Law And More

Law Firms Loop in with Clients' Values - Dawning of the ESG Era

Capitalism is softening, finally.

More and more corporations are going on record that their values transcend the bottom line. This is sometimes referred to as "The Triple Bottom Line."

It truly could be the coming of the ESG Era - that is, factored in are stakeholders such as employees, vendors, communities, planet earth and overall governance. Nerd Wallet provides an introduction to ESG investing. 

Part of that macro movement are micro initiatives such as Utah's Regulatory Sandbox. The big news in that is the launch of Law on Call, owned by non-lawyers. It makes legal services more accessible and affordable. That can be perceived as a threat to the traditional delivery of legal services in America. Providers ranging from BigLaw to solos could be affected.

Of course, venturing into social values is risky. That's what corporations such as Coca-Cola have discovered.

So, it's predictable, as Law.com reports, that law firms would loop into this corporate embrace of values which might be controversial. Some have already developed ESG practices. The focus of them is to help guide corporate clients through the maze of the legal, financial, public relations and political issues associated with a broadening of the stakeholder base. 

Blooomberg reports that PwC predicts that 60% of mutual funds will be ESG by 2025.

Yes, place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Affordable rates. Please contact Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Paul Weiss' Liberal Mindset/Network - Conservative Client List (will it defend open-carry?)

"That client list [of Paul Weiss] increasingly sits uneasily with the Democratic Party’s progressive tilt." - Bloomberg Law, March 24, 2021.

What that article explicitly mentions are controversial conservative clients which Paul Weiss defends. They range from Exxon to private equity funds. Yet Paul Weiss' branding is liberalism. It also contributed heavily to liberal causes.

Gallows humor around the legal sector could be this question: Will Paul Weiss represent supporters of open-carry? Ha-ha. The liberal Paul Weiss looping in with a high-profile conservative legal issue.

Yesterday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Calfornia ruled 7-4 that states can restrict the open-carry of guns without violating the Second Amendment. As Daily Mail speculates, this could wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, here in Arizona, strutting around Walmart are folks with guns and ammo on their belts. Given what happened in Colorado, there could be a grassroots movement for the state to take away that right of open-carry. I often wonder: Suppose I accidently bump into one of those open-carry people with my shopping cart?

The humor wouldn't be too much of a stretch. An especially blatant example of the tension between Paul Weiss' liberal branding and its client list is the federal lawsuit "Christine Crawford, et al. v. McDonald's U.S." Here is a copy of that complaint which seeks class action status. 

Last September, more than 50 former Black franchise owners filed that lawsuit.

As Mike Snider reports in USA Today, they contend:

" ... that the company steered them to operate restaurants in 'economically depressed,' communities and 'dangerous locations.' These store locations had high rent and operating costs and were likely to generate lower sales than comparable ones elsewhere ..."

Paul Weiss is representing McDonald's USA in that litigation. And who is on the front lines of that is Paul Weiss partner Loretta Lynch. As the Paul Weiss website documents, Lynch is both a woman of color and former U.S. Attorney General in the Barack Obama Administration. 

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Lynch argued that it was in the self-interest of McDonald's to assist those owners of franchises. That is a strong point. Those following the litigation also can raise the issue: Business is complex. Not everyone who enters it has the needed knowledge or the skill. 

In this era of the push for racial justice and leveling the financial playing field for minorities, it can be puzzling why Paul Weiss accepted this particular case. For my communications-coaching boutique I am honored to assist a Black client. The legacy of suffering is palpable.

Should a law firm enjoy the branding and networking perks of liberalism and yet represent issues which a progressive ideology might assess as not in the public interest?

Full Disclosure: There is a bit of personal resentment here. I am registered as an independent. Also I have done many assignments for traditional corporations. Therefore I understand that mindset and its economic stances. As a result, I had pitched for assignments involving conservative issues. Because of my liberal-tilted blogging, no surprise, I have never passed the vetting process. Unlike Paul Weiss, I can't have my liberal beliefs and access to lucrative conservative accounts.

More Full Disclosure: About a year ago I did an assignment for Paul Weiss. Its chairperson Brad Karp dazzles with his high Emotional Intelligence. 

Yes, place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Affordable rates. Please contact Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Embracing the E-Car - Petaluma, CA Bans New Gas Stations

What happens in California usually spreads across, up, and down the 49 other states of the United States, as well as D.C.

So, other states should prepare to ban new gas stations, eventually.

That's exactly what has been voted in for Petaluma, CA, reports Axios. The initiative is in preparation for the coming of the E-car. Also it's to spare existing gas stations any added competition.

After the brutal sustained Polar Vortex, which overtook both the Northeast, Midwest and Texas in 2021, there might be more acceptance that climate change is real. And a fundamental held by climate change activisits is that fossil fuel, as with gasoline for cars, is a factor in precipitating the curren wild weather. With more to come. 

Meanwhile, the price of gasoline, relatively low during much of the pandemic, has increased. Here in southwestern Arizona, regular unleaded, purchased with a credit or debit car, is at almost $280 a gallon. If this continues, that could deter some of the pent-up longing to hit the road. Both for cars and RVs. 

Projections about a comeback for the travel industry are all over the place. They, notes diggintravel.com, range from optimism for a slow but steady pick-up in all forms of travel to Boston Consulting's prediction of no recovery until 2024.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

That $573 Million Opioid Settlement Is Just the Beginning of McKinsey's Troubles - Not So Easy to Get Off the Hook

"Current and former state attorneys say the global consultancy’s $573 million settlement turns a new page in corporate accountability for the U.S. opioid epidemic. McKinsey is on the hook for submitting a slew of documents on its work with opioids for a public database, a move attorneys say will help tell the story of the company’s role in advising others involved in the crisis." - Ian Lopez, Bloomberg Law, February 5, 2021.     

In 2019, according to Forbes, McKinsey's revenues were about $10.5 billion. So the amount of the settlement was never what savvy watchers fingered as the management consulting firm's problems. And, sure, as is usual, McKinsey admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. It contends it was simply helping a client market a legal product and ensuring patients would benefit from its use.

However, the actual fallout could do extreme damage to the McKinsey brand. That's the rub.

As Bloomberg Law hammers, McKinsey has been forced into the spotlight for corporate accountability. The documents of its work with opioid manufacturers are being retrieved. They will be studied to discern the pattern of how that firm and its clients do business. Obviously what's being reviewed is how much of the profit motive dominated how decisions were made. 

McKinsey could wind up being positioned and packaged as a throwback to old-line capitalism. That includes lack of transparency and a one-dimension focus on the bottom line.

Such a model is so out of date.

A sign of the new times for capitalism, for example, elite law firm Paul Weiss, chaired by Brad Karp, has embraced major initiatives in social justice. Those are both hands-on projects and funding. In addition, it launched its ESG practice, that is, the shift to the triple bottom line. In addition to profits what's classified as counting are other stakeholders. They range from planet earth to employees to vendors to the little town which could be financially plowed under by a corporate decision.

No longer might McKinsey parachute into an assignment, anticipating it can proceed in relative stealth and have as the objective to maximize profit. In the collective memory is its use of the term "turbocharge" in referring to sales of a medication which directly or indirectly caused 400,000 deaths, long-term addictions and orphaned children placed in foster care. In addition, those who really did need pain medication were often denied it. Medical doctors often were too freaked out by the crisis to write those kinds of legitimate descriptions. 

Obviously, this scrutiny by government should also alert others in professional services, be they public relations players or accountants, that the government is watching. The coming of the Biden Administration could transform that into a major reform effort. Is there a Clean Sweep in the works? 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

                         

Government Will Be Paying More Attention to Used-Car Sector - Fischer Honda's Curtis Gambrell New Kind of Manager

"Until recently, automobile manufacturers and dealers have mainly focused on their new vehicle business with the exclusion of used cars, often viewed used cars as a byproduct ... Moreover, the added quality and reliability of used cars changed the consumer attitude and increased the sales of the used passenger cars. Investing in used car management ..." - Grand View Research, September 2020. 

Where there is a success in business, anticipate that government will step in.

That is especially likely with the return of Democratic Administration this January.

Car dealerships in the U.S. have to be proactive in protecting this lucrative new niche. As Grand View Research points out, used cars are no longer a necessary sideline for the business to operate. That is, dealerships had to be willing to take in the used car as a trade in order to sell the new one. 

Fischer Honda in Ypsilanti, Michigan seems to be an early adopter in what Grand View Research calls "investing in used car management." That's no surprise. It has to protect and enhance the Honda brand. 

The dealership had designed the position of Pre-Owned Manager. That is Curtis Gambrell. His responsibilities are broad.

On a macro level he oversees the inventory. It's large, extending from mini Smart cars to giant SUVs. He also has to ensure that the sales team has a service mindset - and the behaviors to go along with that.

On the micro level there are the million details which are part of the acquisition, marketing, sales and registering of pre-owned cars. In this era when pre-owned cars are in demand that has become more complex. 

For example, attracted by the Honda brand and a super-special discounting, a resident of Illinois might come in to the MI-based dealer for new car. The trade-in, of course, is registered in IL. The new car would be registered first in MI. The person buying that trade-in could have come in from Ohio. Three states are involved in those transactions. Daily, Gambrell is on the phone with state Department of Motor Vehicles sorting all that out. 

Also on a micro level is maintaining what might be called "High Emotional Intelligence" encounters with all purchasers, both those who bought new and those who bought pre-owned cars. They are the pipeline for the future of the dealership. Not only could they bring in their teenager or spouse to kick the tires. Their word of mouth (or, more accurately, of mouse) is key to sales. Actually, word of mouth has been so important in marketing that, even way back in 2010, McKinsey issued a white paper on fresh ways to measure it. 

What should dealerships anticipate in new kinds of regulations? The list could actually be infinite. It's not premature for them to talk with their lawyers. Green will likely be an issue. 

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

 

Law Office of The Future - And, Yes, There Will Be The Office

"As firm leaders and architects consider legal workspaces once the COVID-19 pandemic is in the rearview mirror, they are discussing workstations that are not assigned to any one person, training and conference areas, a reduction in total office space and restructured leases, among a variety of options." - Dan Packel, Law.com, November 25, 2020.

At one time primarily only professionals in fields such as commercial/residential real estate, architects and artists focused on brick and mortar space. 

That was then.

Currently just about any professional who has been forced to WFH has become quite interested in space. That's because the creaking below the floor boards tells them that there will be a return to office space in the future. The issue is: How will that be configured. 

All kinds of models are up for experimentation. Those include formal training areas. That arrangement signals how committed the law firm is to the development of associates. That has become a high-profile issue.

Also the terms and conditions of traditional leases are on the drawing board.

As space needed is reduced, law firms can tell their green story. That will also be factored into how law firms can present themselves in fresh ways post-COVID.

In addition some configurations such as hoteling are already standard in professions such as sales. Lawyers likely will have just in time work areas. Essentially they operate at home, then schedule the communal conference room or small office to meet with a client or conduct a performance review with a subordinate.

Another kind of arrangement is what had been labeled the "multipurpose room" at the University of Michigan. It was designed to serve any kind of need be it a guest lecture for a wide audience or an intimate meeting among reformers. The actual space was adjustable.

Meanwhile, an internal initiative within the law firm could be giving preference for returning to the office lawyers with children at home. Reformist associates can lobby for that.

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

 

Law Firms: "Hoteling" Inevitable

"As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the U.S., some law firms are halting previous plans to encourage a return to the office in 2020 and are instead urging workers to stay home." - Dan Packel, Law.com, November 20, 2020.

Among the law firms steering employees away from being at the office is giant Dentons. The longer major law firms refrain from conducting business in a formal office environment the more deeply engrained the WFH ethos will become. That means that the managing directors could decide to make WFH standard.

What seems inevitable is the embrace of some version of "hoteling." That's the model of just-in-time use of office space. It's already widely used by salespeople. Instead of coming into the office on a regular basis, employees and contract workers reserve "desk time" when they have to conduct business in a formal professional setting. Otherwise they work elsewhere. That could be at home, in their car and even in clients' offices. 

The savings to businesses could be enormous. Clients would welcome that. In addition, less of a commercial footprint is a good green story to tell. Another result is that employees, liberated from the deadening routine of going into an office everyday, could become more innovative. 

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

James, The Non-Murdoch - Transforming Media in Post-Trump Era

The end of the Donald Trump Political Phenomenon will likely mean a disruption of media.

Of course, a far right medium like Fox News will lost influence.

On the other hand, The New York Times could wobble badly, only kept alive through a foundation which parachutes in. Many (including Trump) contend the NYT has been kept alive by its signature push-back on Trumpworld.

In the ashes could rise a new kind of media presence: James Murdoch. Yes, he is the son of media tycoon Rupert.

In the NYT Maureen Dowd interviews James at length. (Both it and she could be on short time).

James had left the family business, labeling it as a source of disinformation.

His relationship with his father Rupert and his brother Lachlan is tense (understatement).

His pivot is to reforming fake news. That includes investing in startups whose mission is that. Also, he funds research studying the digital manipulation of society. In addition his wife Kathryn has a background in communications.

It wouldn't be a surprise if James and Kathryn evolve into the media power couple in a post-Trump world. They have the passion, knowledge, connections and money. 

The first collapse could come in gotcha journalism. Instead, as in scientific research, there will be a sincere effort to find the "truth." Not create sensationalistic headlines for their own sake or to manipulate human beings.

In the legal niche, Abovethelaw could face the need to change its tone and content. Having tipsters who share with ATL confidential material from law firms might no longer be saluted as heroic. The ethos of supposed whistleblowing could undergo a redefinition. Motivation could be factored in. Hey, why does this first-year associate, pulling down nearly $200k, have such a beef?

In general media, Buzzfeed could be "excommunicado" (to borrow that phrase from the film series "John Wick.") The fun could go out of exposes.

What more and more of us are aware of is that life is an existential tragedy. So, what relief do we receive from that through the unmasking of supposed miscreants? Bring on the lightness of being and we promise we will be able to bear it.

Actually, some of the unraveling is happening simply as a result of market forces.

Verizon is reported to be shopping around the far-left HuffPost. How predictable has been the angle on content. The tone is the exhaustion of MS. Magazine in its final days. The content is as stale as the plotting of "Desperate Housewives" when writers ran out of ideas. 

The conservative leaning (but toned down over the years) Drudge Report is said to be for sale or needing investors.

Simultaneously, paid newsletters like Substack, which strive for objectivity, are the new cool. Here is my article on that trend, published in O'Dwyer PR.

Therefore, obviously the world is ready for a James-type righting of the wrongs of media. 

In itself that could restore respect for the field of journalism. The sector could have a roaring comeback.

Help-wanted ads for journalists will multiply in number. Higher education will need to expand current journalism programs. In my career coaching for young people, I could encourage them to, yes, prepare for that vocation. It's not a job. - Download ReimaginingYourCareerWithJaneGenova.

You bet, a world suffering from COVID-19 and the worst of capitalism needs a fresh set of heroes. Kathryn and James could be among them.

In addition there are those in the legal community who already have the tools to assist with the carnage of the pandemic and to transform capitalism into a system that benefits all of us.

An example of that is the law firm Paul, Weiss, chaired by Brad Karp. It motivated the industry-wide collaboration creating the COVID Relief Center for victims of the pandemic.

Simultaneously, it has been an early adopter in The Triple Bottom Line, that is expanding capitalism from only chasing profits to the well-being of people and planet earth. That happens in its new practice:  Sustainability & Environmental, Social and Governance Advisory Panel (ESG).

Meanwhile global chairman of Dentons Joe Andrew has been on the front lines of media, looking out for the little guy. The earnestness mirrors the tone and content of a Frank Capra film. Give us more of that, Joe.

The legacy of the Black Plague, document historians, had been an era of regression. The Dark Ages.

It will take a fresh kind of leadership to avoid that globally after COVID-19 finishes with mankind. I have a hunch it is nearly in-place. 

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

Who's Road Is It? - 3 Fatal Motorcycle Accidents In 1 Week on Toledo, OH Roads

Roads across America didn't always belong to cars.

Remember the horses. 

But, now the assumption seems to be that cars "own" the roads, even the ones winding along Main Street. Not just those super highways. That could factor into the reasons why there had been 3 fatal motorcycle accidents in Toledo, Ohio. That was in 1 week.

In addition to motorcycles there are more and more scooters, e-bikes, traditional bikes, trikes (3-wheel adult bike) and mopeds struggling to share the road. That's being called "micromobility."

Deloitte is among those which are bullish on this personal transportation small-is-beautiful concept for urban areas.

A whole rack full of bicycles doesn't take the space for 1 parked car.

Micromobility is green.

And, it's within the budget of all generations, especially the over-65. At Wersell's Bike Shop in Toledo, those 3-wheel trikes start at about $400. Peanuts compared to a 2020 Ford Explorer which starts at $32,765. Also, factor in the lower insurance rate. 

The wrench in the works is the safety issue. Not only motorcycle riders are vulnerable to accidents. Each year, for example, almost 800 bicyclists die.

The challenge for those in the regulatory loop is figuring out how to socialize both those in cars and those using alternate personal transportation about sharing the road. Given the economic pall hovering over America and the havoc caused by climate change, the next First Lady might make Micromobility her cause. 

Full Disclosure: Recently, I have owned a trike, traditional bicycle and a moped. But not all at once. To sock away more for semiretirement, I made the decision to go car-free.

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.