Law And More

Robert Cicale - Another Professional with JD (this one a judge) & Self-Defeating Behavior

Human behavior is too complex to reduce to narrow labels. In addition, those designations are often proved wrong over the centuries. Many of the categories of Sigmund Freud have been discredited. 

So, only the arrogant would attempt to provide a simple interpretation of why those with JDs too often wind up on the wrong side of the law. What might be useful is to describe that phenomenon with the broad term "self-defeating." Let's put it this way: The choices they make do not advance their career.

The most recent example of what I would classify as "self-defeating" behavior was the decision to enter the residence of a young female, go into the hamper, retrieve used panties, and stuff them into his coat. According to police records, former New York Suffolk County District Court judge - Robert Cicale, 50 - did exactly that. He had been arrested.

On Friday, reports the New York Post, Cicale took a plea for a lesser crime, that is, attempted burglary. That, though, is still a felony. In New York state, any felony results in an immediate disbarment. Some find that harsh. But that is what is right now.

In November is Cicale's sentencing. What is expected are probation for five years and registering as a sex offender. 

Tabloids might approach depicting Cicale's saga as cartoonish. However, this represents a human catastrophe. Given its frequency among JDs, law schools might introduce electives in behavior management.

Ranging from Shakespeare's concept of "cankered in the grain" to the Roman Catholic Church notion of "original sin," it is obvious that the human species has a dark side. However, once that reality is embraced, then future lawyers can work on themselves to manage their behavior.

Yes, recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous have demonstrated that it is possible to control self-defeating impulses. The rub is that people have to want to do that. Perhaps too many JDs prefer a walk on the wild side instead of protecting their careers. 

This blog extends compassion to Robert Cicale and those who care about him.

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One Wedding, One Apparent Suicide - Law Enforcement Can't Manage the Human Heart (at least, not yet)

According to records, reports the Daily Mail, law enforcement had been called several times to 318 Garland Street, Edgewood, Pennsylvania. The reason had been domestic disputes associated with mental illness.

However, that intervention didn't prevent the play-out of tragedy.

While the daughter in the family was getting married yesterday, the father, whose name has not been released, was home alone. It seems he tampered with the gas line. The objective seemed to be engineering his own suicide by having the house explode. That it did. Eventually his body was found in the debris.

The institutions of society, ranging from law enforcement to scientific research, have discovered so little about managing the human heart.

The barbarians of violence and self-harm remain at the gate.

All too often in these times when, to quote W.B. Yeats, "the centre cannot hold," they make it through all those artificial barriers like respectability and hope that tomorrow will be better. 

Can local law enforcement pilot follow-up programs for domestic violence that reach into the human heart and initiate a shift in feeling? 

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Part of Him Was "Disappearing" - Adam Markel Pivoted to Resilience

Lawyers seem programmed for tumbling into the legal sector's version of the Belly of Beast: depression/anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide.

Adam Markel experienced that as the "couldn't do that any more" moment. He was suffering from anxiety attacks and insomnia. 

So, he started to do what would allow him to perform at the top of his professional game over the long term and simultaneously enjoy what is important to him in life. 

On the law.com podcast, Markel brings two messages to lawyers.

One, it's possible to practice law without destroying yourself. Had Markel known what he discovered later he would have remained a lawyer instead of pivoting to his current career path.

And, two, what he discovered is that sustainable top performance and nurturing what's important to you really come down to taking care of yourself. The tough part, of course, is figuring out how to do that.

After practicing bankruptcy law for about 18 years, Markel currently is chief executive officer of Make Love Media. He published the influential "PIVOT: The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Career and Life."

Essentially, Markel coaches, taking care of yourself entails:

• Assessing where you are. There is a tool to measure that. Likely generations of lawyers who aren't millennials will find that they conform to a culture which requires and rewards non-stop work. That could be 18 hours a day, as standard. But research indicates peak performance, as by athletes and successful business leaders, is all about periods of recovery. Perform, pause, then return to performing. Top athletes are not doing their sport all the time. 
• Analyzing your "rituals," that is, your habitual actions and if they interfere with both performance and living the life you want. Markel's ritual was to start his serious work at 4 P.M. That meant he missed dinner and story time with the kids, which was his most important value. The conflict exhausted him. He was filled with dread.
• Create new mini rituals throughout the day which reduce that conflict. Soon enough you will be aware what other mindsets and behaviors are killing you and you will gradually replace them.
• Talk with a lawyer you trust about what you sense needs to be balanced out. Those conversations mandate you become vulnerable, with at least that one person. Lawyers are socialized never to let down their guard.
• Do all this before you need to. That is become resilient ahead of major challenges such the law firm's adopting a new business model.

What Markel doesn't mention is that the "couldn't do that anymore" could also take the form of criminal activity. The familiar media article is coverage of the successful lawyer who is nailed for embezzling, distributing child porn, or domestic assault. Those are the other ways of pulling the plug on a mode of working that can't be sustained. 

Markel is the keynote speaker at the General Counsel Conference, September 25-26.

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Suicide, The Social Disease - Struggling to Understand Nine NYPD Suicides in 2019

This evening in Queens, a 56-year-old police officer was the ninth in the NYPD to take his life in 2019. He had served the public for about 20 years. As yet, his name has not been released. 

Yesterday in the early morning, in Yonkers, Johnny Rios took his own life.

Both deaths were the result of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. 

As the NYPD struggles with this suicide crisis, those of us who have had suicides occur in our background understand that the mindset to solve problems by suicide might be contagious.

Johns Hopkins professor Kay Jamison discusses this theory in her iconic book on suicide "Night Falls Fast." Jamison herself made a serious attempt at suicide. When she outed herself in the healthcare community, many were critical of her. Interesting how even those in the supposed helping professions can't emotionally or socially handle suicide. 

If those in our lives have taken that irreversible step, the act no longer seems unthinkable - at least, not to us. In addition, we also recognize our own vulnerability to figure we can manage things "efficiently" in that manner. 

Several members on the Eastern European side of my family chose to not go on living. Intuitively, I got how darkly they had viewed life on planet earth. I sensed they had lost their hold on the possibility that they could change what was. That feeling was not totally foreign to me.

When I was an unhinged freshman in a Pennsylvania college away from my hometown, I had heard that a former high school classmate had hung himself. It was in his college dorm in Manhattan. So many were shocked. I wasn't.

Maybe I carry a family suicide gene. I felt enormous empathy for him. My hunch is that he had a same-sex encounter and in 1963 that was tough to absorb. In addition, I did wonder how much longer I "could take it" in my current situation at my college.  Suicide was not entirely ruled out. 

Researchers such as Marco Iacoboni document that we are social beings. We influence each other cell by cell. What facilitates that are our "mirror neurons." 

Those who need to be distracted from suicidal ideation have to find positive folks to hang around with. Sure, they have problems - maybe a lot of them. But they are determined to survive and maybe even thrive. 

In my emotional support group, I picked up a weird vibration from a millennial who seemed to have everything going her way. I distanced myself. No, I wasn't surprised to hear at a meeting that she had committed suicide. 

Those who care about anyone stuck in darkness have to nudge him or her into a hope zone. 

This blog passes on positive thoughts to the families, friends, and colleagues of the nine officers who made the decision to end their lives. 

Epstein Conspiracy Theorists: Factor in the Cockroaches

The world media outlets don't need the slowdown in the global economy, climate change, or even Donald Trump as the story.

They have the conspiracy theories attaching themselves to the death of Jeffrey Epstein. Those could have legs for a long time.

Among the latest theory is that Epstein "outsourced" his suicide.

According to Lewis Kasman, who had been in the John Gotti Sr. loop, Epstein couldn't have pulled off killing himself on his own. The surveillance cameras go 24/7. Also, he needed the equipment. He had the money to pay for help with a suicide. And that's what he did.

Kasman notes that cockroach problem in the jail cell might have been a tipping point. The powers that be claim they can't spray because of toxicity. Therefore, the cockroaches are plentiful and aggressive enough to invade every opening in the human body. Epstein, accustomed to lux, might have made the decision not to go on. So he ponied up the cost of exiting all that. 

Here are more details from the New York Post.  

An earlier theory, put out there by a former inmate in the Metropolitan Correctional Center was that, no way, could Epstein have pulled off a suicide. The cell isn't configured to allow for that. It had to be a murder. Here are more details from Fox. 

Soon enough psychologists might be parachuting in. They could speculate that Epstein had been a narcissist. A narcissist loves himself (or herself). Therefore, suicide was not probable. Bring on the murder theory. 

Fading will be interest in theories about who killed John F. Kennedy or why.

Next November around Thanksgiving don't expect many media articles about that sunny day in Dallas, Texas. Instead they will delve into that hot weekend in Manhattan when a billionaire died in a jail cell. 

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Lawyers, Law Students - Yes, It Could Be Back to The Bad Old Days

U.S. president Donald Trump fingered mental illness as the causes for the massacres in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

Some will accept that statement at face value. They might conclude: Those with mental illness are dangerous. 

Obviously then, lawyers and law students don't need a Pew research study to anticipate that the fear and stigma already associated with mental illness will increase. Simultaneously, the progress made in perceiving mental illness as "just another disease, in this case, a disease of the mind," could be undone.

Sure, a new California law prevents the state bar association from accessing mental health/medical records. But what about the perceptions inside law firms, by superiors in corporate legal departments, by clients, within government offices, and for those quasi legal jobs such as reviewing copyrights at a publisher?  

Things don't look good. What could happen very soon is that the one in five adults (46.6 million) who struggle with mental illness in any single year better keep their condition under wraps. Yes, we could be returning to The Bad Old Times. 

You bet, they were bad.

To keep my medical records clean of all that, I paid out of my own pocket for psychotherapy. Since I was 11 years old, I had experienced episodes of clinical depression. During background checks for corporate jobs, including the drug tests, I would stop taking antidepressants. In the workplace, I made it my business to act chipper, that is, not depressed. 

I have a hunch that I was not being paranoid or overcautious. A talented executive whose bipolar diagnosis was known had been forced out. 

When I switched from corporate to operating my own communications boutiques, for years I continued to keep the depression under wraps.

Then, like a white knight, Patrick Kennedy (yes, that Kennedy) rode in and helped lift the negative aura surrounding mental illness.

That was then.

Now, it could be back to the dark ages about attitudes regarding mental illness. Those who sense their careers could be threatened by a diagnosis and treatment will likely not seek out either. Or, manage that in a stealth manner and out of their own pockets. 

Reflection: Even before the two weekend tragedies, a millennial, who suspected she had been terminated from her job in Ohio because she was open about her anxiety and depression, observed: Gay is cool, mental illness isn't. She was optimistic, though, that the perception could and would change in her lifetime. Maybe that optimism has been downsized today.

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Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Wins One in Court Pre-Trial Hearing

Steve Jobs wannabe Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is still in black.

Only at the pre-trial court hearing it wasn't the signature black turtleneck.

It was a basic black dress and black blazer. And, at age 35, she's still attractive.

Some conjecture that it had been her youthful blonde good looks which lured big establishment names such as Henry Kissinger to the Theranos board of directors. At one point superlawyer David Boies had represented her.

Her trial on 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud will begin on July 28, 2020, in San Jose, California. Here is a summary of those counts by the Department of Justice. And, here is a copy of the actual indictment. 

The contention is that she and the startup's number-two Sunny Balwani deliberately misled investors, regulators, and the public about a technology which didn't exist. Balwani, who had also been her lover, was in court but arrived separately. In a television interview he argued that Theranos represented a business failure, not a fraud. If convicted, both face decades in prison.

But meanwhile, she did win one in court. She requested that the Food and Drug Administration speed up the process of turning over documents to her legal team. It claims that would require 6 months. No way, ruled federal judge Edward Davila. He gave the regulatory agency 75 days. Here are more details from the media.

By the time of the trial, most of the tech world could be in the reputational toilet. Regulators, media, the stock market, consumers, and the public globally could have turned on it. An indication of how bad it could it get is playing out in Europe. New York University marketing professor and internet expert Scott Galloway has been predicting just that. 

My hunch is that it will be difficult for both sides - prosecution and defense - to find objective jury members in the San Jose area. The defense might request a change of venue, which could delay the trial. Delays help defendants. 

In the tabloid media this saga could go down as "The Blonde and The Old White Men." 

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A Legal Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste - 5 Ways to Duck Dementia (even when carrying bad genes)

The minds in a law firm are its most important asset. 

Leadership at the firm then should feel motivated to protect that asset from the onset of dementia. Yes, keep those lawyers with their seasoned expertise and big book of business at the top of their game. A legal mind is a terrible thing to waste.

The answer could be: a law firm wellness program. 

A study conducted at the University of Exeter found that a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of dementia 32%. That's even among those with a gene for it. Here is general coverage in MarketWatch. And, here is a detailed description of the research in ScienceDaily.

Co-lead author Dr. El?bieta Ku?ma found five healthy habits could bypass what might have been genetic destiny. They are:

•  Diet low in sugar and salt
•  Avoiding artificial sweetners
•  Regular exercise
•  No tobacco smoking
•  Moderation in alcohol consumption. 

Of course, there is a controversy if wellness programs should be mandated in businesses.

One useful approach could be to not require but reward participation. For example, those enrolling would have X amount reduced in their contribution for certain benefits such as medical insurance. 

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"Edwin Hardeman" v. Monsanto, John Does" - Judge Downsizes Punitive Damages Award

On March 27th, the California jury in a Roundup trial awarded the plaintiff almost $75 million in punitive damages. That litigation had been "Edwin Hardeman v. Monsanto, John Does." Here is a copy of the complaint.

As The Recorder reports, U.S. District judge for the Northern District of California Vince Chhabria reduced that to $25.3 million. That represents a ratio of 4 times the compensatory damages. The earlier award represented 15 times the compensatory damages. The latter he assessed that as not constitutional.

However, he didn't toss the conviction, stating that Monsanto's behavior was "reprehensible." Monsanto, whose parent is Bayer, will continue to appeal the conviction. 

The plaintiff's lawyer is Jennifer Moore of the Moore Law Group. 

The reality that the judge maintained the conviction is a negative development for Bayer. It still faces thousands of lawsuits for allegedly causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The amazing thing is this: Roundup is still being sold. On network television it continues to be advertised. Ironically, also on network television law firms are pitching for Roundup plaintiffs. 

After the "Hardeman' verdict, big box Costco made the decision to stop selling Roundup.

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Work - That and Other (fatal) Disappointments

Since 2006, the rate of suicide in the U.S. has increased 2% each year.

In addition, suicide attempts are at about 1.4 million annually.

Those are just some of the statistics the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released today from its recent study. Here are more details from Bloomberg.

A sign of these suicidal times, talking about thoughts of offing oneself is no longer taboo. And it has become commonplace.

In fact, last night a Millennial neighbor and I chatted up in front of our building about our bout of suicidal ideation earlier in the week. The woman next door who overheard us joined in. My quip was that when a date asked me my purpose in life, I blurted out: Trying my best to stay alive. 

Yeah, we are a nation in lousy emotional shape.

As the Bloomberg article points out, the 60-year run of optimism about treatments for mental illness - ranging from medication to take therapy - was magical thinking. A reason for that is also something Bloomberg notes:

" ... psychological stressors can activate a genetic predisposition, so life circumstances matter a lot. And the U.S. is home to some particularly challenging ones ..."

WORK SUCKS

At the top of the list is the disenchantment with work. Since Puritan times the work ethic has been the unofficial religion in America. That belief system is being battered on all fronts.

Some don't have enough work.

Others work at what pays peanuts.

Those who have lots of well-paid work such as lawyers, like Gabe MacConaill, are committing suicide. Or they are self-destructing in other ways be those drugs or embezzling client funds and getting caught.

A reason FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) has caught fire is that too many are treated so badly by employers, clients, and customers while working. The dream is to find satisfaction elsewhere.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

The pain is palpable. And, as fellow human beings, we feel it.

So many decent human beings are suffering and it's needless.

The most obvious instance of that is homelessness. Some cities look like third-world countries.

But more pervasive is the extreme loneliness. Gone is the ability to even have a conversation. The Diane Sawyer two-hour television special on screen time pointed the finger for this at digital technology. In addition, the aging become invisible. Then they self-isolate.

RATS NO LONGER STAY IN THE BASEMENT

In Manhattan there used to be the old saying: If the rats stay in the basement, you know things are under control. It's when the rats climb the stairs and merrily join the diners in the restaurant that you know the social system is collapsing. 

The dark aspects of society - corruption, narcissism, violence, and bullying - have taken over. We watch an inspiring film such as "Breakthrough" and are incapable of feeling hope.

It's overdue that the key institutions in society such as the mental health system, education, government, and the private sector look at what Bloomberg labeled "life circumstances." Those are the levers to push to reduce suicide.

Meanwhile, it is possible to get through the day.

Talking to one trusted acquaintance can release the despair.

There are caring human beings at Samaritans. That free hotline (212-673-3000) operates 24/7.

Go the animal shelter and adopt a companion, even if that means relocating to a pet-friendly apartment.

Do one decent human act. That can be as small a gesture as holding the door open for a mother carrying a child. 

Full Disclosure: Several members of my family committed suicide. 

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