Law And More

Demand Is (way) Down - So?

"Demand has faltered in ways the legal industry hasn't seen since the Great Recession, but industry analysts warn against reading too much into it just yet." - Andrew Maloney, Law.com, November 16, 2020.

So?

The Law.com article itself warns against forecasting whatever based on the current downward trajectory of demand. As is well known, for a number of law firms Profits Per Partner had still increased. That was primarily because of a boost in pricing. 

On a pragmatic basis, declining demand only matters if one's own law firm is experiencing that. Then immediately there should be a "reverse engineering" of all the assumptions and moving parts. Next, the course correction should be implemented.

If your own law firm isn't experiencing a falloff in business, then that provides bragging rights. Your marketing/PR teams will help you position and package that development as story snippets you can share with all constituents.

But, more importantly, haven't we learned over and over again not to take forecasts too seriously. Remember the 2016 Election? Remember the 2020 Election and the forecasts by media?

In the 1960s, the government projected a shortage of college humanities professors. To meet that need it created the NDEA IV Fellowship. I was among those awarded that free ticket to earn a doctorate in English Literature and Linguistics. The government was wrong. We became The Lost Generation of Scholars.

Those in the most primitive form of forecasting - psychics - educate clients that they have the power to outwit destiny. Since, for example, they are aware they will lose their job they can make it their business to prevent that from happening. 

If demand continues to decline, some firms will probably go out of business. Those are the ones which really struggled when the first round of COVID-19 was at its worse. The founder of Morgan & Morgan - John Morgan - reported that there were times when he was in a fetal position.

As for the forecasting industry itself, there is the possibility that demand for its projections will also decline. 

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

 

Don't Use that Language Around Here: "The Retirement Dream"

In giving relocation advice to those about to retire, MarketWatch hammers the importance of, well, not retiring. At least, not completely.

Even for a financially comfortable couple, there is a recommendation to grab part-time work and back off from touching the nest egg.

High healthcare expenses may bite them in their pocketbook in the future.

Work is increasingly the necessary hedge.

Overall The Retirement Dream of extreme pleasure and no work can keep you stuck. That's because of 3 realities.

One, you can doom yourself to living on a fixed income. That's the platform for worrying since just about everything, from the cost of housing to that of groceries, is going up. Yes, there is work out there. Here, free to read, is my bible on how to land, hold and move on to better work Download Outwitting ageism.

Two, you socially isolate yourself. Work, from the days of ringing up purchases at CVS in high school to the career-path jobs, is where you have access to God's Plenty.

Isolation triggers more isolation.

When I visited former college acquaintance Kathleen Huebner in an Oro Valley, Arizona retirement community too many residents experienced "shrunk boundaries." They preferred, for example, to celebrate holidays in the development's dining rooms rather than the affordable restaurants beyond that box.

And, three, the ability to work, if you need to (and, surprise surprise, so many need to), can atrophy. In the old days parents mandated their offspring get a job, any job, in order to kick off the go-to-work socialization process.

When I coached displaced lawyers who had lived off severance and savings I noticed that when the money ran out they had difficulty interviewing for even survival jobs such as security guard.

Being without work for too long also resulted in their failure to nail down a position back practicing law. They had put themselves outside the work loop by not working. In addition the adage is on the money: Nothing gets you a job like a job. While doing a job you are maintaining the eager-beaver worker persona.

Once some retirees are stuck, the condition may harder into ossification. They are even fearful, like a number of those in Oro Valley, to venture out and try to amuse themselves in another sandbox. If there is a low-cost tour to X, they pile on the excuses why they have to stay in their box with the worn-out toys.

Takeaway: Structure The Retirement Dream with porous boundaries. That full-time, part-time or gig assignment can wind up being a fresh career path. You might find out you have unexpected talents and skills. Welcome, Late Bloomers.

All the answers are within you. Get unstuck to gain access to all the insight. Intuitive Career Readings (intuitivereadings123@gmail.com) invites you to a 3-minute complimentary session.

 

Stuck - Maybe That Term Applies to Many of Those Hanging in at SmallLaw/Solo Practices

Just as predicted, the coming of LegalZoom reduced business for B2C lawyers. Then it got worse. LegalZoom itself expanded into B2B. Then it got much much worse. Along with LegalZoom have been myriad other low-cost online legal services. Some are general, some have niches such as Nolo in estate planning.

Among the best, along with Nolo, reports the New York Post :

Yes, LegalZoom is still up there in ratings.

BizFilings

RocketLawyers

Legal Nature

Legal Match.

As a result, lawyers still trying to make a good living in SmallLaw/Solo practices might have gotten stuck with so much demand being taken care of online. When I asked the PNC banker in Youngstown, Ohio where I could find a lawyer to do my will, her smirked. Essentially, he said, they are lined up all along the main drag.

But, it's so hard to embrace that reality of being surplus supply and to even think about a Next.

However, the new radical frugalism triggered by COVID-19 hard times might make it necessary to take a peek into the abyss. From what the New York Post writes about LegalZoom I will probably use it for my LLC. 

All the answers are within you. Get unstuck to gain access to all the insight. Intuitive Career Readings (intuitivereadings123@gmail.com) invites you to a 3-minute complimentary session.

 

Demoted Equity Partners/Forced Out Nonequity Ones - What Story Are You Telling Yourself

We are the stories we tell, including those we tell ourselves.

The professional reality documented by the Altman Weil transition survey is that many partners are not busy enough. In numbers that's 31% of equity partners and 51% of non-equity ones. Depending on the law firm, billable hours have declined 10% to 20%. As Kathryn Rubino reports in Abovethelaw, the equity ones are being demoted to nonequity and the nonequity ones are being forced out. 

The human element in this development is the future of the affected partners. How rosy that future is depends so much on the stories they are telling themselves and telling others about this transition.

They can and must shape those narratives in a way that they build a platform to the Next. That Next could be how they position and package themselves in their own or another law firm. Or if they are no longer employed it could be how to prepare themselves for either continuing to earn income or to retire/semiretire.

That should be the good news.

But it rarely happens that way.

Change often triggers those in the loop to become stuck. They tell the wrong stories. And the narratives take over. 

Partners are welcome to a 3-minute complimentary consultation with IntuitiveCareerReadings to check if they are on the way to Stuck (please contact for appointment at intuitivereadings123@gmail.com.)

All the answers are within you. Get unstuck to gain access to all the insight. Intuitive Career Readings (intuitivereadings123@gmail.com) invites you to a 3-minute complimentary session.

 

Thud of Dewey Leboeuf Collapse Resonates - When Human Beings Get Stuck

Blame it on systems theory.

Organizations and careers come to be thought of as living, breathing entities. When they stop functioning well, they are said to be "stuck." Consultants parachute in to get them unstuck. 

Most applied systems theory.

Not enough told those paying the consulting bill that is the human beings who operate those organizations or put together careers who are the sources of the stuckness. 

Sure there are external factors. The economy. New technologies making what-is obsolete. Shifting consumer tastes. Age bias. Personal problems. 

But why some organizations and careers derail and some don't amid those conditions is usually because of this: One or more human beings got stuck. The most brilliant marketing communications won't cut it, not for long. Stuck has a way to keep stuck. What's needed is to get unstuck. 

When that is impossible, then an unstuck pro has to come in.

That's why, in the early 1990s, IBM has to cut loose chief executive officer John Akers. A first that conservative corporation. It brought in the outsider with no preconceptions. That was Lou Gerstner Jr.

Before that, nearly bankrupt Chrysler brought in Lee Iacocca. He had nothing to lose after being fired from Ford. So, he wasn't dragging in "oughts" like dog turds on his shoe.

And, I have a hunch after he also got the boot from Apple Steve Jobs got himself untangled from what was holding him back. 

Aren't symbols of unstuck Joe Andrew at Dentons and Brad Karp at Paul, Weiss? 

In The New Yorker, James Stewart chronicled how human beings first got Dewey Leboeuf stuck. Then no one could get it unstuck. The thud from that collapse is resonating through these scary times. 

If your legal-sector organization, private sector or nonprofit, is sputtering or your career is stalled, including in joblessness, that's about you. 

The good news is that, since all the answers are inside you, you can get yourself unstuck.

That is, if you can embrace that you are off the game.

How can you assess that?

Ask yourself 4 questions?

• Are the stories you're telling yourself about your professional performance full of blame or praise? Both are red flags. You shouldn't be engrossed in so much self-talk.
• Are the stories you're telling others falling short of any authentic connecting? That means you're not exchanging the information and insights you need for your organization and career. There's a reason for that.
• Do you regret your setbacks? Shame on you. They are your teachers.
• Are you asking others for "permission" to do this or that? Obviously, you've lost your confidence.

Unfortunately, most of those for whom I've done communications assignments couldn't manage to unglue themselves from hardened mindsets and behavior patterns.

However, what they noticed was that the intuitive observations I made about them, not the organization or careers, was what got things moving again. That's because they got moving again.

They requested more intuitive career readings and less communications strategy.

That's how IntuitiveCareerReadings had been born during The Great Recession. The New York State Bar Association invited me to lecture displaced lawyers. Odwyerpr.com published my articles. My target market back then was the over-50. 

Then there was a recovery. And more of a margin for error.

IntuitiveCareerReadings became a side dish on the menu of services.

Now, it's the main dish. And it seems like the only dish. Demand has surged with the wildness of 2020. All generations are asking for me to take a peek to check out if they are stuck. However, the over-50 are experiencing more of a challenge landing, holding, and moving on to better work than in The Great Recession. 

For a complimentary 3-minutes, please make an appointment at intuitivereadings123@gmail.com. You might not need any more than those 3 minutes to start the unstuck. 

All the answers are within you.

From now on, this blog is getting unstuck from its traditional content. I am transforming it into a platform for helping professionals help themselves in their jobs, entrepreneurship and career paths. 

Some Psychics Are Making More Than Some Lawyers (but, angst-ridden lawyers, you can become your own psychic)

How will my performance review go?

Will the delayed start date wind up a rescinded offer?

This legal market for laid-off associates as well as in-house legal is brutal. How can I get an edge?

Are they forcing me into early retirement?

To get the answers to those questions, New Yorkers are willing to pay psychics and other representatives of the occult up to $997 an hour. You bet, they are earning more per hour than some elite lawyers. And, reports the New York Post, business is booming.

Some psychics have doubled their weekly business - and revenues - in 2020. Meanwhile, New York Magazine's column Madame Clairevoyant is very popular. That's a weekly free read.

But what's driving the psychic-industry surge aren't only the uncertainties generated by COVID-19. As those in the occult loop explain, the wildness was expected right from the get-go in 2020 since there was a conjunction of Saturn and Pluto.

Outside New York, psychic readings are more affordable for the Main Street kind of insight-seeker. That's the person who taps into the occult once a year. And is only willing to invest peanuts.

For example, online phone-reading service Psychic Interactive bills at $19 per 15 minutes. Credit cards accepted.

In-person and phone service in Salem, Massachusetts Angelica of the Angels costs $30 for 15 minutes and $40 for 20 minutes. Credit cards accepted.

In-person readings by Shadow at Once in a Blue Moon, Toledo. Ohio go for a buck a minute. Credit cards discouraged for in-person. But more welcome for phone readings, which also bill at a dollar a minute.

However, the reality is: Anyone can be his or her own psychic. Any lawyer can bypass the $1,000 intuitive hour. 

After all, all the answers are within oneself.

To be able to gain access to those insights requires shaking off being a closed system. Buddhists call that returning to a "beginner's mind." Essentially that's what babies experience. And that might account for some of their rapid overall growth. 

As I counsel those I coach about careers and job-search materials/interviews, likely it was their success in school and later on the job which caused them to, well, shut down. They felt they had to set up a wall to ward out the distractions of the world.

Those possible intrusions might have been thought of as Barbarians at the Gate. 

The result, of course, is that so many professionals retreat deeper and deeper into being a closed system.

But, then a curve ball comes. And there is no cognitive, emotional, and spiritual wiggle room for the unusual problem-solving needed - and old-fashioned resilience.

The first step in prying the system back open is reflecting on the zen mantra: Clear Thinking, Don't Know. You really don't know, do you. What a relief to align with that reality.

Along the way to becoming your own psychic you can calm the monkey mind by taking in free YouTube tutorials by American Buddhist nun Pema Chodron. Here is the classic on fear and fearlessness.

Reflection: The more tightly wound the culture, the more business for psychics. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Lawyers, What the Planets Have in Store for You This Week (if you believe in all that)

The planets will be busy this week of August 3rd. If you lawyers believe that has influence on human affairs, then read on. 

New York Magazine's Madame Clairevoyant describes all that activity.

What's obvious from the doings of the full moon on rebellious Aquarious, for instance, is that you have to be ready to manage the mood shifts which go with it. 

For example, on Monday you will feel a need to push back. If that's not a good fit for the box you play in on planet earth then you will have to be figure out when to hold and when to fold. 

On Tuesday, you will experience unique confidence about your communications. So, it might be the day to dig in or revise the brief and develop a fresh persona on social media.

As for the latter, just look at how much attention lawyers with strong social network identities are getting on LinkedIn Updates.

I have a hunch that helped Colin Levy land a new job. He had been laid off from his general counsel position at Salary.com. In addition to becoming employed again, he had developed into an influencer since getting the boot and becoming quite active on social.

For the rest of the week, until Friday, your mood will be fairly stable. Then come Friday, what will arise within you is your protective spirit. Whether it is your significant other or the world you will yearn to reach out to make things better. That could be the time to volunteer for pro-bono work. Lots of folks could be getting evicted from their rentals or their home foreclosed on. 

In marketing timing is everything. Complimentary consultation on your marketing communications in COVID-19 time. janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

SmallLaw/Solos, et al. - It's Trauma Looping, Not Ageism

"I haven't gotten any business. No one I know is getting business either."

Over and over again, a lawyer with a B2C bankruptcy practice said that.

Obviously, he was in disbelief. And, too bad for him he was unable to exit that vortex of frantic.  He would continue trauma-looping, I have a hunch. That frees him up from having to strategically problem-solve. 

He, of course, couldn't listen to the diagnosis I was making of his marketing communications. At the top of the list was the Google was the new homepage. Since his law firm was restricted to one state, his digital marketing had to be "localized" for that. That was an immediate must-do.

The odds are that his business, which had been successful for most of his career, will collapse. According to Clio's COVID-19 Impact research, 50% of consumers surveyed said they were putting off seeking legal help until after the crisis. As a result, demand was down 40%. By time demand bounced back, he would be out of time.

This lawyer is in his 60s and hadn't had to pay much attention previously to digital marketing. He has lots of company among older business owners.

A self-employed over-50 psychic in the Midwest at one time had global reach through old-fashioned in-person word of mouth. Satisfied clients told their friends to get a reading from X.

Now he's stuck earning five bucks for 15 minutes working on one of those psychic online services. During our complimentary consultation he kept repeating, like a soldier in shell shock, what used to pull in the business. He couldn't hear any recommendations for the now of COVID-19 times.

A real estate broker in her late 40s has no new listings. I suggested for the interim the gig of doing part-time or even full-time leasing at the many apartment complexes in her western location. The rental business is brisk since folks aren't buying homes amidst the uncertainty and loss of jobs. She defaulted to how much she had earned in 2019.

All this is the road to financial catastrophe.

On "60 Minutes," Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell did straight talk. As this transcript of the interview documents, he put out the projection  that recovery won't occur until some time in 2021. And there is no guarantee of that. The COVID-19 economic fallout could be longer. 

So, what is the first step out of denial? Embrace that some money can be made. Let go of the number of how much money had been made in 2019 and before. 

If your enterprise can't be pumped up right now, you need to bring in income. Here, free to click open, is my guide to landing, holding, and moving onto better work, no matter what your age Download Outwitting ageism.

The old adage is on the money: Nothing gets you work like work. Parachute back into making a buck. That job or assignment could be the platform for a new career path. A displaced 66 year old in public relations did stints as a security guard. Eventually he was a consultant creating marketing for loss prevention firms.

In marketing timing is everything. Complimentary consultation on your marketing communications in COVID-19 time. janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Lawyers, Legal Staff, JD Class of 2020 - 4 Fundamentals of Being Your Own Psychic

Here are Madame Clairevoyant's predictions for this week.

No surprise, her column has been popular on New York Magazine. And it's even more popular now in this era of uncertainty. 

Also, it's a free read. So, enjoy it.

But, back off paying real money for a psychic reading. After all, cash is king. You have to hold onto every penny. Yes, economically, things could get worse. The Great Depression, in comparison, can seem times of plenty.

You can be your own psychic. The answers are all within you. Yes, You can connect the dots for yourself.

I come from an Eastern European family with psychic abilities. Recently, overwhelmed with callers, an online psychic service asked me to work on a contract basis. I agreed. Now and then I had done paid readings in-person for those who needed the comfort of being listened to. Yes, from the get-go, I had told them that they had all the answers and the best I could do was unlock what was blocking them from surfacing.

Those who called me on the psychic online service were very different from the usual client. They didn't want to be listened to. They didn't want to probe their beings for answers. Instead they wanted the guarantee that their lives would return to "normal." 

After I got it that this would be the typical call I informed the psychic surface this wasn't the right fit for me. End of that gig.

It's easy to be your own psychic. Those in the Salem, Massachusetts Wicca loop call the power The Witch in Every Woman and The Wizard in Every Man.

Here are the fundamentals:

•  Surrender to the reality that you are not entirely in control. There are both invisible and visible forces influencing destiny. Isn't it a relief to give up the illusion of being in charge. No, don't blame yourself for not getting that job or assignment or promotion. 
•  Stop your day when overwhelmed. Ask Spirit, The Universe, The Higher Power, or God for guidance. You will calm down. That allows the answers to float up and present themselves to you. 
•  Create an "insight" magical spell. Just engaging in it will open you up to what's inside yourself. Some purchase seven white candles and olive oil in a big box. They light them three times within a 24-hour period. They say a mantra such as "Guide" 10 times at each sitting.
•  Embrace that there is no destiny. Anything supposedly written in the stars can be changed by new behaviors. 

Not ready to be your own psychic? Yes, I do private intuitive readings about careers and formal career coaching. Sliding scale fees. Please contact for an appointment janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Lawyers/Law Students/Staff Thrown Off Your Game - You're Not Alone

It's financial suicide is have a one-dimensional career path.

All those college administrators who will be laid off this summer should have done consulting on the side or managed the rental property they invested in. 

Sidelined staff in law firms in Manhattan should have been walking dogs.

I learned to set up multiple sources of income when demand for speechwriting dried up post-9/11. One profit center, in addition to my core competence in communications, is intuitive career coaching. That was born in 2008 when clients asked me to help their children present themselves for jobs. 

Recently, my client base has become much diverse.

An online psychic service had a need for an "expert" on job search, professional transitions, tragic flaws, and those sorts of concerns. They had heard of me on LinkedIn and hired me for as many hours as I wanted. 

The real demand, it has turned out, was not for me to guide the callers through problem-solving.

Not one posed the situation: My residential selling business went cold, I have to pay my bills, and, so what do you sense are my best options?

Instead, they needed to talk, usually very fast.  

The expectation was that I would provide them hope and the specific month "it" would end. The "it" was the COVID-19 paused economy.

Solutions were not welcome. 

Reality wasn't either.

Quickly I got it that anyone who peddled magical thinking could become very wealthy in this economy. 

Ethically, I did my best to keep the conversation grounded in what could keep them paying their bills and not destroying their branding until "it" was over. 

Connect the dots in a fresh way.

Intuitive coaching for how to approach a job search, professional transitions, and starting your own business. 12 years coaching experience. 5 years experience creating communications for global outplacement firm. Complimentary 5-minute reading. Sliding scale billing. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com for appointment.