Law And More

Robert Aaron Long - Unfortunately, Another Star May Have Been Born

There is that pull between a free press which is a competitive business and the need not to glamorize crime. 

The story will be published, likely in all its horrific detail. But there will be lip service paid to the concept of journalistic restraint. After all, no one wants to return to the era of "yellow journalism."

So, the story of alleged murderer Robert Aaron Long is and will be big news. 

It's crude but reality to position and package this as: A star has been born. Anyone who had watched enough episodes of "Criminal Minds" has a hunch that Long might be enjoying the attention he is getting. Indulging in psychobabble it could be conjected that gaining celebrity could have been an unconscious or conscious motive. 

No way would the media outlets be persuaded for the overall public good to not cover sensationalistic crimes of this type. In that coverage, the alleged miscreant would play a central role. Yes, the public has a right to know. And, business demands it. 

However, it's not unthinkable that in these violent times a new code of ethics could be negotiated between the media and law enforcement to limit coverage. A different type of sandbox could be created to play in. Perhaps through a lottery one media center would be assigned the entire story. Then the suspect's face would not, to use the cliche, be all over the news. 

Sure, experts in criminology and experts in mental illness could develop case studies. But the code of ethics would deter using the devices of what is called as "narrative nonfiction." The mission of science would be served. The objective could not be to create a best-seller.

Those who perceive themselves as having nothing to lose could connect the dots and decide they have an identity and fame to gain. All they gotta do is go out there and unleash carnage.

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Beyond Push for Diploma Priviege - Clifford Winston Advocates Much More in WSJ

"Eliminating both the ABA’s monopoly control of legal education and states’ licensing requirement would allow alternative legal education programs to flourish, including vocational and online courses that could be completed in less than a year and college programs that offer a bachelor’s degree in law. Graduates of those programs could expand the availability of effective, low-cost civil legal services." - Clifford Winston, The Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2021.

Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution Clifford Winston comes out swinging. So much of the attention to the reform of the legal profession has ranged from advocating universal adoption of Diploma Privilege to eliminating the character part of the state licensing process.

But, that's small potatoes compared to what Winston sees as a system that is structured to operate in an elitist manner. Like, how many from low-income backgrounds can even envision handling legal matters! In addition, Winston points out the current high cost of legal services which makes using them unthinkable for too many. Indeed, some of us could conjure a gallows joke that it's no wonder so many crimes on "Dateline" deal with spousal murder. After all, divorce is so expensive.

Not that Winston wants to tear down the whole edifice. But he envisions a time when the traditional law school, operating on a three-year template, would have to respond to competitive forces.  Yes, they would compress the years of matriculation. They would slash tuition. And they would open to the door to more graduates entering public interest law.

Since the Biden Administration is focused on antitrust, what Winston proposes could wind up on the radar. The power of the ABA would be scrutinized. So would the impacts of State Bar Associations on how legal services are packaged, delivered and priced.

There could be such a "clean sweep" that there would be no longer a need for the advocacy role in legal media of Abovethelaw.com.

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Lordstown Motors - Still Respresenting Hope

After GM stopped all production at its iconic Lordstown, Ohio plant, the Youngstown Metro area seemed to be again down on its luck. The compact vehicles manufactured were in low demand. Car buyers wanted the SUV.

That production facility had history. Some might recall that during the early 1980s, Lordstown had become a symbol of blue-collar blues. But to residents of that region, no matter how the media ripped it, GM's Lordstown had been a solid ticket to the middle class. Maybe the only one in the area. 

Overall, the region had never had moved on, like neighboring Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from the collapse of the steel industry. Since then Pittburgh has diversified into healthcare, technology and higher education.

Then came Lordstown Motors. Right inside the former GM plant. Backed by GM, it was going to catapult America into the post-fossil fuel by producing an electric truck. 

Northeastern OH could regain its branding as a manufacturing leader.

Global experts would visit the plant to study its success formulas.

That was then.

Recently Hindenburg Research released its damning report. That contended Lordtown Motors had been misleading investors about truck pre-orders and the schedule for when there will be an actual truck.

Those accusations made all the business media.

The stock plummeted.

Hope for the region seemed, well, downright naive.

It may have even crossed the minds of some observers: Was this "Another Theranos?" That had been the startup which promoted a breakthrough technology which wasn't ready for primetime. Perhaps it never would be. At the end of August, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will be on trial for, among things, misleading investors. 

However, as The Wall Street Journal notes, Lordstown Motors is not going to fold up its tent and scurry away. It plans a response to the contents of the Hindenburg assessment. The chief executive officer Steve Barnes remains visible. 

Course correction can be made.

A top public relations firm can be hired for reputation restoration.

There can be a major hiring event which calls attention to what the plant provides the community.

And, down the road an ambitious management consultant would create a case study on lessons Lordstown Motors had to learn. 

All's well that ends well.

The region, given all the suppliers who would get business, could become an economic powerhouse, again. 

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Goldman Sachs Projects Largest Economic Expansion in Decades: Implications for Law Practices

"Economists at Goldman Sachs raised their GDP growth expectations for the U.S. economy to 8% for 2021 in a note to clients on Sunday night." - Dion Rabouin, Axios, March 15, 2021.

If Goldman Sachs is on the money, 2021 will be the setting for the largest economic expansion in generations. A major driver for this are the recent fiscal policies. 

Along with GDP growth, Goldman indicates an ongoing decline in unemployment. 

By the end of 2021, it could be at 4%.

For 2022, it could decrease to 3.5%.

For 2023, it could be at 3.2%.

For litigation practices, this is very good news. Corporations usually hesitate with non-bet-the-ranch lawsuits (sometimes referred to "elective  litigation") if the economy is in distress or too uncertain. The predicted growth could unleash pent-up demand. 

Another practice which could thrive are transactional practices handling M&A. With a clearer idea what's in store for the economy more businesses could go for some kinds of combinations. They might not necessarily be the transformational kind. Instead lawyers should expect more "bolt-on aquisition" assignments. 

Obviously, a strong economy with a declining unemployment rate can embolden employees and contract workers to take legal action. A sign of that is "Thomas v. Amazon," a potential class action. It contends Amazon's pre-employment testing for marijuana is a violation of New York Human Rights Laws. 

And, of course, there could be rush back into uncouplings - that is, filing for divorces. 

Should the ethos be: Let the good times roll? Maybe not so fast.

Overall, projections have slammed up against extreme skepticism. That's after the Black Swan of a pandemic. 

And, watchers of BigLaw will never forget how myriad law firms pulled off windfall profits for 2020 from the most difficult year since The Great Recession. 

Tucked away in the collective memory bank should be the old saying: Mankind plans, the gods laugh.

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Lawyers & The Retirement Pickle - Taking Only Half the Plunge (that is, going for a "gap year")

This will sound familiar around the legal sector.

According to a Edward Jones study, about 68 million who planned to retire have stepped back from that. Their reluctance is primarily correlated with angst about enough money to live on comfortably. Or, worse the terror of outliving enough money to make ends meet.

Lawyers don't escape that pickle. Their standard of living may have been high. They got used to it. They don't want to downsize it too much. Or have to move to nowheresville.

Given the large number of aging around the world, it's predictable that there are fresh approaches to that space in a life after a career winds down.

MarketWatch discusses the "gap year." 

Essentially, post-career, professionals seek out a lifestyle which enables them to adopt new perspectives, learn new skills and perhaps even slide into their next career path. Often that happens through taking advantage of what institutions of higher learning and private-sector instructional centers provide. Classes may or may not be multi-generational. 

Not that looping into a gap year is emotionally or socially easy. After being at the top of a game in a field like law it's scary to explore what is new. 

The best approach to a gap year may be the assurance to yourself that it is only temporary. By its end you will have put together The Next. Yes, you will be on your way, once again. 

With that kind of sandbox to play in, the decision about retiring could be less formidable.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Folly of Hope: Does Lordstown Motors Represent That for Youngstown, OH Metro Area?

The Youngstown, Ohio metro area is no Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Unlike that city that diversified into higher education, health and high-tech post-steel, Youngstownessentially has remained stuck. That's in the memory of steel's well-paying jobs and an economic future for their children. 

The one bright spot had been the GM plant in nearby Lordstown. On three shifts, it had produced models like the dependable Colbolt.

Then there were two shifts.

Then one.

Then none.

Electronic equipment left off to be fixed wasn't picked up. The sheriff swung by apartment complexes with eviction notices. Churches distributed free meals.

But then hope came. It was Lordstown Motors, backed by a $75 million investment by GM. Its mission was to produce the electric truck Endurance.  The stock is listed on NASDAQ. 

Electric is the future, right. Who doesn't love trucks.

That hope might be dashed. Hindeburg Research has issued a damning report. It's titled: "The Lordstown Motors Mirage: Fake Orders, Undisclosed Production Hurdles, And A Prototype Inferno." Here is that report.

Among what Hindenburg Research asserts are:

• The 100,000 orders were, well, not orders meant to be filled. Essentially many of them were tallied up for marketing purposes. Also, of course, for the stock. Hindenburg shorted the stock of Lordstown Motors. The price plunged about 23%.

 

• Middlemen were paid $50 a truck to bring in supposed orders. That created a type of artificial demand. 

 

• Actual production is probably 3 to 4 years off.

In addition, as Yahoo Finance reports, "The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP is currently investigating potential violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of shareholders of Lordstown Motors Corp. ("Lordstown") ..." 

Given these developments, we wonder if Lordstown Motors will keep with its scheduled March 17th earnings report date. 

Meanwhile, the literally bottom-line issue is: Can Youngstown, OH hold on to hope? Or, is that, like hanging on to the memory of the steel industry, human folly?

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The Game - What They Failed to Teach You in Day Care (and Law.com has been embracing)

The game is an entity in itself. Not a platform for theory or a methodology for winning.

That's what those responsible for the next generation fail to teach them in daycare and grade school. The result is lost generation after lost generation when it comes to finding, holding and moving on to ways to make a very good living. 

In contrast, the embrace of that hardened reality - the game - is exactly what makes the James Patterson publishing franchise an over-the-top succcess.

The Patterson novel "Pop Goes The Weasel" is a prime example of that.  Geoffrey Shafer, who turns out to be a serial killer, sees his world in terms of a game. In order to identify who the miscreant is and to struggle to outwit the player's mastery, detective Alex Cross has to create a game mindset.

Incidentally, some attribute media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's sustained success to his studying at Oxford when game theory had been a dominant ideology. The context is one-dimensional. It's all the game.

The novel ends with Shafer's survival. He can start a fresh game because international law enforcement assumes he is dead. In the early tech world the version of that was this: Success in a startup allowed one to go on to play the next game. That was what it was supposed to be about. Fame? Wealth? Those aren't what counted.  

Of course, this concept that it's all a game might seem too harsh for a professional class whose nation's ethos had been God, Country and Coca-Cola. 

Well, it is, at least for public consumption. No applicant to law school could champion the game in the personal essay. In America, the court of public opinion is still shaped by those post-WWII values. In the court of law, the jury would turn against lawyers describing reality in terms of a game. Last night's episode of "Law & Order SVU" was intended to be raw because it was dealing with the game of fantasy sex. The rules are clear. But the fallout brutal, for all in the loop. However, the game is legal so it will go on. 

In early education, instead of bringing out the manufactured toys and someone else's games, savvy caretakers and teachers can nudge the next generation to identify what games are going on in the setting. How they can gain leverage. And how to define winning and losing.

All that, of course, would have to be positioned and packaged in the language of management consulting. Words shape thoughts and thoughts can result in action. That's why public relations is a growth industry. Some speculate the economy has become one of scarcity. It takes, well, unique game-playing to get a decent piece of the pie. But, embedded values, at least in the U.S., make such language verboten.

That could be loosening up, though. A sign of changing times is that much of Law.com is making transparent the game. For instance, there is a detailed Go-To list for everything in the game. Here is the Go-To for schools firms favor. 

More career coaches are guiding clients to 1) find their game and 2) ferret out the critical moves 3) be humble enough to do immediate course correction 4) build aggressively on success. Come to think of it, that seems to mirror the strategy and operation of top law firms. 

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Law Firms - Plow More Change-Agent Funding into UBI - Like Canada's New Leaf Project, Stockton, CA's Panned Out

It should start seeming obvious to law firms that Universal Basic Income (UBI) has been moving the dial in reducing poverty and the ugliness it unleashes in a society.

As Annie Lowrey explains in The Atlantic article on the UBI experiment in Stockton, California, the U.S. is atypical in not using some version to help people help themselves. In other nations it's usually is thought of as a "cash transfer." In America, the single w/o children rarely receives the tools to put together a fresh start.

What went on in Stockton updates the findings in Canada. In the New Leaf approach to UBI in Canada, a group of homeless had been given $7,500. No strings. The majority "invested" that in obtaining permanent housing and successfully searching for employment.

The Stockton UBI was shaped as a no-strings (including no drug tests) funding of 125 low-income households with $500 a month. Most of the money was spent on essentials, ranging from food to utilities. Only 1% had been "wasted" on tobacco and alcohol. Some applied the money to paying off debt such as credit card balances.

In terms of seeking and landing work, 12% of the UBI group made that an objective and succeeded. That compares to only 5% in the control group.

Law firms, especially in this year following the exceptional revenues of 2020, are likely focusing on demonstrating their commitment to helping solve problems in society. What could be unusually effective in doing that in a way that generates significant results is through designing and implementing UBI pilot programs. If their footprint is primarily in New York City or D.C., they can do that there. 

In addition, collectively among law firms, just as with Paul Weiss' Coronavirus Relief Center, there can be a well-funded broad effort. The mission could be analogous to Lyndon Johnson's Great Society. Only, anchored in greater realism and with research to testify to the effectiveness.

Among the side effects of UBI could be reduction of violent crime. Not money but its lack could be the root of all evil.

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So, What Did "That" Mean? - Body Language, Facial Gestures, Early Wraps and More Ambiguity in Virtual Communications

Professionals, at least if they were determined to continue to make a good living, had down cold how to interpret the myriad signals of communications. Everything from the cloud coming over the partner's face in a law firm to the overly accommodating body language of the associate who (everyone knew) was due to be fired.

That was then.

Now, as The Wall Street Journal reports, WFH has changed much of that. It can be difficult to figure out what is going on in a Zoom meeting. The medium is still rather primitive. Much of the visual action isn't ready for prime time.

But, now only is there the challenge of struggling to "read" other members on the remote video transmission. There's also the angst involved in how you are coming across. Most of my communications and coaching clients are dismayed about, for example, "how old" they appear on Zoom. They particularly find that gravity has eaten into their chin line. 

So, what to do?

As always, play it safe. The fundamental in communications since the beginning of time is this: Those with the most power set the terms and conditions of the communications. Way back in 1956, sociologist Erving Goffman systemized that in his classic book "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life." He called the dynamics "the defintion of the situation." 

The good news about that is that Goffman hammers that much of that is intuitive. Even the uneducated residents of the village understand the necessity of shaping their interactions to align with how the power structure such as the mayor is defining them. Light tone? or serious? The villagers followed that lead.

The same reality applies to meetings while WFH. Let the power players establish everything from agenda to when to leave. Errors in communications are costly, no matter if they occur in-person or virtually.

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Associate Class of 2021 - Honeymoon Period, Smirk Smirk

"It’s been a very short honeymoon period for President Biden." - Niall Stanage, The Hill, February 24, 2021.

In this new totally unforgiving labor market, the whole notion of a honeymoon period for a new job ore even a new gig assignment  has gone poof. Those measuring performance, be it the American people or the partners at law firms overseeing the Class of 2021, don't cut slack. Two customers complained about the wait time for the pizza delivery. You're finished. 

Biden, as is well-known, has been receiving bad grades on a number of fronts. For example, his nominees are not shoo-ins. And what the hell is happening to all that COVID-19 relief! As a result, some question if his political skills are up to the challenges of the second decade of the 21st century.

Given the harshness of the current workplace, those who are determined to hold onto their jobs and move on to better ones have to play defense (along with prudent offense). For example, the projects they focus on have to be doable. No grandiosity in vision and mission. No, don't let a superior saddle you with the impossible. Added to job descriptions has to be the player mindset of how to wiggle out what will result in a bad grade on your report card. 

Will this need for being on the defense last forever? Everything is cyclical. Soon enough those who grab onto crazy goals and fail will be saluted as cool heroes. 

But right now, the burden of how to survive and maybe even thrive in on the Associate Class of 2021. Increasingly, it's not about work per se. It's about the strategy to get a good grade. Just like law school. 

Small changes can trigger big success in your career and your business communications. Swing by for a complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)