Law And More

Papa Don't Preach - Trojan & Public Interest Messaging

Trojan, the brandname for the more than 70% of condoms purchased in the U.S., provides a template for public interest messaging.

Its approach is totally cool.

In addition, the positioning and packaging is smart product marketing. 

As everyone knows or should know, condoms should be used in every sexual interaction.

Heavy-handed "ought" public service announcements about that, though, are ignored. Smirk Smirk. Those Papa Don't Preach approaches can generate rebellion - that is, not using condoms. 

The current Trojans TV commercials combine engaging narrative and enticing product information.

In one, an iGen male ponders if he dare ask a girl out. There's fast shift to a visual of Trojan. The message is implicit: Hey, Bro, the more important issue is that you will use a condom.

Then there is the good news - product benefit - that Trojans have a very slim skin. That is, no real barrier to extreme pleasure.

Since law enforcement is often the front lines of public interest campaigns, it might study the Trojans template. Its parent company is Church & Dwight.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Election 2020 - We Will Probably Be Hearing Lots from Megyn Kelly

Megyn Kelly's strength is sharp-elbowed political rhetoric combat. Not moderating soft-ball talk shows.

So, it was predictable that she could leverage the findings of the Mueller Report as a platform for attempting a comeback. 

In a tweet, she attacked the liberal media for investing too much in the Russia collusion narrative. She indicated that journalism isn't about rooting for outcomes. Here are more details from Daily Mail.

Recently there has been a lot of buzz that Kelly was looking for work back in broadcast political commentary. After all, Election 2020 in already in play.

We may soon be hearing Kelly has been hired. Smart tweeting.

Along the way, she ditched the long curly hair soft look and returned to the hard edged short style. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

"Good Girls" - FBI Finds Out Mary Pat Put "Dad" in the Freezer

The Girls had been settling in, back to their normal routines before their life of crime had begun.

Leslie, who had been accidently run over by Mary Pat, had been deposited in the trash. That meant he couldn't testify against them.

Exhale.

Then, what had pushed them to rob the grocery story now forced them back into a life of crime.

That was extreme financial distress.

Ruby, for example, had to take out two of those payday kinds of loans. 

GangBanger paved the way for the next lines to be crossed.

He had filled a storage unit with counterfeit money. They tried the old trick of trying to launder it through buying and returning merchandise.

However, the stores in the area have wised up. So, they support Beth in using her husband's dealership as the laundering facility. She is on the front lines, actually selling cars. She is the top closer.

That could have gotten them out of the hole. Then they could have returned to being normal housewives and mothers.

But, Beth's husband won't buy into the innovations she suggested to make the dealership more successful - in a legit way. A rising tide lifts all boats and all their financial situations could have improved. For instance, Beth suggests retrofitting the dealership toward selling to women. There will be daycare while the females shopped and other services designed for that target market. Ruby and Annie could have had paid roles. 

When Beth's husband balks at the restaurant about any changes, an intoxicated Beth goes into the rest room. GangBanger follows her there. She clicks the door shut. The get it on.

But, surprise, that encounter of the carnal/romantic type doesn't soften GangBanger.

He shows up at the car dealership and demands a piece of the laundering action. When they hesitate, he starts smashing the sports car. By time they agree, he had upped the percentage to 60.

Meanwhile, FBI agent Jim swings by Mary Pat's. The son lets it slip that Mom had put Dad in the freezer. That's all Jim has to know.

The genius of this dark comedy is the rollercoaster action. The three are always on the verge of being arrested. Then, there's a way out. 

One wonders if Beth's husband will be the next one to have to be offed. GangBanger had already shot him but he had recovered. Unfortunately for Beth. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Fox News "Justice with Judge Jeanine" Won't Be on for a 2nd Week

The Lachlan Murdoch era has begun at Fox News. 

So, the career of Jeanine Pirro may be over. Unlike what was encouraged in the Roger Ailes era, rabid alt-right rhetoric isn't tolerated in the Lachlan one. As the Daily Mail reports, for a 2nd week Pirro's show "Justice with Judge Jeanine" won't air on Saturday at 9 PM. 

Pirro, a former district attorney in New York's Westchester County, got into the soup when she contended that U.S. House representative Ilham Omar believes in Sharia law. Therefore, she doesn't believe in the U.S. Constitution. 

Not that Omar hasn't managed to attract negative publicity on her own, without Pirro's help. For example, she adopted an anti-Israel stance. Very not smart.

Lachlan could proceed to clean house of those whose belief system and rhetoric is alt-right. The buzz is that he is preparing the cable network for a sale. Pushing it to the middle would attract more potential buyers. The business case is that Fox News is too small to operate as a stand-alone media business. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Glut of 1st Responder TV Shows - Can "Station 19" Make It to 3rd Season?

A contagious disease (bird flu) imported by an airplane passenger from the Middle East. That's what the EMTs and a subway car full of passengers encounter.

Such dramatic scripting created the plot line for "Station 19" Thursday night.

That's likely to boost ratings which have declined in the previous two weeks.

According to TVSeriesFinale, for the week of 03/07, the ratings were down 11.36% to 5.2 million viewers.

For the week 03/14, they were down 1.2% from the previous week to 5.172 million viewers.

Ratings provide one of the factors networks consider when they decide to renew or cancel a series. Those in the loop of "Station 13" seem to be working hard for a third season.

However, there is a glut of network television shows about first responders. Do we really need a "Station 13?" 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

"Law & Order SVU" - The Wolf Bleeds

For anyone who understands the power a Big-Time lawyer can have, tonight's episode of "Law & Order SVU" was emotionally terrifying.

Defense attorney Miller has the goods on a lot of people, including at least one judge. That's his brand of Machiavellianism. Then he leverages the information to get his way. Of course, he also plays dirty in his actual lawyering.

Tonight's plot revolves around a defense attorney - Nicki - who is suing the NYPD for millions. Then, she becomes a victim of having her drink drugged, rape, and the theft of her phone which contains confidential data about cases. 

As Olivia Benson's team members connect the dots and close in Miller, he pushes back. 

Nicki backs off from testifying because she is in a custody battle and knows Miller can get to the judge.

With her son Noah present in the car, Olivia is stopped for a suspected DUI. Noah is hysterical. 

Olivia's boss is threatened that a memo will be made public.

But, Miller is lured into admitting what he had done. It is a legal form of entrapment. 

His explanation for going rogue is this: He sees the world as divided into lambs and wolfs. His father was among the former and couldn't stop the rape of his daughter. So Miller decided to be a wolf.

As a wolf, he contends he will be out of jail in an hour. Olivia responds that the wolf if now bleeding. Everyone on his network will disappear. 

This episode had an ending embedded in justice. But, one wonders how many wolves in real life keep getting away with bullying. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Fox and Jones Day - The Trump Association

Today Disney closes the deal. It is purchasing, for $71.3 billion, 21st Century Fox assets.

And, according to Gabriel Sherman's analysis in Vanity Fair, that means the Lachlan Murdoch era hicks off at Fox News.

Here is the bombshell in Sherman's take: Lachlan, as CEO of Fox, could see his role as getting that television network ready for sale. It could be too small a business entity to operate as a stand-alone. 

Sherman is highly credible. For years he had been the go-to journalist for information and insight on both the founder of Fox News - Roger Ailes - and Fox itself. He had developed a deep pipeline of sources within Fox. Not everyone was a loyal Ailes soldier.

In 2014, Sherman published that negative best-selling Ailes biography "The Loudest Voice in the Room."

That seemed so threatening to those in the Ailes allies loop, that Ailes' personal public relations representative Bob Dilenschneider plowed $15k in publicity, on a supposed stealth basis, for a vanity biography.

Intended as a distraction, the Machiavellian move backfired. When the Dilenschneider caper was outed by the media, both Sherman and his book received even more attention. It was the must-read. However, it contained only a hint of possible sexual misconduct by Ailes. That was to be a whole other story which precipitated the end of Ailes.

Sherman still has unique sources within Fox. What they tell him is that Lachlan might have been waiting until the close of the Disney deal to start reshaping Fox. To do so when the deal was still in play could have attracted the retaliation of Donald Trump. And, according to Sherman, Lachlan, as well as other Murdochs, is not a devoted Trump supporter. 

The reshaping would be in the direction of a reduction of alt-right aka pro-Trump rhetoric from Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity, and Lou Dobbs. The Fox brand would become more middle-ground - and appeal to a larger group of potential buyers. 

Meanwhile, though, Lachlan knows the network has to make scale revenues and profits. Advertisers, Sherman tells us, have been complaining about the seemingly too-close Trump association. Money talks. And that advertiser unhappiness could have become the new loudest voice in the room. The voices at Fox supporting Trumpism could become muted.

There is speculation that the shift from hard right to middle will motivate Hannity to leave. Conservative media is big. He is also big. He could find a high-paying home elsewhere. But others such as Pirro and Dobbs could wind up as symbols of a time long passed. Will they be forced out and be unable to land comparable work? They are also aging on air personalities. Age bias is very real in glam professions such as media. 

The Murdochs are very smart. They might be anticipating the end of the Trump Administration and want to duck being crushed by it.

On the other hand, the collapse of Trump Everything could hurt the Jones Day law firm brand. It has become the go-go counsel for so many legal matters involving Trumpism.

Former White House head lawyer Don McGhan, who had been a Jones Day partner, has returned to Jones Day. About a dozen former Jones Day lawyers hold jobs in federal government. That might be labeled "The Jones Daying of U.S. government."

Takeaway: What happens at Fox could be a microcosm about what could shift in the U.S. brand of conservatism. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Paul Weiss Had Very Good Year (PEP $5 Million, Gross Revenue Up 10+%) - But Its Legacy Will Be as Game-Changer

Somewhere in the early 21st century practicing law shifted from a profession to a business.

In 2018, the business of the Paul Weiss law firm did very well. Its Profit Per Equity Partner (PEP) increased about 10% to $5.02 million. Gross revenue shot up 10.6% to $1.4 billion. Here are more details from Law.com.

Leadership at the firm attributes the financial success to the focus on 5 core practices. They are:

White collar defense on regulatory matters

Litigation

Public M&A

Restructuring, and

Private equity.

That kind of success enhances the brand, which continues to be a magnet attracting new business and preventing client churn.

So much for the key matter of the business of law.

In addition, there are the juicy tidbits which members of the media roll out to give the firm a presence in the legal gossip mill.

One item had been the speculation that it was Paul Weiss which "finished off" Fox News creator Roger Ailes. When the sexual harassment scandal broke via Gretchen Carlson, the Murdochs called in Paul Weiss to investigate. And that it did. Expert on the machinations of all things Ailes, Gabriel Sherman published an article in New York Magazine in 2016 that the findings of that investigation could be the tipping point in the end of the Ailes era - and career. 

Not only did Ailes go. Also, his network came under scrutiny. His personal public relations counsel had been Bob Dilenschneider of The Dilenschneider Group. Soon enough one of Ailes' major defenders legal analyst Greta Von Susteren was gone. Her next stop at MSNBC didn't last long. 

Therefore, Paul Weiss had been a force of influence in the world of media and its players. 

Likely the leadership of Paul Weiss will be remembered more for how the law firm has been a game-changer rather than financial results. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

"Good Girls" - GangBanger Legally Lucks Out

In tonight's episode of "Good Girls," GangBanger got what he legally needed. That's to have whistleblower Leslie unable to testify for the FBI.

That could have been accomplished by Annie who went to Leslie's motel where the FBI had put him up. She demanded the gun from Beth, who just couldn't do it.

But it was Mary Pat who got the job done - accidentally.

When trying to flee future-husband Leslie she runs over him with her car. Then she chops up the body and stores it in the meat freezer.

The total drama happens when Beth, Annie, and Ruby lug the pieces to the dump site. Ruby almost loses it but the other two keep her on the right side of sanity. In a sense, Ruby is the weak link because of her deeply felt religious beliefs.

The coming attractions indicate that Beth could rise to leadership in the gang. GangBanger sees potential in her. In addition, they could become lovers.

Meanwhile, not all is well at Beth's family. Yes, hubby has bounced back from when GangBanger shot him. But her son can't absorb all the dynamics in play since Beth went rogue.

At school he goes to the teacher's lounge and eats every bit of a retirement cake. The principal calls in Beth and hubby. Typical of the dark comedy of "Good Girls" she decides they need to leave their phones off during family dinner. Also, she found a low-cost therapist for the son. Since he's a graduate student at Wayne State he could also figure in as an interesting character. 

Like "Breaking Bad," the plot lines of this series are full of amazing twists and turns. Also, just like one-time high school chemistry teacher Walter White, these three former placid housewives shock with their growing capability for high-level crime and Machiavellianism.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

"20/20" Special on Elizabeth Holmes - Flashbacks of Andrew Bachman

"20/20" did a masterful job of telling a story tonight.

However, not until Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes takes a guilty plea in criminal charges or goes on trial will there be anything new. Just about everything presented in the two-hour narrative already had been presented, in one format or another. 

The lack of new pieces to the puzzle of who Holmes is as a human being and as a business leader did, however, give us in the audiences plenty of opportunity to reflect on the Holmes types we have encountered in our own careers.

My favorite to focus on in trying to figure out has been Andrew Bachman. Here is his story. When a student at Babson he put together with other classmates the startup Tattoo Media. Later it sold for $60 million. The fame was fast and intense, including an invitation to the White House. 

The problem was that the enterprise involved mobile cramming. First the FTC parachuted in. Bachman settled essentially by liquidating his assets. Later, when the Southern District of New York prosecutors moved in, Bachman took a guilty plea. 

Like Holmes, Bachman was from an upper middle class background. There was no need for him to go rogue for a rags to riches grab. So, I have to conclude that what Holmes allegedly did and what Bachman admitted guilt for had to have been an "inside job." That is, it had to have roots in what was their unique internal wiring. 

Is there any way employees, investors, and consumers can spot that ahead of time? Likely not.

The wiring seems to comes with the gifts of charisma and effective marketing. There will be many more Holmes and many more Bachmans. 

For years, I blamed myself for not picking up that Bachman was, to put it gently, "off" and allowing myself in ghostwriting for him to be bullied and more. Now I get it: He was very good at what he was up to in the world.

So was Holmes. There are probably 10 more of her kind pulling off the same sorts of business charades. Even if what she was conjuring up hadn't been fraud, it was a business failure that cost many a great deal. That ranged from money to careers. Because of the broken brand Theranos is, many of the former employees are struggling to find new jobs. Here CNN chronicles those professional tragedies. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com.