.
• Layoffs of lawyers (despite political incorrectness of that tactic).
• Building or beefing up practices through aggressive lateral activity (which in itself has become a branding tactic).
• Expanding out of traditional boundaries of practicing law. (Multiple sources of income are losing its stigma.)
• Ignoring protestors (that is, blowing off establishment and tabloid media coverage)
• Marketing in new ways. Law firm CMOs can embrace Substack.

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California Thanksgiving 2020 - Norman Rockwell Doesn't Live There, Not Anymore

This mandate from California's Governor Gavin Newsom could make it to "SNL."

But already, knocked from the entertainment box (and former Jones Day associate) Megyn Kelly is leveraging it as a platform for a comeback. Daily Mail features her vilification of those orders for how the residents of CA have to spend their Thanksgiving. 

Among the rules are:

• Dinner be outside (yes, you can go inside to use the bathroom but only if it has been sanitized)
• Guests limited to 3 households
• People must sit 6 feet apart
• Masks are a must, except when eating
• Duration of dinner not to exceed 2 hours.

No surprise, Kelly, who is operating her own podcast media, ridicules it. As if she couldn't find a more seminal issue. Her tragic flaw is that she can't engage, at least not beyond the brittle Fox News politico persona. And, I have a hunch she won't have much of sustained reach with this podcasting one. 

What's obvious is that the warm and fuzzy type of Normal Rockwell Thanksgiving isn't welcome in CA. Since that state is a trendsetter, Newsom's model can catch on.

So, there the nation will be, at the McDonald's drive-thru each person ordering up 2 turkey burgers, double french fries, small green salad, a sugary beverage and chocolate chip cookies.

And we can enjoy a good belly laugh as we share our horn of plenty with two other households outside in a Midwest winter. Things, as we head into the Winter of COVID-19, maybe won't get better than that. 

Meanwhile, those in the legal community await the court's decision on the request for a dismissal of  the racial bias lawsuit "Christine Crawford, et al. v. McDonald's USA." This is among the high-profile legal actions of 2020. 

Paul Weiss partner and former U.S. Attorney General in the Obama Administration Loretta Lynch filed that dismissal  motion. What makes the case riveting are two things.

On the side of the defense, Lynch is a woman of color.

In addition, there is the central question: Were the more 50 defendants unskilled businesspeople or victims of racial bias?

Brad Karp is the chairman of Paul Weiss. Part of his genius is attracting brandname lawyers such as Lynch to join Paul Weiss. The lateral game is where the big moves are currently. In themselves, laterals are a major legal story of 2020.

Traditionally, in the AmLaw 200, holidays like Thanksgiving (or even one's wedding) are irrelevant. Likely Newsom's mandate won't even trigger a smirk. 

Elsewhere, it could be a flashpoint for those w/o a funny bone.

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

 

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. 

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Harvard Law School - Transform "Career" Whatever to "Work"

On its website, Harvard Law School devotes a whole section to Careers.

Those in the trenches of this volatile economy roll our eyes.

After all, consulting firm Willis Towers Watson made it official: The old-line career path is mutating into a broad and nonlinear portfolio of work experiences. The new story we tell those hiring for jobs (what a quaint concept) and project assignments (more aligned with the times) is how those experiences make us the one to generate the results they need.

So, yes, rename the Career whatevers at Harvard and other law schools as simply "Work." Those searching for actual work or insight about how to transition could recognize the portfolio approach is more open than the careerist track for earning a good living.

Also, it could be fun for them to be creative about pulling together their myriad income-producing stints out there and packaging them as "Here's what I can do for you, Employer/Project Leader."

In itself that might reduce the mental illness and substance abuse which are at an-above-average rate in the legal sector. For example, when in one work slot, no one has to hang on for dear life to hold onto that source of income. The skills acquired can simply be tucked into the portfolio of experiences and resold somewhere else. 

For some, this is nothing new. The methodology was arrived at intuitively, to be able to make a living. An early example of that among the so-called best and brightest was the collapse of the academic market for doctorates in the humanities in the beginning of the 1970s.

The government had gotten it wrong. It predicted a surge in demand for college professors in that niche. It funded that projected need with the NDEA Title IV fellowship, providing a free ride for those willing to invest several years matriculating for the doctorate degree.

We wound up as a new tragic version of a Lost Generation. Those of us who were able to loop out of that disaster have done this: We keep repackaging those years "pursuing academic excellence" into what we could and actually are selling on the labor market. Yes, Project Manager, I have been trained in research. 

Currently, law firms, just like so many other businesses, are struggling to restructure. The "law firm" as we have known it might be a fading memory by 2025.

Harvard Law School can prepare its students and alumni for that now.

First steps:

Tear down all signage about "careers."

Talk straight about work: landing it, holding onto it and moving on to other kinds of work.

Provide free workshops on creative repackaging. In continually doing mine, I discovered I could leverage the record number of subscriptions I sold for the Newark Star Ledger as a fundraiser for Sacred Heart Parish School. I was 12. I was awarded a three-speed bike. 

Then, to siphon off angst, post the logo of those adorable seven little guys whose work is joy. No, work doesn't have to mean suffering.

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Dog Fight in Search - Heidrick & Struggles

"Like industries across the country, and the world, executive search was devastated by the initial impact of the COVID-19 crisis. But a newly-released Q2 report on the industry by recruitment software developer Thrive suggests that recovery may be closer than many people expect." - HuntScalonMedia, August 18, 2020.

Whether the search for professionals is going on for public corporations or for law firms, there's a dog fight to be assigned the search. Next, is the challenge of completing the search.  

Given the high uncertainty in the global economy, new kinds of skills are required for both parts of the recruiting process. One is extreme competence in Emotional Intelligence (EI). Before Dan Goleman brought that term mainstream, that used to be known as "soft skills." 

If the recovery can maintain traction (doubtful as COVID-19 circles back in Europe and the U.S.), the question is how will the major players in executive search such as Heidrick & Struggles do? Probably more to the point, which competitors can even hold their own if the recovery falls off the cliff?

Yes, hear the hungry dogs growling about this one.

Admittedly, I am operating on a very small sample: They were two experiences I had in one traumatic day with Heidrick & Struggles. One was with a global partner. The other was with a lawyer in the corporation's in-house legal department. Soft skills? Didn't bump into them any time that day. Here is my story.

Meanwhile, next week Heidrick & Struggles will do its earnings call. Last July, that didn't go so hot. 

Wall Street analysts expect a year-over-year decline in earnings because of reduced revenues. Bank of America has already reduced its stake in Heidrick & Struggles.

That Moment of Truth:

Question:

Would I recommend Heidrick & Struggles to my clients who are restructuring and searching for new kinds of skills? 

Answer: No. I remain undone by two encounters of the strangest kind with Heidrick & Struggles. Some stuff, it seems, you just can't shake.

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Lateral Market - Don't Dare Go Near It W/O (big) Book of Business

Smirk Smirk Smirk.

"Firms have taken less of a chance on hiring partners with smaller books of business or so-called service partners. Recruiters have noticed a slowdown with one-off partner moves. Instead, firms are looking for proven winners amid a recession." - Christine Simmons, Law.com, October 22, 2020.

The platitude in professional services such as law is that the number-one asset is the talent. However, with so many new variables impacting the sector, that talent is only of value if it has already achieved considerable success. Talent per se? That's something Mr. Rogers would sing about. 

So, for potential? Forget it. There is no shortage of raw young talent clamoring to be admitted to the Up or Out system of The Law Firm. Most of them will never make that shift from promise to productivity (3,000+ hours, hauling in new business).

Yet, naively, disgruntled associates and magical-thinking law students leverage the talent argument. They frame their beef about no fall bonuses or a law firm's controversial client on the contention that such decision-making is driving away talent.

For a entry level salary of near $200k, there will always be a glut of talent applying. If, once inside, it can't exceed what's expected it can no longer take refuge in the identity of "potential." 

This isn't unique to the law firm ethos. In those other professional services, ranging from public relations to marketing, what's becoming a standard question to applicants for both jobs and gig assignments is: What business are you bringing in? The hiring process will yield a better outcome for those who have a uncle who needs promotional services.

What I tell those I coach: A brandname now is the price of entry. Focus on developing and enhancing yours through multi-dimensional achievements and self-promotion.

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

No, Youth Doesn't Have to Go to Law School Or Invest in the M.B.A. - The 5 Fundamentals

 "Economists say the longer that young people are forced to delay their careers, the worse their prospects will be in the future to hold a job, accumulate wealth, or even get married or start a family." - Bloomberg, October 23, 2020.

Last month, the jobless rate for youth had been the highest for any age group: 12.5%. Back in April, that was how the labor market played out for them. Their unemployment rate had been 26%.

The tragedy of this is multi-dimensional. 

Research proves that if this generation continues to be stalled in landing That First Real Job they will never catch up to where other generations had been at their age and then leveraged that for "getting ahead."

Youth's mindset could be defeatist. Not everyone has been blessed by the universe with the gift of extreme resilience. 

Also, too many could cave to seeking a supposed safe harbor in advanced education. Already statistics show, for example, that enrollments have been on an upward trajectory for M.B.A. programs and law school. However there is no guarantee that by time they complete those degrees the labor market will absorb them. Meanwhile, they could be accumulating six-figure student loan debt. 

Barred access to what could be thought of as "grown-up jobs," they can't build a golden-plated network with successful people. The contacts from their school years could be in the same underemployment and unemployment wasteland that they are.

Yes, America certainly seems like a nation which eats its young. By time the Ok, Boomers got knocked out of the job box, they had assets like their houses, retirement accounts and savings. In addition, Social Security is still around and still hasn't been cut. Medicare makes it possible for them to have healthcare without paying hundreds of thousands annually.

But, for young people who are willing to search for work differently than has been the usual, the present and future can be bright. 

Here are The 5 Fundamentals I recommend to young men and women I coach:

• Stop focusing on a career path. Instead, as Willis Tower Watson hammers, shift from that old-fashioned notion to creating a portfolio of skills. Carry that around and you will always land work. Diversify the skills from mundane (like security guard) to sophisticated (like SEO expert). Need more training for additional skills? Rather than going for another expensive degree, consider low-cost certification or what the community college has to offer.

 

• Hedge for all kinds of economies by developing multiple sources of income. Even if you land a great full-time day job in a large public relations agency or brandname marketing firm, don't let go of other ways to regularly bring in a buck.

 

• Get over class consciousness. That rigid line between blue collar and white collar is blurring. For example, truck-driving, both local and long distance, can provide good income and upward mobility. The training could run, at the top, around $7k. Usually it's lower. There are arrangements for free licensing for those willing to work for that company for two years.

 

• Hang around with people with hope. We human beings influence each other, cell by cell. That's been documented by scientists who researched mirror neurons. Yes, despair is contagious. As mom and your high school guidance counsel warned, you are the people you associate with.

 

• Look for how to earn a buck today. The future is now. That plan in your head about The Ideal Career is merely an abstraction. You can't eat it. Instead, others will continue to have you for supper.

One more thing: It really is true: Adversity can be the most solid platform for building professional success. Use that pain to provide unique push to make it big.

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

In More Workplaces, Cupid Has to "Go On The Record"

"While workplace dating policies have been commonplace for years, typically targeting relationships between managers and subordinates, many companies have been compelled to update them to take into account new state anti-harassment laws and remote work activity spurred by the coronavirus pandemic." - Bloomberg Law, October 22, 2020. 

Everyone has a work story of a romance - theirs or someone else's - derailing. The drama. The awkwardness. Then, the fear of the next shoe to drop (that is, one, usually the female, nudged to leave the organization or transfer to another department.)

Those stories are usually pretty tame. The version that isn't could include allegations of abuse of power or of sexual harassment. Heads could roll. Lawsuits could be filed. Colleagues could bellow in pain. They would claim that favoritism shown for the one-time romantic partner prevented their own rise up the ladder.

The surprising thing is that widespread action about regulating office romances hasn't been taken sooner. Though it was universal or almost so it was supposed to be ignored.

As Bloomberg Law points out, employers have the right to regulate personal relationships between employees. The #MeToo movement has pushed that further. Many feel that employers have the responsibility to do so. In itself, that can prevent sexual harassment. 

The regulations are all over the map.

Some companies forbid all romance. The push-back on that policy is that the relationship will go underground. Also, the reality is that working together closely on a project can trigger love and lust. Suppressing that can distract.

Other companies require being informed that a romance is happening.

Then there are those mandating formal "love contracts."

Overall, the love game is one Mothers couldn't teach us. Their world of work was not so intense and did not involve such long hours. It was possible to remain detached. Also there was time to seek romance outside the workplace. 

For too many, the policies, whatever they might be, won't protect them from workplace crushes. They may not act on them. The other party may not encourage taking the next step. But they can be a source of so much preoccupation.

Reflection: All this could be excellent arguments for restructuring the organization with Artificial Intelligence. The manager won't find the robots crying at their desk because of a romance which soured.

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

              

Heidrick & Struggles - Mirror Neuron Outage

In its report on the future of work, Cushman & Wakefield nails it. 

The line that jumps out from that study is this:

"Human connection and social bonds are suffering."

Essentially, the shift to remote work only accelerated the breakdown in the ability of human  beings  to connect while working.

For most of the 21st century, the hardening of the American brand of capitalism had eroded trust in the world of work. 

Why that's such a concern is that members of our species affect each other, cell by cell. The scientific term for that deep continuum of influence is "mirror neurons."

Formal research finally came up with an explanation of those seemingly strange phenomena: The nurses on one ward all become pregnant around the same time. Moods are contagious. Watching someone eat ice cream makes us want to eat ice cream, right then.

When humans pull back from that free flow of signals, there is confusion. Usually also something lots worse.

That was my experience with search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

Here is that story. Its title might be "Mirror Neuron Outage." And I am still undone.

My encounter with Heidrick & Struggles is ironic.

After all, its core competence is showcased on its website to be making the right assessment of talent for businesses around the world. 

Perhaps, internally Heidrick & Struggles has different switches for turning on the mirror neurons.

There may be one for their deep-pocketed clients who put in orders for an executive search.

And there is another for potential vendors such as myself. The mirror neuron system remains shut down.

Yet, in reimagining or softening capitalism stakeholders such as vendors matter too. Could it be capitalism isn't being reimagined at Heidrick & Struggles? It doesn't seem to be looping into ESG investing, does it?

 Bank of America has reduced its stake in that corporation.

The Future of Work is now. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

The Future of Work & Who's an "Employee" - Cleveland, OH Exotic Dancers Make the Cut

"A Cleveland-area strip club owes about $30,000 in back pay to two exotic dancers after the Sixth Circuit said Tuesday that ample evidence exists to find they were employees entitled to minimum and overtime wages." - Kathleen Dailey, Bloomberg Law, October 20, 2020.

That court decision affirms earlier ones by the Third, Fourth and Fifth circuits, as well as several district courts.

Employers may also interpret the ruling as a signal of how the legal system is defining and will define work status. What is interesting about this case is that the decision is on the federal level. The AB5 law in California about reclassifying gig workers as employees is a state one. 

Therefore, among the many unknowns business is dealing with is if it can depend on a contingent workforce or will it have to provide all manpower with the rights and protections of employees. No surprise, analyzing how The Future of Work may play out has become a niche industry for management consultants and think tanks. 

Those opposing reclassification hammer that such as legal move destroys jobs. Instead of hiring a human being as an employee, why not just explore what kinds of software can replace him or her. McKinsey & Company projects that 800 million jobs around the world could go poof by 2030 because of Artificial Intelligence. 

Increasingly, distressed businesses don't view themselves as providing a "safety net" for helping human beings make ends meet. Hiring might sound like a patriotic notion in the U.S. But that's less and less embedded in the business model.

The Future of Work. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)