Law And More

Apollo Continues Pivot into Sustainability - Focus on Transition to Non-Fossil Sources of Energy and Game Theory

Recently, Apollo Global Management had announced it was creating the function of Chief Sustainability Officer.

The mission has been to review all investments in terms of its compliance with ESG criteria for Environment, Social and Governance principles. This Law and More article analyses the rewards and risks of that move.

On Friday, October 22nd, the financial giant expanded its reach and branding in sustainability. As it details in its press release it has bet big money on the energy transition to non-fossil sources. Here is the financialese:

"Apollo (NYSE: APO) today announced that funds managed by its affiliates (the “Apollo Funds”) have agreed to invest $824 million in a convertible equity portfolio financing agreement with NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NYSE: NEP) in a 2.5 GW renewable energy generation portfolio (the “Portfolio”). The Apollo Funds committed to the investment as part of the sale of 50% of the Portfolio from NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) to NextEra Energy Partners."

That portfolio contains 13 utility-scale wind and solar assets. Of those, three facilitate battery storage. 

The transaction had been handled by law firms Allen & Overy and Paul Weiss. 

What does this mean?

Well. to begin with, it's a kind of what's called "virtue signaling." That is, the message is: We are on the right side of global values. Salvation for mankind entails the battery's replacing gasoline.

In addition, Apollo is leveraging its influence to confirm the importance of energy transition. That includes how investors should make their choices. Yes, investors, non-fossil fuels are the horse to bet on.

And, Apollo is positioning and packaging itself as being in the front lines of a business philosophy that goes by the umbrella term "ESG." Apollo publishes an annual report "The Apollo ESG Effect." Here you can read it. 

The stars are aligned that Apollo will impact the energy sector in a major way.

In the global corridors of influence what moves the dial on getting things done are the connections among the movers and shakers. Journalist Hedrick Smith explained those dynamics in his book "The Power Game."

It is interesting to note in Apollo's journey toward being the player in sustainability its long-time legal counsel has been law firm Paul Weiss. Yes, that firm oversaw this most recent transaction. 

The Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp has been a first-mover in the law firm sector's embrace of ESG values. For example, it established the first ESG practice.

Also, on personal level, Karp has mobilized collective action throughout law firms to support causes associated with ESG values. They include push-back against suppression of voters' rights. Those initiatives reinforced Paul Weiss' presence for being a force field in social justice. That fits nicely where Apollo is heading. 

It also can be useful to observe that Apollo's actions may be based on a version of game theory. The genius John Nash brought the erudite discipline mainstream. Recently I have created material for a client on the implications of game theory for the crypto market. 

Essentially, game theory strategy is about optimizing outcomes through ensuring cooperation among those in the loop. That seems to be underlying how Apollo is going about sustainability. The self-interest of all the players is brilliantly locked in. 

Game theory is becoming an increasingly useful lens for assessing investing initiatives. Meanwhile, green is good. It's in the public interest. 

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Paul Hastings' Seth Zachary Reflects on Changing Law Firm Sector - Part of That Had Been Shinyung Oh's Email

On Reuters Legal, Paul Hastings Chair Seth Zachary chronicles how much the law-firm sector has changed. Essentially, it's mutated from a profession to a hard-nose business. 

But also during Zachary's 22-year tenure had been another kind of shift. That was that associates found their voice. At least a little bit. Before that they were essentially silent about everything. Fear of being blackballed shaped behavior. The law firm niche had been very old-line. 

In 2007, over at Sullivan & Cromwell, associate Aaron Charney sued over alleged discrimination about sexual orientation. But, if we buy into New York Magazine's take about what drove the lawsuit was disrespect by partners. There was a settlement. Charney went on to another good law firm job. 

At Paul Hastings in 2008, it was the email by fired Shinyung Oh which expanded that push back on total powerlessness. Not long after her miscarriage she was terminated. Before that allegedly she had been told she was in good shape in terms of her employment. She interpreted the firing as a stealth layoff, that is, the law firm was getting jittery about financials. 

So instead of ducking out of the law firm with her tail between her legs, she transmitted an email throughout Paul Hastings explaining how she interpreted what had gone down. Her mission was to liberate other associates who had been put through the same thing from the shame. 

Like most termintated or simply unhappy lawyers, Shinyung Oh had a rough time reinventing herself in another career. Currently, according to her LinkedIn profile, she is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in Solana Beach, California.

Today the associate voice is being expressed through doing a lateral. On Bloomberg Law, Roy Strom confirms that the expected attrition is happening.

In addition, anonymous leaking to media outlets such as Abovethelaw has become standard.

In his Reuters interview Zachery also notes that the organization is less top-down. Young talent is being nurtured. After all they are the future of a business which has to keep in sync with technology, clients demands, and extreme poaching. 

As law firms struggle to settle into the return to the office the voice of associates could be raised in unexpected ways. That is what to observe. 

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Law Firms - Of Course, You'll Need a Chief Metaverse Officer

The metaverse is already a reality. Here is Law and More's introduction to it.

Its platform is the videogame. And, as The Wall Street Journal reports, businesses focused on getting into the metaverse or expanding their reach will likely be acquiring videogame enterprises. Already Microsoft this year acquired Zendi Max Media for $7.5 billion. That means law firm's M&A practices will have to be geared up to handle these kinds of deals.

There are bound to be plenty of them, given the metaverse's potential for transforming how human beings work, shop, attend events, and socialize. It's the post-internet.

Of course, over at the FTC and Department of Justice the antitrust folks will be watching. They could even halt the deals for a review. Law firms will have to know exactly what they are doing in this relatively new category of business.

In addition, as Reed Smith's white paper "Reed Smith's Guide to the Metaverse Universe" details, the virtual realities introduce new legal complexities. Here is an excerpt:

"The metaverse will challenge these [traditional legal] 
principles and ask questions such as whether its
information landscape and virtual creations qualify for
legal protection and ownership at all; where content built
on underlying layers of third-party information falls within
existing notions of modified or derivative works; and how
exceptions to copyright protection such as quotation or
private copying may be applied."

What should be obvious is that eventually law firms will need a Chief Metaverse Officer. That could be a partner or an associate. Likely the latter is better since that age demographic is more comfortable with digital technology. They might have grown up with videogames.

Doing that right now will provide the law firm with the early-adopter advantage. Sure, because the metaverse is hot there will be the buzz and aura branding. Nice. But, being in the front of all this could also create a new form of value for that particular law firm. 

Example of that kind of edge had been Paul Weiss' April 2020 creation of its then-unique ESG (Environment Social Governance) practice. Yes, there were the usual benefits of being first in a market. In the process, though, the Paul Weiss Chairperson Brad Karp also picked up insight about how ESG would not only upend corporate clients. In addition, as with the Mayer Brown crisis in China, it would immerse law firms in their own pile-up of trouble. As came out in this Bloomberg Law interview, Karp has proven himself a visionary. 

Law firm leaders early in this game of creating the the function of Chief Metaverse Office could also be saluted as a visionary. And, in tech. It doesn't get better for branding than that. Also, notice how much attention Reed Smith has received through its metaverse white paper published last May.

Beyond facilitating how clients are served in what they need to do in the metaverse universe, the Chief Metaverse Officer can establish metaverses for the law firm itself.

It's the the superior way for collaboration. So much so that the leadership of the law firm could, like PwC, opt for working anywhere. 

Also, in this era of stiff competition for talent, there could be one of those virtual reality walled gardens custom-made for recruiting associates and poaching partners.

The law firm can treat them to complimentary virtual visits to museums and provide them with the funds to purchase Non-Fungible Assets (NFA). Within the garden there would be a challenging video game operating on IP law.

Since interaction is quite special in the metaverse, they can also meet up with avatars of the chairperson, partners, associates, and even clients. And, if there are an application for a job and an offer extended/extended, in that metaverse that new member of the law firm can be fitted for the proper attire for court. 

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Gearing up for the Metaverse, Facebook Is Reported to Be Changing Its Name Next Week - Reed Smith Is Already in That Space

Facebook could be pulling the legal - and marketing - coup of all times.

With its metaverse concept, it could be escaping so many of the legal challenges associated with everything from social media to antitrust. That's primarily because the metaverse is post-internet. It could introduce the same kind of wild-west legal confusion the internet initially did. Facebook will be liberated again to move fast and break things before the legal system fully catches up to it. 

In marketing, Facebook could be establishing a whole new platform on which to sell hardware. To participate in the metaverse special virtual reality equipment could be required. Or strongly prommoted for enhancing the experience. Also, marketing in the metaverse will open whole new opportunities for Facebook's advertising units. Just think about D2A - that is, Direct-To-Avatar.

In conjunction with this shift, reports have it that Facebook will change its name next week. As yet, few, even high level executives in the corporation, know what that new name will be. Here is Verge on that.

According to Katie Canales at Insider, the "metaverse" is:

"... virtual space where humans — tethered to the physical world — can operate using virtual and augmented reality-powered avatars and exist in both places, losing touch on what's real and what's not." 

Obviously, that provides a wonderful exit from this life as we know it. That has been the meme of the sci-fi by Neal Stephenson's books. One can wonder: Could the metaverse as escape zone reduce substance abuse?

But what's important to lawyers is how lawyers define the metaverse. Reed Smith lawyers are among those doing the defining.

That law firm is an early adopter in the metaverse space. The analogue is this: Paul Weiss, chaired by Brad Karp, had been the visionary in the emerging value shift known as ESG (Environmental Social Governance). Paul Weiss formed the first ESG practice to guide its corporate clients through what was going to be a perfect storm. 

As Jenna Greene at Reuters Legal reports, the lawyers at Reed Smith collectively say:

“One way to describe it is the increasing permeability of the borders between different digital environments and the physical world ... Imagine stepping into a cyberworld: The metaverse is a space where you can interact with virtual objects in real life with real-time information.”

Last May, Reed Smith issued the 76-page white paper "Reed Smith Goes to the Metaverse." The authors for the Introduction are Gregor Pryor and Stephen Sessa. Then each section has several authors.

Here is a copy of that white paper.

It discusses issues such as:

Intellectual property

Artificial Intelligence

Data protection and privacy

Content Licensing

Ownership of the metaverse

Distributed ledger technology and non-fungible tokens

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies

Reputation and deepfakes

Managing antitrust and competition risk.

Yes, metaverse uses decentralized digital assets like blockchain which can be leveraged as payment for goods and services. And lots of goods and services will be sold in the metaverse. Only very differently than what's standard currently.

In the first paragraph of the white paper, Reed sets a tone of excitement and optimism:

" ... the metaverse offers human beings the opportunity to collaborate, transact, perform, argue, and create as has never been
seen before in history. It enables our alternative selves."

The paper also predicts the metaverse will change so much. That includes work, socializing, and how humans go about their daily lives.

What is of immediate interest to most professionals is how the metaverse provides unique ways to collaborate. For lawyers, who increasingly will be working at least part-time remotely, this could be a key tool. It could also persuade the law firm leadership to allow for a distributed workforce operating wherever

Already Facebook has rolled some of that out in Horizon Workrooms, explains Frame:

" ... Horizon Workrooms [is an] app that uses VR to bring colleagues together in a more immersive way than the grid of faces that Zoom has made the norm. Experienced through Facebook’s headset Oculus Quest, Workrooms uses features like spatial audio-and-hand tracking to give people a better sense of being in a real room together."

That, of course, is just the beginning.

In my field of marketing communications, this notion of collaboration can take the form of interacting in virtual reality with consumers. That can create fresh kinds of consumer experiences and touchpoints. An example of that would be introducing outdoor clothing. Consumers can float in virtual space simulated as rugged terrain and get a feel for that hunting jacket's special features. Simultaneously marketers could provide shoppers with the opportunity to play a virtual hunting game. 

As usual, Mark Zuckerberg is onto something huge and what will be, as Reed Smith confirms, a disruption. Where this will lead perhaps not even Zuckerberg knows.

Meanwhile, law firms' ESG practices such as that launched by Paul Weiss are addressing the shifts in social values set in play by ESG. Likely they will have to expand that focus to include the implications of the metaverse. Corporation might not know what hit them.

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UK Also Becomes Land of Second Chances - But Can Screwups Become Unscrewups

"A Quinn Emmanuel partner [Mark Hastings] who was sacked after allegations of "inappropriate behaviour" has resurfaced with a new firm Quillon Law]. Mark Hastings was 'expelled with immediate effect and without compensation' in 2018 after Alison Levitt QC of Mishcon de Reya investigated allegations made by two members of staff." - Jamie Hamilton, RollonFriday, October 15, 2021.

So, even the UK has evolved into where screwups can have another shot at success. However, there's another issue: Can those screwups shake off their darkness?

Already there has been a glitch in Hastings' new career path. He and his partners didn't perform due diligence about the name of their law firm. It turns out that in India there is a law firm called Quillon Partners. So, Hastings probably will have to duke it out on google and other search engines with that law firm.

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Corporations Woke to the Profits in Social Justice, Hammers Vivek Ramaswamy: But That Is Money Hard-Earned

Vivek Ramaswamy's manifesto against business' supposed embrace of social justice, published in August, is a best-seller. The book is "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam." On Amazon, it ranks 705. 

Right from the get-go Ramaswamy, a successful entrrepreneur and first-generation American, is persuasive. He provides an example that resonates. It's Coca-Cola.

Lawyers will vividly recall how the chief legal officer there created a radical initiative for increasing diversity. That imposed quotas on outside law firms for having minorities on the account and docked those which didn't conform. Coca-Cola also took a stand against voter suppression in Georgia. In addition, it implemented anti-racisim training for employees.

Ramaswamy assesses all that as a kind of protective coloring that allows it to actually do "bad things" and make big profits. In the chapter "The Goldman Rule," he writes:

"Coca-Cola fuels an epidemic of diabetes and obesity among black Americans through the products it sells. The hard business decision for the company to debate is whether to change the ingredients in a bottle of Coke."

This approach to doing business is called "Stakeholder Capitalism." Another term for that is ESG (Environmental Social Governance). But the real game, he contends is: "pretend like you care about something other than profit and power, precisely to get more of each."

Those buying his book give it an almost "5" rating out of a possible "5." And the author is receiving glowing reviews from thought leaders such as Glenn Greenwald, journalist and constitutional lawyer, Ambassador Nikki Haley, Bill Ackman who founded hedge fund Pershing Square, and N. Gregory Mankiw of the Harvard Economics Department. 

So, "Woke, Inc." has touched a nerve. But what Ramaswamy doesn't get is that already there have been severe questionings of the tenets of Stakeholder Capitalism or ESG and various forms of push-back. Trying to make a buck off it doesn't go all that smoothly.  

The now-classic example has been the unraveling of Allbirds. Incidentally, it's yet to make a profit and is racking up large losses.

Among Allbirds' Woke efforts had been in governance. It gave permission to its board of directors to factor in other stakeholders, not just shareholders. Its marketing platform was sustainability-centric. For its IPO it established a sustainability framework which could be a model for others to leverage in their IPOs.

Then came the lawsuit seeking class action certification "Patrica Dwyer, et al.  v Allbirds" challening the claims. Here is a copy of the complaint. Allbirds has modified much of the sustainability material for its IPO filing. Media outlets have turned on it.

The raw reality is that many corporations are struggling to navigate the legal, public relations, stock price, employee activism, political, and community challenges associated with stakeholder capitalism. If they are making money from ESG, it's well-earned.

In response to the pickles corporations can get into during this era of stakeholder capitalism, most large law firms have established special ESG practices to guide them. The first of the law firms to anticipate the chaos had been Paul Weiss. Way back in April 2020 it had custom-made an ESG practice. 

Last August, a sign of these confusing times, Reuters Legal presented a case study of a corporation mired in ESG troubles and had law firms size up the situation and respond.

And Coca-Cola actually lost money on how it positioned and packaged its social activism outreach. Forbes reports that both those supporting and those opposing its middle-of-the-road stance on Georgia's voting law, threatened to boycott the corporation. The latter actually went through with that. Also, there was plenty of bad media.

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$6 Million PPP - The Public Relations Touchpoints of Success

Many know this:. In a Bloomberg Law interview, that elite law firm Paul Weiss announced that it was heading toward or even exceeding $6 million PPP.

That was a welcome confirmation of possible future earnings for the partners. Also that enhances the brand of both the law firm and its partners. Status counts plenty to partners. 

It might have irritated associates. Entry-levels are only pulling down about $200,000 - something. Peanuts, of course, compared to PPP. And all associates are putting in too-long hours. 

But, what about clients and those requesting proposals for help with their legal challenges? Does the $6 million PPP provide some kind of tipping point? Could be.

They could be mobilized to negotiate alternates to the billable hour. One, of course, is contingency. Both Dentons USA and Quinn Emanuel had recently operated that way with major assignments. Another is performance based. And, there is the project approach.

Also, there could be nudges for the technology which makes the processes more efficient, thus less expensive. The model there is Wilson Sonsini's Neuron. It has automated for startups many of the basic legal tasks for their needs. Those range all the way from formation to exit. 

Of course, the usual client for Paul Weiss's kinds of services has to go with it or another similar Big Law firm. They have to stay in that box because the stakes are high and Big Law has the resources to win. That's what Big Law does: Win. Here on its website, Paul Weiss posts examples of those wins. They are impressive. Yes, it is among the go-to law firms.

However, it's tricky public relations to balance promoting the law firm's financial performance (a marker of its success) with how that information will influence clients and prospects. This $6 million PPP could provide the nudge from clients and prospects for Paul Weiss to review its systems, from billing to how work gets done.

Could the announcement have been framed differently, that is, itemizing the touchpoints for success, without putting out there a concrete statistic about making the big money? Increasingly, matters of business are being decided in the court of public opinion. 

Money talks. Often it is the loudest voice in the room. Therefore, there is frequently the decision if it should be allowed in that space. 

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Baby Boomer Partners - Yeah, You Started This Hustle-Culture Mess in Legal Sector

Our parents simply went to work. Some even were in white-collar jobs like accounting or middle management. Then they came home each evening and that was that. No bringing work home. Instead they turned on the evening news.

On the popular televsion series of the 1950s "Father Knows Best" employee in the insurance industry Jim Anderson was home for dinner every night. And he was "there." He listened to everyone's problems and shared their joys. 

Then we baby boomers came along.

Low-cost college education and the opportunities of the post-war economy unleashed in us intense ambition. Law school tuition was relative peanuts. There was a shot at making it big and we went for it.

Along the way The Career Advice industry emerged to guide our every move.

Yes, it's all political. Work is only a defensive move.

Here's how to comport yourself if you sense the boss will be fired.

Dress like those do in the position you're heading toward.

We were our work.

Parents, both males and females, weren't home for dinner. There was a struggle to hire and retain the best nannies. Remember on "A Million Little Things" how Katherine, when offered partnership, asked to be allowed to go home to have dinner with her son and then return to the office. No dice, the partners said. 

Single women without children like myself were what employers wanted. We could hop on a plane without notice to solve a problem in the plant in Canada or Mexico. 

And born was what LinkedIn News calls "The Hustle Culture."

Even though many of us currentlyy are beyond normal retirement age we are still our work. We can't shake that our professional identify is the primary one. If there is mandatory retirement age at the law firm, lateral to another one. 

Those of our colleagues forced to retire and who can't put a Work Next together usually wither. I have observed that when I visited former college acquaintance Kathleen Huebner in Oro Valley, Arizona. Although she had had a succesful career she opted to retire in one of those retirement communities. Mostly what I had heard was those gushing about their previous careers. There was no there in the present. 

Now, The Hustle Culture, which we made glam, is being vilified. It's been fingered for everything from burnout to an inability to connect on a deep level. It could also trigger The Massive Attrition among associates. They don't want part of what we made the right thing to do.

In my coaching those over-50 the focus is on simply easing up, even a little, on the compulsion to keep achieving. There is no expectation of being totally liberated from an ethos which anointed work as sacred. The irony is that those letting go even just a bit become more successful. Essentially they drop the story line of past whatever and immerse themselves in the now.

As for younger generations, they are a fragmented bunch.

Some Gen Zers have decided work will be just a part of their lives and on their terms. Those include operating remotely.

Then there are the strivers captured in "Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life." It's by former Yale Professor William Dersiewicz. That subculture within youth is trapped in a constant hustle. They fear making a mistake or getting a bad grade. Therefore, they freeze into cartoon characters chasing what they have been told are the rules for success.

The good news is that hustle can be tamed. The silver lining in the pandemic was that, with one's life on the line, there was reflection about how that life was being lived. What has resulted is a deep rethinking about work. Insider reports that recently in one month five million workers quit. They refused to do The Hustle.

Since you started The Hustle, you can be in the front lines for reducing its influence. The first step is to humanize how you work. Be kind to associates and staff. Find satisfaction in serving clients, not just in winning. And, forgive yourself if you didn't make it as big as you envisioned. Doing this is in the public interest. America seems on the verge of a collective emotional meltdown.

Intuitive guidance about your career. Drop your story line and open to extreme possibility. Sliding Scale Fees. Please make an appointment for a complimentary consultation at janegenova374@gmail.com.

Bundling ESG and Investing/Antitrust - Is Progressive Politics Overplaying Its Hand?

"ESG and antitrust issues are starting to converge as Democrats seek ways to boost competition, while pushing companies to become better corporate citizens." - Bloomberg Law, October 10, 2021.

To help them do that the SEC, for example, had contracted with progressive think tank the Center for American Progress for recommendations. Here is that proposal.

Authored by Marc Jarsulic, it opens with an argument which could have been put out there by a conservative. That is, a recognition of the importance of how capitalism operates most efficiently. Nice protective coloring.

Here is how the proposal starts:

"The move in ESG to require this [environmental social and governance] information is based on a desire to improve the operation of capital markets. Capital markets function effectively—providing accurate market signals about corporate performance and allocating finance efficiently—when participants are well informed about how corporations are currently
performing and how they are positioned to respond to changes on the horizon."

But the intent isn't at all in line with the tenets of traditional capitalism. It could play out, if this guidance is followed, that in its approach to their duties, government entities such as the SEC and FTC would require corporate reporting on their activities to include metrics related to ESG. Those could range from carbon emissions to the cost of labor. 

Could progressive politics in the U.S. be overplaying its hand?

According to the recent Quinnipiac poll, Joe Biden's approval rating has plunged to 38%. That's significantly lower than Obama's had been during that time in his presidency.

The midterms are coming. It's expected that those elections will go badly for the Biden Administration. However, that's the usual dance with a new regime. The party in the White House traditionally gets decimated during the midterms. Control of the U.S. House will probably go poof. 

So, the midterms don't really provide an acid test of how the majority of Americans are experiencing the progressiveness of the Biden Administration agenda.

What could be the acid test is the response to this idea of imposing on U.S. business the double reporting and regulating whammy of both ESG principles and investment/antitrust reviews. What could follow soon enough is that all kinds of support, ranging from financial to media coverage, for restoring conservatism to the White House could wildly accelerate. That's what to watch: the intense mobilization of the conservative movement. Even progressives agree that the conservative messaging is more effective than what liberals are putting out there.

Meanwhile, large law firms which have custom-made new practices to assist their corporate clients with the unleashing of ESG fundamentals will be increasingly busy. Along the way are not only legal landmines. Also at risk are the stock price, brand, employee relations, consumer purchasing decisions, media coverage, and community support. 

Early to spot this need to protect clients had been law firm Paul Weiss. In April 2020, it launched the first-ever ESG practice. Here is how it is configured:

"Business leaders face greater pressure to increase their organizations’ resilience while simultaneously addressing social issues of importance to stakeholders. Our advisory practice helps companies navigate the legal, business and political ramifications of developing and implementing ESG initiatives. We advise on matters such as stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, crisis management, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, ethics and compliance."

In an interview with Bloomberg Law, its Chairperson Brad Karp discussed the current challenges created by ESG. Those include what is impinging on the law-firm world itself. Karp observes:

“'ESG is going to affect every aspect of the law firm world, law firm operations, and the interaction with their clients going forward,' Karp said. 'The law firm community hasn’t picked up on how profound that will be.'" 

Actually, the ESG ethos could factor into what Law.com anticipates could be The Great Attrition. Once back in the office, junior lawyers could have that Ah-Ha moment: This is hell. And I don't have to do this.

That loops into the macro values shift taking place about the nature of work. ESG emboldened that mindset. Here is Law and More's analysis of The Office. Widespread exits of associates could stop dead the good PPP times rolling. The work won't get done. 

Obviously, ESG is mutating into a force field few could have anticipated. If it's fused in terms of reporting and regulation directly with oversight of other corporate functions - be they investor relations or market behavior - it could blow up the American brand of capitalism. Some may view that in a positive way. There has been a call for the softening of capitalism. Many others, who have the resources to oppose it, could make it their mission to destroy it, for a long time. 

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

Goldman Sachs Downsizes GDP Growth for 2021, 2022 - And What 's Keeping Big Law Chairpersons Up at Night?

[Goldman Sachs'] economists forecasted gross domestic product (GDP) expansion of 5.6 percent this year, down from the 5.7 percent previously estimated ... [They] also projected GDP growth of 4 percent in 2022, compared to the previous 4.3 percent estimate." - The Hill, October 11, 2021.

Of course, that's bad news for B2C businesses. Consumers could pull back from spending plans, including for the all-important holiday season. Meanwhile, inflation, especially on essentials like food and rentals, is already making consumers full of the jitters.

But, what about B2B? Will these lowered forecasts affect Big Law's current clients and prospects? That is, will they cancel some transactions they were considering and/or put on hold litigation which could be considered "elective?"

M&A looks solid for the rest of the year and beyond. That's the preferred way to expand a business. Also there is a rush to do the deals before the FTC and DOJ intervene. About 20 Big Law firms are active in the M&A space.

But what about other kinds of transactions? Well, some are sure bets because of the dominance of the ESG ethos. They include:

Corporate governance

Enviromental

Sustainability

ESG.

What could take a hit is commercial real estate. Of course, if things really go south restructuring and bankruptcy will thrive.

Right now, with many large law firms operating over-capacity, chairpersons will probably not lose sleep tonight over the Goldman Sachs' lowered forecasts.

Their current angst is how much the attrition of associates could play out with the return to the office. COVID is easing somewhat. So return to the office could be sooner than later.

Partners, who have enormous power including over the chairperson, want associates back in the office.

Clients want them back in the office.

Associates, with the exception of those who are skilled at doing in-person face time, don't want to be back in the office. When the rubber meets the road and they are back in the office they can slowly or quickly search for jobs with more flexibility.

Yes, that should murder sleep for chairpersons. 

Marketing communications. It’s about results. Not quantity. Not clickbait. Not even influence. Together we will get those results. Clients range from American Express to industrial accounts. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.