SoHereWeAre

  "Hillary Clinton Torches Ex-Schoolmate Clarence Thomas in First Post-Roe Interview: ‘Women Are Going to Die’" - Mediaite , June 28, 2022 A controversial issue is a terrible thing to waste. Unlike her husband Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton is not a natural politico. But she is also no slouch in getting, holding, and growing attention.  Through bashing SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas on "Dobbs" ruling Hillary is enjoying a bit of a media comeback. For a while there had been rumors that she would do another try at taking on the GOP in a presidential run. But it's palpable that her time has passed. Also, face it, she reminds us of a loss that brought in four years of Trumpism. Had she only been more skilled in connecting with all constituencies there might never have been a Trump Administration and SCOUTUS might never have been stocked with such far-right conservatives.  Meanwhile, for its successful efforts in Louisiana opposing anti-abortion legalities brand-

 Yes, we were The Pill generation. But we knew that The Pill wasn't 100% effective. Also, we knew of someone who had experienced a stroke when on The Pill. So, I was among those who used other means of birth control, which were a lot less effective than The Pill. That means that we who were quite aware of the consequences of a preganancy never could really enjoy sex. Not fully. Always there was the undertow of fear.  That was the usual before "Roe v Wade."  With the SCOTUS "Dobbs" ruling, females of childbearing age could again associate sex with fear of becoming pregnant. I feel for them.  Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.

 "Howard Stern on Roe v. Wade’s overturning: ‘I’m actually going to probably have to run for president now’" - The Hill, June 27, 2022. We need that, Howard. Discover how amazing results can happen in your marketing communications. Complimentary consultation with janegenova374@gmail.com . Text 203-468-8579.

 In the early 1980s, it was a pivotal time for large corporations in America, just like now for large law firms. Corporate America was no longer the top dog in international trade. The Germans and the Japanese were learning new tricks. So, the Father of Management Peter Drucker entered the scene. He asked those corporations: If you weren't already in the business, would you enter it today? That kicked off the blurring of boundaries. Today Amazon, whose initial parameter was the digital selling of books, has crossed sector lines into films, television production, grocery shopping, logistics and cloud computing. Ford has moved into providing mobility solutions. The drug store has become a primary healthcare center, along with patients' insurance being taken care of.  Now, the traditional-bound sector of Big Law firms is also being forced to ask what business they should be entering. The major driver is the new face of competition. The Wall Street Journal fingers the Big4 as a

 With the intensifying of the ESG movement the spotlight has been on the public stances corporate leaders take on values issues. That situation, as played out with Disney, can be perilous. Currently the Disney board will decide if Disney chief executive officer Bob Chapek will have his contract renewed. It has nine more months to go. But, who knows, Chapek could already be on short time.  Now, as Reuters Legal reports, the leaders of law firms are in that kind of public relations pickle. That is as a result of the SCOTUS ruling essentially gutting "Roe v Wade." The media center describes it as walking a "tightrope." That might turn out to be an understatement. With the exception of Morrison & Foerster, no other law firm has addressed this with a public statement. Some, such as Brad Karp, chairperson at Paul Weiss, did issue an internal memo indicating dissatisfaction with the decision. That was it.  Here is the reality: In terms of client relations any offic

 Law firms are nervous about global and US dealmaking. The intersection of myriad forces, ranging from the end of easy money to the majority of progressives in the Federal Trade Commission, could end the most recent boom. However, there had been an uptick in May 2022. Here Quick24News reports on Law and More' coverage of that development in May. What we think of as the more general boom in M&A had been kicked off by US business leader Jack Welch. At least that's the assessment of journalist David Gelles in the negative biography of that former head of GE - The Man Who Broke Capitalism." "The Man" ranks high on Amazon: 1,118. During the time Welch had been chief executive officer, documents Gelles, GE made almost 1,000 acquisitions, spending $130 billion in the process. The author is not bullish on the corporate and social impacts of such dealmaking. Neither are business experts currently. Since Welch became the model of the smart business leader, his deal

 The poignant post on Subreddit Big Law is from an associate. As this thread shows, this very junior lawyers wonders if it's possible to cope with the stress of doing so much work + the rest of the time thinking about work. Embeded in the question is the lawyer's wondering if Big Law is the right career path. So far 47 responses have come in. Some of the more interesting essentially say this: Big Law should be treated as a stop-off. Then leverage it for another kind of position such as in-house or government. So, just think about it as temporary.   Don't procrastinate. Just do the work. Then there could be more time for oneself.   Don't volunteer for extra work if beginning to be feel overwhelmed.   Self-care is mandatory. That includes regular exercise.   Do laterals. Those facilitate a month or two off between jobs. That's time to relax.  Journalistic strategies and tactics (including creative non-fiction) to tell your story for publications

 The horror of having a job offer, then not having it any more. That phenomenon has spread to Tesla, reports Insider . So, Tesla is joining Meta, Twitter, Redfin, and Coinbase in snatching back offers of a job.  The preoccupation among new JDs might be: Will that law-firm job offer be rescinded before the start date in September or October? There had been a post on Subreddit Big Law about summers being mandated to respond to emails within an hour. That raised this issue: Is the law firm ferreting out an excuse not to make so many job offers? This season there seems to be an overhiring of summers.  Journalistic strategies and tactics (including creative non-fiction) to tell your story for publications and brands. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com . No selling.

 Like the US Congress, the narrative about the US Supreme Court has shifted to power.  And, Politico tells that story as Chief Justice John Roberts' losing power. Conservatives on the high court ignored his middle-of-the-ground legal stance on abortion. Not long before, this authority was bypassed as a draft of the abortion ruling had been leaked. He became Chief Justice in 2005. Now, he's essentially a lame duck.  Simultaneously, Clarence Thomas is sucking up all the oxygen in media. His opinions, rooted in an originalist interpretation of the US Constitution, have dominated headlines. For progressives, this is the justice to monitor. Likely, law firm Jones Day, which has a number of conservative clients, will concentrate on hiring Thomas' clerks. Annually Jones Day hires a large number of former SCOTUS clerks and is reported to pay them large sign-in bonuses. At Paul Weiss, the star of the conservative head of its SCOTUS practice Kannon Shanmugam will gain new wattag

  "The only thing that matters is that that man [Elvis] gets up on that stage tonight." - Colonel Parker, quoted in the Baz Luhrmann biopic "Elvis." The suffering we experience when taking in the new film "Elvis" is mostly our own. At least those of us who had allowed ourselves to become performance machines. Of course, employers, clients, and even nobodies on our networks exploited us.  There are plenty of Colonel Parkers around.  Then we became clinically depressed with a side dish of anxiety. Or we burned out. Or worse.  An example of the worse might be a high achiever like Sidley Austin partner Gabe MacConaill who had committed suicide. In this open letter to Law.com , his widow Joannna Litt blames Big Law. But, isn't it bigger than that? Isn't it about being caught up in a culture and in our own neediness that drive us to keep the performance machine going. Capitalism doesn't forgive if it sputters.  In all that we're not victim

The first bit of the Obama Administration was the new president's signing into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 . Congress had bypassed SCOTUS' rejection of Lilly Ledbetter's contention of compensation gender discrimination at Goodyear Tire and Rubber. Such a bypassing strategy is an option for blowing up SCOTUS' ruling today which essentially guts "Roe v. Wade." The Biden Administration sees the possibility of that. But that's a long way from the political ability to make that happen.  As Insider reports: "Biden reiterated his call for Congress to act, though Democrats have failed to get legislation codifying a federal right to an abortion passed into law. The party holds slim majorities in both houses and would almost certainly fail to get around a Senate filibuster that effectively requires 10 Republican senators to support any such bill." The probability of Congress' taking action could dim after the midterms. However, t

 "A deeply divided Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion , overruling the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and leaving the question of abortion’s legality to the states." - T he Wall Street Journal, June 24, 2022. The case was "Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization." Essentially, 6 to 3, SCOTUS decided to uphold the Mississipppi law forbidding abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. That's two months earlier than what had been specified in "Roe v Wade."  The decisions on abortion now are primarily in the hands of the states.  The anxiety among progressives is that this is the beginning of rescinding other kinds of rights. At the top of the list are same-sex marriages.  Progressive law firms have been aggressive in pushing against this extreme conservatism in the overlay of law in America. But they will probably have to create new strategies in order to move the dial. So far they are losing their influence. Meanwhile, t

 “'Unfortunately, we were given a stark choice: either withdraw from ongoing representations or withdraw from the firm [Kirkland & Ellis],' Mr. [Paul] Clement said."- The Wall Street Journal , June 24, 2022. As the world now knows in this high-profile dispute, Clement made the decision to continue representing second-amendment clients. He is launching his own boutique firm for that. Before the showdown with Kirkland & Ellis Clement had won the SCOTUS case for the right to carry in public a concealed handgun in New York State. This dispute showcases the power of a Big Law firm. Clement is no junior associate. He is a brandname and had been a US solicitor general. And, yes, he just nailed it before SCOTUS. But the law firm put the squeeze on him.  Simultaneously, the clash flags the vulnerability of Big Law in the court of public opinion, at least at the current time. No longer can a law firm simply default to the argument that every entity deserves the right to a

  Here   is that article. I am not Jewish. But because of the deep New York accent and Eastern European facial features and body style I am often taken for Jewish. You bet, I have been verbally roughed up.  Meanwhile, I am proud to say that at one time I had been on retainer to law firm Paul Weiss. From its founding in 1875, the firm has pushed back against anti-semitism. Recently, the chairperson  Brad Karp  has  organized other leading law firms to denounce antisemitism. Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova  janegenova374@gmail.com . Complimentary consultations. No selling.

  Next to publishing articles on huge student loan debt and exposes on Leon Black, Insider has created a niche in covering unhappy lawyers. The latest is titled: "'Widespread misery': Why so many lawyers hate their jobs — and are desperate to quit" Here  you can read it, if you want to search for something new on why lawyers are such an unhappy lot. But, you probably won't find it.  Covered are the usual suspects: No clear idea why they went to law school No balance - long long hours, on-call 24/7, pressure of deadlines Boring work, no opportunity for creativity Little recognition, usually not even a thank-you. Yes, they have sought out coaching to find an exit ramp. (But everyone has a coach these days, just like all us boomers had a psychoanalyst in the 1970s.) The only thing missing is the classic joke about mobility in the legal sector: You enter a pie-eating contest. That's how you get to be partner. Then as a partner you find out that you have to eat mor

 Like so many lines of work it was great for a while. That is, being in the loop for mortgage lending. Now, as Bloomberg reports, layoffs are taking place or will take place at: JPMorgan Chase Wells Fargo Compass Redfin. The next shoes to fall will be the jobs associated with the residential housing industry. As I reflect on in this article , earning a living is very challenging. To me it has been more emotionally draining than the ins and out of an intimate relationship.  Sure there is all that macro jaw-jawing on the macro level about work. Issues like balance and burnout. But on a day-to-day basis trading our labor for income takes so much out of most of us.  During this layoff those who had been in that mortgage slot might rethink how to approach earning a living. When I had been laid off in a corporate restructuring in 1987 I did that kind of assessment. I decided I would never again give the power to an employer to take my ability to earn a living away. I opeted to bec

 "Book bombs: Trump aide tell-alls fail to sell - A number of top aides to the 45th president churned out books after his presidency ended. The public isn’t buying." - Politico , June 23, 2022.  Among those tell-all authors is Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former chief of staff. What he touts as his candid contribution to the public need to know is "The Chief's Chief." So far, it has only sold 21,569 copies.  Let's bypass the issue of whether Trump is or is not old news. There is bigger fish to fry. That's the question: Has the expose, whether put out there in the public interest or just as a crass shot at making a buck, lost its power to influence? Or, in a growing number of situations, even sell? What could be playing out is the tell-all as simply entertainment. That's the reach of those stories. Thank you, we already know that the world is corrupt. Shakespeare told us that in his history plays centuries ago. In Roman Catholicism, the sacram

  Mommy bloggers. Remember them? Those, such as Josi Denise, were making the business and general news because they were making big bucks as brand influencers. But the rules of that endorsement game did too many of them in. In a   New York Post   article, Denise explained why she yanked the plug on that. She actually assessed the experience as "ruining her life." One of major beefs was the toxic positivity. Now we have the suicide of 31-year-old Instagram influencer Niece Waidhofer. As the  New York Post  reports, she had underlying mental illness issues. No one can blame the influence game for triggering her death. But anyone who has participated in the influence game understands the emotional toll it can inflict.  In addition to being sought after by a growing number of followers, we influencers are targets. When I had been an early adopter of blogging I had the influence and power I never would have acquired through my own professional accomplishments.  On the one hand it

 “'This is not law school-lite,' said USC law professor Bob Rasmussen of his school’s program [creating an undergraduate degree in legal studies]." Reuters Legal, June 23, 2022. Rasmussen's school is the University of Southern California Law School. It is the first top 20 law school to provide a BS in legal studies and the third overall to do so. The objective is to enable its graduates to perform jobs in such fields as corporate compliance or human resources.  However, the graduates can't sit for the bar. And, of course, they can't practice law. (At least not yet. That might change in some of the regulatory sandbox states.) Somehow, this looks a lot like law school-lite. Given how complex law is and how open to interpretation and how highly regulated everything associated with law is, why would any corporate compliance department or human resources function entrust its doings to a BS in legal studies? The risk seems profound. Instead, for X or Y situation,

  "Delaware Superior Court has dropped a bombshell on Fox Corp., rejecting its bid to kill the $1.6B libel suit lodged against it by Dominion voting machine maker. It ruled that Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch may have acted with 'actual malice' by allowing voter fraud claims that they knew were false to be aired on Fox News." - Kevin McCauley,   O'Dwyer's Public Relations , June 22, 2022. Essentially Judge Eric Davis decided that either the two were aware that Dominion hadn't manipulated the election or had recklessly ignored the truth.  There had been reports that Rupert knew Donald Trump had lost the election. In addition his media properties The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post called for Trump to accept that he lost the election.  Murdoch and Son indicate that Dominion's contentions are without merit.  But, O'Dwyer Public Relations'  Editor-in-Chief McCauley  posits the possibility that Fox might now consider pursuing a settlement. We

 "Candy" is the true story of a choir-singing mom who offs with an ax (over 40 hits) the wife of her former lover. But since Hulu masks myriad details we don't know who the lawyer really was. But he is plenty smart. And - spoiler alert -  he wins a jury acquittal for his client on self-defense. One device he uses is arguing with the judge about rulings. He does that aggressively, accusing the judge of bias in the courtroom procedures. So, he is held in contempt serveral times, will have to serve some time in jail after the trial, and will have to pay a fine.  Obviously, the lawyer has alerted the jurors to possible bias. Isn't any bias pretty bad since this is about a very serious alleged crime with a possible heavy penalty! He also demonstrates to them that he believes in his client so much that he is willing to go to jail so that this woman gets justice. In addition, he steals the show. The prosecution consists of two buttoned-down legal types.  The client walk

 It's a combination to two factors: Inability to predict the next 12 months Abrupt changes internally and/or externally. The result, reports The Wall Street Journal, is that the professional who accepted a job offer is jilted. That began in tech as with Meta and Twitter. Now it has moved to industries such as insurance. The human and financial consequences are tragic. Many caught up in this had great expectations of the dream job, had turned down other offers, and had signed a lease. (Regarding the latter, it's LandLord Nation and tough to negotiate an exit.) The question is if it could happen again in the law-firm sector. Current associates haven't experienced a down market. Therefore, they probably cannot anticipate the ways in which law firms could and would navigate a decline in demand. They have to do what is business common sense to retain their brandname partners by not giving them the haircuts on compensation. We who were there back then vividly recall the day

  No slouches when it comes to marketing, law firms nurture their profile sites on professional network LinkedIn. For example, Jones Day has 74,798 followers.  But, that platform tends to be neglected by the law firms' lawyers who could be enhancing their personal brand. Overall, that's a missed opportunity in three ways.  One, the aura of the law firm can be enhanced. Two, there could be more wattage added to the star power of the individual lawyers. Three, it can create very human points of connection. That builds trust.  Here are examples of a failure to develop the individual lawyers' profiles: At Jones Day, the partner who had been former head of White House legal Don McGahn has only 1,104 followers. That is less than the number of my followers on LinkedIn.  Paul Weiss has 23,698 followers. Its chairperson Brad Karp has only 1,411 followers. Yet, on other forums such as third-party media Leaders Magazine and Fortune, Karp has plenty to share.  At McGuire Woods there ar

 Only 5% of shareholders voted to give employees a seat on the board at Activision Blizzard, reports TechCrunch.  Therefore, that initiative went kaput.  It could be that the employee activists at Activision hadn't been skilled in how to motivate shareholders to vote their way. We recall how small shareholder Engine Number 1 (which I dubbed The Little Engine Who Could) had been able to mobilize large shareholders to vote to put the eco-friendly on the board of Exxon. Activists of all kinds will need training in governance. Once a sleeper in ESG governance now is dominating issues. It wasn't too long ago that boards with high-profile leaders such as at WeWork and Theranos had been passive. Now that wouldn't go over. Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com .  

 It's summer. The season of flirtation. Caution, forget it.  So, during this magical time those of us sending out romantic signals/responding to them know how easily it might have been  for successful men to, well, to use that old-line crude expression: fall for the wrong dame.  In the Sunny Balwani federal fraud trial, today started off closing arguments. Then it will be up to the jury to decide on 12 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each, if there is a conviction, carries up to 20 years in prison.  Before becoming Elizabeth Holmes' lover and then business partner Balwani was a financially well-off former entrepreneur. He had it made. Then he invested a big chunk of his money in her startup Theranos. If he had left it at that he might have, like so many investors, just had lost the funds. But, no, he accepted an executive position at Theranos. Now he might lose his freedom for a long time. Then there is a saga of financial genius Leon Black. Like B

  Overall, RTO at law firms has been a work-in-process. In the DC market it is especially fluid, at least according to those in this  Subreddit Big Law thread about hybrid work. Since summers have come on the scene there are more folks in the office in DC. But the offices are not operating at full capacity. The fear about doing in-person face time because the market is tightening seems ill-founded. The concensus is that junior lawyers in DC will always have work, even when remote. The law firm makes the big money from those in years 1 through 4. So, the brass will keep them on, even if they are WFH. The wrench in the works on that is this: The assignments for those WFH may be grunt work. Those not liking grunt work will figure out that maybe they should do a RTO in order to lobby partners in-person for real work. That could be worth it. Not doing real work can be profoundly stressful. For those who love to move the dial on projects it could be beyond bearable. I know, unfortunately. Du

 Virtue has become an overcrowded territory. Both conservatives and liberals who put themselves out there for what they designate as all the right things come across as, well, untrustworthy.  That's what head of the Edelman Trust Institute Justin Blake warned at Davos Summer. Axios reports Blake hammered that taking stances on issues is a complicated process. The message essentially is: Choose your shots. How to do that? Blake recommends assessing the needs and wants of stakeholders. Then, follow that.  This isn't new, of course. From the get-go in a career we have been advised to choose our shots. Don't go to the superiors with every beef. Select one, and approach with a solution. What is new is that the ESG (Environmental Social Governance) has been creating a growing number of issues - many conflicting. The classic is: Employee rights versus the interests of shareholders. Get that wrong and the leadership could wind up as The Next Disney or The Next Starbucks. Mired

  On June 17th,   I blogged on Law and More   this: In pre-sales rankings on Amazon the hatchet job on Goldman Sachs "Bully Market" was at 119,862. Not very impressive. But today, three days later, pre-sales rankings on Amazon are up: They are at 47,096.  Here you can keep monitoring the situation . The book is to be released in August. Then there will be customer reviews, both narrative and numerical (on a scale of one to five).  All that activity may get Goldman Sachs a bit of the jitters. See, the expose is by a former high-ranking insider at that large financial firm. Jamie Fiore Higgins had been a managing director. So, of course, she has seen a lot. She also knows a lot. She can name names.  But, not so fast. There are exposes which cause disruption. And then there are those which can just make the targets lay low for a couple of months and that will be that. The disuptive kind had been Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe at Any Speed." Born was the consumer revolu

 In Vanity Fair Dan Adler details how the advocacy campaign for Ghislaine Maxwell hasn't moved the dial on public opinion. No way can her supporters, ranging from family to head lawyer Bobbi Steinheim, conjure up a persuasive argument for leniency in sentencing. So what that her father media tycooon Robert Maxwell allegedly had been a brute. Also, she enjoyed a very nice ride with Jeffrey Epstein of a lux lifestyle. That included socializing with celebrities and world leaders.  The push from her lawyers is for four to five years of prison. In contrast, the federal probation department of the Southern District of New York is recommending 20 years of imprisonment. Born in 1960, she is now 60. Given current longevity, she could live to serve all those years in the slammer.  What is amazing that she hasn't figured out, despite close monitoring, how to commit suicide. After sentencing, she just might. Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com .

  "It’s a perfect storm for women’: Tampon shortage adds to women’s supply-chain woes" That pops up as a headline in MarketWatch.   Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com .

 Provocative Hulu film "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" argues that the sex-work industry provides happiness. Yes, much like Disney. In addition, the particular young Irish sex worker who takes on he professional name "Leo Grande" helps heal the older Nancy, a widow and retired teacher (she also cooks up a fake name). Throughout her life Nancy never came to like or value herself. That includs not understanding or making friends with her body. During her marriage with her indifferent husband she was unable to experience an organism. Nancy's sexual awakening shifts loose other parts of herself. Visibly she emerges from being a closed system, which requires planning for every detail. Pre-her rebirth as a whole human being she makes a written list for Leo about what sexual services she wants.  "Good Luck" is set in the UK. But it could have real impacts on how the US regulates sex work. Can't it be classified as just another kind of personal service?

  "George Stephanopoulos Presses Treasury Secretary [Janet Yellen] on Whether Recession is ‘Inevitable’: Are You and Biden ‘Too Optimistic?’" -  Mediaite,  June 19, 2022 With economic chaos so sustained (along with social and political upheaval) those who put out there optimistic scenarios open themselves to suspicion. We experience it as a lack of transparency. Smart leaders are positioning and packaging their public statements with the tone and content of  This is the way it is.  For instance, the Winklevoss Twins, whose crypto empire has been hit badly, don't project a turnaround any time soon. At the Super Return International Conference in Berlin, private equity players were glum. And those in the front lines of social justice are accepting the inevitability of the overturn of "Roe v Wade."  Another stance which we perceive as credible is  We don't know.  Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova  janegenova374@gmail.com .