Law And More

Ideal Shelter Solution for Your Kids/Mom - Lawyers, Lobby for Boarding-House Zoning

"Young professionals who fled big cities for small towns during the pandemic are providing an unexpected boost to a type of real estate geared toward communal living ... They have been looking for companionship at remote co-living spaces, where tenants rent furnished rooms in big, shared homes." - Konrad Putzier, The Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2021.

Essentially, youth is circling back to the multi-purpose boarding house. That's where millions of Ok, Boomers bunked during the college and graduate/professional school years.

That living arrangement saved money. It was usually less expensive than the dorm, one-bedroom apartment or even an efficiency. It provided a built-in system for companionship. At any time, day or night, there was someone to talk with. And there had been the safety of numbers. 

With housing costs currently so inflated and given the difficulty making friends once you leave your formal education, Millennials are pivoting to a version of the co-living we Boomers had treasured.

Enlightened policy planners for the aging should be lobbying to bring back the boarding house for those over-50. That would prevent homelessness. It would reduce the isolation that is common as we lose family and friends to death and relocation. And it would be safer than other kinds of shelter. One challenge is the zoning. Not every neighborhood wants a boarding house. 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Aging Lawyers - Thinking the Unthinkable, that is, Retirement (or simply stepping back)

"Many baby boomers—especially those at the top of their game—struggle with the decision to step down. And when they leave, the transition is often ‘painful and messy ...'" - Betsy Morris, The Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2021.  

The classic template for retirement is that established by Johnny Carson. He left at the top of his game. His final show celebrated what he had put in play. And that was that.

Later David Letterman modified that model. Essentially he put aside his personal brand as The Comic. But he still remains in the game. For instance, he did a bit on the 2020 Emmys and hosts on Netflix "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction."

However, most brandname aging professionals, such as lawyers, find retiring unthinkable. Even "stepping back" horrifies them.

There is lots to be said - and they know it - to exit or "step back" when the reputation is still intact. But, that entails so much loss. It entails everything from money to being in demand (the email box is full, plenty of texts ping, the phone clamors). The reality is that once the job per se is over so often also is the personal branding.

In capitalism, you are your official title. Retirement can mean becoming invisible. Thought leader Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld detailed that tragedy in the book "The Hero's Farewell." It's painful to recall how one-time business giants Lee Iacocca and Jack Welch struggled to hang on after they retired from their chief executive officer positions. 

Those who opt to embrace some version of getting off the career track frequently make a mess of it. They often attempt to hang in, becoming a kind of public nuisance. One former law firm partner I coached came to me with the awareness that he was making a pest of himself spouting off plans to create a class-action law firm. The pain of that humiliation set him off abusing alcohol. His first step back to finding post-career work with a purpose was climbing out of his comfort zone. Here is my book, a free read, on that process. 

On the other hand, if lawyers dig in their heels and conjure up strategies and tactics to remain just where they are on their career paths they also risk humiliation. They may experience cognitive decline and it shows. Ambitious younger lawyers could be launching stealth attacks, including on the reputational front. There are smirks in the background. The good assignments might not be coming to them. The power brokers could be forcing them out. Initially it begins with a pay cut. 

There are no absolute answers about when to let the big job go. Those who are equally in-tune with how the marketplace perceives them and where they are in their own overall abilities can do an audit. What can they continue to contribute to their organization and simultaneously prevent what could trigger downward trajectories? Of course, that assessment is an encounter with raw reality.

Capitalism is a harsh task-master, usually unforgiving. In addition, there are the usual monsters of the mind which undermine rational thinking. That inner chatter can and usually does have professionals in vulnerable situations shoot themselves in the foot. 

What makes the coming-to-jesus moment of clarity less traumatic is to get serious about creating a post-career plan. Yes, the big career ends. But work doesn't. That plan has a better shot at playing out well if there is no visible decline in performance or reputation before stepping back. 

The next kind of work can produce a fresh type of success. Lawyers who let go of what they had could discover the unleashing of talents which makes them authentic late bloomers. There really is such a phenomenon. University of Chicago researcher David W. Galeson documented how talent might find its way of manifesting itself when youth is over. His seminal book is "Old Masters and Young Geniuses."

Also, the Future of Work is an unknown. Lawyers who step back may be surprised what they step into. The world they left behind back there may vanish. 

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

Gary Zerola - Irony that People Magazine's Top Bachelor Faces Multiple Rape Charges

If convicted or if he takes a plea, will Gary Zerola get cut some slack in sentencing because of his difficult childhood? From ages 3 through 15, he had been in 12 foster homes. When he became a lawyer, he also did advocacy work for foster care.

That background might help explain why such an attractive male is facing in Massachusetts multiple charges of rape and has been accused by women of others, dating back to the 1990s. As New York Post reports, when Zerola was 29, People Magazine listed him as one of America's Top 50 Bachelors. 

In addition to operating his own legal practice, Zerola served as an assistant district attorney in Essex and Suffolk Counties in MA. 

When he had been arraigned on January 15th for an alleged rape, he already had been out on bail for an earlier alleged rape. This time there will be no bail. He is designated as a danger to his community.

This saga, if it is proved accurate, mirrors those plot lines in that quirky former program "Criminal Minds." There was usually something in the miscreant's background which triggered aberrant behavior.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Harry Brant - Lawyers Should Notice How Addiction Is Hard to Shake

The death of fashion icon Harry Brant at age 24 is a familiar saga.

Like musical icon Michael Jackson he developed an addiction to a prescription drug. And addictions can be very difficult or even impossible for many to shake.

Just talk candidly with counselors at rehab centers and "regulars" at 12-step recovery meetings. And, yes, so many of those compulsions to use prescription medication start accidently. There is the dental work. There might be the sports injury. There could be surgery on the arm. There is a party.

In his short life, Brant had modeled for Italian Vogue. He had done journalistic work for his father Peter Brant's magazine Interview. He and his brother Peter created a unisex makeup. And most of all he was an acknowledged influencer in fashion.

What should be obvious to those in the legal sector, where substance abuse is common, is not to start.  Once off to the races, the ritual of drug-taking can become a needed habit. Or, at least, that is the default assumption. 

The classic case of that had been the death of Wilson Sonsini partner (San Diego office) partner Peter Munson. As I cover in this article, he died from a condition related to the IV use of drugs. For him, drug use seemed to be the tool which enabled him to go along with the demands of his career. Like many addicts - whether that be to pills or alcohol - he connected the dots in this way: He had discovered a good thing. Without it, his supposed "best thinking" likely told him his career would go kaput. 

Yes, there are lawyers who do take the exit ramp out of addiction. However, usually that is too late to save their careers and much of the rest of their lives. 

In a northeastern Ohio 12-step program a disbarred lawyer told how his impaired judgment from substance abuse resulted in bizarre decisions. At the top of the list was to embezzle rather than lay off the relatives employed by him in a real estate firm during the 2008 crash. For that he spent two years in prison and lost his family.

His message is: Don't start with the substances. His hunch is that going to law school had been the wrong career path. His discontent practicing law could have been what opened the door to experimenting with substances to tolerate the discomfort of a bad professional fit.

The good news is that there are currently accepted as treatment modalities other than Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12-step programs it had generated. According to addiction specialists, AA has a success rate of between 8% and 12%. Back in 2015 in The Atlantic, Gabrielle Glaser published the seminal article discussing the program's weaknesses. It's now obvious and doable: If AA doesn't pan out for you, move on to try what might. 

Recovery can begin with a call to a free, confidential hotline for emotional distress. No, you don't have to be actually suicidal. A proven-out one among my clients is New York City's Samaritans. It operates 24/7. Those who answer do eloquent listening. The number is 212-673-3000.

Meanwhile, those considering empowering themselves though the use of addictive substances might play around with the question: Am I on the wrong career path?

Had I not drank my way through a professional bad fit of a doctoral program at a prestigious university I might have been able to pivot to the careers I eventually pursued - with joy, money and satisfaction.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Hermit as Hero - Flight from Nuisances and Comforts of Civilization

Some personally remember what could be thought of as "The Fire This Time."

In 1967, urban areas such as Detroit, Michigan and Newark, New Jersey went up in flames. The front lines of those uprisings were alleged to be people of color.

Currently, the insurrections are very different. Instead of fire, there are firearms and bombs. Instead of people of color there allegedly are those championing the white race. Likely more lives will be lost this time around than back in the late 1960s. In addition, there could be greater fear of society unraveling. The veneer of civilization becomes just that - clearly an illusion.

How well the guardians of civilization - law enforcement - can uphold that concept will be on trial during the transition in Administrations. That will be played out both in D.C. and in the states.

What could attract more interest is the saga of a modern-day hermit who turned his back on the nuisances and comforts of civilization. That had been Christopher Knight. His story is told in "The Stranger in the Woods" by Michael Finkel. In 1986, he entered the woods of Maine. Until he was discovered there in 2013, Knight got by without human companionship, a job, medical care or technology. At 133,490, the book remains a best-seller.

More of the wealthy are doing a less radical version of what Knight pulled off. They are pivoting out of sophisticated urban areas and putting together a lifestyle beyond the parameters of what had been considered The Good Life. The New Paradise is a large ranch in Wyoming. Telecommuting makes that more and more possible. 

I found my Eden in the small town on the border of Mexico: Sierra Vista, Arizona. My vehicle had been vandalized in Toledo, Ohio. During the 1967 riots my parents' car had been pelted with rocks. The local police station had been invaded. Fires raged on main streets. 

A liberal arts major (along with picking up advanced degrees in literature and language) I align with the world view of William Shakespeare. He saw mankind as "cankered in the grain." In his tragedies and history dramas he captured that dark side. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Side Effect of Being Addicted to Work: Clinical Depression, Sleep Disorder

'The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reports that workaholics — described as people with 'a compulsion or an uncontrollable need to work incessantly' — are twice as likely to be depressed and have poorer sleep quality than normal employees." Paul Best, New York Post (originally in Fox News), January 15th, 2021.

Sure praise, promotions and high compensation are often heaped on those in law firms who are workaholics (and whose performance matches that intensity). But, the study indicates that the price to pay for that professional trait can be more than the usual compromised relationships.

Clinical depression is painful. 

Inadequate rest can be a monster gnawing at one's nerves all day. Then, at night, there's another kind of ordeal. It might be difficult to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. The periods of rest may not provide relaxation. There could be nightmares.

Of course, like all addictions, this can be treated.

The rub is that is this: The reward system for all that focus on work is seductive. Those in that loop likely can't imagine a career without that kind of underpinnings and positive responses. You bet, it's a kind of identity - a strong one.

The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

 

Kent Halkett - Yes, Clinical Depression Is a Chronic Disease and, You Bet, Legal Sector Tends to Be Unforgiving

Those who suffer from clinical depression when practicing law might be labeled "The Unforgiven."

Even when treated effectively there can be "tells" that the lawyer is predisposed to some kind of depression.

That's not unique to law, though. In my corporate career in executive communications I had kept my history of clinical depression confidential. Given that I was in a "creative function," I got away with that. Creatives are allowed fluctuations in mood. Had I stayed at Harvard Law School beyond the 1L year, I might not have been so successful at concealing my condition when practicing law. 

As Abovethelaw reports, one-time lawyer at Sidley Austin Kent Halkett seems to have wound up among The Unforgiven. There and at another prestigious law firm, the "tells" seemed to do him in. There were negative impacts on his career.

Yes, Sidley Austin was also where Gabe MacConaill, who committed suicide, had been a partner. When in extreme emotional distress MacConaill didn't seek treatment because he sized this up: Data about receiving treatment could have finished his career. 

Yet, the statistics about clinical depression specifically and mental illness in general in legal sector are well-known. In addition, what more experts and victims are acknowledging is this: Clinical depression is a chronic disease. It can return again and again, after years of being free of the symptoms. 

Of course, there have been initiatives in the legal sector to address that reality. But, given the brutal individualism of capitalism, those who find themselves with some form of psychiatric challenge are primarily on their own. Their first instinct, before deciding to get help, probably is to assess how much damage this development could have on their careers. 

There are, of course, DIY approaches to dealing with clinical depression. Those bypass the still-stigma of having been treated by a professional. The DIY remedies include over-the-counter medications, aerobic activities, meditation, prayer and "changing the channel" in one's head. Regarding the latter, we tend to be our thoughts.

Also, depressives like myself have experimented with more what be considered radical solutions. Recently, after a depressive episode in the midwest, I tried out relocating to a part of the nation which seemed less of a closed system and the weather was milder.

For now, that has panned out. No surprise, I am attracting a better-quality client. My coaching blog has been syndicated. "At my age," when making new friends is difficult, I have made several. And, I have been able to get on the other side of my dog's death. 

Increasingly, I have become disenchanted with the medical establishment and its perspectives on clinical depression. Most of those on the front lines lack deep-listening patience. Also, there seems to be a lack of transparency. 

What has reduced much of the pain I have experienced on and off since age 11 has been experimentation. However, since this disease is also unpredictable, I will not rule out seeking professional help in the future. In 2003, I got amazing results from consulting for several months with West Hartford, Connecticut cognitive therapist Amy Karnilowicz.

 Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Suicide Is Contagious - Hudson Yards Vessel as Youth Magnet

This morning the third suicide by a young person occurred at New York City's Hudson Yards Vessel. The man was 21-years-old.

Last December a 24-year-old woman also committed suicide there.

And back in February of 2020 a 19-year-old male, a former rugby player, also took his own life in that way. The New York Post provides more details.

It sure seems that the Hudson Yards Vessel has become a magnet for suicides by young people. In her landmark book on suicide "Night Falls Fast," Johns Hopkins professor Kay Jamison discusses that aspect of suicide. - That is, that the concept is contagious. Like moods, others can "catch" it. Often that's called the "cluster phenomenon." Of course, the powers that be associated with the Hudson Yards vessel should look into this.

Some in the legal sector may recall that cluster play-out in Kentucky among trial lawyers. Between 2010 and 2013, about a dozen of them had taken their own lives. To this day, the epidemic of suicides has not been explained. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Thomas Bloom Raskin - His Father Congressman Jamie Raskin Celebrates His Life

Youth and suicide. Most who follow the media know the numbers on that are rising.

Those include young people already on promising journeys. On New Year's Eve Thomas Bloom Raskin took his life. He had a history of clinical depression. Some label that "the inner terrorists."

Thomas had been a second-year-student at Harvard Law School.

As his father Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) shares in a celebration of Thomas' life, the young man had a deep spirit of giving, along with a drive to be of service. Thomas also had the gift of humor. 

Again, a family, those whose lives Thomas touched, an elite school and all those of us who have also battled those inner terrorists wonder: Why doesn't our 21st century society know more about clinical depression? Particularly, how to treat it effectively?

That combination of the talk modality and medication isn't providing enough of a firewall between the pain of clinical depression and a sense of despair. 

My family seems to carry the suicide gene. Their lives were allowed to slip away. What was considered "help" proved to be inadequate - obviously.

The Call to Action on this one is for everyone in the loop, be it the research labs or university mental health centers or close friends, to approach clinical depression in fresh ways. The current MO isn't moving the dial on suicides. Try something else. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

ABA Survey Confirms Known Professional/Personal Impacts of Law-School Loan Debt

The numbers are familiar.

In late October 2021, the American Bar Association released the findings of its survey about law-school graduate loan debt.

More than 75% owed $100,00.

More than half owed more than $150,000.

And, one in four owned more than $200,000.

The impacts on professional and personal lives were also familiar.

In career-planning, new graduates frequently saw themselves forced to go for the work situation which paid the most, not the one they really wanted. Also, some opted for positions which provided loan forgiveness versus risking choosing a more lucrative but employment-insecure path. On the personal level, of course, they perceived it necessary to delay or to completely rule out creating a family.

The ABA has made suggestions. Yes, the big financial nut could be reduced and/or its terms and conditions could be eased. But six-figure debt is six-figure debt. Anyone who has found themselves in that pickle knows how difficult it is to pivot out. Meanwhile, daily life can be a sustained nightmare of fear of falling behind in repayments.

Of course, law-school graduates have plenty of company in being locked into student loan debt. That could factor into the rising suicide rate of youth. 

Will the Biden Administration fix this? There is plenty of grassroots opposition to bailing out those burdened with debt from higher education. Yet, the existence of that debt is keeping aspects of the American economy stuck.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2021. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.