Law And More

Not the Lawyer You Used to Be - Lifequakes & Story Time

"I don't know who I am."

That's how people in transition usually sum up how they feel. Lawyers who had depended on their work to have an identity usually feel especially dismal when there could be change. Or the change has already happened. Those upheavals range from a stealth layoff to being forced into early retirement. 

But what would be more accurate and what would make moving forward less painful is if they noted "I need a new story."

We are the stories we tell about ourselves.

Both professionally and personally.

Way back when in a less chaotic era we used to call that the "elevator speech." In a sentence or two it summed up what we were about. If it concerned our professional identity, it could help our career. For instance, "I'm Joe and I help big companies sell a lot of products." 

In transition, that identity, once so solid, is shifting. In the interim and then longer term, folks can gain control of the process if they put together a fresh narrative. That tells the world where they are in their careers and personal lives. More importantly, it delivers the message to themselves that they are in-charge.

That's especially needed in what Bruce Feiler, author of "Life Is in the Transitions," has called "lifequakes" or seismic shifts. As MarketWatch reports, Feiler anticipates lifequakes to increase in number and intensity.

So, as folks sense a lifequake coming to rattle their lives to the core, a multi-dimensional tool could be conjuring up a new story.

The partner at a law firm gets it: The firm wants him out. He isn't bringing in enough new business or billing enough hours. The way to emotionally, socially, and professionally manage that experience is to capture it in a story that moves the process forward. An example? "I'm reviewing what could be Next. This is the first time in 30 years I looked up from my desk." 

A former star in public relations contacted me for a complimentary consultation on her career. She wanted another one. So typical she framed that in the narrative embedded in the past, in who she used to be. "At Corporation X, the world knew my name. I made a lot of money. The media quoted me." 

To have a shot at a Next, she had to extricate the story from the past to possibility. During four coaching sessions, she came to manage this lifequake with the story "I fix brands. That could be your personal or social brand. Or the brand of, say, Uber." That got people interested. Even before she had fully established her communications boutique she had business. 

In COVID-19, it's the rare professional, parent or retired who isn't being rattled by a lifequake.

How to start on the new story? 

Accept that what was is no longer. Then be ready to take the first few steps. Get those down in one or two sentences. Let language take charge. It's not what is happening. It's how people manage that whatever. Christians came up with the narrative of how the word was made flesh. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Snell & Wilmer - Tipsters Tell Abovethelaw about Alleged Stealth Layoffs

The power of Abovethelaw comes from its sources. They are primarily junior lawyers and law students.

Those tipsters have informed ATL, reports Kathryn Rubino, that there are alleged stealth layoffs at law firm Snell & Wilmer. Here are plenty of details.

Recently, Snell & Wilmer terminated associates in Los Angeles and Orange County, California. They were classified as performance-based. After all, official layoffs as in a reduction in force can put out there a red flag, signalling financial distress. Therefore, it's a clever move to position and package any financial need to reduce headcount as for underperformance. 

If the terminations were indeed stealth layoffs they deliver a double whammy. Not only do associates lose their mode of making a living. Like a turd on their shoe, they could carry around the stink of being fired for performance reasons. And they bring it into a glutted marketplace.

Any associate terminated from Snell & Wilmer, for whatever reason, can contact me for three half-hour pro-bono coaching sessions. My philosophy is: The answers are all inside you. The coach just opens you to them. Please make an appointment at janegenova374@gmail.com.

Micromobility: Small Is Cool, Affordable, Green, But Is It Safe? (emerging opportunities for personal injury lawyers)

Those scooters, e-bikes, traditional bikes (including the designer ones costing $5K), trikes (adult tricycles), mopeds, and motorcycles are more and more visible on the roads.

Deloitte labels that phenomenon "Micromobility." And here is its white paper on that trend. Meanwhile, the driverless car is stalled right now. 

Micromobility is cool.

It's quite green.

It's affordable, both in the initial purchase and for insurance.

And it's perfect for zipping around urban areas. It's especially a blessing for all those food delivery folks.

But, what about the safety?

Finally, New York state caved in allowing e-scooters and e-bikes. But will the state regret that decision and walk back the law? E-scooter deaths have already attracted plenty of attention, both in that state and nationally.

A major part of the earlier controversy in NY state had been the safety concern. And, with good reason. Here in Toledo Metro Area, this weekend there had been two micromobility deaths.

Small may be beautiful. But it is less visible. Also, it's still a visible adjustment for car drivers to learn to share the road with the micros. They have to re-orient their driving habits not only to be on the look-out for other cars and big trucks but those smaller contraptions. 

When I rode my moped, with a max speed of 28 miles an hour, on regular roadways, frequently I got horned. That was jarring. But what was downright dangerous was the driving too close along-side me or behind me to deliver a message that the moped was not welcome.

For traditional bicycles, surging in popularity, it's a somewhat different story. They are allowed on sidewalks. However, where there are no sidewalks, they share the roadways with cars - and that can be at their peril. 

Like the early days of the internet, for micromobility there is not yet a solid regulatory infrastructure. Here e-bikes are allowed on mountain trails. But not there. Here the max speed for an e-bike is below 30 miles an hour. But there, sure, you can give the throttle a total twist. That leaves those using the micros more or less on their own to determine what would be safe.

That lack of a regulatory structure provides fresh opportunities for personal injury lawyers. The cases could be interesting, lucrative, and create brandnames for lawyers. 

UPDATE:

Simon Cowell of "America Got Talent" broke his back while testing out a new e-bike. He received surgery. Vulture provides more details.

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DefLanders: What Will the 20% Admitted to Harvard Who Deferred Be Doing Instead? (implications for law school deans)

COVID-19, not the Invisible Hand, is undoing centuries of the market dynamics in higher education.

Ever since the Puritans established Harvard on September 8, 1636, higher education has been a growth industry. That is despite its rising cost and questionable ROI in terms of career mobility and lifetime job security.

The numbers bouncing around are that about 20% of those accepted for the Class of 2023 have deferred.

It had been assumed that the elite institutions of higher education would be immune from this falloff in enrollment - and revenue. That assumption, reports Brandon Busteed in FORBES, was wrong. At Harvard, 340 have gone DefLand or about 20% of those admitted. In addition, only 25% of those who could live on campus have accepted the offer.

That reality, in itself, has serious implications.

At the top of the list is the financial one. Of course, Harvard is not going to financially collapse. But others with less of an endowment might. 

The next issue on the list is: What does this mean about the blind faith in education? Incidentally, that territory has already been covered in Boston Magazine. That was way back in January 2019. Even in the bucolic setting of New England, with all its old-line colleges and universities, institutions of higher education have been shuttering. Part of that was that parents and members of Gen Z were questioning the ROI. 

The story here is not DefLand. Not per se. Not even the part about the high percentage opting not to attend Harvard.

The story is: What are those in DefLand doing instead? And will that "instead" trigger never enrolling in college?

The world is a big place. That's what the DefLanders might discover.

Some might get a management trainee job in the grocery industry, like it, stay on, and later pick up a college degree online, with tuition paid by the employer. Others might become entrepreneurs. Some might embrace altruism and participate in an global initiative to construct irritation systems in wastelands. 

Will this shifting mindset about higher education seep into the ethos of professional schools, such as law?

Right now, the deans of law schools seems to be sitting pretty. But that could be the calm before the storm. The question could go mainstream among the best and brightest: Given the volatility of career paths should any reasonable person invest multiple years and lots of money in pursuing a post-graduate professional degree? 

Prediction: A power outage throughout the entire Academic-Industrial Complex.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Quinn Emanuel $185 Million Fee - Belief in Protestant Ethic Seems So Schoolgirlish

Quinn Emanuel figures it has "earned" a $185 million fee in its legal work for health insurers who hadn't been paid by the Obama Administration. That number has been calculated on the basis of results. The law firm's work resulted in the insurers receiving $3.7 billion. 

The issue involved, reports Bloomberg Law, is that in terms of hours the fee would come to Quinn Emanuel's earning $18,500 an hour. There are those who object, including litigation funders. 

However, the fee only represents 5% of the results, note supporters of Quinn Emanuel.

At its core, this dispute is not really about high fees charged by elite law firms. That is so boring. The marketplace, including its dynamics during COVID-19, takes care of that. 

It gets down to questioning the Protestant Ethic. That had been woven into a system of beliefs by Max Weber. Essentially the meme is: Work hard. 

Such an ideology - actually almost a religion - dominated Americana since Puritan times. Hard work was valued in itself. Ironically, it still is. Those who sinned or stumbled professionally were advised to "Work Hard." That was the path to salvation.

Currently, that adage is still being touted, in some circles.

Many help-wanted ads on Craigslist, for example, indicate the need for a "hard worker." Yeah, an eye-roll. Professionals who want to get ahead in an organization sense that employer doesn't understand how success happens, is sustained and scaled. 

For players, the Protestant Ethic seems downright misleading. It's obvious that it can be even counterproductive. Looking for the way not to have to work hard can be the real path to wealth - as well as power and influence.

Through inventing the Mac, then the iPhone, Steve Jobs eliminated the need for lots of old-fashioned kinds of work. 

Before that, Ronald Reagan's branding was about not working hard. He came across as confident, a quality needed in a leader.

I landed a communications contract (one hat I wear) by pitching to the prospect a shortcut to boosting rankings on search engines. No, we weren't going to work hard together.

Mouthing platitudes about hard work can seem downright schoolgirlish. Even small business owners, at least those still in business in coronavirus times, understand that the game is about results - the bigger the better, the sooner the better. It's not about hours the workforce plows into a project.

The Emanuel Quinn fee controversy can be a flashpoint in law firm billing. The billable hour can be tossed. It could be replaced by performance-based metrics. 

More generally, parents, teachers, and guidance counselors who tell youth to work hard will have no credibility. As a sometimes career coach, I advise the over-50 unemployed/underemployed I guide to ditch their own hard-work ethos. It's all about what they can accomplish for an employer.

The pitch should be: This is what I can do for you - better and faster than those others competing for work. 

One professional in the real estate loop, after two years searching for a better job, reframed his marketing to just that: Promised results, supported by documentation of those created for other employers over the years. Those were his new marketing materials. Immediately, he received an interview. A prospective employer flew him to its headquarters and hired him on the spot. 

Sour grapes: Too long I worked hard at a doctoral degree that wasn't marketable. Early in the game the savvy owner at a business where I worked part-time recommended I pull the plug. Get a job in media or at a public relations agency, he counseled. I didn't. I assumed my unusually intense hard work would land me one of the few jobs in the field. I limped away from that disaster getting it that betting on the right horse, not hard work, is the key career fundamental. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

"Dukes v Walmart" - So, Maybe We Can Believe What the Corporation Is Saying about RV Overnight Parking

It was common knowledge: The place those in RVs could bunk overnight for free was just about any Walmart parking lot. Actually, the situation was ideal. There was plenty of space. Also security was dependable. Sweet dreams. 

That was then.

Now, RVers, especially the retired/semiretired who recently embraced that lifestyle, better be aware that only 58% of Walmart stores still have the welcome mat out, documents OvernightRVParking.com. That's down from 78% not so long ago. If camp grounds or RV facilities are full/closed  and jurisdictions forbid overnight parking, then RVers will have to keep driving until they pin down a place to sleep. 

Anyone shopping at a 24-hour Walmart has spotted those RVs parked all over the lot. 

BusinessInsider reports that this change does not represent the policy of Walmart the corporation. Each manager at each store has the authority to make the decision about the RV policy.

In the landmark U.S. Supreme gender pay discrimination class action lawsuit "Dukes v. Walmart," the court ruled this: Systemic discrimination about pay and promotion couldn't exist because store management was decentralized. On many issues, each manager made individual decisions. So, we can accept the Walmart statement about this jarring policy upheaval.

But, we ask why might there have been this switcheroo?

The speculation is that more cities such as Colorado Springs, Colorado and Berkeley, California have enacted law prohibiting overnight parking.

Another possible reason for the ban is that RVers might have not be respectful guests in the parking lots.

But this setback is not likely to slow down the RV movement. For the retired and semiretired it's a kind of-on-your-own terms way of seeing the world. In addition, the RV provides a mode of quarantine during COVID-19 that is not as confining or boring as hanging around the house. 

The movement could pick up even more traction if there is a second way of the coronavirus and folks just can't endure another shelter-at-home. The solution: Leave it all behind and become a road warrior. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

The Nelson Family in Elyria, OH - Norman Rockwell Never Lived Here

On Wednesday, reports Daily Mail, the entire Nelson family, including the dog, died.

That included father John Nelson, 44, his wife, 35, and their three children 12, 10, and 6. Yes, also the dog.

Law enforcement suspects that John, who worked in a nearby plastic factory, shot them all to death, then turned the gun on himself. His wife had been employed as a nurse.

This occurred in the bucolic town of Elyria, Ohio.

Its midwest ethos is straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

The family seemed cohesive, the daily life structured around the children's activities such as sports and cultural enrichment. 

Of course, the community is "shocked."

However, those of us who dared look beyond the Rockwell kinds of platitudes know that the Rockwell values really never existed.

Not in the Midwest.

Not on the pre-gentrified downtown Jersey City, New Jersey tenements where I came of age.

Not throughout America.

One suspects: Rockwell lived in a fantasy world he positioned and packaged in his own head. He never lived here in reality with the rest of us. 

That reality is well known not only to law enforcement but also to criminal defense lawyers.

On the beautiful Gold Coast of Connecticut, brandname lawyer Norm Pattis represented Fotis Dulos.

Dulos had been a father of five whose wife Jennifer had disappeared. That family saga ended with Dulos' apparent suicide. 

There might be fewer family implosions if the myth of extreme comfort and joy would be ditched. Living in a family structure is often one of the most dangerous settings - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and even financially. About the latter, I have coached so many hog-tied to a dysfunctional system which had held them back in their career performance. They assumed they were their families. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

LegalSpeak Podcast Focuses on "Shaky Career Ladder"

How are the law student and the new lawyer navigating the ways in which COVID-19 disrupted their career expectations?

The LegalSpeak podcast takes up this issue.

Probably to the surprise of many in the audience the tone and content aren't downbeat. Interviewed are 3L Sarah Shahatto and new lawyer Daniel Crispino. 

Essentially their mindset has been optimistic and their behavior has shifted to extreme flexibility. No, they aren't ranting about the horror of having plans upended.

For example, Shahatto had her summer internship cancelled. She found that out in April. In response she picked up two summer opportunities. One is working in her law school's litigation clinic and another is assisting in a firm operated by a solo lawyer. 

On the other hand, Crispino was able to hold onto to his clerkship and after that a job as an associate at a litigation boutique. But he admits doing his tasks remotely has created new kinds of challenges.

As he was finishing up his clerkship he had to train his replacement. Not so easy via Zoom, especially since no two days assisting a judge are the same. In addition, it was hard to say good-bye without in-person contact to the family formed during the clerkship. 

At the law firm, starting a job virtually meant not being able to pop into the partner's office and ask a question or circle by the paralegal's desk to find out how to file a form. Also the recessionary economy put him in constant fear that any communication from a partner over Zoom meant being informed that the job was over. 

No ambiguity: isolation has been tough. Some lawyers are dealing with it through virtual happy hours. However, Crispino doesn't receive much satisfaction by trying to connect that way.

Does he predict that remote work become standard? He puts it this way: There is no putting the toothpaste back in the tube. Law firms have learned how much they can save by reducing their real estate footprint. Also, Crispino gets back two hours daily that he would have spent commuting. 

Me whose core competence is communications?

I have found out this: In general, the attitude and ability to roll with the punches of these two seem to be the developing template for maintaining success during the actual fallout and unknowns associated with COVID-19.

My clients and colleagues around the world who haven't been pulled out into the abyss by the virus undertow make it their business to be confident about what they have to offer. They also have learned to be open. That ranges from entering new niches to trying on new professional personas. Incidentally, some have grown emotionally, socially, and spiritually by sharing more of their stress on professional networks. They are astounded that they are receiving support and even assistance. 

We know less and less. But here is what I now know: As in The Great Depression, there is work out there. In fact lots of it.

My grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles didn't miss a day's pay back then. Through the oral history of the family I had picked up that they socialized themselves to shift quickly out of the culture of complaint. Sure, the floor lady was like a Nazi guard. So? The objective was to do whatever it took, including ignoring wicked management, to keep the family going.

Today, I was thrilled to be awarded a long-term contract researching and providing content about human resources issues for small and medium-size businesses. Of course, that involves plenty of legalities. I am grateful for all I have picked up about law in my 14 years of legal blogging. This month Law and More is 14 years young. Thank you readers. 

But, I have moved out of the space. 

As part of the new flexibility demanded by the COVID-19 economy I have uncovered the financial reality that in most situations, at least for me, business communications pays me more than legal marketing assignments for clients.

Letting go  of the latter had been disconcerting. Once I did, though, the lucrative offers of work came in. I will continue blogging about law but will no longer seek assignments in that sector. That worked well until it stopped working.

Reflection: Careers have become wobbly. But we can embrace the unknown with hope as well as self-confidence. 

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.

Reality Check for Law Firm Manpower - Corporate CEOs Abandon Hope for Quick Recovery

Call it the end of magical thinking.

The current severity of the pandemic and the possibility it could circle back a second time have made corporate chief executive officers admit that recovery won't happen in a matter of months.

The Wall Street Journal reports that their current mindset is that the bounce-back from COVID-19 could require years.

The implications are broad-based.

For example, some corporations such as GM, to preserve cash for the long haul, have eliminated dividends for shareholders. Of course, that kind of initiative could worsen the financial situation on Main Street. The U.S. economy is 70% consumer-driven.

To navigate all that, corporations are being forced to change. It's back to the drawing board both for cost-efficiency and for growth.

That can be bad news for law firms. The financial distress of clients and prospects directly affects their business - and, in turn, their management of manpower.

Over and over again, watcher of the business of law firms Hugh Simons has hammered that really hard times are coming when it comes to law firm employment.

Already, Bloomberg Law documented that for the JD Class of 2020 there have been not only delayed start dates but rescinded offers.

Abovethelaw has begun receiving insider tips from law firms where actual layoffs, not just pay cuts and furloughs, are happening. Those include Bryan Cave. 

And aging lawyers have contacted me for complimentary consultations on how to frame a career transition.

If knocked out of the box, lawyers over-50 are realistic about not being able to land another position practicing law. The hiring will be for laterals who are still working and have a brandname and/or a book of business. Yes, in an old-line sector like law firms, there remains a stigma about unemployment.

The obvious recommendation is for lawyers at all levels to anticipate being cut loose. That could be through being shamed out of the job, forced retirement, buyouts, stealth layoffs, or an announced reduction in force.

The time is now for all lawyers to research how to leverage their education, experience, and skills to sectors in which a good living can be made.

Over decades, the proven guide is "What Color Is Your Parachute?" Annually there is a new edition. Those are available in the public library and used from Amazon.

The sustained meme of that bible on job search and career change is this: The professional hired is not necessarily the most qualified. The success comes from being the best at how to  find a job or navigating career change.

The being-hired game doesn't operate on the fundamentals of a meritocracy. The dynamics boil downs to superior skills in that whole continuum of chasing after work. 

Based on insights from "What Color Is Your Parachute?" lawyers should analyse the marketability of various backgrounds. Then they put together trial resumes and cover letters. Yes, multiple. Simultaneously, role play interviews with those trusted on a network.

In addition, they have to get over the potential blow to self-esteem of taking on survival jobs or gigs. It really is true: Nothing gets a job like a job. A crazy-seeming job can be the bridge to a new career path. The leasing agent for an apartment complex can wind up in the real estate firm's corporate headquarters. 

In outplacement, if the law firm provides that useful benefit, it's imperative to be aggressive about seeking guidance on a job search in a glutted labor market.  

Meanwhile, investigate building or enhancing social branding. Employers factor that in. So do potential clients. 

On LinkedIn, displaced general counsel from Salary.com Colin Levy has created fresh personal branding. His example is encouraging other lawyers, unemployed and employed, to also go social. Through that, Levy is picking up contract work. This tactic may or may not land a full-time job practicing law. But is is a solid platform for career change. 

Coaching, lecturing, and writing/ghostwriting thought leadership content on human resources and careers.  

For individual coaching – sliding scale fees. Complimentary initial consultation. The special area of expertise is the displaced over-50 professional. Please contact Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com.

Retired/Semiretired Lawyers Stranded in High-Cost/Lousy Weather Locations - 4 Tips

The moving van probably won't be stopping by many of the high cost or weather-challenged locations. At least not for those lawyers choosing or being forced into retirement.

Those designated lower-cost/more-pleasant-weather states such as Arizona, Texas, and South Carolina have had a 100% increase in COVID-19 cases during the past month, reports Daily Mail. The elderly are at higher risk of dying if they become infected. You know that, of course.

In a sense, the options for the Next have become Retirement Relocation Interrupted. Even traveling, never mind a full-scale move, has become a life-and-death gamble. 

The candid admit COVID-19 is not manageable, not yet. That means it's up in the air when relocation for retirees and the semiretired is possible. 

How should the "stranded" cope?

Here are 4 tips:

• Create joy in your current circumstances. You don't have to have a memory of this pandemic as an unhappy time. There are plenty of people around eager to join you in optimism. Find them. Regroup from the doom and gloom crowd. 
• If the high cost of living where you are is eating into your monthly budget and financial reserves, get work. Any type. There are plenty of full-time, part-time, and contract options. They range from being a leasing agent in residential to  overseeing loss control at Goodwill. Here, free to click open, is my guide on landing, holding, and moving on to better work, no matter what Download Outwitting ageism. When I was reconfiguring my communications and coaching boutiques to telecommuting I took on three part-time jobs. Those also helped me to learn new technologies "on the company."
• Embrace minimalism. A lawyer who had been forced out of real estate into early retirement made it his business to adopt radical frugality. That has enabled him to pursue interests he put off since law school. They include music. Eventually he could turn that into a profit center. His career and how it ended gave him a bad taste in his mouth for working for others. 
• Develop new interests. Yes, you can start up a new kind of life at any time, anywhere. Actually, you could develop new credentials for earning income. There can be online certification for expertise in search engine optimization or providing counseling to substance abusers. You can also start a an enterprise that's transportable, including overseas. Becoming an expatriate is still on the table. 

COVID-19 may put your relocation on-hold. But it shouldn't do that to your life. These years are not coming back.

Place your paid sponsored content on this blog. Here are 6 tips for search engine optimization (SEO) in 2020. Contact janegenova374@gmail.com.