Law And More

Jeffrey McIntyre, former Husch Blackwell Partner - What Could Play Out

Unlike many lawyers who self-destruct, Jeffry McIntyre sill has a license to practice law. He can start over in that line of work, if he chooses that path. 

The Wisconsin Supreme Court only reprimanded him. He had had guilty pleas for battery and a DUI. 

Unfortunately, though, as Law.com reports, he and the law firm where had been a partner - Husch Blackwell - have parted company. His profile is no longer on the website. 

The world might view McIntyre's situation as bleak.

But it's a different mindset in the rooms of recovery. Those are full of hope and one of the promises is that members will not regret the past or wish to shut the door on it.

After three DUIs, getting caught up in a physical altercation, and losing a big job, McIntrye could be willing to change. That's the first step toward a new life. 

Some day, McIntyre may get up before the recovery group and proudly tell his story. The past few years he could describe as his bottom. 

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Privilege & Alleged Recklessness - Andrew Bachman, John F. Kennedy Jr., et al.

"They are carless people."

That's how a line from F. Scott Fitzgerald's book "The Great Gatsby" sized up the privileged.

The book was fiction - a novel.

The nonfiction book, to be released this coming Tuesday, "Four Friends" confirms that observation. Published by Flatiron, it will be released July 9th. Here it can be ordered from Amazon.

By William D. Cohan it hammers the hypothesis that the blessing of wealth can trigger extreme recklessness.

Essentially, it documents the risk taking by John F. Kennedy Jr., right from the get-go.

Eventually that might have been the primary cause of his death in the ocean 20 years ago this month. Unfortunately, his ill-fated plane flight also resulted in the death of his wife and her sister. Here is an introduction to Cohan's book by the media. 

Fitzgerald and Cohan give us something big to reflect on. Maybe ordinary strivers have a long-term advantage. At least they are able to continue playing whatever game they decided seemed promising. They go on to retire and live a long life in middle class retirement communities that crowd Oro and Green Valleys in southwestern Arizona. 

Several years ago I might have encountered a classic example of that kind of darkness.

Boston entrepreneur Andrew Bachman contracted with me to assist with his memoir, which was due to be published by Wiley.

That publishing commitment was put on hold when the feds showed up at his door. First he surrendered his assets. Then he took a guilty plea. Here is more on all of that.

Bachman is the son of two Boston metro medical doctors and brother of another one. He was born into a situation late Providence, Rhode Island mayor Buddy Cianci might have described as  "the lucky sperm club." 

In the Babson dorm Bachman was part of the group who launched successful startup Tatto Media. In 2011, Ozura World acquired Tatto for $60 million. The team got rich. Bachman and I would go over the memoir manuscript in his penthouse overlooking Boston. Underneath the building were his designer roadsters. Initially we joked that the title of the book should be "My Car Is My Business Card."

That all unraveled when the Federal Trade Commission discovered that embedded in the Bachman team's genius was a mobile scamming scam. The rest is law enforcement history.

Some wonder if Bachman can come back from his reversal of fortune. Or, will he, like too many from "the lucky sperm club," resume alleged self-destruction.

If "Four Friends" becomes a best-seller, Kennedy could be rebranded as "The Reckless Son."

Among the early excessive risk taking adventures had been those out on the water. That was despite the fact that he had been part of a dynasty experienced in what it took to remain safe off land. Family publicity photos frequently involved some kind of water transport. Those photo-ops came to be published more often than the touch football games at the family compound.

Recently, son of a hedge fund manager and Princeton graduate, Thomas Gilbert, Jr. had been convicted of murder. At his August sentencing he faces life in prison. The murder victim? His father, the man who had reduced his allowance. At the time of the allowance cut/murder, Gilbert was around 30 years old.

Those who grouse about not being a member of "the lucky sperm club" might shift to humming the lyrics from a Billie Holiday hit song.

Those are about the blessings of a child who has his own. The lines go "Mama may have, Papa may have …"

Reflection: In this gilded age there is probably a need for a national day of prayer for privileged offspring.

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$2.3 Trillion Global Tourism - Threatened by High-Profile Deaths Like That of Dr. Gary Swank

Global tourism is BigBusiness. Statistica puts that at $2.3 trillion, in U.S. dollars.

Of course, there has always been grousing about the dangers of some locations such as parts of Mexico.

But, now, high-profile deaths put that industry in play. Unless deaths can be prevented, Americans might just stay in their homeland, do their wanderlust within those borders, and plow their travel dollars into the U.S. economy.

The latest death has been in Belize.

Cardiologist and Virginia Tech medical professor Dr. Gary Swank was fatally gunned down when on a fly-fishing boat trip. The target, it seems, was his tour guide Mario Graniel who had had a negative encounter with the local gang. Swank seems to have been collateral damage. 

But, had he been in his own nation, where he could have picked up on threats and hopefully avoided them, he might still be living. We know how to "read" our own culture.

The Belize fatality escalates the fear of travel abroad introduced by mysterious deaths and severe bouts of illness among tourists to the Dominican Republic. 

The U.S. economy could gain through these incidents abroad. Come with the family to Cedar Point in Ohio. 

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The Great Recession's Lost JD Generation - Law.com Looks Back

Professionally, financially, emotionally, and spirituality, many workers will never recover from The Great Recession. In a sense, they are as scarred as those who endured The Great Depression. 

Some of the survivors of the downturn of 2008 even put in play new movements.

One is minimalism or radical savings. They "needed" a gigantic financial reserve to be able to sleep at night. Their lifestyle shifted from conspicuous consumption to what's analogous to that of  a medieval monk.

Another movement has been FIRE (Financial Freedom, Retire Early). Yeah, they wanted to get the hell out of the system which betrayed them and do that as soon as possible. The reverence for work, that has dominated American culture since Puritan times, soured.

A third is the 21st century version of the counterculture - or dropping out. Christopher Knight has emerged as an anti-hero.

The book "A Stranger in the Woods" narrates the almost three decades he made it in a tarp in Maine. That was without human interaction or a job. Evidence that his saga resonated when published in 2017 is that it had almost 1,000 reader reviews. Here it can be ordered from Amazon.

But for too many lawyers the situation had been even worse. Time will tell how badly their inner life has been reconfigured.

One reason lawyers endured greater hardship than average is: That JD Lost Generation were and probably still are in a line of work in which having been laid off made them an "untouchable." When signs of recovery appeared employers were more apt to hire laterals, that is those who had held on, or new graduates. 

In addition, as MP McQueen chronicles in Law.com, there was also a desperate scramble for work, any kind of work, because of student loan debt. Between 2010 and 2017, 60% of JDs owed about $100,000 in debt.

On Abovethelaw, there had been a special column by Alex Rich about refugees from BigLaw who were doing mind-numbing document review contract jobs. Much of Rich's guidance focused on how to find the next assignment after that project dried up. 

As McQueen documented, some of the Lost JD Gen eventually landed on their feet. They were able to return to well-paying jobs practicing law. But that usually took longer than the average time for the displaced to find work. 

Meanwhile, those who have been burned and those who weren't but knew those who were wonder if the next economic downturn will change forever the legal profession.

If it is severe will it permanently downsize the number of those applying to law school? Finally, the message will be delivered and received: Don't invest in this career path.

And will those knocked out of the box not struggle to get back into the box but do a career change?

In itself that could leave The Professional Class with fresh insight about regrouping during adversity. Currently, outplacement firms should be developing new models for earning a living post-catastrophe. That can be labeled "Playing in a New Sandbox - Rediscovering Joy in Work."

One forecast is that 10,000 jobs in the legal sector could vanish in the coming recession. And, yes, it will come. It always does. And given the intersection of national economies, this one could be a whopper. 

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Criminal Lawyers - Possible Insight about All Those Murders of Aging Wives by Aging Husbands

Aging, as Betty White hammers, isn't for sissies. The challenges are big.

Among them is what has become known as "gray divorce." The rate of divorce among those between 55 and 64 is increasing. That is at a time when the rate of marital split-ups among younger people is decreasing.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, among the aging the divorce rate had been 5 per 1000 marriages. Currently it's at 15 per 1000. 

Two of the reasons for that are:

• Baby Boomers tended to marry young. That usually operates against the ability of the marriage to endure. The younger generations are experiencing less divorce because they are marrying later in life.
• A number of Baby Boomers are on their second marriages. Those are more likely to result in divorce than first marriages.

Usually divorce is an emotional, social, legal, and financial ordeal. 

Reflection: Television program "Dateline" might chronicle all those murders by aging husbands of their aging wives because the alternative - going for divorce - just seems too much of a maze to navigate. Also, there is the bonus of the proceeds from the insurance policy. However, since "everyone knows" the husband did it, that clever guy frequently winds up hiring a criminal lawyer instead of a divorce one. 

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Work - That and Other (fatal) Disappointments

Since 2006, the rate of suicide in the U.S. has increased 2% each year.

In addition, suicide attempts are at about 1.4 million annually.

Those are just some of the statistics the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released today from its recent study. Here are more details from Bloomberg.

A sign of these suicidal times, talking about thoughts of offing oneself is no longer taboo. And it has become commonplace.

In fact, last night a Millennial neighbor and I chatted up in front of our building about our bout of suicidal ideation earlier in the week. The woman next door who overheard us joined in. My quip was that when a date asked me my purpose in life, I blurted out: Trying my best to stay alive. 

Yeah, we are a nation in lousy emotional shape.

As the Bloomberg article points out, the 60-year run of optimism about treatments for mental illness - ranging from medication to take therapy - was magical thinking. A reason for that is also something Bloomberg notes:

" ... psychological stressors can activate a genetic predisposition, so life circumstances matter a lot. And the U.S. is home to some particularly challenging ones ..."

WORK SUCKS

At the top of the list is the disenchantment with work. Since Puritan times the work ethic has been the unofficial religion in America. That belief system is being battered on all fronts.

Some don't have enough work.

Others work at what pays peanuts.

Those who have lots of well-paid work such as lawyers, like Gabe MacConaill, are committing suicide. Or they are self-destructing in other ways be those drugs or embezzling client funds and getting caught.

A reason FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) has caught fire is that too many are treated so badly by employers, clients, and customers while working. The dream is to find satisfaction elsewhere.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

The pain is palpable. And, as fellow human beings, we feel it.

So many decent human beings are suffering and it's needless.

The most obvious instance of that is homelessness. Some cities look like third-world countries.

But more pervasive is the extreme loneliness. Gone is the ability to even have a conversation. The Diane Sawyer two-hour television special on screen time pointed the finger for this at digital technology. In addition, the aging become invisible. Then they self-isolate.

RATS NO LONGER STAY IN THE BASEMENT

In Manhattan there used to be the old saying: If the rats stay in the basement, you know things are under control. It's when the rats climb the stairs and merrily join the diners in the restaurant that you know the social system is collapsing. 

The dark aspects of society - corruption, narcissism, violence, and bullying - have taken over. We watch an inspiring film such as "Breakthrough" and are incapable of feeling hope.

It's overdue that the key institutions in society such as the mental health system, education, government, and the private sector look at what Bloomberg labeled "life circumstances." Those are the levers to push to reduce suicide.

Meanwhile, it is possible to get through the day.

Talking to one trusted acquaintance can release the despair.

There are caring human beings at Samaritans. That free hotline (212-673-3000) operates 24/7.

Go the animal shelter and adopt a companion, even if that means relocating to a pet-friendly apartment.

Do one decent human act. That can be as small a gesture as holding the door open for a mother carrying a child. 

Full Disclosure: Several members of my family committed suicide. 

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Giana Desir - Transgender Woman Awarded $25K in Landlord Dispute

"A transgender woman [Giana Desir] humiliated and denied an apartment rental in Brooklyn anywhere near 'people and children' was awarded $25,000 in her years-long battle against a landlord and realty company [Henry Walter and Empire State Realty and Management]." - Karen Xia and Cathy Burke, New York Daily News, June 18, 2019. Here is the article.

Finding a apartment to rent in New York City is rarely a piece of cake.

But, once Giana Desir began her transgender transitioning process in 2013, it became nearly impossible. In addition, the transactions with landlords were degrading enough to prompt her to take legal action.

For example, landlord Henry Walter, when meeting Desir in person, informed her that he couldn't rent her an apartment - at least not in the traditional way. He assessed that she couldn't be "around people and children." All he could offer her was a basement somewhere. 

Back in May 2016 Desir filed a complaint. The defendants were Walter and Empire State Realty and Management.

In her legal journey against bias and abuse, Desir has been represented by the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Yesterday, John Spooner, administration law judge, made a ruling in Desir's favor. She was awarded $25,000.

That financial consequence could, in itself, deter discrimination in housing against transgender tenants and applicants for apartments.

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Charlie from "The Intruder" - Made for "Dateline"

Promos for film "The Intruder" highlight the deranged thinking of former home owner Charlie, played by Dennis Quaid.

But the emotional grabber is that the intense emotions Charlie goes through mirror those many of us have also gone through. We are among those forced by financial circumstances to sell a house. After all, a house captures our soul. Call the effect voodoo. And the plot line is made for "Dateline." In that iconic series the husband is usually the killer.

Deeply in debt, Charlie hands over his prized abode in the woods to a advertising guy and his wife. The two plan that to be their nest for rearing a family.

There had been a previous marital crisis involving the husband's roving eye. But that is in the past and their present is about total commitment.

What they don't know is this gregarious guy has had an earlier emotional unraveling when he was threatened with loss of the property. His wife had told him she was filing for divorce and taking the house. He offed her, making it look like a suicide. There wasn't enough evidence for law enforcement to nail him. So, that is one saga which will never make it onto "Dateline."

His new strategy to get back the house is to get rid of owner Scott and marry the wife Anne. It takes a while for them to catch on. And that's too late for one more murder to be committed.

Quaid is great in simulating the facial expressions of growing insanity.

But, there is something very human in Charlie's battle to not lose the house, not forever. His fantasy is not only regaining the property but the life he had had. That impossible mindset is familiar.  

More and more often that is playing out in the ordeal of aging couples who get it that they should ditch the house in the pricey metro area and rent in a less expensive location. That house remains a presence in their lives. They can't shake the memory. And, rarely do they adjust to the need to re-start fresh. 

In 2004, at age 59, I took that road more traveled. Fortunately, it was at near of the top of the real estate boom. The transaction was profitable. That should have been that. But, like Charlie, I had moments of rage when I observed modifications the new owners had made to my house.

Reflection: Members of The New Aging should view "The Intruder." That could clue them in about the brutal tradeoffs of giving up home ownership and the lifestyle they assumed would be forever for a lower cost of living. Houses can cast spells. There could be something to the aging-in-place movement.

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Anti-Semitic - Lite and Not So Lite

In 2018, according to the Anti Defamation League, there were 1,879 incidents of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S.

France24 reports that, here in the America and other locations around the world, some Jewish communities are arming themselves, in response. The debate goes on if the members of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Jewish house of worship had been armed fewer would have been died in the massacre.

Those concerns are about violent forms of bias against Jews.

There are also the lite kind. Emotionally and socially they can be just as unsettling.

Once I relocated from the New York Metro area in April 2014, I have been subjected to what I call "Anti-Semitic Lite." That has occurred as far west as Arizona and only 500 miles from Manhattan here in the Midwest.

I am not Jewish. Not in religion. Not culturally.

But the New York accent (actually it's 1950s Jersey City, New Jersey per-gentrification), Eastern European stocky body style and facial features, and business mindset have become markers for a Jewish identity. 

Some of the unpleasantness takes the form of being "interrogated" about supposed Jewish family values.

In Tucson, AZ, a next door neighbor began to quiz me why Jewish parents "pushed" their children so much. When I told him I didn't know since I wasn't Jewish, he just smirked. He assumed I was trying to "pass for Christian." The reality is that I am not a Christian either. Since the end of the 1990s, I have been studying Buddhism.

Another play-out of the bias is isolation. Social groups tend not to let me in, at least not fully. I feel on the fringes.

A third is, yes, fear. Neighbors get drunk and the resentments can come pouring out. Will my car get keyed or scrawled on my door "Jew, get out?"

Of course, one solution could be bouncing back to the New York Metro area where I blend right in. Twice in the past three years I have returned there. Twice I had to conclude that is all behind me. It takes "real money" to live there. That applies even to my hometown Jersey City. A studio apartment can run almost $3,000 a month. You bet, you can't go home again.

Is my fate to become The Wandering Jew, even though I am not Jewish?

In the fall, I am relocating to an out-of-the-box U.S. town on the border of Mexico. When I checked it out in 2015, the vibes were inclusive.  Already I have let an organization there know that I am eager to do volunteer work. The head said to swing by when I settle in.

What gnaws at me, though is the question: Will I really be able to settle in?

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Remembering Joe Calabrese and Steven Silks

Genius producer Dick Wolf captures the complex psyches of police in "Chicago P.D."

Each member of that elite unit has his or her demons.

The most complex case of suffering is played out by the leader Hank Voight. Audiences feel for this antihero.

In real life we are encountering the kind of mental disquiet which the police officers were not able to endure. In the New York Police Department this week there have been 2 suicides. Here is the coverage in the media.

The most recent is that of homicide detective Joe Calabrese.

As yet the shock has prevented the usual speculation about the why. But, the speculation will be just that: speculation. It is impossible to know what thought processes took over that human being before the decision to take his own life.

Earlier in the week Steven Silks, deputy chief in Queens North, committed suicide. He was being subjected to mandatory retirement. He had aged out of the job. Perhaps that provided a tipping point. Perhaps not. The mind houses so many trains of thought. 

No successful suicide has been able to return to planet earth to provide a detailed account of how the decision-making proceeded. And, if there had been any regrets. Scientific research shows that after the heart stops the brain is still functioning for a bit. The person is aware that he or she is dead.

The one explanation of the suicide process which made sense to me was by Abby Hoffman's brother Jack Hoffman. In "Run Run Run," Jack describes a mental process of passing through a series of doors. The journey, at least for Abby, was irreversible. Once through all those doors, in all sorts of psychiatric states, there is no way back. Suicide is The Next. Abby had developed a bipolar condition. Here the book can be ordered from Amazon.

May the souls of Joe Calabrese and Steven Silks rest in peace.

May their families find the strength to live with this loss.

And may those who serve as police officers throughout America talk to someone, anyone when their thoughts overwhelm them. No, it doesn't have to be a professional in the field of mental health. A trusted human being who knows how to listen can save a life.