Law And More

Heidrick & Struggles - Mirror Neuron Outage

In its report on the future of work, Cushman & Wakefield nails it. 

The line that jumps out from that study is this:

"Human connection and social bonds are suffering."

Essentially, the shift to remote work only accelerated the breakdown in the ability of human  beings  to connect while working.

For most of the 21st century, the hardening of the American brand of capitalism had eroded trust in the world of work. 

Why that's such a concern is that members of our species affect each other, cell by cell. The scientific term for that deep continuum of influence is "mirror neurons."

Formal research finally came up with an explanation of those seemingly strange phenomena: The nurses on one ward all become pregnant around the same time. Moods are contagious. Watching someone eat ice cream makes us want to eat ice cream, right then.

When humans pull back from that free flow of signals, there is confusion. Usually also something lots worse.

That was my experience with search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

Here is that story. Its title might be "Mirror Neuron Outage." And I am still undone.

My encounter with Heidrick & Struggles is ironic.

After all, its core competence is showcased on its website to be making the right assessment of talent for businesses around the world. 

Perhaps, internally Heidrick & Struggles has different switches for turning on the mirror neurons.

There may be one for their deep-pocketed clients who put in orders for an executive search.

And there is another for potential vendors such as myself. The mirror neuron system remains shut down.

Yet, in reimagining or softening capitalism stakeholders such as vendors matter too. Could it be capitalism isn't being reimagined at Heidrick & Struggles? It doesn't seem to be looping into ESG investing, does it?

 Bank of America has reduced its stake in that corporation.

The Future of Work is now. 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)

 

Pedophilia - Revulsion Blocking Treatment

"Pedophilia Is a Mental Health Issue. It's Still Not Treated as One." - Shayla Love, Vice, August 24, 2020.

Pedophilia is where love for someone of the same sex had been in what seems like light years ago.

The revulsion associated with sexual attraction to children has impeded research as well as any attempt to get treatment.

That's even the situation for those who are plagued with fantasies but never acted on them. For them it's been difficult to gain access to medications known to tame those intrusive thoughts.

Equally challenging is locating mental health professionals who understand such a mindset. If they do, then they fear the therapists will report that pattern of lustful thinking to the authorities.

What they do have are self-help groups such as Virtuous Pedophiles and the Association for Sexual Abuse Prevention.

Those who move from fantasy to actual molestation and wind up incarcerated also can't expect treatment. In contrast, there are modalities available in the correction systems for addressing alcohol and drug abuse. Twelve-step program Alcoholics Anonymous is packed with members who initially sobered up or got clean in jail or prison. Common is the exclamation: Getting locked up was the best thing that ever happened to me. Otherwise, they assume they would have drank themselves to death or overdosed.

Those in the front lines of having pedophilia understood and treated as a mental illness will face myriad obstacles. Meanwhile, the suffering for all in the loop is profound. 

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Matthew Platt - The Everyman of Alcohol Abuse

"An Indiana lawyer [Matthew Platt] who was arrested five times for drunk driving was suspended for 180 days by the state’s highest court." Melissa Heelan, Bloomberg Law, October 19, 2020.

This sure looks like one of those tsk-tsk stories. Many probably think: That lawyer should have lost his license. Half a year suspension is too small a punishment. After all, between April 2017 and August 2018 he had had five arrests related to driving when impaired.

But, Platt's behavior is actually quite typical of those saddled with a predisposition to alcohol abuse. Is he an "alcoholic?" Labels like that are irrelevant. What counts is that those with that wiring cannot predict what will happen if they consume alcohol. 

The irony is this: They assume they can. Alcohol resets their decision-making patterns. Never have I heard in the years I coach women and men in recovery on re-entry any accounts of intending to drive drunk. No, they think they're doing just great.

Of course, they have to be motivated to not drink. One tool for that, as with Platt, is bringing in the legal system. Others include "raising the bottom" with threats to terminate employment or a relationship.

Nice, in theory. But alcohol abuse wouldn't remain a major health and social problem if current modes of intervention were effective. Even in Alcoholics Anonymous the success rate is between 8% and 12%.

Essentially, Platt, likes so many with the same predisposition, is looping around in a kind of hell. There may be no way out for most of them.

Full Disclosure: My family seems to be genetically configured for not only alcohol abuse but also a wild mix of other addictions. 

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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.

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Science Denial - But I'm Back Believing (despite Dr. David W. Harder & Gaining 50 Pounds on Zoloft)

"Father, Forgive Me, I had engaged myself in science denial."

 

The current distrust of science is nothing new.

Sure, the GI Bill of 1944 kicked off the phenomenon of College for Everyman/Everywoman. My generation of Baby Boomers, in fact, were told by the high school guidance counselors that we had to go to college. As a required course, we learned about the scientific method.

However, some never bought in.

Others bet the ranch on the mysticism of religion.

And, a group had negative experiences with supposed scientific findings and individuals in the front lines of science. I would up in that third category.

What is new is this: During the past five years of the political emergence and leadership of businessman Donald Trump, science denial went, well, mainstream. Denying evolution didn't get anyone labeled as uneducated or out of it.

Countertrend, though, I have returned to the fold: I believe. But, that's getting ahead of myself.

In the late 1990s, my trust was shaken by a confluence of two forces. One, was reading the clinical notes of the psychotherapist I had consulted when I was a doctoral student at the University of Michigan and later now and then. That was David W. Harder. Ph.D.

It was at the end of the 1990s that I asked him for those notes. I felt something was off. He refused. I paid a lawyer to intervene. That did the trick. The tone and content of those notes seemed to me to scream that from the get-go we were a bad fit for a therapeutic relationship. So much for credentialed men of science.

The next Ah-Ha experience was the 50 pounds I gained twice from using antidepressant Zoloft. Other antidepressants had, for me, equally negative side effects. In 2008, I went DIY for the clinical depression I had struggled with since age 11. The results were good.

But a confluence of two other forces returned me to science. Those were my very recent two jarring encounters in one day with search/coaching/leadership development firm Heidrick & Struggles.

That started off with my applying for part-time contract career coaching assignment Download ReimaginingYourCareerWithJaneGenova Well, here is that story, as I lived through it and am still living through it.

After those Two Encounters Of The Strangest Kind, I had two anxiety attacks. I slid into a clinical depression. Those Two Encounters Of The Strangest Kind may or may not have been the triggers. I will never know that. What I do know is that I did all the DIY rituals. Those included:

Aerobics

Meditation

Distractions

Connecting with people and four-footer friends.

Yet, there I was, mostly in bed. Afraid also to leave the house. 

I caved, called my primary care physician (no, not a psychologist or psychiatrist), and simply said to the nurse practitioner Dayana Wiggins, that was back in the soup: depressed. I didn't mention Heidrick & Struggles. What I did say was, "Life just hit me too hard."

She listened. She researched the best option to prevent my previous side effects. There was no recommended that I seek out "further help."

As yet, the antidepressant hasn't fully kicked in. But I can leave the house. No more sleeping most of the day. Soon I sense I can return to a full schedule of client assignments.

Takeaway: Science can be a tool to use. With great caution.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Trade Associations - Messaging and Liability Concerns

Trade associations, ranging from the American Bar Association to the US Chamber of Commerce, have been fighting for their lives.

In a digital era in which just about anyone can be a lobbyist and can network effectively, their reason for existing is being questioned. The decline in membership hits their pocketbooks. 

Now, though, there is another problem and that could directly impact their pocketbook  - in legal fees and then in any verdicts or settlements.

The trade association as we have known it could be on short time. 

Bloomberg Law reports that the trade association for the oil and gas industry - American Petroleum Institute - is being sued at the state and local levels. The plaintiffs are associated with concerns about climate change. Given the current wildfires and hurricanes, constituencies out there ranging from Congress to Main Street to Generation i are all ears. 

The API has been accused of putting out there climate change misinformation about research, downplaying the peril of climate change and greenwashing climate change information. Lawsuits have been filed in Minnesota, Hoboken, New Jersey and Delaware. Here is the complaint from DE.

Essentially the liability is linked to messaging. And all trade associations have to now review what their messaging had been over the years and what it is now. In itself that could land them as defendants in litigation.

Of course, shade being thrown on trade associations is nothing new. Some remember the era of the BigLitigation alleging various industries caused a public nuisance. Those ranged from tobacco to lead paint.

In the state level class actions lawsuits regarding lead paint the Lead Paint Association was not an actual defendant but its documents constituted evidence that was cited by the plaintiffs.

The most high profile of those had been the Rhode Island lead paint class action public nuisance multiple trials. Sherwin-Williams had been one of the defendants, represented by Jones Day. Meanwhile, the Lead Paint Association had been represented in the court of public opinion by public affairs firm The Dilenschneider Group. 

Likely, with messaging on the hook, law firms and public relations agencies will have to work closely together to be proactive in preventing litigation. However, if that doesn't pan out then they must collaborate on the defense. Often the court of public opinion is more powerful than the court of law. 

As is well known, the oil industry is in a recession. The media coverage of the API litigation can deepen that financial reversal of fortune. The Wall Street Journal analyzed what has gone very wrong at Exxon Mobil. Recently it had two quarterly losses and had been removed from the Dow. Fossil fuels just aren't cool, not any more. Yet, Exxon Mobil doubled down on its investment in them. 

Meanwhile, this very real threat of litigation is another arrow in the heart of the trade association. Will it be around in five years? Many well-paying high-status jobs are part of the administration of trade associations. That has provided ammo for critics of trade associations. 

Incidentally, some might recall the sustained campaign of the late Jack O'Dwyer, founder of J.R. O'Dwyer Inc, against public relations trade association PRSA. That push-back  was influential. Among O'Dwyer's myriad accomplishments was being an early adopter of digital communications for his own messaging. Much of the rest of public relations media had been in denial of the importance of digital. 

Full Disclosure: I had blogged the 2005 -2006 RI lead paint trial. 

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Sex-Robot Law: New Niche for Law Firms (also, divorce practices can be in big trouble)

Artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced to the point that the "perfect" (at least in the eye of the beholder) sex robots are being produced. That includes sensors to generate body warmth, attributes such as human-like genitals, simulated extreme-pleasure climaxes and programming memories to store preferences.

Daily Star reports that users are quite satisfied with this growing form of "companionship." Jenny Kleeman chronicles those experiences in her book "Sex Robots and Vegan Meat." Published last month, it ranks 13,545 on Amazon.

The odds are they can have a standard role in the lives of all human beings. Yes both genders.  Here are 6 reasons why: 

Human sexual partners experiencing dysfunction can get to the root of their obstacles by "working" with a robot. That eliminates the ethical situations which can arise with the use of surrogates. Also, jealousy might be bypassed.

But don't count on it. Robots can create their own kinds of emotional messes in human connections. 

Avoids the complexities of human relationships. Not only is it tough to navigate a romance. After all, human beings are intricate. Also they are masters of subterfuge. It might be years or never before you discover whom you have been sharing yourself with.

Increasingly, in fact, folks are admitting that maybe just maybe human beings are totally unknowable. That's a theme in Scott Turow's most recent book "The Last Trial."  In it, the defense lawyer recognizes he really never knew who his lifetime friend, now his client, was all about as a person. In addition, he gets it that marriage is an enigma, probably even to the two parties in it. 

Provides whatever, on demand. That goes beyond sex. Just as we talk out things with our pets whenever and wherever we need to, we can depend on our robot lover as a listening post. And without judgment.

The boss chewed us out - unfairly, we are convinced. The robot accepts our side of the story. And, later, the robot won't bring up this humiliation.

There is that old adage: Do we even have one supposed friend whom we can call at 2 o'clock in the morning? Yes, we can answer. We have our AI buddy.  

Prevents disease. Trust can be low in a human sexual relationship. Do you really believe your partner hasn't had unprotected sex with others?

So many STDs can be eliminated. Probably COVID-19, too. 

The relationship doesn't wind up in divorce court. Divorce is expensive. Not only are there lawyer costs. There could be long-term alimony. Endgadget reports that Abyss Creations' RealDoll retails for between $8k and $10k. As with all technology, the price will come down. 

And, yes, it's possible to develop deep connections with inanimate objects. Women migh recall their bond with their dolls, males with their mechanical contraptions. 

There is that real-life story of customer service robot Fabio who had been fired from a supermarket in Scotland. On his way out the door after being sacked, co-workers cried. 

But there are pitfalls.

Those include the possibility that it will be difficult to relate to actual humans. Already, digital has, it is claimed, reduced the quality of human connections.

Empathy, already in danger, can disappear as a human trait. Making a human relationship work requires empathy. 

In addition, laws have to be developed for regulating the robot-human bonding. For instance, will marriage be permitted with a robot? If the relationship sours, will there be federal and state disposal policies and procedures for the cast-off mate? Who could bear spotting a sex robot in the dumpster? Do robot "owners" have to pay rent, as they do for pets, for the AI creature to reside in their apartments? And will robot abuse be a crime?

No surprise, during COVID-19 time of social distancing, the sex robot is in demand. Supplier Sex Doll Genie can't replenish its inventory fast enough. Should there be a second round of the virus, healthcare experts might recommend pairing up with a sex robot. Will Medicare pop for that purchase for the elderly?

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BU Trademarks @fckitwontcutit

The fundamental of marketing is to identify and figure out how to appeal to the mindset of the target market. The language is especially important. 

In the serious matter of protecting university students from the coronavirus, the stakes are high in that.  As BusinessInsider documents, across the U.S., young adults are being affected the most by the pandemic. 

So, what is being done?

Boston Magazine reports that the Boston University student-run AdLab and PR Lab came up with a bold experiment. The objective of the campaign is to shake students returning to campus out of their denial about the high contagiousness of COVID-19. It embodies how students think and actually talk.

The meme is: F*ck It Won't Cut It or @fckiwontcutit. The brass in administration has approved it. Yes, BU has trademarked it. 

Of course, this innovation is news in the global distressed industries of advertising and public relations. There is bound to be plenty of chatter.

But the bottom line, as in all marketing, is the question: Does this dog hunt?

Will students dutifully maintain social distancing, wear masks and maintain hand hygiene? Or will BU have the same amount of COVID-19 infections and deaths as campuses not embracing such a cool type of warning?

However, that could all be mere speculation about results. 

The game might never be played or not for long. BU can decide against reopening or shut down campus pronto after opening. After all, many schools at Harvard, including the Law School, have gone total remote in instruction for the fall semester.

Time will tell. But time is not on the side of those vulnerable to the virus. At the top of the list are young adults. Gen Z and the youngest of Millennials could be wiped out.

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Edelman Parachutes In - Elizabeth Warren's Concern about Kodak Stock Activity Prior to Announcement of $765M Loan

Giant public relations firm Edelman has developed a brandname representing controversial people, organizational developments, and corporations. Some may recall it represented GE employee Peter Lanza whose son Adam Lanza orchestrated the Sandy Hook, Connecticut massacre and his own suicide.

Currently, Edelman is representing Kodak, reports Kevin McCauley in Odwyerpr.com. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren wants SEC head Jay Clayton to investigate the stock activity before the announcement of a $765M loan for Kodak to pivot to become a pharma corporation. 

The issue concerns alleged insider trading or unauthorized disclosure of material nonpublic information associated with the loan. Warren has questions about the stock purchases of two Kodak insiders. They are executive chairman Jim Continenza and board member Phillipe Katz. 

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