Law And More

Lateral Market - Wrong Hiring Could Sink Leadership's Credibility During COVID-19

What's obvious is that in many law firms partners are suffering.

There have been delays and cuts on draw.

Also, as is well known, there are myriad tactics to force partners out.

In turn, those partners know that there is a currently a target on their back if they are not pulling in the billable hours and new business.

So, in general, the law firm environment is not welcoming to the risk of hiring a high-priced lateral.

Often the expectation on the brandname's part is for a guaranteed lucrative compensation for a number of years. Few law firms can afford to take on that kind of financial commitment in The Time of Coronavirus.

Yes, as Roy Strom points out in Bloomberg, there have been some high-profile lateral hires. The one which has received the most attention has been Wilkie Farr & Gallagher hiring former Jenner & Block chairman Craig Martin (along with five partners). That was to establish a Chicago office. 

Aside from that, most lateral hiring presents a risk for both the financials of a the law firm and the branding/careers of the leadership. If the ROI for the hire doesn't pan out, the trouble so many law firms are encountering right now can be worsened exponentially. 

Another obstacle is that the hiring process has to be virtual. Nuances of chemistry might not be able to be picked up. So those in charge of hiring are, in essence, flying blind on the social fundamentals of the deal. In-person, it would be immediately obvious through vibrations if X or Y could fit with the culture and work effectively with others in that practice.

The deals which had been started before the world economic slowdown, then COVID-19 have closed or will be closing. But not many new ones have been put in play.

One elephant in the room about the lateral market is what David Lat will encounter when fully recovered from his near-death experience with COVID-15.

That has been a major media event, even being featured on "Nightline." Several months ago, Lat took the leap from his career in media to joining Lateral Link as a recruiter and managing director of its New York office. 

Before that, Lat's brand had been that he had founded the out-of-the-box legal news site Abovethelaw.com. Its edge was its sources. Junior lawyers and law students continually sent along anonymous tips. Therefore the site could break news. Within that niche, Lat became a star.

That was then.

One wonders how he can develop a brand in lateral recruiting when:

1) The publicity for his battle with COVID-19 hammers his media background, that is, as founder of ATL. A hardened brand identity can interfere with the launch of a new one. Incidentally, multiple branding identities have presented problems for those with side hustles. Here is my article published on what I labeled "mutt branding."

2) He is missing out on the dynamics of the changing legal market because, as "Nightline" communicated, his road to recovery is slow. Chronicling his saga in the media may or may not be a plus. Future prospects and others in the loop may or may not perceive this development as what they want to be associated with. 

3) On a dime, the lateral market has changed. When Lat parachuted in, it was strong. Now it isn't. And now is what brings in the income to pay the bills.

Meanwhile, right now covering the legal sector is a boom business for both journalists and bloggers. There is so much material that it is difficult to choose what to include in the day's wrap-up. One especially useful source has been Pin Hawk Law Firm Marketing Brief. It is published by Joseph Lamport. 

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"Nightline" Features David Lat: Message of Hope That People Can Recover from COVID-19

As a public service, ABC's "Nightlight" has shifted to total COVID-19 coverage.

Last night it featured Abovethelaw.com founder David Lat. The message was: Even those with the most severe cases of the disease can recovery. After he had been hospitalized with COVID-19, his condition soon became critical. Eventually he was sedated, put on a ventilator, and received a experimental drug cocktail. 

A miracle: Lat did survive.

The interview took place via technology in his Manhattan living room. His husband and two-year-old son were with him. There was also some footage of him in the park, in a wheelchair. He was being pushed along by his husband.

What was obvious was that the disease took its toll. His energy, he indicated, remains low. He needs an inhaler since his lungs will have to re-learn how to operate on their own. 

Meanwhile, in New York, the pile up of new cases of COVID-19 and of deaths has slowed down. There is a glimmer of hope that the pandemic can be tamed. 

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"Good Girls" - Crime Continues to Pay, Befriending FBI Doesn't

It was Boomer, the manager in the grocery store, who first alerted the FBI about Gangbanger Rio. 

Last night on "Good Girls" he went to his slaughter for being a snitch. And that was how Beth regained Rio's trust and got back in the business counterfeiting money. Only time will tell if she gets back all her house furniture which Rio removed to teach her not to skim from the top.

The scheme for delivering Boomer to Rio was elaborate. The episode opened with Boomer having The Last Lunch before reporting to prison. The table was jam-packed with everything on the menu. Then he got face tats so that he could visually fit in. 

At the prison, Rio arranged a fire, Boomer escaped, the girls picked him up, and he assumed they were going to transport him to Canada. Only at the last minute did Boomer, already in a kind of body bag, get it that there would be no Canada.

So, the episode ends happily.

Beth, Ruby, and Annie are back in business.

Stan has become an even more successful criminal than Ruby. The family is happy, especially their daughter who had stolen and pawned an expensive musical instrument. As Stan muses, the life of crime sure beats the disappointment of the law-abiding one.

Annie's son tells Annie's therapist to stop giving off signals of romance and the therapist does.

Dean accepts the reality Beth has created. 

But, the dynamics of the series is rollercoaster action. A new batch of FBI officials has focused on the counterfeit money. A female one discerns that nail polish has been used in the processing. "It's a woman," she concludes. So, the hunt after the counterfeiting cabal begins again.

The undertow of this dark comedy is that people get offed. First it was Lucy. Now it's Boomer.

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Real Life Law & Order Not Playing Out Like Dick Wolf's Fictional Versions - The Time of COVID-19

Jack McCoy ran a tight ship.

That was in Dick Wolf's iconic television series "Law & Order."

The endings for each episode were not exactly happy-clappy. But they satisfied audiences that there was, well, law and order.

In real life in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic, that's not what's playing out.

As Daily Mail reports:

"There are fears of a breakdown in law and order in New York ..."

At the New York Police Department, one out six are out sick.

Burglaries are up for businesses. 

Widespread social unrest can take over the city as it did in urban areas in 1967. This time nerves are raw even among the middle class and privileged. The kids at home had worn down all economic groups. Portfolios are down at least 30% and there could be more carnage to come. 

So, what does vigilanti justice look like?

It's much less like the comic book/film depictions of heroes (think Batman) than it is like the mean streets of Sopranoland.

After all, it's put together and enforced by one person or a cabal. Since it's arbitrary the rules can change on a dime and those violating them are clueless their windshield will be smashed - or worse. Therefore, no surprise, those stuck in that regime live in fear. 

Often, just the urban legend of an underground system of crime and punishment can impose  unique forms of social control.

An example of that had been Greek Town in Detroit, Michigan during the 1970s. The message was out that shoplifters lost the hand that performed the five-finger discount and sexual predators lost their lives. Back then, Greek Town was an oasis of safety in the wild west of Detroit Metro area. 

Earlier there was Jersey City, New Jersey in the 1950s. Law and order was a combination of the Frank Hague political machine, the Roman Catholic Church, and immigrant men whose ego was bigger than their paychecks. Resistance was futile. The only exit from that closed system was to move to liberal Manhattan and/or get a scholarship to a college in another state.

If the official version of law and order does break down, those unaware of the force of vigilanti justice are bound to get hurt - probably badly. Enforcers don't factor in mitigating circumstances.

The sophisticated would put it this way: The barbarians have penetrated the gates. 

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"Law & Order SVU" - Ratings Up, But Plotting Stale

"Law & Order SVU" remains a favorite.

It's the longest running series with new episodes from the original Dick Wolf "Law & Order" franchise.

It has been renewed for the 2020 - 2021 season.

And, its ratings, documents TVSeriesFinale, have been on an upward trajectory. For March 26, 2020, overall they were up 15.24% and up 9.38% in the key 18 - 49 age category. 

But, too much of the scripting is, well, stale.

Tonight's episode was about the charismatic Harlem pastor who preyed on young girls and paid them off with church money to keep quiet.

How many times do audiences have to experience that cliche?

The only interesting wrinkle in that plot line has been this: It was his loyal wife who helped engineer his legal downfall.

The show needs fresh thinking - and writing.

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The Good News We Need: Christopher Meloni Is Coming Back to a Cop Show

For 12 seasons the hot-head emotionally conflicted Eliot Stabler, played by Christopher Meloni, kept audiences riveted on "Law & Order SVU."

He was always in the soup, either at work or with his wife Kathy and their five children. Soon enough Kathy was his ex wife. His long-term detective partner Oliva Benson tried to get him centered but that never worked, not for long. 

Then, the Stabler character abruptly left the show.

Those fans who missed him are receiving good news: He will be returning to the small screen.

New York Post reports that Meloni will be the star in a new Dick Wolf production about a NYPD organized crime unit. It will be on NBC. Since it's set in New York City, expect characters from other Wolf productions to parachute in.

Wolf's signature trait, along with ripping plot lines from the headlines, is to have guest appearances of characters from one or more of his shows on another. There's plenty of that mixing on Wednesday night with his three Chicago productions - Med, Fire, and Police. 

This new series is the first Wolf is producing as part of a five-year contract with Universal Television.

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The End of Legalese, and Done with New York Accent

Daily Andrew Cuomo gives a presser. 

Because he is doing such an amazing job managing the COVID-19 in his state, his New York accent has become cool.

It's the same way in which the young dashing John F. Kennedy made the Boston accent fashionable.

And when English majors had dominated in liberal arts colleges a British accent had enormous status. Those students who spent a semester in England would return with their clumsy efforts to simulate that British accent.

In addition, blunt - which is common in New York - has become okay. That could catch on even in the rhetorically cautious corporate sector.

Who knows, lawyers and law student might even talk straight. That could be the end of legalese.

Before this, those who had their eyes on success would work to acquire the midwestern way of enunciation and the safe semantics. Some even would consult with a speech therapist for accent reduction if, for example, they had grown up in New York or southern states.

If the Draft Cuomo initiative gains traction and the current governor of New York becomes U.S. president, there could be a rush to acquire the New York accent and shake off the socialization of being overly diplomatic. 

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"Good Girls" - Boys Get into Fun of Being Bad

Bad is contagious.

In tonight's episode of "Good Girls" boy-scout Stan turns master criminal. What used to be an amateurish theft ring by one of the escorts he is making more sophisticated.

That's how he purchases a scooter for Ruby who got shot in a botched robbery she, Beth, and Ruby had staged. Like RubStan realizes crime is not only lucrative. It's fun.

Passive Dean blackmails his boss at the hot tub chain. Among what he has on her is sexual misconduct. She forces her male staff to do her.

If she doesn't give Dean the top sales leads he will use his contacts to rat her out to corporate. His plan is to get her job and relocate his family to Las Vegas - and away from Rio. Like Beth, he has done a 180-personality change. She had been the traditional Detroit suburban housewife. 

Then there is all-American-boy Max. He gets mad enough about Rio's offing his girlfriend Lucy that he hatches a plan to kill him. He even gets into learning to shoot a gun. Unfortunately when Beth brings him and Rio together and Max has his shot he wets his pants. He probably doesn't have a future in a life of crime.

As for the girls, it's up and down.

Low self-esteem Annie gets her first taste of being a somebody when the EMTs compliment her on how she did first aid on Ruby's gun shot wound. According to the EMT, she saved Ruby's life. Annie could be on the way to stopping getting into bed with losers.

Since Stan has joined her in a life of crime, Ruby has reassurance that her marriage will hold up. 

Beth, though, is in the penalty box. She made the major strategic error of stealing from Rio. That is, she siphons off too much of the counterfeit money for herself, Annie, and Ruby. She tries to cover it over with fake invoices about the rising cost of ink.

Rio is having none of it. When she and her family are out of the house, Rio strips it of all the furniture. Beth will have to get Rio to trust her again.

Overall, the extreme darkness has lifted which hung over the show after good-kid Lucy had been offed. There's lightness again. Stan could become a central character in the show, just as Mary Pat had been. His transformation pulls the audience in. 

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"A Million Little Things" - Hearts Crack Open

The season finale of "A Million Little Things" was filled with heartbreak.

Before Rome and Regina selected Eve as the birth mother of the baby they would adopt, Regina wanted to back out. What she feared happened: The baby would not be theirs.

After Rome held the little person he assumed was his the powers that be informed him that Eve had changed her mind.

Eve explained to Regina that the nurturing she received at the women's shelter helped her see that she could be a mother. Regina walked out of the room. She was not empathetic. 

Since Rome was the one who nudged Regina to go with Eve, that marriage could unravel. The episode ended with Regina's anger. 

Another heartbreaker was Gary's decision to go with his new love interest. Maggie confesses her love for him. He doesn't buy in. However, he does go to the airport to say good-bye to her as a friend.  

He had attributed his ability to move on to encountering his mother as she is. She had abandoned him when he was a little boy.

Something is still keeping Maggie stuck. Is it her relationship with her own mother? Can't she let her brother go? 

Eddie had made it his mission to dig for information about how his first serious girlfriend Allison drowned. We don't know yet what he discovered but whatever it was it almost made him drink. He ordered the drink. He has the drink in his hand.

Then he absorbs the pain. No drinking.

A theory of substance abuse is that those hooked are fleeing feeling the pain. He calls Katherine. He said he is returning home and telling her the whole story. He wants them to renew their marriage vows that evening, just them. Earlier they had planned a ceremony with their friends.

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Law, Tech No Longer Sexy - Expect More TV Med Shows

The front lines of heroism during these Coronavirus Times are the selfless and exhausted medical doctors, nurses, physician assistants, and EMTs. 

Not only do we salute them.

We know how much we need them.

Obviously, for the next season there will be more medical programming, both instructional and fictional, on television.

Meanwhile, with courts shuttered, no high profile trials are in session and there isn't the flurry of motions in cause-oriented lawsuits such as "Tolton, et al. v. Jones Day." On LinkedIn, even celebrity lawyer Norm Pattis (Fotis Dulos defense) admits hw is enjoying the pause in the usual action. 

So, no, right now, what's related to law isn't sexy.

And, with our lives at risk, who cares about the new features on a smartphone. More to the point, with stay-at-home mandates those digital devices are leaving a bad taste in our mouth. We long to touch reality.

Funding for tech startups is down.

And in our hearts we get it that it's the EMT, not Apple's Tim Cook, who will get us breathing on the way to the ER. 

So, no, right now, what's related to tech isn't sexy either.

Producer Dick Wolf, who invented "Chicago Med," would be smart to exploit the surge in popularity about Everything Healthcare. He can put together a three-hour special set in the "Chicago Med" box about the inner workings of a healthcare center and the inner lives of those who labor there, selflessly. Fans already crave more of Dr. Charles, the in-house psychiatrist. It[s wonderful that he was a bad father.

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