Law And More

"District of Columbia v. DoorDash" - Alleged Violation of Consumer Protection Procedures Act

Food delivery is big business.

DoorDash, valued at $13 billion, has a nice piece of that - for now.

But after the members of the media run with this lawsuit, that market share could shrink, along with brand erosion.

BusinessInsider reports that District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine has filed a lawsuit against Doordash. Here is a copy of the complaint "District of Columbia v. DoorDash." It is titled "Violation of the Consumer Protection Procedures Act."

Essentially, the AG contends that between July 2017 and September 2019 DoorDash used tips from consumers to subsidize its own balance sheet.

Consumers assumed the tips were going to the delivery drivers.

Instead, the AG claims this: If the amount of revenue from the delivery didn't pay the worker's minimum compensation, then DoorDash applied the tip to that to bring it up to standard. Whatever was left over from the tip DoorDash pocketed. 

Two parties were allegedly harmed. Consumers had been fooled about where their tip was going. So much for transparency. The workers didn't receive the tip.

When the policy was uncovered there had been a outcry by constituencies ranging from the press to the individual drivers. The policy was then changed.

Unfortunately, if this lawsuit hurts DoorDash's business what also could be hurt is the ability of their drivers to continue with this work. They will have to hustle to find other sources of income.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Shift from Public Relations to Legal - Darkness Fell Fast Post-BBC Interview of Prince Andrew

The fallout from Prince Andrew's BBC interview doesn't only negatively impact the brand - and future - of the British royals. 

In addition, as the Daily Mail reports, the situation has rapidly transformed into a legal one. Public relations expert Jason Stein had warned Andrew not to do the interview. But Andrew did. Now this. Darkness has fallen fast.

The this is that players in the legal sandbox are discussing the vulnerability of Andrew to be extradited to the United States to "cooperate" with officials.

The alleged sexual misconduct occurred in the U.S., not the UK.

Being a royal doesn't confer immunity to Andrew.

And currently prosecutors and plaintiff lawyers have what is being labeled "ammunition" to use in questioning Andrew. That could be under oath. And the content of the BBC interview could be part of cross-examination.

From the get-go in the BBC interview, those of us in the communications industry picked right up on Andrew's absolutely wrong tone and no evidence of sincere regret about whom he chose to be on his international network.

Regarding the latter, more and more of us are aware of the dynamics of mirror neurons. The research about them proved out that we human beings affect each other, cell by cell. Years ago, in the pre-scientific age, mothers and religious organizations warned about "bad companions." The Roman Catholic Church even classified those as "near occasions of sin."

Remorse for behavior is required by most social norms. Also, as lawyers know, they are expected in most courts of law. It is contended that AdmissionsGate miscreant Felicity Huffman got off relatively easy because she was contrite. Former law partner Gordon Caplan also adopted that persona.

Andrew did not.

Singlehandedly, Andrew could bring down the institution of the royals. Those in the UK who pony up the funding for much of that may decide to pull the plug.

Bring in top marketing and public relations firms to create a fresh approach to UK tourism. A former English major, I could advise on beefing up drama performances of the dramas of William Shakespeare. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Uber Misclassified Drivers as Contract Workers - NJ Dept of Labor Demands $650 Million in Unemployment, Disability Insurance Taxes

Another arrow has been shot into the heart of Uber's business model.

The first had been California's AB 5, which classifies, with few exceptions, all gig workers in the state as employees. That goes into effect January 1, 2020. Uber is claiming to be protected by one of those exceptions and doesn't plan to comply.

Meanwhile, reports Bloomberg Law, in New Jersey the Department of Labor and Workforce Development is demanding from Uber and its subsidiary Rasier $650 million in unemployment and disability insurance taxes. The Dept contends the two misclassified drivers as contract workers. This could lead to Uber's being mandated to pay minimum wage and overtime. 

Uber is pushing back on that in NJ.

But the beginning of the end could already have been put into play. Congressman from Vermont Bernie Sanders introduced a bill establishing a kind of AB 5 on the federal level. Uber continues to lose billions. SoftBank, a primary investor, looks foolish for such aggressive backing. Like WeWork, Uber's day as this version of Uber could be over.

Among the tragedies associated with Uber and other gig economy jobs is that the most financially vulnerable get looped in. They don't have the access to the resources, including smart mentoring, to break loose.

When I talked to Wag dog-walkers (Wag, like WeWork and Uber, is also in financial trouble because of too rapid growth) about other career paths they tuned out. That was all they knew: hoping for a decent tip to supplement the low share of the fee for service.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Richard Tobin's Operation Kristallnacht - New York Metro in the 50s, We Were All Jewish

The FBI nailed anti-semitism mastermind Richard Tobin. 

Although now only 18, Tobin has masterminded Operation Kristallnacht. Among the violence were attacks on Jewish places of worship in Michigan and Wisconsin. 

During the first half of 2019, 780 hate crimes have been targeted at Jews in America. Here are more details from BusinessInsider.

Tobin is from the New York Metro area. Had he grown up there in the 1950s, he might not have taken on a mindset of anti-semiticism. Back then, we were all Jewish, at least in terms of feeling a part of the Jewish global suffering.

Into the area had emigrated those fleeing Hitler's, then Stalin's purges. By time I was in high school, they had settled in and were struggling to make a life and a living. In my high school in Jersey City, New Jersey was the daughter of one couple. She kept her head down and seemed like an old soul. At the time it was in, at least for females, to be flighty. That she wasn't.

Back then, it was unthinkable that Jews would ever be victimized in America. 

That is the new standard. It extends all the way into the west.

When I was living outside a desert in Arizona, some bullies in the area pegged me for Jewish. Those who have never been to New York can't differentiate that ethos from Jewish stereotypes. Within 27 months I decided to leave. It might have been considered anti-semeticism lite but it was still scary. 

Reflection: Some advise the Jews in America to totally assimilate. Ditch the skull caps. Shut down the places of worship. Dye their hair blond. Change their last names. But, come on, that isn't really doable. I will never be able to completely shake my New Yorkerness. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Recovery Industry - Lisa Smith Is Doing Well

Like any needed service, recovery has become an industry.

As such, it provides increasing professional opportunity for those who can put together the right positioning and packaging. 

Among those is Lisa Smith, feathered recently in a Law.com podcast. Earlier, Abovethelaw covered her downward trajectory and climb back up. In the successful book "Girl Walks Out of Bar," Smith tells her story. So had Susan Cheever and Pete Hamill.

Smith's struggle with booze took place when she was an employee in BigLaw, both practicing law and in a job developing new business. Currently she is a self-employed consultant. 

Smith, Cheever, and Hamill are hardly alone in getting being taken over by alcohol. According the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 14.1 million of those 18 years of age or older find themselves in that pickle. 

The question is: Does telling your story, as they have, help others who haven't yet had that "moment of clarity" that booze is interfering in one or more parts of their lives? 

Yes, 12-step recovery program Alcoholics Anonymous has institutionalized speaker meetings. At them the recovered share how it was, what they did about that, and how it is now. Yet, at best, AA's success rate is between 8% and 12%. So, no, all those stories aren't creating and sustaining a life without booze.

In my own little life, I have the hunch that sharing my own story, both in formal recovery settings and with those who are slipping into alcohol addiction, hasn't helped anyone.

It probably hasn't helped me either, not in any way. What I realized is this: That story isn't significant to me. I drank and ran into problems. I stopped drinking and ran into new kinds of problems. Both I and, it seems, science are clueless why some recover and maintain sobriety and many more don't. 

Of course, given the devastation alcoholism inflicts on the workplace, the family, and the individual, there is a desperate outreach for what might short circuit the syndrome. That triggers mythologies about what is helpful. Yet, when those illusions are foisted on those in the midst of alcoholism and the recommendations don't succeed, there could be the frustration that accelerates the progress of the disease. 

When it comes to trying to be helpful to another human being who is suffering with alcoholism, it might be wise to take on the mindset and behavior of The Good Parent: Be there, be gentle, be short on advice. Usually retelling all the stories about alcoholism in the family or in one's own life isn't useful. 

Takeaway: This long holiday season give the gift of not sharing your own recovery story or the story of those who managed to climb out of the bottle. Just show you care in an overall way. Download the film "Tender Mercies."

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Ronan Farrow's "Catch And Kill" - Familiar Saga of Power's Abuse, Its Details of Interest to Many Lawyers

On Amazon, Ronan Farrow's "Catch And Kill" ranks #105. The author is an awesome investigative reporter and an equally talented writer. 

But the story he tells is a familiar one: the abuse of power.

That saga stretches all the way to "Genesis" in the "Old Testament."

The higher power (and landlord) over-punishes the tenants Eve and Adam.

Had there been landlord-tenant court back then Eve and Adam might have retained their right to stay in Paradise. That kind of injustice in the bible had been described by famous criminal lawyer Alan Dershowitz.

And, lawyers reading the detailed accounts Farrow presents of proven and alleged injustices inflicted on women by entertainment industry power players will have much to analyze. Those of them not directly in the loop of criminal prosecution, criminal defense or civil plaintiff/civil defense likely envy those who are.

Also, there really do still exist men and women who haven't gotten enough insider information on how the business of entertainment really works. They will also find "Catch And Kill" a riveting read. Afterwards, they may warn their loved ones to steer clear of that industry.

However, for others the 414 pages may become tedious.

The story line seems to be as predicable as the 2019 episodes of "Law & Order SVU." There are powerful men and those who protect them (some allegedly even in law enforcement). There are ambitious women who seem to be naive (didn't their mothers/mentors warn them?). There is then a time of exposure including internal investigations by brandname law firms, actual legal action, negative media destroying careers, and backlash. Regarding the latter, women who did speak up or filed lawsuits told Vanity Fair how they have been blackballed in the entertainment business. Here is that article.

Come on, #MeToo is a movement which has peaked. Much of what is in "Catch And Kill" is already known or has been suspected.

The more interesting issue is: Can power be tamed into humane behavior? That is, in supposed civilization is there progress in values?

At the meetings of the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie, president Douglas Berger leads discussions of that.

In the group there are optimists who argue that some aspects of society have evolved into enlightened norms.

There are also cynics like myself who envision the dark creatures portrayed in "Catch and Kill" simply mutating into other forms. Their predatory activity will shift from alleged sexual misconduct to whatever they assume they can get away with. 

Realists mouth the old adage: In restaurants in Manhattan, if rats stay in the basement, all is well. Chaos happens when a few make it up the stairs and plop in diners' laps. Perhaps the best we can hope for from #MeToo is that the rats have gotten it, for now, to stay in the basement.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Antisemitism in City Television Made Cool

From the balcony of the law firm in "Boston Legal," the city seems just the right setting for that bunch of flawed but likable geniuses. 

It's easy to feel right at the Bruins game with Jon's friends on "A Million Little Things."

You bet, popular television programming has made Boston seem totally cool. 

So, it can come as a surprise that the quarter of a million Jews in Boston have become potential targets for hate crimes. As Michael Damiano reports in Boston Magazine, in 2018, there had been 144 of those kinds of incidents. In recent years, the number of them has increased more than 130%. 

Among the victims might have been Rabbi Avi Bukiet and his family. Twice his home, which also provides space for the congregation to worship, had been set on fire. Both times his three children were inside. Of course, the Bukiets have their guard up for future antisemitic activities.

This is occurring at a period in the history of Boston when institutional barriers against Jews essentially have disappeared. No longer do they need their own designated facilities, ranging from hospitals to country clubs. 

The uptick in antisemitism could be resulting from a confluence of factors.

Those include:

•  The divided politics of America
•  Social network's ability to build mass support for an ideology which then can be motivated to take action.
•  Copycatting. The attack on Pittsburgh Jews was fatal and high profile. So, why not go for even bigger kinds of hate-filled drama. Or, at least get in on the action in a more minor way. For instance, leave Nazi graffiti in the Jewish neighborhood.

With my heavy New York accent, Eastern European body type (my mother's maiden name was "Miksza"), and dark skin, I often have been taken for Jewish. Mostly folks were curious about my background.

But, in southwestern Arizona in 2014, the interest turned hostile. Call it antisemitism lite. Neighbors interrogated me about bizarre topics such as how my family reared me, why do I and all Jews work all the time, and since I was smart why wasn't I a medical doctor. Weary of the undertow of abuse, I left within 27 months. 

My experience only involved disrespect. 

That was then.

Currently, I wonder if there would be property damage and more.

Full Disclosure: Dark-skinned, I was bullied by the light-skilled Irish kids in the New York Metro area in the 1950s. As with my hair, aging has lightened my skin. 

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

Gordon Caplan - The Curse of Genius

A five-judge panel on a New York appeals court ruled to suspend Gordon Caplan's license to practice law. That will be in effect until a later hearing. They determined he was guilty of serious crime. Here are more details from the New York Post.

That new development in the downward trajectory of the career of a former co-chair of law firm Willkie Farr would reach Caplan in the Loretto, Pennsylvania correctional institution which he entered last Tuesday. There he will spend a month. When he is released he will do 250 hours of community service and pay a $50,000 fine. 

A Greek Chorus might chant: Smart man, stupid decisions.

The Chorus might have made the same observation of the thought processes which propelled former McKinsey head Rajat Gupta to his ruin. He figured that getting into the loop on the insider trading game would facilitate his career transition to launching a hedge fund. 

Some might label this a "tragic flaw." Others might perceive it as all too common fallout of superior intelligence. The book "The Curse of the High IQ" documents that. Author Aaron Clarey presents persuasive evidence that prospective parents shouldn't ask the universe to bring them a genius. 

Elite law and graduate business schools might develop an elective on how geniuses can prevent career catastrophe.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Homeless, Business, Law - Las Vegas Tries Something Out

Las Vegas, like so many metro areas, is undergoing the perfect storm. 

There is growing homeless created by:

• Landlord Nation, that is, high rents with no caps for the percentage of increase at lease-renewal time.
• Substance abuse, and not only opioids. Attend any 12-step meeting and there is plenty of speaker presentations about winding up on the street because of booze.
• Unemployment and underemployment triggered by a volatile global economy driven by technology
• Mental illness, much of which science doesn't yet understand. Finally, it is admitting clinical depression is a chronic disease. 

That's no new story, of course.

Also, not new is that the realities of the homeless camped on the streets had been hurting local businesses. For Las Vegas one of those businesses is tourism. No couple from the UK wants to step over human bodies to get into X or Y commercial establishment. Through word of mouth, the message could go out: Skip Las Vegas. 

So, it shouldn't be a surprise that Las Vegas is trying out something legally to address this business problem. There is little or no humanity sprinkled in. As the Daily Mail reports, the new law forbids living sleeping on the downtown (this doesn't apply to the strip) streets if a bed is available in a shelter. There is a fine of $1,000. Haha, as if the homeless can buy their way out of the legal pickle.

Those putting together the law hoped to anticipate legal challenges through the provision of "if a bed is available." A law without that had been struck down in Boise, Idaho by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Of course, human rights groups are already active opposing this one. What some may have in mind is the poignant true saga captured in "Stuart: A Life Backwards."

That started out as a book, then it became a theatrical production and movie. By Alexander Masters, it chronicles the life on the streets of a man who, since childhood, endured profound emotional and spiritual suffering. The UK social system would provide housing for him and he made it his business to untangle himself from that and return to his social network on the street. One meme is: the right to live without a roof over one's head.  

Also, there is the horror of the shelters themselves. No, the street isn't safe. But shelters aren't either. Also, being in them can rob the soul, while taking care of the body, of human dignity. The other occupants can be emotional and spiritual downers.

Through wrong information when I was traveling in England, I wound up spending a night in a shelter on the East End. What popped in my head: No human being should have to provide for his or her physical needs in this way.

Later, in the U.S. I did volunteer work collecting and transporting food from local grocers to shelters, including those housing whole families. I wondered why there couldn't be a better solution to not being able to pony up rent in the U.S.? 

More recently, when running two businesses in southwestern Arizona, I encountered Millennials who feared homelessness more than anything. That was a reason they held on to low-paying jobs rather than taking career risks and/or remained in relationships which did pay the rent.

Obviously, homelessness should be a major issue in Election 2020. Meanwhile legal experts will track this Las Vegas law.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Dementia Among Lawyers/Judges - Resignation of Justice Laura Higley Outs How Common That Has Become

To some, Houston, Texas First Court of Appeals Justice Laura Higley seemed fine.

As played out on the popular network television show "Boston Legal" seasoned members of the legal profession such as Denny Crane can conceal their cognitive decline. But, eventually the various forms of dementia take over. 

It had been Justice Higley's two sons who outed her condition. She resigned.

According to Texas Lawyer, her situation is not an aberration. In that state 17% of the lawyers are 65 years or older. In addition, more lawyers have no plan to retire. They enjoy the work. If they are on their second marriage there might be offspring to put through college. And they might have noticed that the retired become invisible. The end of a job usually means the end of a whole identity.

Overall in the general population, about one in six females and one in 10 males will suffer memory loss significant enough to impair their professional performance and ability to function in daily life. 

The bar association in TX is looking into this and it encourages members to have a confidential evaluation. Many other state bars are also aware of the high cost - on many levels - of allowing impaired members of the profession to continue to practice law. 

But, having a judge or lawyer give up the title and job tends not to be easy. And it could be politically dangerous. On another popular network television show "Blue Bloods," prosecutor Erin Reagan risks her career putting pressure on a judge, who is sliding into senility, to retire. The episode does have a happy ending.

With dementia becoming common in the legal sector, others could also get caught in that kind of scary situation. They might not land on their feet as had Reagan.

Smart global ghostwriting, with social networking know-know. Emergencies welcome. Complimentary consultation (pressure-free) janegenova374@gmail.com.