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This isn't what we Boomers had hoped for. Meanwhile, high gas prices in themselves are a Debbie-Downer. But worse is contemplating that they might not go down any time soon, no matter the geopolitical developments.  Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 50,865.27 USD ▼ -167.19 (-0.33%) today  

  FUTURES IND Close Future Change 51,032.46 51,120 +43 FAIR VALUE FUTURES (5.46) FV Close Future Impl Open 51,082.46 51,120 +37.54

Bill Gates has been a long-term user/abuser of reputation rehab. The Wall Street Journal article about that notes: "Employees around Gates have spent years carefully cultivating his portrayal to set him apart from his combative years fighting antitrust charges while leading Microsoft, according to internal documents and Gates employees." More recently there's the detailed campaign to reposition Gates back as the noble presence first in tech, then in philanthropy he once was before divorce and the Epstein files fallout. Read all about it in the WSJ. Stomach turning, isn't it.  But, there's more. Obviously, it hasn't been effective. The Gates brand continues to collapse. Individuals such as Warren Buffett and entities such as institutions in India have distanced themselves. And Gates gets it. He himself had decided to not attend Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting. Previously he had been a regular. The same lack of results from message managing is happening...

  It's already operational. A 375-lawyer firm in Ohio has created an AI twin for some of the partners. On Reuters Legal , Sara Randazzo reports. "Working with an AI-focused research lab at Stanford Law School, Vorys has developed  'AI personas' of ​ 19 of its partners, which can be embedded within generative AI tools to offer responses to questions and edit documents in the style of individual partners." As I interpret this, the twin platform for each partner would essentially include: The unique kind of critical thinking, that is the strategic approaches Stylistics in everything from arguments to language Comprehensive examples of work products  Access to legal fundamental such as statutes. So, how could the twin be of use in-house?  In many ways.  For instance, a second-year assigned by a particular partner to a M&A deal can access the twin to carry out the tasks exactly as would the partner. But, without requiring the usual amount of partner time. Ideally...

  The challenge posted all over the internet used to be: How to work for a younger boss. Whether that's full-time or on a contract basis.  Smirk. That became standard and we all got to know the drill. In 2013, my client and the administrative assistant were 30-something. Only once did I make the mistake of referring to a 1950s popular television show. Now the reality setting in is how to be hired when the gatekeepers are in their early 20s. Yes, they are the ones doing the interviews. Even the 35ish can, as the Reddit headline reads, feel like a dino. And, of course, wind up not being let in. Here's a snippet from that post: "The actual interview was conducted by two guys who could not have been older than twenty-three. One of them spent the first five minutes explaining their 'vibe check' process while leaning back in a bean bag chair." (For some reason the Reddit moderator has removed the post.) Sure, not all the promising work situations are startups or AI...

In Today's Opinion section of The New York Times  Matthew Wollin has lots negative to say about the power and politics of large law firms.  The usual word count for such op-eds ranges 1,200 to 1,800. His stretches to 2,230. Obviously his five years as a lawyer at WilmerHale didn't train him to be concise. It might, though, have entitled him to more than the typical space to present a point of view. Wollin is now a writer and filmmaker. But, and this is cute, he leverages the prestige of his former line of work to attack the prestige and more of Big Law.  However, more to the point.  Those I speak with about this oped wonder: How skilled was he as a lawyer if in this lengthy piece his arguments come across as absolutist, simplistic, reductive and even contradictory. For instance. he confuses the role of representing clients - even the very wealthy - with a capitulation to their particular values. Being entitled to the best defense - and Big Law is known for delivering...