Law And More

John Roberts' Public-Relations Mandate: Preserve Respect for SCOTUS

Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts has been a busy guy - and not just with legal issues.

Since the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to SCOTUS, Roberts has embraced the public relations mission of preserving respect for the highest court in the land.

His message has been: The Court is not partisan. It is neither Democrat nor Republican. So devoted is Roberts to the meme that some anticipate he has replaced the retired Anthony Kennedy as the swing vote.

Here is the latest on that campaign from Adam Liptak at The New York Times. As Liptak reports, Roberts has the track record on rulings to back up his contention of the Court's not being partisan.

So much has this been the situation that there are conservatives who are angry at Roberts. That disenchantment probably occurred when the Court didn't rule ObamaCare illegal. 

Kavanaugh can also prove a disappointment. Recently, he refrained from pushing back on payments to Planned Parenthood. That could have been the operation of an open legal mind. Or it could have been a Machiavellian move to position and package him as objective. Therefore, when he rules on bigger issues such as abortion he won't be perceived totally as alt-right.

As many recall, SCOTUS doesn't have to be the last legal word on a matter. In 2007, it tossed the Lilly Ledbetter pay discrimination age on the grounds that the complaint should have been filed within 180 days of employment. The immediate push-back was that it is unusual if not downright impossible for new employees to be aware of compensation discrimination within that timeframe.

By 2009, Congress enacted the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Yes, it overrode SCOTUS. With that as precedent, surely Congress is aware of how it can effectively gut the power and influence of SCOTUS. 

Roberts' instincts are right. The legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court is in play. If both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are controlled by progressives, they can make the highest court in the land be perceived as a kind of goofy toothless institution. 

Out of the Box Communications = Unexpected Results

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Public Nuisance as Legal Power Tool - Opioids, Lead Paint, Catholic Church

Sherwin-Williams shareholders, beware.

The concept of public nuisance has evolved into a power tool. And plaintiff lawyers as well as governmental units are using it to drill down justice (and money) from that former manufacturer/marketer of lead paint.

Another recent development in the leveraging of public nuisance is, reports Law.com, the Ohio U.S. District Judge Dan Polster's ruling that public nuisance, as well as RICO, can be used against opioid manufacturers and marketers.

It had been former OH Attorney General, now Governor, Mike DeWine who filed public nuisance lawsuits against Pharma. Since then those has been settled. Opioids has been a major problem in OH.

In addition, public nuisance has been used against the Roman Catholic Church. That can be the most effective weapon against that institution. 

Meanwhile, both the legal industry and the public relations business have to reconfigure their strategies to accommodate the growing popularity of public nuisance. Here is my recent article, published in Odwyerpr.com.

Litigation Communications

Making points of law, policy issues, and politics accessible and engaging for the public, media, investors, and more. Complimentary consultation. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

 

Law Firms - Clients Are Dragging Feet on Paying the Bill

It used to be: No, you never messed about the fee you had to pay the law firm. The work itself was too important and you figured they could mow you down in legal actions if you tried to stiff them - or even delayed sending the check.

That was then. 

Now, as Elizabeth Olson reports in Big Law Business, clients are both taking the time to inspect each item on the bill and foot-dragging on actually ponying up the money. 

The specialness of legal services is over. It is perceived as just another business. And clients are approaching the lawyers like they do any other vendors. 

In addition, legal departments in organizations are under the same budget pressures as other departments. Their heads could be assessed on their financial prudence. 

Also, this is the era of extreme cost control. It is looked upon as negligent management not to squeeze every penny.

Of course, this paradigm shift affects law firms negatively. They have to invest the time to justify the bill. And their revenues and profits are put on hold while they cool their heels waiting for the check. 

Long term, this attention to billing could be the end of BigLaw as we have known it. There used to be that old saying: You never will be fired using Cravath. But a Cravath bill could wind up getting you fired. The powers that be would hammer you that you should have shopped around for a lower price.

Litigation Communications

Making points of law, policy issues, and politics accessible and engaging for the public, media, investors, and more. Complimentary consultation. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Technologists Plan, Porch Package Bandits Laugh

The dark side of human nature, not technology, could derail the potential of ecommerce. 

USA Today, as are so many media outlets, presents this problem: the growth of porch package theft. According to Xfinity Home, about 30% of Americans report they have been victims of this crime. And, the Denver police note that only about 7% of the thefts haver resulted in an arrest.

Yes, in many cases Amazon will re-send an order that was lifted from a porch, without charging again for the cost of the item.

Yes, some have installed security systems which identify the miscreant and have resulted in an arrest.

In addition, a drop or a box can be created for the deposit of the item. But there is no guarantee that those delivering will follow your instructions of where to leave the parcel. Despite that supposed precaution, the package will be stolen. 

The reality is that many of the items ordered are needed right away. That's the rub. When thieves snatch the purchase one's planning could be blown up. That's not only emotionally frustrating. It could harm a business or interfere with a scheduled social event. 

After a few porch thefts, it could be logical to decide: Hey, I will just go to brick and mortar to purchase X or Y. That ensures I have the toner for my printer needed for this major project. 

Yes, ecommerce could become another failed business practice because of the human element.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

The End of TrumpWorld, Including Post-Analysis/Commentary - Media Outlets Will Lose Big Chucks of Their Audiences

TrumpWorld has created a sustained obsession with what is happening, what could happen, and supposed expert analysis of all that.

Media outlets, including digital native Abovethelaw.com, are scaling. 

That is now.

When TrumpWorld is all over and the world wearies of the deconstructions, the odds are that those same media players and platforms will suffer big losses in audiences. 

The members of the media which can't navigate the shift to provocative takes on other kinds of subject matter could actually go out of business. Already, much of print media and digital natives such as Buzzfeed and Vice are struggling.

Those like The New York Times, which have a print legacy but managed to get their heads around digital, have turned themselves around. However, the NYT has been invested heavily in TrumpWorld. That's a risk. In the months after the dust settles and the nation moves on, the odds of continuing to sustain a recovery for the media corporation may not be good.

Overall, more and more of us are plum exhausted by the gyrations of TrumpWorld.

Simultaneously, we are faced with losses in portfolio because of what the Dow is doing.

Those in the know predict a recession by the end of 1990.

Meanwhile, at least one third of retirees have returned to work. Most of them have to in order to make ends meet.  Only some are doing that for social reasons - that is, to flee the new kind of loneliness baby boomers are saddled with. The so-called Golden Years are playing out to be totally uncertain.

In addition, what crazy weather pattern will hit our region next?

Smart powers that be in media should already be strategically planning for the Post-Trump era.

Recall how quickly the preoccupation with Watergate faded when a whopper of an economic downturn hit America. Politics shifted to the pragmatism of landing, holding, and moving up in a work situation.

It was in the dramas of William Shakespeare that we bear witness to the universal: The crowd is fickle. Human beings seem to be wired with a teenage mirror neuron. We see something else. We respond it, as reflex. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

FCC, Please Pay Attention - My SECOND AT&T Ernestine Moment (should telecommunications executives face criminal charges as do food industry ones?)

AT&T is no longer a monopoly. 

Yet, within less than a month I have had not one but TWO Ernestine moments.

Those experiences were frequent back then when AT&T was the only telecommunications game in town.

The seeming indifference at that time was symbolized by Lily Tomlin's character Ernestine.

The first Ernestine moment happened on November 29th, both in AT&T retail (6000 Mahoning Avenue, Austintown, Ohio) and its support line (800-331-0500). Here are the soul-wrenching details.

In response, the power that be who oversees OH - Shaun Nork - contacted me. He listened. At the time, just having AT&T listen satisfied me. Emotionally, I filed away the ordeal as over. 

Shame on me. Ernestine returned yesterday. Through email I received this receipt from AT&T for payment of a bill for an account I assumed had been closed on November 29th. Here it is Download Attpaymentreceipt. 

My concerns were:

• The account wasn't closed
• This was a charge I should not have to pay
• The charge will continue to recur and be deducted from my bank checking account via direct deposit
• The billing on the new account (a downsized smart phone replacing the iPhone) would not proceed 
• The new account, because of an unpaid bill, would be shut down.

I called the AT&T help line listed on the old account - 800-331-0500.

Two account representatives later over a time frame of two hours, the problem wasn't resolved. I was in terror that mismanagement would result in shutting off my new account and I would be left without a phone which I needed for my business.

Yet, obviously, this wasn't a complex issue that would have to be handled by the transactional lawyers at Cravath Law Firm. 

Totally unhinged, I called Nork. Then and since then no return call. I left the voice mail that this had turned into a regulatory matter.

Yes, I was having chest pains. And, yes, my age puts me in a protected category.

A recovered alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in decades felt powerless against having that first drink, again.

Sweet jesus, I thought to myself, help me.

Next, I further disrupted my work day by driving to the AT&T retail in Austintown.

There, the manager and a salesperson explained what should have been on the receipt or told to me by the account representatives I had reached at 800-331-0500.

• The account was closed in the midst of the normal billing cycle.
• Therefore, a bill was issued.
• The full amount for a total cycle was charged.
• I would received a return of the over-billing by check, within about four weeks.

So, after almost three hours (including drive time), the problem was addressed. 

Or, so I hope.

I don't know.

Regulators in telecommunications should assign mystery shoppers to both AT&T retail and its phone help lines.

When it comes to negligence in the food industry, criminal charges are made and executives go to prison.

Why not apply that same model to telecommunications. Wireless service is as much a necessity of life in the 21st century as food. My hunch is if some AT&T members of the C-Suite go to prison sales and customer service would improve - significantly.  

The chest pains let up about 90 minutes after I left AT&T retail.

I didn't have a drink of alcohol.

At 7:00 P.M. I attended a 12-step meeting I hadn't planned on going to. After all, I have assignments to complete before the long Christmas holiday.

The dog jumped up on my lap when I cried. 

Reflection: Personal injury lawyers might find they can file class action litigation based on the alleged harm done by the current seeming Ernestine ethos. Judges who have experienced that kind of trauma are likely to certify the class. 

Litigation Communications

Making points of law, policy issues, and politics accessible and engaging for the public, media, investors, and more. Complimentary consultation. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Monday, Monday - Will the Barbarians Be at the Gate?

Timing is everything.

The 125,000 protestors in France know that this best time of the year also can be the big revenue producer for retail, the hospitality industry, and transportation. Their power to disrupt that is making them heard. 

Many other financially stressed out people in developed nations are observing that during our winter of discontent. 

The question is: Will this uprising spread to America?

Baby boomers recall the perfect timing in 1967. It was a very hot summer. Civil rights were evolving into a mainstream meme. The counterculture was catching on university campuses.

Urban areas went up in flames. 

Currently that frustration can lead to violence again in America - this time beyond the urban areas. The Norman Rockwell-like towns can also erupt.

Think about Lordstown, Ohio. A decision by GM to put in a new product or a purchasing deal by Tesla could save that community from economic death. But the possibilities don't prevent sleepless nights, self-medicating stress through alcohol and drugs, domestic violence, and suicide.

Yes, economically vulnerable communities could erupt into collective pushing-backs which turn ugly. Those could be motivated by scared individuals.

Monday Monday - will the stock market continue its plunge. More of us will stop even checking how much value our portfolios have lost.

Who in the northeast can sell their houses for what they used to be worth?

Job creation has slowed. Of course, fear of a recession is palpable. And no one knows how severe it could be. It's no longer unthinkable to imagine one worse than the 2008 downturn.

Inflation is back, especially in rent. 

And the economic inequality gap seems to keep widening.

The average Joe or Madison could join forces and mutate into the barbarians at the gate.

There are still 16 days left to disrupt the holiday season. 

For many of us, no, this doesn't feel like the best time of the year. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

When Public Relations Firms Have Public Nuisance Defendants as Clients - The 5 Do-Nows

Here is the article I published today on Odwyerpr.com on how public relations firms have to manage clients' public nuisance litigation.

Being sued for creating a public nuisance automatically brands defendants the bad guys.

Litigation Communications

Making points of law, policy issues, and politics accessible and engaging for the public, media, investors, and more. Complimentary consultation. Please contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Such a Different Time in American Culture - Currently, George H.W. Bush Wouldn't Be Electable or Marketable

George H.W. Bush represented the last of what might have been praiseworthy in WASP culture - that is the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant ethos.

WASPS, such as those living in upscale charming New England towns like Greenwich, Connecticut, were known for a code of conduct. That included good manners or decorum, devotion to establishment institutions including Ivy League schools, and public service. 

WASP influence had dominated until the counterculture of the late 1960s. It was then that other groups in America pushed for their values to be recognized. In English Departments in universities there began to be battles about including the works of non-WASP authors in the curriculum. Williams Shakespeare was a dead white man. 

Soon enough the WASP style began to be derided. For example, "preppy" was positioned and packaged as stodgy. WASP rhetoric, including in corporate, elicited smirks. As a ghostwriter/speechwriter, I was on the front lines of helping business executives become conversational - that is, non-WASPY.

Today, of course, the WASP ethos is downright vilified, at least in a growing number of circles. The most aggressive voices in our society have made old wealthy Protestant men the symbol of oppression. And wrong values.

No, you don't want your children growing up in the seemingly closed society of Greenwich, CT. They will never survive the rough and tumble of life in the 21st century. Locate your family life in the diverse (now-gentrifying) Jersey City, New Jersey. The kids will have to be alert about crime. That's good. You will train them how to hop on the PATH train to Manhattan. No eye contact. 

In short, to get anywhere, at least anywhere that's fun, you can't be known as having relatives who came over on the Mayflower.

Instead the cool is for one's background to reach back to steerage in a ship docking at Ellis Island or one operated by those in the slave trade. Those are feeder pools for slots that are game-changers.

A classic example is African-American Elie Mystal who heads editorial at Abovethelaw.com. He started out doing the WASP thing: Harvard undergraduate, Harvard Law School, white-shoe law firm. That either broke him and/or he had the strength to break free.

Right now, Mystal represents the new code for right values, at least among the young or those who pride themselves on thinking young. 

Meanwhile, English departments find it increasingly hard to market what they represent - or used to. To survive, they would be smart to reposition and repackage themselves as "Communications" or "Media." 

In fact, the WASP tradition of the more education the better in elite institutions is being questioned. Sure, the college bubble hasn't burst yet. Sure, there's stiff competition to be admitted to those prep schools in New England. After all, George H.W. Bush had attended Phillips Academy. 

But applications to M.B.A. programs are down. Harvard Business School? The emerging meme is to view it as the laboratory for creating ethical Frankensteins.

For the next few weeks many in the nation will come together to honor former president Bush. But many others will think: Good riddance, that's the end to a system that kept us down or in the shadow.

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com

 

Ernestine the Operator - Her Ghost Seemingly Hovered Over Austintown, OH AT&T Retail

AT&T is in competitive space. Understatement.

Before I decided to swing by its Austintown, Ohio retail branch I had considered Verizon and T-Mobile. But, since I had been contracting with AT&T for wireless service for several years, I defaulted to habit. 

Immediately, I regretted that yesterday. I felt back in the era of Ernestine the Operator. Her ethos of customer service was take it or leave it - and she knew we weren't able to leave it.

The night before I had called the AT&T branch on 6000 Mahoning to get information about switching from an iPhone with the many features I wasn't using to a more simple (less expensive) one. The account rep was helpful.

When I went into the store the next morning, I thanked the sales clerk for the information the night before. Holy cow, I perceived he barked at me, saying he hadn't been working last night. Nice start to a sales transaction. Where has gracious gone?

Things got worse. A seemingly bad attitude was just part of it.

For instance, I asked him to explain how to operate the phone. It wasn't until I had returned to my home office that I found out his explanation wasn't comprehensive. Understatement. I took out the directions in the box. OMG, they were way way off. Cute.

I need my phone. I rushed back to the store. I asked for the manager. She showed me the features I needed to know. At least more than the sales rep had. In the process, she noted that I was "yelling." You bet I was.

I am now the loudest voice in the room about the shabby sales and customer service at AT&T. I contacted the powers that be at AT&T Mobility about that specific account representative. 

Meanwhile, last night I had to call AT&T technical four times about how to navigate the texting feature. Neither the manager nor the formal directions had been useful on that.

Takeaway: Shop around before sticking with your current wireless service provider. 

Attention is the currency of the 21^st century. Jane Genova helps you get it for products, services, points of view, causes, branding, careers after-50, and college admission.

In addition, this blog welcomes sponsored content.

Free consultation janegenova374@gmail.com