Law And More

Starter Marriages - What Lawyers Could Be Pitching

Among the myriad institutions in play is marriage. 

There has been the legalization of the marriage between people of the same sex.

Marriages among different races are no longer atypical. 

In addition, there is growing acceptance of the concept of "starter marriages."

One traditional definition of that is the marriage which endures five years or less. Usually there are no children produced by that marriage.

However, there may be some minors who become a part of it through blended families. The new stepfather adopts his new wife's four-year-old daughter.

Way back in 2003, in the book "The Starter Marriage" Pamela Paul began analyzing that trend. Currently starter marriages are becoming embedded in the Millennial lifestyle. There are all kinds of versions of them.

Usually Millennials don't enter a marriage intending for it to be temporary. But, as the article in BusinessInsider explains, that's what it often turns out to be. Increasingly, its ending is being positioned and packaged in positive terms. The experience can be one of significant learning.

However, that learning, warns lawyer Amada Cubit in the BusienssInsider article, can come at a high price in terms of legal costs. 

For lawyers, all the legalities associated with starter marriages can be business opportunities. That is, if the lawyers are proactive in configuring and promoting their services for that niche.

For example, full-service law firms can advocate the importance of the pre-nuptial agreement. In itself that can reduce the expense of hammering out issues such as equitable distribution, alimony, custody, and child support. The service can be framed as consumer-centric: This will save you money and prevent so much stress.

In addition, the law firm can brand itself as affordable to those Millennials ending marriages. Usually their financial resources are limited. The law firm can become known for tutoring those contemplating divorce on how to choose their shots in order to drive down legal costs and actually cut their financial losses.

Of course, the elephant in the room is: With the reality of young marriages ending early why are Millennials, who are inexperienced in committed relationships, even going the marriage route?

That's one for the psychologists, et al. Perhaps "Dateline" can fold that issue into one of their productions about the spouse offing the other spouse. 

Place your sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Coaching on SEO and Ghostwriting for sponsored content also available. Sliding scale fees. Please take advantage of a complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

No "Chicago Med" - Medical Doctors John Renz, Rainer Gruessner File Wrongful Termination Lawsuits against SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Dick Wolf's Wednesday hospital drama "Chicago Med" features a cohesive caring team of medical doctors. The focus is the patient, not medical careerism.

Of the Chicago Wednesday trio - the other two are "Chicago Fire" and "Chicago P.D." - it had the highest ratings in 2019. Here are the ratings, which had been solid, for 2020.

That's the antithesis of the SUNY Downstate hospital community depicted in lawsuits filed by two medical doctors previously employed there.

They are John Renz and Rainer Gruessner.

The latter had been part of the team who had saved former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords at the University of Arizona Medical Center. She had been critically wounded at a rally in the Tucson, AZ area. 

As the New York Post reports today, the two medical doctors contend there was retaliation after they reported gaps in patient safety in the heart surgery and organ transplant programs. They perceived five patients had died because of forms of negligence. Those included inadequate staffing and training. 

Essentially, they were whistleblowers. The world of medicine tends to be a closed system. That's one reason why it can be difficult to sue healthcare personnel and medical facilities. 

In response to reporting their concerns, they contend they were fired. The lawsuits, filed by Gruessner in December and Renz this month, claim wrongful termination. 

Here is something interesting: In November 2013, Gruessner filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination in AZ against the University Physicians Healthcare, et al. Here is a copy of that complaint.

In 2017, he came to work at SUNY Downstate as Chief of Surgery.

The New York Post picked up the story from The Wall Street Journal. Here is that coverage, published January 22nd. 

SUNY Downstate loses about $3 million annually.

Since producer Wolf develops plots "ripped from the headlines," one wonders if these two lawsuits will make their way into any of his current dramas. Also, "20/20" could be interested in the saga. 

Place your sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Coaching on SEO and Ghostwriting for sponsored content also available. Sliding scale fees. Please take advantage of a complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Former Lawyers in the U.S. Senate Should Have Known Better

The ABC Evening News with David Muir dominates the category.

That's because those behind and in front the camera know how to conjure up drama.  Yes, all the world's a stage. 

Those in the U.S. Senate lack that theatrical know-how. Yet, as the New York Post reports, the Senators are baffled that the Senate spectator gallery is half empty.

Their back offices, which should be filled with public relations types, can't put together what should have been the Greatest Show on Earth for 2020.

That is weird since many of the Senators have a lawyering background. Lawyers are socialized to put on show, be it in the courtroom or across the negotiation table.

 Here are 4 tips to reverse this failure to engage.

Create mystery. Everyone anticipates an acquittal. To derail that mindset senators should posture voting for conviction. A wonderful side benefit of that is that they will receive lots of coverage in the media. The media is the most powerful institution in the world. 

Stop being so repetitive. The American people feel reduced to being a child whose adults in the loop continue to nag about the same things. Even in search engine optimization (SEO), Google is punishing posters who get stuck in one message phrased in an infinite number of ways. 

Raise the Emotional Intelligence (EI) double-digit points. The ugliness of extreme polarization is turning people off. Ranging from Dale Carnegie to Dan Goleman, those smart about how to win friends and influence people hammer the importance of being tolerant, respectful, and willing to listen. Actually that dates back to St. Francis of Assissi who preached the value of struggling to understand rather than being understood. Here is his iconic prayer. 

Render public service back home. The impeachment trial is typical inside the beltway, that is, looking inward. Break that spell by reaching out back in the home state and do good. Are the supplies for the food pantry running low? Organize an initiative to solicit and collect food from local restaurants and grocers. Part of the popularity of the ABC version of the news is the "American Strong" snippet at the end of the broadcast. It melts our hearts. Yes, 21st century humans still have hearts. 

Place your sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Coaching on SEO and Ghostwriting for sponsored content also available. Sliding scale fees. Please take advantage of a complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

"A Million Little Things" - Weak Link Is Role of Lawyer Katherine

Evening Boston Millennial soap opera "A Million Little Things" has become sticky.

People of all generations identify with the ups and downs of close friendships, the mystery of tragedies such as suicide, and weaknesses like falling into bed with the best friend's husband. 

But what undermines its credibility if the role of lawyer Katherine. When the series kicked off she was the tightly wound lawyer chasing partnership in her law firm. Her careerism drove husband Eddie into D's arms. Charlie was conceived. Now, part of the plot is the struggle of D's daughter Sophie to accept all that.

Then, Katherine had a psychic shift. She turned down partnership to be able to eat dinner at night with son Theo. The marriage heals. She forgives both Eddie and D. 

Now Katherine is one of the most loved characters on the series. She exudes empathy.

However, although she is still employed full time at the law firm, she spends too much time away from the office. Tonight she offered to babysit Charlie so that D could attend her son's play. Continually she's hovering around the group's social events. Lawyers don't have that amount of time off-duty. 

Since Eddie is a musician and that line of work isn't lucrative, Katherine is the primary breadwinner. However, she isn't appropriately focused on her professional life. 

Will Katherine get back her lawyer self?

Place your sponsored content on this blog. Coaching on SEO and Ghostwriting for that content also available. Sliding scale fees. Please take advantage of a complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

"Criminal Minds" - Will the Series End with Spencer's Wedding?

It's a more relaxed Spencer on "Criminal Minds." 

Essentially, he has made the psychic shift from being the smartest whatever in the room to a human being. As he embarks on that new journey, he consults with his mom.

That's able to happen because a medication has put her in remission - temporarily - from battling all her mental demons.

Among what Spencer shared with her was that he was in love with BAU colleague JJ and she was in love with him. They decided not to act on it. JJ got it that she needed husband Will and her two sons.

Mom advised that he shut that door in order for another one to open. She reassured Spencer that he deserved an intimate relationship.

On last night's episode Spencer demonstrated he was following what mom advised. The door he allowed to swing open was to encourage a relationship with an art teacher. It was simply a start. But the vibes were good.

When JJ picked up on Spencer's glow she implicitly sent the message that this was not only good. It was something that should be pursued. That is, JJ released Spencer from the painful web of love which can't be navigated.

In the iconic "Without a Trace," Jack Malone's signature had been not being able to let Samantha go. In his shut-down state he was incapable of real intimacy. Sam had other possibilities. But every time she gravitated toward them, Jack would find a way to re-enter the loop. The series ended on an ambiguous note. It was unclear if Jack would continue to toy with Sam.

Can "Criminal Minds" end with another wedding? The last one was that of David Rossi. And, will Spencer's mom still be in remission and able to attend? 

This is the final season for "Criminal Minds."

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

Kim Kardashian - Future JD, Legal Activist

She stuck with it. 

Back when the legal media announced, usually with a smirk, that reality star Kim Kardashian was committed to becoming a lawyer, there was that universal eye-roll. 

Most experienced Kim's career plan as simply another promotional stunt.

But, Kim has stuck with it. As the Daily Mail reports, she had completed the first year of her four-year apprenticeship in California studying law. Every week she invests 20 hours in that. She anticipates taking the bar exam in 2022. 

In addition, she also has stuck with her legal activism. Her successful campaign to get Alice Marie Johnson out of prison was not a standalone event.

Her mission is to end the mass incarceration in the U.S.

Here is The New York Radio Hour on Mass Incarceration.

On April 5th, on Oxygen, the two-hour The Justice Project documentary will air. In it she features four cases of alleged misjustice. 

Her celebrity could be the game-changer in reforming the U.S. criminal justice system.

Even those who are politically moderate might have come to view the mass incarceration as a job-making system for the middle class. The corrections industry tends to pay well and, even in this volatile economy, provide employment security. 

It's odd that Dick Wolf, in programming such as "Chicago P.D.," doesn't push back against drug laws which result in arrest and incarceration.

If the sale of drugs like heroin and cocaine were made legal, regulated, and taxed, Hank Voigt and his team might be able to focus on other kinds of criminality. It could be the big leap forward if Kim pitches that story line to Wolf. 

Those taxes can fund solutions for homelessness. 

Place your sponsored content on this blog. Coaching on SEO and Ghostwriting for that content also available. Sliding scale fees. Please take advantage of a complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Heat Turned Down - "Criminal Minds"

Network television is a cool medium. That's why Judy Garland bombed on it. She was too hot. 

So, the intensity of last week's episode of "Criminal Minds" on network television couldn't be sustained.

In it, JJ, mother of two, was seriously wounded. Horrors. In addition, she and Spencer discussed their romantic feelings for one another. 

Well, this week's episode, things cooled down. They had to.

JJ had recovered. When she returned to the office she and Spencer exchanged a warm hug of friendship. Obviously they both got it that their love was impossible. It was Spencer's mother who advised him to let go of that in order to open himself to finding an available companion.

After everyone happily welcomed JJ back, it was wheels-up again. A serial killer was fatally bombing people who seemingly had no connection with one another. But the team had been able to connect the dots. 

As the head of the BAU, Emily has evolved into ladyboss. It's not attractive. One wonders if the team will turn on her. David remains his charming self. That allows him to navigate around ladyboss.

Place your sponsored content on this blog. Coaching on SEO and Ghostwriting for that content also available. Sliding scale fees. Please take advantage of a complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com.

Drudge Report Poll on Dem Debate

The Drudge Report is influential.

The audience increasingly includes moderates. Since Donald Trump has begun behaving in an aberrant matter, the digital aggregator has moved toward the middle from rigid conservative.

The political polls the Drudge Report runs get lots of attention. It's now about half past 11 and here are the results of the poll about who was the winner of the Dem debate.

There had been 17,324 votes.

Klobuchar 25%

Sanders 22%

Steyer 18%

Buttigieg 15%

Warren 15%

Biden 14%

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

 

Authority in Play - Lessons for Lawyers from Megxit, Iran, France, and the American Revolution

With a very American perspective in The New York Times, columnist Maureen Dowd reflects on the "corgi-and-gin-loving racket." That is, the very wealthy reign of the House of Windsor. 

Essentially, ranging from Prince Andrew's alleged sexual misconduct to Megxit, this is yet one more institution in which trust is lost.

Actually those in the new land went to through that crisis of belief and support about two and a half centuries ago. What was to evolve into the headquarters for global capitalism, the colonists' mindset was about money. The British form of taxation was siphoning off too much of it. 

Windsor's moral authority on everything and anything has blown up.

It would be no surprise if in a future Edelman Trust Barometer there is an allusion to the collapse of belief in the need for the British monarchy.

There is a push-back on the leadership in Iran.

And, in France, Everyman and Everywoman are saying "nonono" to the government's big idea about upping the age of retirement. 

Obviously, Megxit is a microcosm of an extreme paradigm shift in values. That mirrors the intensity of rebellion of not only the American Revolution, but also the French and Russian ones. Of course, lawyers have to pay heed. Law is a man-made institution. The human intersects with all those rules.

The world is bearing witness to that in how Judge James Burke has decided to oversee the Harvey Weinstein trial. Sure, his interpretation of the rules could give ammo to the defense to appeal a conviction. However, currently, it's a kind of "woke" for how judges impose common sense in the convoluted entity that the legal system has become. In time, SCOTUS could decide on the side of simplification: It's that simple that Weinstein shouldn't have been using his cell phone in the courtroom.

With the Barbarians at the Gate, all those with any authority will have to revisit what they consider their "core competence." The question is: What are you best at, what value does that create, how to communicate that, and what is an appropriate reward for all that? 

That type of comprehensive review includes lawyers, both litigation and transactional.

Law.com keeps presenting evidence of the disruptions in the legal sector. Actually, what could be happening is one of those Big Bangs. Law firms, courts, trade associations such as the US Chamber of Commerce, and clients have the opportunity to be proactive on this one.

Communications specialists such as myself are already busy bees recommending:

The new language of authority. Bring on the "we." That's why diversity is so important. With all the current challenges, it's necessary to be inclusive of all points of views and backgrounds. No secret, the legal sector suffers a diversity-challenge. 

Toned-down tone. Authority must sound like it recognizes the unknowability of so much. A Zen mantra is: Clear Thinking, Don't Know.  On "Criminal Minds," there is often an overhaul of the profile. A great moment in broadcasting had been when superprofiler David Rossi had to wrestle with ambiguity.

Confidence in the ability to try on ideas and experiment with solutions. That's how law firm Motley Rice became a respected brand. It put out there and kept refining the traditional concept of public nuisance apllied to product liability. In the California lead paint class action litigation that had resulted in a seminal win. SCOTUS wouldn't review the conviction. 

Connecting. For centuries, the model for that has been how Jesus Christ reached myriad constituencies. Harvard, Stanford, and Yale law schools can launch seminars analyzing the persausive genius of the early Christians. Lawyers have to achieve, metaphorically, eye contact in new business development and all other constituencies to generate positive outcomes for those clients. 

Meanwhile, the 2020 campaign provides a platform for wrestling with the issue of what kinds of leadership are a fit for times of such change. Lawyers should have lots to say about that.

Takeaway: Underneath all the rules is the human need to trust. 

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

Lawyers Replace Psychologists as High Priests - No, Harry Shouldn't be Analyzed

It had to come to this: Psychologists are analyzing Harry, who at this time is still a prince but maybe not for long. Here's an example from Daily Mail.

The story is too big - the biggest in the UK since the abdication of King Edward VIII - not to parachute in all forms of expertise. 

But the input from psychologists could be the weakest link in providing insight for the scope of this disruption. After all, the discipline of psychology as a form of treatment for distressed human beings has declined from the heyday of Freudianism.

The Ok, Boomer such as myself invested years, multiple times a week, seeking clarity and inner peace from psychotherapists like David W. Harder, Ph.D.

That was then. 

Now, in America the Litigious, we know we can turn to lawyers.

"Court TV" has tutored us in the language of law, the strongest points of law, and the rules of evidence.

We can belly up to the bar feeling confident about pitching our beef to a law firm to take on contingency.

 In addition to seeking justice, plaintiffs can enjoy a high profile in the media. The classic example is Gretchen Carlson who sued Fox News creator Roger Ailes personally.

Since legal action is a slow-mover, that spotlight can linger a long time.

Incidentally, Carlson continues to be covered by the media. Meanwhile, what a good feeling is correlated with seeking what's right via America's legal system.

Also, along the way came Prozac, et al. from BigPharma. There were also mindfulness, executive coaches, 12-step programs, and psychics. 

During that brief moment when psychologists made it their shot at fame to size up Donald Trump, so many smirked. Who really gave a damn (except the writers and producers of shows like "Criminal Minds") how those inner gears operated. What we paid attention to were what the lawyers were up to. This was so much so that some contend that triggered the surge of applications to law schools.  

Prediction: The lawyers on both sides of the ocean will provide the perspective on Megxit and its implications. 

 

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