Law And More

Ok, Boomer Partners, Leverage Nostalgia to Develop New Business

The past is a known - unlike these very uncertain current times. 

Also, the mind tends to sort through that memory bank and select out happy moments. An example might be trying out Coca-Cola's new product introduction - Tab. It might have been with young friends.

No surprise, across Americana, there is mourning for the disappearance of Tab from our lives. BusinessInsider reports that announcement from Coca-Cola triggered widespread nostalgia.

That collective feeling reflects the nation's current return to heavy-duty nostalgia. 

Yes, the market for reaching back to what seemed a golden age (or at least lots better than 2020) is a growth one. 

Businesses which can embed them in their product/service offerings can thrive. 

Entrepreneurs can create whole new lines based on the nostalgia meme. 

Marketers and public relations representatives can leverage nostalgia into the messaging for clients. The iconic way that had been done was in the Kodak Carousel campaign developed by Don Draper on "Mad Men."

Individuals can also cash in. This is ideal for law firm partners searching for fresh ways to get the attention of prospects for new business.

Think about it. A platform for networking can be to create and strengthen bonds through shared memories. That can be done easily through commenting on LinkedIn Updates and Twitter.

Ok, Baby Boomers from the unique late 1960s and early 70s would probably welcome circling back to that period of extreme optimism. Also, reaching back into history has become effective in your podcasts, blogs, YouTubes and speeches. Right now there is rebellion against the assumption that the past is passed. Law partners can become downright philosophical. Likely, many of you had been English majors (there was such an entity back then).

Trends come and they go. The nostalgia one is, of course, a use it or lose it. In the present it's a power tool for partners in their law firms and in their personal branding. 

The Future of Work. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Who Is That Masked Man? - 5 Lessons on How to Navigate the Highly Political World of a Law Firm

Smoothly, Chris Christie is leveraging his 7 days in ICU as the platform for exiting Trumpworld.

The face mask has been politized. Christie confesses to the world his grave error in not wearing a mask when prepping Donald Trump for the debate. In the Trump Administration, the mask, of course, is a symbol of oppression. That is despite the high probability that it's absence inflicted COVID-19 on both the U.S. President's wife and son. 

The dots aren't hard to connect on this one.

Christie in not alone in distancing himself from what was once quite the power circle.

The headline of Catie Edmonson's article in The New York Times reads:

"Fearing a 'Blood Bath,' Republican Senators Begin to Edge Away from Trump."

The current phenomenon of flight from the divine right of kings presents useful lessons for everyone in law firms, ranging from equity partners (who are getting demoted) to staff (who are experiencing a Stalin-like purge). There are 5.

The large law firm, as is obvious, is a highly political institution. Usually to survive and scale it's necessary to be a political animal. That term, though, has become uncool. The new language for that includes "soft skills." "emotional intelligence" and "personal branding." Instead of focusing on raw power, the positioning and packaging objective is for "presence."

Yes, language is everything. In the high profile gender bias lawsuit "Tolton, etc. versus Jones Day," the defendant's big cheese in the D.C. office - Steve Brogan - is cast as the villain having total control of compensation and promotion. In that situation "power" has a very bad connotation.

As I see it, here is what is being confirmed in the Christie Masked stance. All 5 lessons are must-knows for to navigating law-firm life:

• Never be direct. Lawyers should know that. But amid all the pressures of that workplace, players might just let it a out. If there is a witness or witnesses, they can be sued. The media will run with it. Associates will notify Abovethelaw. Gay lawyer Aaron Charney nailed 'em for that kind of talk.

 

• Loyalty has to be managed with great care. It can be an asset. It can be a liability. Ditching those losing power can wind up ending one's own career. A dying animal can turn vicious. 

 

• Always nurture new sources of power. Everything changes.

 

• Build networks outside the organization. That blogger can deliver a hit on an enemy. The most effective attacks come from third parties. 

 

• Do favors. In a sense, they are kinds of Trojan Horses. They impose obligation on the receivers of the gift. You then can proceed from a position of some strength in the relationship.

It could just be that the law firm, as with Washington D.C., is more about power than wealth per se. (Agreed, wealth is a source of power.) Not that it's unique in that. Academia also operates on power. So, do most religious organizations. 

Those who cannot or will not embrace that as a given should search for other types of games. Self-employment, for instance, can be significantly less political than chasing tenure in a university or trying to build a congregation.

The best game plan, though, could be establishing multiple sources of income. Here is how that can go. Prediction: Multiple sources of income will become a necessary hedge in The Future of Work.

Full Disclosure: I came of age amid the last vestiges of the Frank Hague political machine. There was no margin for interactional error. None. Be perceived as not loyal and you had to move out of Hudson County, New Jersey. 

The Future of Work. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

The Civil War in BigLaw - Dead Wringer for Global Generational Tensions

Media outfits, ranging from establishment Bloomberg Law to advocacy-oriented Abovethelaw, have picked up on the new conflict in BigLaw.

It's showcased in the sustained coverage of which law firms are awarding COVID-19 Appreciation Bonuses and which aren't. 

There is also the questioning of why and how BigLaw firms are representing controversial clients. Out the window is the fundamental that the accused deserve a defense. 

Essentially, it's a civil war.

On one side are the partners.

They control wealth and power - as well as the careers of non-partners. In addition, they could be pulling down annually five-million-plus dollars. That's more than the total compensation for the global general counsel at McDonald's in 2019.

On the other side are the associates and law students who represent cultural change.

Their position of strength (whether they admit it or not) is that within the large law firm they have, relatively speaking, little to lose. The odds are against making partner. Maybe they don't even want that anymore. They could be just playing the game for the experience. Also, their current compensation or what their future compensation as an associate is, compared with partners, peanuts.

Incidentally, the saga of Aaron Charney proved that lawyers can burn bridges and not only land on their feet. They can come out ahead financially. After settling with his former BigLaw employer for alleged sex-orientation bias, Charney could afford a condo in Manhattan. That's in addition to another plum job in BigLaw. 

Meanwhile, in the push-back process associates and law students are learning marketable skills. Those include organizing, looping in allies, assessing and implementing messaging tools and creating brandnames for themselves. About the latter, presence is almost everything in professional life.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama put together a personal brand as a community organizer.

Those kinds of abilities open the door to career paths in politics, leadership in nonprofits, the C-suite in non-traditional corporations and maverick law firms.

That squaring-off between partners and associates mirrors the global upheaval among generations. On an individual level climate change activist Greta Thunberg represents that. Between nations that played out when youth in Hong Kong opposed being controlled by the old guard in China. 

Not that such a conflict is new. There is a vivid visual memory of high noon in 1989 in China's Tiannanmen Square. Years earlier, there was the counterculture movement, symbolized by the British Invasion, that is, the Beatles. In America, that cultural disruption affected institutions ranging from the nuclear family to the academic-industrial complex. 

So?

It makes sense that the career-guidance departments in the T-14 law schools should develop a non-credit seminar titled "Reimagining the Law Firm."

At Harvard Law School, Assistant Dean for Career Services - Mark Webber - might consider piloting such an initiative.

The business reality is this: The law firm will mutate. It's in the self-interest of future lawyers to be thought leaders and/or actual foot soldiers in this civil war. During wars, names are made. Career mobility is extraordinary. To leverage that platitude: A war is a terrible thing to waste. 

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

 

Jones Day: Is It a Target Or Simply Allegedly Arrogant? (also, my beef about tone/content at Heidrick & Struggles)

"Jones Day’s London office has raised the hackles of its staff by allegedly failing to inform most of them about a Covid-19 outbreak that hit attorneys in the office’s corporate and restructuring teams, according to reports." - Rick Mitchell, Bloomberg Law, October 15, 2020.

Media outlets, such as The New York Times, make it their business to pick up on and run with negative developments associated with Jones Day.

For example, gender discrimination lawsuit "Tolton, et al. v. Jones Day, is very high profile. Had Jones Day not been the defendant it might have just rattled around the legal process as just another in workplace bias lawsuit. Also high profile is the lawsuit about alleged bias in paid parental leave "Savignac, Sheketoff v. Jones Day."

There is no ambiguity: Jones Day is excellent at what it does.

Actually, in myriad legal circles, it's assessed as the law firm you don't want to face if you are the opposing counsel.

In lawyerly folklore, the Jones Day attorneys, at all levels, are depicted as selfless monks laboring tirelessly for both the abstract idea of law and for clients. 

All that could make Jones Day a target. 

Success is a hazardous place to be. There's that great line from Shakespeare's "Henry IV, Part II." It's "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."

But, also, Jones Day may be making itself a magnet for very bad press. That's because it seems to have a genius for positioning and packaging itself as arrogant. Just one instance of that was posting on its website its push-back on the allegations in "Tolton."

The number-one flaw of Jones Day's "Tolton" statement is this: Both the tone and content are inward-looking. That's not the right communications space to be in when presenting a point of view on a public-interest issue such as gender equality. Think macro. Not just points of law or internal policies. Yes, the expectation is for transcendence. 

When there is a miss on tone and content, not only is that annoying. It throws shade on the brand. That could eventually catch up to Jones Day.

Recently, I bumped into that same kind of stumbling in tone and content with search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

That was as a potential vendor. In the ESG ethos - or the triple bottom line in capitalism - vendors are supposed to matter. 

As I explain here, I was applying for a part-time contract assignment as a career coach. The two communications - one with  a partner of the firm, the other with a member of its in-house legal department - were quite the surprise. 

For a public corporation like Heidrick & Struggles, perhaps it will be up to shareholders to hold Heidrick & Struggles' feet to the fire in how all its functions interact with all constituencies.

Modern Readers reports that Nuveen Asset Management has reduced its stake in Heidrick & Struggles by 14.6%. Zacks Investment Research shifted from buy to hold. ValuEngine downgraded its rating from hold to sell.

Meanwhile, unless Jones Day reviews how it interfaces with the world, it could continue to have a bullseye on its back.

Media outlets unleash negative coverage on Jones Day's whatever that is totally riveting. Such a pattern could not only continue but escalate. A good time will be had by all. That is, until attention is fixated on the trial scheduled for next March for "U.S. v. Elizabeth Holmes." 

The Future of Work. Ghostwriting on those issues and coaching for job search, transition, personal branding, re-entry after recovery and reputation restoration. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Amy Cooper Arraigned on False Reporting Charges - In Addition, There Is the Crime of Unlikability

"Amy Cooper, the white woman who falsely accused a Black bird-watcher in May of threatening her life in Central Park, was arraigned Wednesday in Manhattan on false reporting charges." - Emma Tucker, The Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2020.

Among the charges is that Amy allegedly informed the police that a black man was trying to assault her. If convicted she faces a year in jail. Meanwhile, the case is being adjourned for a month to negotiate a disposition. 

That's the legal part of this story. 

The other part is what goes on in the court of pubic opinion. On a human level, Amy's "crime" is unlikability. Like all "Karens," she sets off emissions of stinking superiority. 

Likability is an important quality to have. In that iconic book about how Washington D.C. works "The PowerGame" by Hedrick Smith, what was hammered is that likability is a source of power. Obviously, Amy has no access to that.

For her, in the court of public opinion, she will never be forgiven. There is one exception. Her victim Christian Cooper indicated that she has suffered enough. After all, she had lost her good job at Franklin Templeton. In society she is a pariah. Christina didn't rejoice that there were criminal charges.

However, so far, the downward trajectory this Karen hasn't seemed to deter other Karens. They, in all their obnoxiousness, keep popping up in the media. 

Full Disclosure: I went to college - one of those all-women ones - with a number of Karens. Unlike Christian, I wish for them all the suffering available. 

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

History Is Back - However, It Never Left the Legal Sector

"A bit of perspective.

"Forty years ago (January 1981—think Reagan/Thacher, the introduction of the original IBM PC, and the recent death of double-digit inflation at the merciless and brilliant hands of Paul Volcker), the S&P 500 was 29% made up of energy by market cap.  In 2008 (the GFC), it was still 17% and oil was at $140/barrel." - Bruce MacEwen, "Build Back Better." Adamsmithesq.com, October 12, 2020.

Obviously, Bruce MacEwen is reaching back into the past to make a point about the present - and future.

In the beginning of the cancel culture such as strategy would have been, well, bold. The ethos back then mirrored the dismissal of history by Henry Ford. He blew it off as "bunk." 

Maybe it's the craziness of living on planet earth since March of 2020. Maybe everything is cyclical. But the interest in history has boomeranged back.

Help-wanted ads on Craigslist, for example, are growing in number for the old-fashioned kind of historical research. Not just doing the Survey Monkey thing.

Also, finally, when I attempt to add value to my publishing by including trends from the past, that is getting attention. Lots of it. 

For example, in PinHawk Marketing Brief there is a link to my post - highly historical - about how the patterns of layoffs in BigLaw are dead wringers for what occurred in Corporate America from the late 1970s through the late 1980s. The combination of technology and cost-cutters like Jack Welch disappeared our good jobs. Here is that post. Traffic to it has been heavy. 

So, those in the business of persuasion, yes, use historical data as rhetorical tactics.

Meanwhile, those in the legal sector probably are smirking. The industry operates on a platform of precedents. Sure precedents are overturned but not before they can unleash tremendous power. 

Given the return of history to Main Street, lawyers might take a side door to developing brandnames by giving Ted Talks, blogging, podcasting and becoming a social network influencer discussing how history can cast spells. How to leverage that. How to exorcise the bad parts. And, of course, what to learn 

They can segue into the narratives by citing the profound pull power humans' own family histories have on them. Just consider the saga of feuds. The speakers can show a clip from "The Godfather."

Reflection: Could this revival of history signal we are returning to the age of reason?

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

 

Yes, We're Getting THE TRIAL: Judge Davila Rules "U.S. v. Elizabeth Holmes" Moves Forward

"A federal judge [Edward Davila] in California on Tuesday denied bids by Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes and former top executive Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani to dismiss the criminal charges they face in connection with the disgraced blood-testing startup." - Rebecca O'Brien, The Wall Street Journal, October 13, 2020.

The new trial date for "U.S. v. Elizabeth Holmes" is March 2021.

She, as well as former Theranos executive and her lover Sunny Balwani, have been indicted on two counts of wire-fraud conspiracy and 10 counts of wire fraud. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison. The assumption is that both were aware that the finger-prick technology was flawed, yet pitched it to investors, medical doctors and partner Walgreens.

Holmes' defense team requested the dismissal because, they argued, the prosecution has dragged its feet too long on filing new indictments, some allegations about behavior were too old and the indictment itself had not provided adequate description of the charges. Judge Davilal didn't agree.

The trial is a long-awaited one.

Part of that is the one-time celebrity status of Holmes and the wealth she acquired and lost.

But there is also the grabber that the defendant is a female. That has a wonderful track record for theatre.

The trial of Mary Winkler, who offed her minister husband, transfixed the nation. The tableau her lawyer Steve Farese showcased created so much buzz. It consisted of the wig and platform shoes Mary's husband forced her to wear during sex. She got off with a light sentence. 

Then there was Ellen Pao. She positioned and packaged as a kind of Everywoman who had been done wrong by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Many women bought in. When I posted on this blog and Twitter that I viewed her case as weak, I was vilified.

Pao's personal brand included the MBA from Harvard Business School and the JD from Harvard Law School. Yet, horrors, she got the boot by her alleged big bad employer.

But the jury did not agree with her contentions. They obviously were not cowed by her credentials. The defendant had been acquitted on everything. Before, during and after that litigation the work world wasn't kind to Pao. That should have sent a message to other women who allegedly have spun the kinds of narratives Holmes is accused of doing.

However, given the setbacks on a COVID-19 vaccine and the warning of a brutal second round of the virus, the trial could be pushed out from the March date. Delay, as those in the legal loop know, is on the defendant's side.

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

Amy Coney Barrett Day

For those preoccupied with gender issues the matter is this: Will any U.S. Senator exhibit any old-line gentility in how he or she interrogates Amy Coney Barrett?

Or, has Americana moved beyond deference to females? 

Today is her big day. It is irrelevant that it is a federal holiday. Also what doesn't count, but Democrats strived to make it so, is the safety of the process in COVID-19 time. 

Meanwhile, the confirmation hearing provides an added opportunity for Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris to showcase her personal brand Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova 

We are our brand. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kamala Harris and Other Female JDs - The Challenge of Personal Branding

During the Vice Presidential debate, Kamala Harris seemed to smile too much.

Smiling more than is necessary in a social context can be interpreted as a too-eager-to-please gesture.

Yes, in social situations the expectation is to frontload with a smile. Then ... 

Some professional women I coach admit that they have to learn to control that smiling impulse. That was the way they had been socialized. They want to establish a personal brand that creates more of a strong, confident presence. 

Others admit they have to smile a bit more, softening their all-business persona. That's the standard pivot for these COVID-19 times. Soft skills are mandated. Lack of them can be unforgiveable in some professional interactions during the current unprecedented crisis.

Such a struggle with the presentation of self by female JDs, both those no longer practicing law and those in employed in law firms, usually still exists.  Even with the acquisition of title, power and wealth, it can't be ignored. To do that sets the woman up for how she will be ambushed. Every professional has periods of vulnerability. She can anticipate that enemies will target her persona. Remember Hillary Clinton's ordeals. 

Given the importance of personal branding, more and more new JDs are warned not to apply to workplace X or Y unless they "fit." The term "fit" is shorthand for all the terminology associated with how professionals position and package themselves.

Sure, if they are nimble in personal branding they can "fit" in a range of cultures. If not, they are restricted to narrow options where they can apply, be hired and thrive.

Okay, the work world is changing. We read about all that. But it isn't changing quickly enough for those not tuned into the right personal branding for the right setting to "be themselves." As every effective salesperson knows, it's imperative to "mirror" the prospect - everything from dress to rhetorical patterns. In professional life, the "prospect" is whoever does the hiring and promoting.

Little of this is new. Way back in the 1970s, the career guide "What Color Is Your Parachute?" hammered that who gets the job are those best at the presenting themselves in all aspects of the search process. No, it's not necessarily the most qualified. The book is still in print, updated annually.

What is new is that there is less margin of error for all professionals, but especially for female lawyers, to bungle their personal branding. Competition for opportunity has become so intense. 

Download ReimaginingYourPersonalBrandwithJaneGenova Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)