Law And More

Paul Hastings' Seth Zachary Reflects on Changing Law Firm Sector - Part of That Had Been Shinyung Oh's Email

On Reuters Legal, Paul Hastings Chair Seth Zachary chronicles how much the law-firm sector has changed. Essentially, it's mutated from a profession to a hard-nose business. 

But also during Zachary's 22-year tenure had been another kind of shift. That was that associates found their voice. At least a little bit. Before that they were essentially silent about everything. Fear of being blackballed shaped behavior. The law firm niche had been very old-line. 

In 2007, over at Sullivan & Cromwell, associate Aaron Charney sued over alleged discrimination about sexual orientation. But, if we buy into New York Magazine's take about what drove the lawsuit was disrespect by partners. There was a settlement. Charney went on to another good law firm job. 

At Paul Hastings in 2008, it was the email by fired Shinyung Oh which expanded that push back on total powerlessness. Not long after her miscarriage she was terminated. Before that allegedly she had been told she was in good shape in terms of her employment. She interpreted the firing as a stealth layoff, that is, the law firm was getting jittery about financials. 

So instead of ducking out of the law firm with her tail between her legs, she transmitted an email throughout Paul Hastings explaining how she interpreted what had gone down. Her mission was to liberate other associates who had been put through the same thing from the shame. 

Like most termintated or simply unhappy lawyers, Shinyung Oh had a rough time reinventing herself in another career. Currently, according to her LinkedIn profile, she is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist in Solana Beach, California.

Today the associate voice is being expressed through doing a lateral. On Bloomberg Law, Roy Strom confirms that the expected attrition is happening.

In addition, anonymous leaking to media outlets such as Abovethelaw has become standard.

In his Reuters interview Zachery also notes that the organization is less top-down. Young talent is being nurtured. After all they are the future of a business which has to keep in sync with technology, clients demands, and extreme poaching. 

As law firms struggle to settle into the return to the office the voice of associates could be raised in unexpected ways. That is what to observe. 

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Best 6 Halloween Costumes for Law Firm Junior Lawyers

Halloween might be the most enjoyable holiday in Americana.

For most, it can be celebrated in a relative-free zone. No drunken embittered Uncle Bob. 

It's also the unique opportunity to comment through a costume, just like "SNL," on the way of the world. 

Just as much fun is to shop for a costume for one's four-legged soulmate. He or she will need one for the mandatory party at the vet. No show? Damned to be judged as a bad pet parent.

So, here we go with the best 6 costumes for law firm junior lawyers.

Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell) from "The Office." There has been such a dustup about returning to the office.

Unlike the leadership at PwC, the brass at so many large law firms are mandating a return to the office. Some, like Baker & Hosteller, are even nudging back associates into the office before the official reopening date. 

And maybe associates are too young to recall Jeremy Blackman's "Anonymous Lawyer" priceless satiric post. It was about the partner who gleefully announced hot chocolate will be served in the kitchen during certain hours, as long as the cold weather persists. Meanwhile, associates are dragging out of office post-all-nighter. Well, Kirkland & Ellis folds into its reopening announcement the notice of free eats. Like, who have time to eat. Anyway, it can make one sleepy.

Yeah, let them eat cake.

Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani. The costume should be dated for when Cupid was still shooting arrows. Those texts from that time, read during the trial of "US v Elizabeth Holmes," showcase the Theranos founder's poetic ethos.

In prison, former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen penned his best-selling book "Disloyal." If she is convicted and could serve up to 20 years Holmes can produce books of poetry. Maybe even teach poetry workshops. 

Class of 2024, Carrying "Hire me" sign. 55% of law school IL classes are overenrolled. Do the math. It will be tough, maybe even impossible, to land that first job.

Could there be another Lost Generation of JDs, as had played out in 2008 -2009? Not unthinkable.  

The Regulatory Sandbox. Recently in Arizona's regulatory sandbox, LegalZoom had been approved as an Alternate Business Structure. It will not only be permitted to provide legal services in the state. It also can hire lawyers as employees. Before that it could only operate with contract lawyers.

So this is the new non-law firm law firm. Maybe there should be a contest open to marketing communications players like myself to name this new entity. 

Karen Dunn, Best Poach done recently. Pulled off by Paul Weiss. And poaching is what brings the unique kind of prestige to a law firm. Media outlets make it big news, like they're announcing an award.

Those law firms which have been raided will lay low. It's a: Mirror, Mirror on the wall, I'm the most shameful of them all.

The law, like most lines of work, is a gossipy profession. There is endless speculation why the law firm lost a star or a group of stars.

Recently Dunn won for Uber, in an antitrust case brought by the Boston Taxi Conglomerate, its biggest legal victory so far. 

The young Tony Soprano, played in "The Many Saints of Newark" by Michael Gandolfini."  The genius of that portrayal was capturing the pain.

Remember the middle-aged Tony had been in psychotherapy. Yeah, that mother of his. 

Michael is, yes, James Gandolfini's actual son. He was with the father when he died. That pain could serve him well in his artistic career. There is an anecdote floating around that Jon Hamm had been hired to play Don Draper in "Mad Men" because those screening actors saw the pain in his eyes. 

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Big Law - Some Rashomon Moments

From the time of Jeremy Blackman's satiric blog "Anonymous Lawyer" to current best-seller "The Caesars Palace Coup" Big Law has been vilified. That's the way it has been.

The partners are depicted as feudal lords.

Law firms defending the likes of Harvey Weinstein become fodder in media such as The New Yorker. 

The up and out system which results in only about one out of 10 associates making it to partner is interpreted as a destroyer of souls. There is no type of Greek Chorus chanting: Hey, you knew the deal when you looped in. 

Netflix is having a 10-part series derived from the novel "Partner Track." Negative, of course. 

And media sites such as RollonFriday and Abovethelaw which accept insider leaking from law firms are on side of the angels.

But that dark lens for viewing large law firms is only one. And Big Law isn't doing such as hot job pushing back on it through pro bono assignments, social justice outreach, and public-interest op-eds in The New York Times and The National Law Journal.

What those firms haven't unleashed is The Rashomon Factor.

As the Japanese film "Rashomon" showcased, there are myriad perspectives for interpreting just about everything. In that movie about a murder and a rape, the takeaway is how differently a number of people experienced it.

More recently, the film about flawed justice  in the 14th century "The Last Duel" also uses the Rashomon style. What is claimed to have happened - a rape - and the background events are configured into a variety of scenes of the same events. The story, incidentally, is true. 

Big Law has the resources to conjure up its own engaging Rashomon moments.

Do a 24/7 TikTok video of what goes on in law firms. Sure, block the confidential. And let the world decide if that's so bad. Viewers could be enchanted by the analogue of Tom Brady-type strategic planning and actual plays.

Follow a summer from the law office, back to law school, and back to the law office. Pan in on the struggles. Public opinion can assess the values of that world. The interesting part could be the shaping of a legal mind and resistance. Are humans wired not to think like lawyers? Add on a public interest tutorial on how do just that: Think like a lawyer.

Humor also is back in marketing communications. It's always been a power tool in messaging. Some will recall how presidential candidate Ronald Reagan blew up the age issue with a quip about Walter Mondale's "youth and inexperience." Here is a clip of that game-changer in the campaign.

Perfect would be an action-figure comic book. Let the world become engaged in how a chairperson like Larry Sonsini at Wilson Sonsini protects startups or Brad Karp at Paul Weiss mobilizes thousands of lawyers from law firms throughout America to work free on behalf of the victims of COVID. It's not only a prosecutor such as Jack McCoy from "Law & Order" who fights the good fight. 

And, yes, contract with designers (hopefully on a pro bono basis) to create video games about the weapons defense lawyers carry into combat. Empower players to make genius moves. Selling those games can provide funding for scholarships to law school for diverse students. 

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Lev Parnas - Alleged "Sopranos" Bravado

“'These men shoveled thousands and thousands of dollars of foreign money to U.S. politicians, laughing about how they were breaking the law along the way,' [Aline] Flodr [Assistant US Attorney] said in the prosecution’s opening statement in the trial [of Lev Parnas, et al. ]'"  - John Gerstein, Politico, October 15, 2021.

That hubris ethos mirrors the confident values of the members Sopranos tribe, especially as they enjoyed themselves at Bada Bing. 

And that could probably what irks the prosecution: scorn for the standard rules of law. Humor is one of the most cruel and effective weapons. That observation goes back to John's Milton epic "Paradise Lost." Satan heaped humor on righteous values. Ouch.

The trial is about Parnas' alleged filtering of $100,000 from Russian businessperson Andrey Muraviev to political candidates as a kind of bribe nudge. It's contended those funds were intended to grease the wheels for Muraviev to establish a cannabis enterprise in the U.S. Parnas is connected to Rudy Giuliani.

Parnas' lawyer is Joseph Bondy who argues that his client did not know the alleged stealth agenda. Of course, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

With "The Many Saints of Newark" in movie theatres, the fascination with the Sopranos hubris is back. That could hover as presence in the courtroom.

Few of us have outgrown our adolescent love of expressing scorn for the rules. And outwitting the system. Even supposedly fully grown up, we admire the bad guys.

It would be wise for Parnas not to smirk during the trial.

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"Patrick Blumenthal v Goldman Sachs" Settled - Wall Street Culture Could Have Gone on Trial (but youth would have still flocked to jobs there)

The saga of the lawsuit "Patrick Blumenthal v Goldman Sachs" raised the issue of toxic workplace cultures to a whole new level. In particular, the ugly underbelly of what allegedly is standard on Wall Street has been turned up to the light. Here is a copy of the complaint. 

The cliche seemingly has played out: The barbarians have gone beyond the gate. They have moved in. They have taken over the land. They are the ones making the rules.

Although, as Bloomberg Law reports, the lawsuit has been settled, from the time it had been filed by intern Blumenthal it showcased how really brutal the hazing rituals allegedly can be. Those are beyond "Animal House" adolescent behavior. 

In the process, contended Blumenthal in his lawsuit, he had been not only emotionally abused. Also, in an after-hours corporate informal social event he had been attacked by a higher-up. As a result he claimed he had suffered a brain bleed. Currently there are still medical problems from that.

Drinking, Blumenthal pointed out, had been considered a kind of job requirement. He did not welcome that. He contends he was bullied into consuming way too much. 

In its defense - the defendant was planning to file a motion to dismiss - Goldman Sachs argued that the alleged incident occurred in an after-work outside event. Therefore, compensation for any claimed injury should come from state workers compensation.

That kind of toxic ethos also has been captured in the recent expose of Wall Street "The Caesars Palace Coup" by Sjueet Indap and Max Frume. Essentially, the Wall Street movers and shakers come across in that book as members of a very unique subculture. In that box just about anything goes. Their Wall Street law firms such as Kirkland & Ellis are paid the big bucks to keep them from crossing the lines to illegal behavior and to defend them if they are accused of going too far. 

Ironically, the authors want to showcase those sets of norms as bad. However, the wild aggressiveness, determination, strategic thinking, and bravado are appealing. It's the setting for extreme wealth, power, and influence. Those constitute the American Dream on steroids.  

Given that "Blumenthal v Goldman Sachs" has been high-profile, Wall Street has likely been struggling to tame the excesses of what goes on in that box. But, it is what it is. Don't expect change. 

Maybe you don't want your kid working there. But so many kids do compete to jump the competitive hoops to be hired. The whole ambiance is heady. One can become a billionaire. And famous. 

That is analogous to chasing a job as an associate in Big Law. The realities of that tough up-or-out environment are well-known. The corridors of life are full of broken professionals who can't recover from not making it to partner. Marriages frequently go kaput. Mental illness seems to be associated with the territory.

However, currently 55% of law schools are overenrolled. Many of those who will be the JD Class of 2024 envision being hired by Big Law. That's the way it is. 

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ESG Everything - Is It Causing CEOs Burnout, Sucking Out "Fun" of Job?

Liberal The New York Times came down a la ESG (Environmental Social Governance) ethos on Coinbase Chief Executive Office Brian Armstrong. He was accused of ignoring the diversity issue of Black employees. That was back in November 27, 2020.

In addition, Armstrong had posted a blog commentary not empathetic to employee activism. He indicated that they had the choice of resigning. That did not get a good response. 

Last night on a Twitter thread, he warned about the possible results of such harsh scrutiny of CEOs. Those include burnout and decisions to just throw in the towel on a job in which they have been so successful. He perceives this kind of criticism of talent who gets results is analogous to how China is treating its effective business leaders. In addition, he added that what he was doing could become "no fun." 

Today Insider picks up on Armstrong's contentions. Given Insider's reach that means these concerns about what we might think of as the ESG value system could resonate with not only business leaders. Also, there could be those who are becoming alarmed at the chaos ESG could unleash in business. 

Already, the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford found in research that the corporate general counsel is nervous about the pressure points put on business by ESG.  Here is my article published in O'Dwyer Public Relations on that. 

Meanwhile, it is already happening that businesses leveraging ESG principles for marketing and attracting investors are being accused of allegedly overstating, maybe even illegally misleading with claims.

At the top of the list is Allbirds. Currently it has been slammed with lawsuit "Dwyer v Allbirds" challenging its sustainability-centric advertising. Also, it recently reframed the green claims in its IPO-application material. So much for the supposed good guys. 

Parachuting in to guide business, reports Law.com, have been the recently created ESG practices of large law firms. 

And there is all the money associated with ESG. Guiding investors when it comes to ESG is now huge financial player Apollo. Recently it created the position of Chief Sustainability Officer to integrate ESG fundamentals in all its investments.

Because ESG is being positioned and packaged as the right thing to do, that puts Apollo in the public-interest box. That could accelerate its journey away from the criticisms piled on by expose "The Caesars Palace Coup" by Sujeet Indap and Max Frumes. The kind of scrutiny of Apollo in that book is exactly the same kind of mindset which Armstrong points to as so corrosive to talent. Another expose "The Contrarian" by Max Chafkin does a similar hatchet job on extreme success venture capitalist Peter Thiel. 

Has ESG given license to the mob to torment talent?  William Shakespeare has lots to say about that in his dramas. This could end badly for the U.S. economy.

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The Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen - Echoes of William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"

"The Facebook Whistleblower, Frances Haugen, Says She Wants to Fix the Company, Not Harm It" - Jeff Horwitz, The Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2021.

When it comes to whistleblowers, ranging from the late Linda Tripp to former Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, there is always extreme speculation about their motivation. 

Haugen tells the world that her purpose is to improve that social network. Well, she's going through a lot of fanfare to do that fixing. And she's getting a lot of attention. 

This whole saga calls to mind, at least for lovers of William Shakespeare, the drama "Julius Caesar."

The cabal responsible for his assassination show up at Caesar's memorial. They proclaim, much like Haugen, that that they are there to praise Caesar, not to bury him. 

Reflection: What does Haugen want?

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The Story Is: Why Are Chua/Rubenfeld Selling The House?

The great setup for the Abovethelaw coverage that Yale Law School fallen celebrity professors Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld have put their house on the market is this: Joe Patrice positions and packages The House as a character in the Chua/Rubenfeld downward-trajectory drama. It was there that Chua violated her 2019 agreement with the School to not socialize with students. And it was there that she conducted her gone-so-wrong interviews with media. 

Okay, Patrice has been even more brilliant that usual in putting together the right angle.

But the real story here is: Why is The House up for sale? Do the two need the money? With the empty nest is it time to downsize? Do they plan to establish a home where there will be less media scrutiny? Or, are they planning to leave Yale Law School?

This saga, beginning with rumors of Rubenfeld's alleged sexual misbehavior and worsening with Chua's mishandling of StudentSocializingGate, has been a useful lesson for the less-famous rest of us. It is all easy to blow up a professional brand. And a comeback, which any competent public relations representative can engineer, can be prevented entirely. 

There is no return to where their brands had been to Chua/Rubenfeld.

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"Stilley v Braid" - Duty, Greed, and Big Law

"A Texas doctor [Alan Braid] who admitted he performed an abortion in violation of a new state law has been sued [by Oscar Stilley] in one of the first legal tests of the highly restrictive statute, which has already drawn a Justice Department challenge and action by the U.S. Supreme Court." - Catarina Saraiva, Bloomberg Law, September 21, 2021.

In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Dr. Braid positioned and packaged what Texas considers an illegal act as "a duty to this patient." He also went on record with his belief that "abortion is an essential part of healthcare." As lawyers are quite aware, Dr. Braid has put in play a test case about the constitutionality of SB 5, the most restrictive abortion law in America.

This embrace of not only what he views as his medical duty but also his legal one, of course, makes him a target. He can anticipate the worst, even attempts on his life. For some progressives, that makes him a hero in this time when America seems to have lost its way.

Meanwhile, a lot less noble seems to be the motivation of the plaintiff Oscar Stilley. He is a lawyer who had lost his license to practice. It is contended he opened this box primarily for the bounty. If there is a conviction he earns $10,000. Yes, old-line greed. 

In addition, though, the high-profile nature of this lawsuit could be a bridge to a new career path. To conservatives, he probably also is quite the hero. Just as they rewarded the late Linda Tripp for betraying friend Monica Lewinsky, he could find himself in a kind of catbird seat. Success has many strategies. Filing what could be a landmark lawsuit is one. However, that doesn't always pan out. In filing "Ellen Pao v Kleiner Perkins," the plaintiff essentially blew up her career. Stilley can wind up losing everything. 

Another key development in the aftermath of the passage of SB 8 is that some members of Big Law have made opposing this law a key social justice initiative. As Reuters Legal reports, they have committed to represent pro bono abortion providers. They are doing that even though, as Reuters Legal notes:

"These lawyers are determined that abortion providers will have top-quality legal representation, even if those who represent them can be held jointly and severally liable for the other side’s fees."

That is, if their client loses, they could be on the hook for the opposing counsel's fees. However, some Big Law's partners interpret that as unconstitutional and plan to take it on. 

Among those firms is Paul Weiss, chaired by Brad Karp. Paul Weiss partner Alexia Korberg will represent defendants. Like Dr. Braid, Korberg put her commitment to fighting SB 8 in an op-ed in The Washington Post. 

Here is an excerpt:

“These laws don’t just target constitutionally protected activity, whether accessing abortion care in Texas or living your life as a gay or trans person in Mississippi; they encourage harassment, discrimination and vigilantism  ...  They reward and protect it. And they ensure the mob’s targets live in fear of those around them.”

Yes, as in the world view of William Shakespeare, Korberg leverages the concept of "mob." Throughout his dramas, the bard of Avon hammered how fickle the human species is and how members of it can change on a dime. Mob rule seems to have overtaken much of conservatism in America. 

As with Dr. Braid, Korberg is also a target. She has allowed herself to enter almost a paranormal force field. In it behavior could be unpredictable. Anything can happen, including to her.

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Law Firm Chairpersons Off Hook for Politics/Drama of Mandating Booster

"The Covid-19 vaccine booster shot proposed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE should be given to older Americans [65 and older] and those at high risk, a panel of expert advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said, rejecting a request for broader distribution." - Bloomberg Law, September 17, 2021.

Members of that panel voted 18-to-1 to facilitate emergency use authorization for the 65 and older as well as others at high risk. That's a more limited clearance than full approval. 

This gets law firm chairpersons off the hook for having to make a decision - which has become political and full of drama - whether to mandate booster shots.

However, it is a setback for the Biden Administration. It had conjured up a plan on a massive scale to make available booster shots next week. Joe Biden's approval rating is down to 44%.

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