Law And More

Hermit as Hero - Flight from Nuisances and Comforts of Civilization

Some personally remember what could be thought of as "The Fire This Time."

In 1967, urban areas such as Detroit, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey went up in flames. The front lines of those uprisings were alleged to be people of color.

Currently, the insurrections are very different. Instead of fire, there are firearms and bombs. Instead of people of color there allegedly are those championing the white race. Likely more lives will be lost this time around than back in the late 1960s. In addition, there could be greater fear of society unraveling. The veneer of civilization becomes just that - clearly an illusion.

How well the guardians of civilization - law enforcement - can uphold that concept will be on trial during the transition in Administrations. That will be played out both in D.C. and in the states.

What could attract more interest is the saga of a modern-day hermit who turned his back on the nuisances and comforts of civilization. That had been Christopher Knight. His story is told in "The Stranger in the Woods" by Michael Finkel. In 1986, he entered the woods of Maine. Until he was discovered there in 2013, Knight got by without human companionship, a job, medical care or technology. At 133,490, the book remains a best-seller.

More of the wealthy are doing a less radical version of what Knight pulled off. They are pivoting out of sophisticated urban areas and putting together a lifestyle beyond the parameters of what had been considered The Good Life. The New Paradise is a large ranch in Wyoming. Telecommuting makes that more and more possible. 

I found my Eden in the small town on the border of Mexico: Sierra Vista, Arizona. My vehicle had been vandalized in Toledo, Ohio. During the 1967 riots my parents' car had been pelted with rocks. The local police station had been invaded. Fires raged on main streets. 

A liberal arts major (along with picking up advanced degrees in literature and language) I align with the world view of William Shakespeare. He saw mankind as "cankered in the grain." In his tragedies and history dramas he captured that dark side. 

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Lateral Hires: Creating New Version of Haves and Have-Nots in Law Firm Niche

"Through November this year, 1,112 lateral partners joined AmLaw 100 firms, according to data from Leopard Solutions analyzed by Bloomberg Law. That’s down about 30% from the 1,581 partners who made moves during the same time period in 2019." - Roy Strom and Meghan Tribe, Bloomberg Law, December 30, 2020.

But, when it comes to lateral hires, the numbers don't tell the story.

The reality is that in the risk-averse legal sector, those law firms which remained optimistic enough during COVID-29 to do lateral hiring and had the resources have positioned themselves as the new kind of winner.

Those laterals bring with them the potential for significant increases in earnings, edge in new business development, expanded market share, influence and enhancement of the firm's brandname.

Law firms which didn't do those kind of high-profile lateral hirings could be perceived as the new version of have-nots in the law-firm niche. They simply didn't make the right moves at the right times. This could be the classic situation of Use It or Lose It.

Now the elephant in the room is: Why didn't they? What went wrong with the leadership's decision-making? Does this signal a coming downward trajectory for those law firms.

Bloomberg Law provides a list of the key lateral activity in 2020. That includes, of course, Paul Weiss, with its deal-making master chairperson Brad Karp. There were at least three important lateral hires. One had been Robert Hoto from Simpson Thacher. His expertise is tax matters in private equity. The other two had been tech players from Boies Schiller - Karen Dunn and Bill Isaacson. 

What could be going on is a migration in the previously staid field of law-firm leadership and management to what is being called "wartime strategy." In peacetime, it's okay to settle into a status quo. In wartime, the old rules no longer apply. Fresh thinking is mandatory. Some entrepreneurial businesses are embracing that mindset. It had been articulated by Ben Horowitz in his breakthrough essay "The Peacetime V. Wartime CEO." 

Wartime leaders and managers in law firms could be leveraging lateral hiring as a major combat weapon. The competition can find themselves dazed and floundering. And, in this war, the winners take no prisoners.

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The Old-Neighborhood Ethos of Snitch Winds Up In Ditch Still Applies (metaphorically) to Linda Tripp

 InternGate whistleblower Linda Tripp (1949 - 2020) will never be forgiven. Not even in this era when we recognize that all human beings have flaws, sometimes serious ones. Meanwhile, the universe has come to smile on the man at the center of the scandal - Bill Clinton.

In The New York Times, Irina Aleksander tries to humanize Tripp. However, she admits Tripp's legacy essentially will remain that of a miscreant.

Aleksander, for example, provides background on Tripp's childhood - a mode of analysis which had become standard on hit crime shows such as "Criminal Minds." Her father was a bully who abandoned the family. That was after abusing both Tripp and her mother. With no family money for college she was on her own. But she made it all the way to a good secure job in public service. 

So? Many others have Dickensian childhoods. Yet, they don't violate the fundamental human contract of not deceiving and ratting out those they convince are their friends. Such an ethos was how it went in "the old neighborhood." That "the old neighborhood" represents any aspect of our lives which shaped our deepest values. The term metaphorically captures what makes us believe in our notion of a society. 

According to the old neighborhood values, the snitch wound up in the ditch. Usually, it was a broken windshield. For kids, it was gum in their hair and a bloody nose. Worse, though, it would be if the mob such as from "The Sopranos" had been involved.

The popular film "A Bronx Tale" recounts how nine-year-old Calogero doesn't identify gangster Sunny to the police as a murderer. The unique bond forms. Those bonds, the audience seems to agree, transcend traditional types of law enforcement and "justice." Emotional ties are precious.

Baby Boomers might recall an office culture, during the boom times, when no one leveled being a tattle-tale in order to get ahead. Instead, we went to night school and acquired the M.B.A. Currently, though, whatever one says or one does can be disclosed in a negative manner to the brass (even if the brass is too overwhelmed to even want to hear all that). No doubt that reinforces the antipathy toward rat Tripp.

So, Tripp will remain in the history of American politics as Unforgiven. After all, she could have feigned friendship with any of us. Then recorded what we confided. She could have also given us dangerous advice. It was she who guided Monica Lewinsky not to dry-clean the blue Gap dress. Had Lewinsky not been able to provide so much evidence, she might not have suffered as much as she had. Ken Starr would have had less to go on.

Unlike Tripp, there is some forgiveness - along with smirks - for Lewinsky.

Where are we now with all this? The Tripp saga reminds us to reach back into those experiences which were so formative in our lives. It's there we should ferret out the values we want to be judged by.

Mine had been on the mean streets of pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey in the 1950s. When local police and even the FBI swung by, we knew to look dumb. On the stoops of tenements, we stopped our games and stood mute. That meant we stood together. Years later during the college ethics course, internally I rolled my eyes. Those were not the old neighborhood rules of morality.

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Empathy, and It Doesn't Even Seem Like Red Tape - Alma Reyes, Star of Sulphur Springs Electric

In a world gone digital-systems intensive, any change involves red tape. Way too much of it.

That's what I ran into preparing to relocate my two boutiques from Toledo, Ohio to Sierra Vista, Arizona.

Yes, time zones matter, especially in this COVID-19 era of non-stop Zoom meetings. New business development has picked up after word got out that I would be essentially operating on West Coast time. No client wants a vendor from ET yawning during a 10 P.M. Zoom meeting on Pacific Time.

A particularly entangled bit of red tape involved setting up electricity service in AZ.

The utility - Sulphur Springs Electric - had a requirement of a deposit for service unless I could verify that recently I had 12 months of similar service with no lapses on timely payments. The wrench in the works was this: I had had Toledo Edison supply service (with no lapses in scheduled payments) at two different addresses during a 12-month period.

The universe of red tape doesn't smile kindly on that sort of complexity. At least, not usually.

But to the rescue came Alma Reyes, on the front lines of customer service at Sulphur Springs Electric.

She manually searched for the two different documents from Toledo Edison. She listened. She asked the right questions. All that served up with a heaping side dish of compassion. Yes, relocation is a horror show.

There was more.

She provided an option to the need for me to be in the loop with Sulphur Springs Electric the day the electricity would be turned on. Also, she cheerfully reformatted the verification for my taking responsibility for the electricity bills. The first format wouldn't have passed muster with the powers that be.

Alma Reyes is one of those heroes of these stressed times. She brings human to transactions. Law firms can learn a great deal from her approach to customer service. It's from the heart, not a seminar of soft skills. Most law firms are involved with clients during the most difficult time for their careers and businesses. 

I thank Ms. Reyes and Sulphur Springs Electric for training her to help us distressed human beings through the process of reimagining our enterprises. 

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CA Gov Gavin Newsom Denies Leslie Van Houten Parole - Lawyer Rich Pfeiffer Said He'd Appeal

It's the humane-political Catch-22.

Many feel that former Mason family member Leslie Van Houten, 71, should be granted parole for the 1969 murder of the LaBiancas. There is much evidence that she is a changed person. At the time of the killings, she was 19 years old and essentially a lost soul.

However, no one so far has been willing to be the final authority on that decision. Although a state panel recommended parole, California Governor Gavin Newsom reversed that decision, for the fourth time, reports Daily Mail. Previously, former  CA Governor Jerry Brown rejected parole for Van Houten twice.

So far, no members of the Mason family involved with murders have been released from prison. Anyone who understands politics is probably doubtful they ever will be. What politico wants to be known as the one who sprung loose a murdering Mason family member from the slammer? Although the flamboyant killings happened decades ago they remain imprinted in the minds of all generations - not just the Baby Boomers of that time. It has become part of the dark part of Americana. 

Van Houten's lawyer Rich Pfeiffer indicates that he will appeal Newsom's decision. However, it should be noted that last May an appeals court refused bail for Van Houten or that she be released on her own recognizance. 

Here is Pfeiffer's website for his legal practice. He has an interesting background, ranging from being a Navy Seal to being sent to prison for an addiction to drugs. He gained release from prison through an appeal. His brush with the law he positions and packages as an edge: He understands in a personal way what his clients are going through.

As we in communications are well aware, his representation of Van Houten provides unique exposure. That could develop new business in certain niches of criminal law. In addition, those who perceive Van Houten's plight as soul-wrenching might regard him as a superhero. Should he pull off her release, his brand is golden. The Van Houten story could actually become the Rich Peiffer story. Hello documentaries, books and TED Talks. 

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Law-Firm Laid-Off Staff - Experiment with Entrepreneurship

"To adapt to the pandemic and the job loss it unleashed, more Americans are becoming their own bosses, setting up tiny businesses to work as traveling hair stylists, in-home personal trainers, boutique mask designers and chefs." - Kim Mackrael, The Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2020.

This is the second major round of accidental entrepreneurship among professionals.

The first had been in the late 1980s when technology and new business models combined to blow up lifetime employment in Corporate America. We in middle management, in our 40s, found ourselves sacked. Even then, we got it that our age was against us for finding jobs that would pay comparable money. 

No, we didn't feel like we were embarking on an adventure. We were, you bet, scared.

But outplacement had evolved. It provided modules in self-employment. There were even resources such as paying the postage for all our marketing letters.

In addition, new kind of retailer Staples had invented the category of office supplies for small businesses. The clerks would spend forever with us as we agonized about what business stationary to use.

And, our colleagues who still had jobs sent work our way.

What advice does this new generation of entrepreneurs need? Here are the four must-knows:

• Approach this as an experiment. Most enterprises, even tiny ones, fail. Since it's not a sure thing, be prudent about how much time, money and energy to invest. It's smart to line up side gigs to maintain income - and your confidence. Multiple modes for earning a living are the way to make ends meet.

• Course correct fast. If something isn't panning out, don't wait too long to ditch it. The pace of the business world has accelerated. 

• Put in the time. This entails lots more than a job requires. 

• Don't close the door on landing a job comparable to the one you lost. Working has become fluid. Entrepreneurship doesn't have to be forever. Also a job doesn't have to be forever.

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Oh No - NYC Lawyers WFH Get the Kids Back

"New York City will close schools for in-person learning to curb Covid outbreak, Mayor de Blasio says." - Noah  Higgins Dunn, CNBC, November 18, 2020.

Unlike adults, young children aren't really manageable. At least, not if parents and caretakers don't want to generate catastrophic emotional damage. 

That's why it is so difficult for parents with demanding jobs - think lawyer - to work from home while the schools are shut down. There's just so long a young child will self-amuse and self-regulate before wandering into the home office and demanding attention. Yes, it is a demand. 

So, tomorrow begins yet another ordeal for lawyers working from home in New York City. 

Overall, the birth rate in the the U.S. is at a 35-year low.  That will likely go a lot lower because of the combination of WFH and the shut-down of schools during round two of COVID-19.

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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. 

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Burning Bridges: What We Have Learned From Aaron Charney (and why the risk is less in the wild 2020)

The old wisdom had been: Don't burn bridges. 

Much of that still holds. There is less possibility of a negative experience from the past intruding on your present if you exit it without push-back. 

But, in the volatile 21st century, more and more employees are profiting from burning bridges - and it's not hurting their careers. In fact, more and more are not only landing on their feet but winding up ahead of the usual game.

The classic case had been lawyer Aaron Charney. 

The world went bug-eyed when he sued his BigLaw employer for discrimination because of his sexual orientation. Media, ranging from The New York Times to Abovethelaw, closely followed that lawsuit. 

Most predicted that Charney would never work again, at least not in a good job practicing law. The Most were wrong. He received a settlement large enough to purchase a condo in Manhattan (condos are more expensive than coops in the Big Apple). He also pivoted to another wow position in another elite law firm.

But, not everyone is positioned right to burn bridges. Here are 3 questions to ask yourself:

• What is the risk/reward? For Charney the reward was great since BigLaw is a deep pocket. If the lawsuit ended in his favor, he had a shot at real wealth. Therefore, he did take the risk. In addition, he could look forward to the satisfaction of having done, at least according to his value system, the right thing.

 

• Do you have the emotional strength to endure what the enemies you create can do to you? According to the media reports, the defendants in Charney's lawsuit put him through the wringer. He suffered but he didn't become undone.

 

• If you are blackballed, do you have another way of making a good living? Charney could have launched his own law firm. The media exposure he received during the litigation would have provided a platform for marketing.

Recently, I had burned a bridge with search firm Heidrick & Struggles. Here is that backstory. 

Before, during and after making that move I didn't have one moment of doubt. The pain of not pushing back on what I perceived as inappropriate treatment of me was, I calculated, much greater than any which could come from taking a stand. Any way, in the wildness of 2020, the rules of professional life keep mutating. Burning bridges frequently doesn't have the severe consequences of more stable times. 

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California AB 2147 - Now, Inmates Trained as Firefighters Can Go Professional

Well, in a labor market in which many industries are collapsing, firefighters remain in demand.

So, California 2147, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday, would make it possible for prison inmates trained to fight fires to do that professionally. That is, as BusinessInsider reports, they can apply for that as a paid job. In order to help with that process they can petition for their record to be wiped clean, if their offenses had been nonviolent. 

In the CA prison system there is training in firefighting. When prisons pitch in they operate outside the prison facilities, bunk in tents and earn a few bucks a day. 

Historically they were barred from leveraging that experience for standard jobs with fire departments. Obviously, those hiring were wary of anyone with a criminal record.

Well, that record can go poof. Currently there are about 1,200 inmates taking on the blazes in CA.

Other states should study this model of how to provide convicts a real second chance. 

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