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Your Bonus: Obviously Your Employer Is Sending Messages (a peek into what's communicated in professional services)

"Tis bonus season. Often that is the most unambiguous communications organizations send about how they are doing financially and how they assess individual employees.  By now everyone in the law-firm sector knows that  Cravath and Paul Hastings essentially matched Milbank.  The two law firms announced both an EOY and special bonus which totaled what Milbank had provided during 2024. And that's at $140,000 for the topper. The chatter, including my conversations with those in the loop, focuses on two issues: When will their own law firm come in with the numbers? Will any law firm exceed the package of EOY, Special Bonus? As for the former, no one anticipates their law firm will not at least match. It's just  the agony of waiting for the official word.  After all, for the three quarters of 2024, law-firm revenue has been up 12%.  About the latter, as the posting on  Fishbowl Big Law  puts it this way: "Someone has to come over the top on bonuses especially because of the
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Paul Weiss: Somehow All That Poaching Doesn't Seem All That Much of a Risk

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   "Elizabeth Stotland Weiswasser and Anish Desai [from Weil Gotshal] are joining Paul Weiss as partners in its litigation department ... The pair has represented tobacco giant Altria Inc., as well as pharmaceutical companies Sanofi-Aventis and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc." -  Bloomberg Law,  November 20, 2024 This broadens the focus of Paul Weiss' aggressive poaching to rainmakers in trial work. The two specialize in patent litigation. Weiswasser will be one of the five litigation co-chairs at Paul Weiss. A lot of the watchers of this firm's escalating pace of high-profile lateral hires will probably now stop issuing warnings - like a Greek Chorus. Those chanted that Paul Weiss could be heading into a Dewey & Leboeuf kind of disaster. Part of the reason Dewey & Leboeuf went kaput was that it chased rapid growth through what Paul Weiss is doing right now: Recruiting and retaining brandname talent through nosebleed compensation, along with multi-year guarante
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Romantic Love: That Might Be What Is Holding Your Back

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  "He's a nice guy." or "She's such a good human being." That's how the typical tarot reading starts out if the person in pain is struggling with the decision to end the romantic relationship.  At least that's what's typical in America. That's not what is standard in a number of other countries in which I conduct tarot sessions.  See, in America too many can "afford" to rule out most of the pragmatic issues when it comes to matters of the heart. Those can extend to what is accepted as loyalties supposedly due in friendship and even in the office.  In less affluent economies pragmatism dominates. It has to. That takes the actual form of being aspirational, as in "Where will this take me?" At the very least, that means survival. But it can be linked to hopes of getting beyond just getting by.  Usually in America the unease about a relationship sets in when A) Adversity hits or B) Success begins to happen. Then, there is the
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Performance Reviews: Decode Them in Terms of the Organization's Big Picture

Professional anonymous networks, formal career guidance and lots of internal organizational chatter focus on performance reviews. Unfortunately, most on the receiving end of both positive and negative reviews interpret them personally. Usually that's short-sighted and won't get you up to speed on what you should be doing or not doing to accelerate success or prevent being terminated. The reality about performance reviews is, as this comment on Fishbowl points out, is: "A ... review is ... a management strategy" That means that it is essentially a tool of management to achieve its objectives. Those range from legally covering itself in a termination (negative review) to motivating the ambitious to even work harder (positive review).  In addition, another reality is that in some professions such as practicing law in a top law firm positive reviews do not ensure much or even everything. Depending on what the management strategy is they can be undercut by a scathing more
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Shift in the Political Landscape: Old Ties

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  For years large law firm Paul Weiss has represented Apollo in legal actions, especially deals. That could position it for unique access in providing input on the big-time national money issues. That is, if Donald Trump decides to give the nod to Apollo CEO Marc Rowan as Treasury Secretary. As  The New York Times  reports, Trump has broadened his search for that role. On it is currently Rowan. That shouldn't be a stunner. A few days ago on  Yahoo Finance  (owned by Apollo) Rowan gave high marks for Trump's approach to national leadership. The headline read: "Trump admin. is going to bring needed change: Apollo's Marc Rowan" Access inside the beltway is everything. It is critical for law firms since they need to advocate for their clients's issues. Immediately after the announcement of the conservative landslide it appeared that progressive law firms such as Paul Weiss would be locked out. During the Biden Administration that law firm was well known for being 
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One Line of White-Collar Work in Which You Will Probably Look Older Than You Are

  There is the current platitude - which is usually true - that the 60-year-old looks more like late 40s.  The exception could be those who make it to partner in those elite law firms such as Paul Weiss, Cravath, Skadden, Simpson and Kirkland & Ellis. And what seems to be almost a sci-fi kind of saga of rapid aging is getting attention. On  Reddit Big Law,  13 hours ago was posted this query, along with an observation: "Is There Premature Aging of Law Firm Leadership/Partners? "The early aging seems to kick in during the early 60s, when other kinds of white-collar workers aren't showing the wear and tear much yet. Of course, they tend to leave their younger self photo on the law firm website." So far, there have been: 41,000 page views 37 comments 69 likes 41 shares. Overall the responses confirmed the assumption that working in Big Law as a career does trigger the early onset of the ravages of aging. Most date it back to the 50s, a decade before the 60s. Or even
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Progressive Law Firms: You Can Find a New Social Home on Bluesky

  It's free. And it's attracting everyone from influencers to Everyman/Everywoman uneasy on Elon Musk's X. That's Bluesky. The leadership, partners, associates and staff at progressive law firms ranging from Covington to Paul Weiss can join this decentralized social network. Here is everything you  need to know.   If you have been active on X, the learning curve is short on Bluesky since the format is similar.  You can join at bsky.app or download the app on mobile. There is no longer a waiting list. Those I coach have been able to attract followers quickly. UPDATE:  Bluesky adds 1 million new users in 24 hours, post election. Here are more details from  LinkedIn. Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is a results-driven confidential intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator related to careers. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)
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