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Epstein Fallout, Unlike UK Profumo Scandal, No Suicides (at least not yet)

Boomers vividly recall the 1960s British John Profumo sex scandal .  That secretary of war, along with the Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, stepped down. In addition, there was the high-profile suicide of osteopath Stephen Ward. So, some are wondering: Why no suicides, at least not yet, of any of those caught in the Epstein files fallout. Many of us don't believe Jeffrey Epstein who had the best legal resources and loved himself dearly would commit suicide. Well, according to those I talk with, the chat bots and my own experience with human beings in trouble there are significant differences, at least in America, between the Profumo whatevers and what is going down during the past several years. For one thing, unlike the factors in Profumo, these developments don't involve national security in the US. Ward introduced Christine Keeler to Profumo. She was also involved with a Russian attache.  For another, there were criminal legal actions. Ward was actually on trial for crimina...
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RVs - Survival, Not Golden Years Adventure

On highways those large fully-equipped RVs, with expensive cars hooked up in the back, signal the reward of a life well-lived which provides enough funding to enjoy the golden years. At rest stops, the couples exude the contentment featured in those financial services ads.   But, as we learned from the 2020 film "Nomadland," the RV more often provides last-resort shelter for those whose life choices didn't pan out so well. The real-life Bob Wells guides RVers in survival skills, such as fixing a tire, and there is an introduction to how to pick up paid work on the road. Now, with inflation, especially in housing, continuing there's a new wrinkle to this development. Those in HCOL (high cost of living) areas such as Silicon Valley are renting from "vanlords" RVs to move on up in creature comforts from sleeping in their cars. CNBC  details this emerging lifestyle. Those in it are grateful they can now have space to cook, unlike what was possible in a car. Fro...
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The Great Divide: So, How Do You Feel about Brad Karp?

Larry Summers Leon Black  Kathy Ruemmler. The feeling is almost universal: They got what they deserve.  In contrast, there's the great divide in the legal sector and more how humans feel about Brad Karp, superstar lawyer and former chair of elite Paul, Weiss.  Today, on Substack there's a conversation between two legal journalists Vivia Chen and David Lat about that binary situation. Like myself they have been obsessive in covering what the Epstein Files have disclosed about Karp's relationship with monster Jeffrey Epstein, the internal coup which stripped him of his chairmanship title and his current state of being. As so many know, there are those who are outraged that Karp, unlike Summers and Ruemmler, still has a job. Essentially they perceive that as a continuity of the abuse of power that the Epstein loopings were all about. If Karp didn't control about a nine-figure book of business, so goes the thinking, he would have been purged. Shame on Paul, Weiss for its m...
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Nothing Fails Like Success: The NFL, Big Law and More

Here we are in the volatile and uncertain 2026. We wonder what - be it a dominant institution or powerful individual - will survive for the next 10, 20 or 30 years.  Back in the early 1980s some management consultants looked into that and became famous. Who in business doesn't know the name Tom Peters. They published their findings as the book "In Search of Excellence."  Among the companies which didn't make it was Wang Laboratories (it remained a closed system, sticking with stand-alone word processing as the world was moving toward PC). On a downward trajectory was IBM (which only recently regained its former aura). To duck that fate, the consultants mandated sticking to the knitting, staying close to the customer, being values-oriented and more. Well, more recently Chuck Klosterman has applied that age-old reality - nothing fails like success - to the NFL. In his provocative book "Football" he explains how the business will sour.  The drivers range from...
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Career Planning/Resets: Don't Enter Field Where You Can't Star, Good-Enough No Longer Allowed

  Work has become one-dimensional. At least if you want to get in, stay in and maybe move on up. It's all about stardom, that is being an extraordinary performer.  Have doubts? Just take the direction of AI. Who's hired, whose kept on, who gets the stock options are those heavyhitters who can handle the strategy, oversee the bots and edit. BusinessInsider chronicles this development. It extends from tech to sales.   "Workers who are decent at their jobs — but not superstars — are facing a tougher slog in industries like tech, where employers have the upper hand, and AI threatens to automate their roles." It used to be, of course, that the world of work was binary. There were the stars and the good-enoughs. The former got to the top. The latter were able to survive if they didn't mess up politically. The dawn of the star paradigm was outlined by litigation star at elite Paul, Weiss Brad Karp back in 2021. In an interview with Bloomberg Law Karp hammered how the b...
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Crazy Times: You Need to Be Liked

  Some who have lost traction because of the Epstein Files have a next.  They will have to lay low, do good works and then orchestrate a credible reset. They are likable.  As Hedrick Smith hammered in his iconic book "The Power Game," likability is a force field. It allows power players to get significant things done, usually without a lot of heavy lifting. Among those with a future, despite Epstein fallout, probably include former US President Bill Clinton, former leader at law firm Paul, Weiss Brad Karp and Yale professor Dale Gelerneter who was a victim of the unabomber.  Others in this volatile economy, driven by technology, should pay attention to the Likability Score. During the depths of The Great Depression Dale Carnegie was saluted as a genius in human relations. He systematized the fundamentals of how to be liked. First in the courses he taught at the Y, then in his bestseller right up to current times "How to Win Friends and Influence People"  Carneg...
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Goldman Sachs Keeps Bungling Crisis Management: Shareholder Revolt about Secret Service Prostitution Scandal and Advice Sought from Jeffrey Epstein?

  Sure, the glory days of public relations are over. But brand equity still counts a lot. And the value of that should be eroding at Goldman Sachs, all-too-loyal to its top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler. Shareholders push-back , among other pressure points, has already triggered her stepping down. But she's been allowed a genteel exit. That includes staying on the job until June 30, 2026. There was also the gush by the institution's CEO David Solomon in the official announcement. But, now that nicely positioned and packaged soft landing should be blown up. Ruemmler should be sent packing now. And what about implications for compensation, including stock options? That is, if Goldman Sachs wants to remain credible to its constituents, especially shareholders. Today the stock price is down 13.22 (11:30 AM ET). The latest and perhaps most damning snippet from the Epstein Files is what was just made public: Ruemmler's handling of non-public information back in 2012. It was related to t...
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