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Consumed With Work, Then The Unthinkable: Steve Barrett, Brad Karp And More

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 In the chaotic 21st century, the rhythm is work. Those adept at time management might be able to steal away moments for snippets of a life. The extreme form is 996 - a concept imported from China, the workday schedule is from 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week. Then, the unthinkable. That is a medical crisis. That sort of thing doesn't happen to us, right. Good health is a status symbol. The successful, the privileged, the youthful - we blow all that health stuff off.  Until we get caught in that convoluted web of human realities known as a "serious medical problem." In this YouTube  and article, PR Week editorial director Steve Barrett tells about weeks of drifting between life and death last summer. His special message to males is: Submit to those health checkups. Along with that is, even in this era of 100-year life spans, is the warning that life is short.  In a podcast with New York Order  Paul, Weiss law partner Brad Karp recounts his heart attack. That was J...
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Scott Barshay's Paul, Weiss: Latest Partner Exit is Yuni Yan Sobel

HIGHLIGHTS Watching Scott Barshay as leader Paul, Weiss loses corporate partner Restructuring heavyweight expected to return to Kirkland & Ellis Brad Karp solidifies reset as lawyer Kirkland & Ellis becomes vulnerable Mankind plans, gods laugh *********************************** Partners are the revenue generators at most law firms. Their brandnames on the marque can also enhance the firm's branding.  Therefore, the key metric we're watching to determine if new Paul, Weiss chair Scott Barshay can lead is the ability to recruit, retain and motivate those big names. The focus is primarily on transactional practices, not litigation. Watchers conclude that Barshay's agenda is transforming the one-time litigation powerhouse into a corporate one. So, it's a setback that there has been a partner defection in antitrust. Yuni Yan Sobel is leaving for Weil. Her track record, in addition to antitrust, has been in M&A, merger control and Hart-Scott-Rodino Act issues. Af...
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You Don't Have to Go Home Again - Job Loss & Scrambling

  Sure, we all know about the 32% of young people who never move out of their parent's home. Can't afford to, not even with jobs.  But the really soul-wrenching saga is this: professionals losing their jobs and returning home. Reddit bares witness to that current tragedy. Here's a snippet: "My kid is 30 and was totally derailed when he lost a very good paying job. Took him over 9 months to find a new one. We are good. He can live with us for free until he saves enough to move. No rush and no pressure on him. It’s hard." That story has a happy ending. Many others who boomerang home don't. The decision usually is shame-based. They give up independence which erodes a sense of self and with that the confidence to put together a soldi next. The location might be devoid of opportunity. Proximity to the network can go poof.  Get it: The price for affordability might be way too high in terms of again earning a good living. This is anecdotal. During the Great Depressi...
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Blue Collar Not Sitting Pretty, Either - Mea Culpa, I Encouraged Getting CDL

HIGHLIGHTS: Driverless trucks already on the road in two dozen states California Teamsters sue, contending 200,000 jobs to be lost in that state Blue collar not insulated from automation Guidance industry has to get humble *******************************************************   In the comments  to The Wall Street Journal article on driverless trucks there are jokes about other blue-collar lines of work which have also gone poof. That's because of technology.  They include saddle makers, elevator operators and switchboard operators. (Regarding the latter, Ernestine the Operator probably had to take early retirement.)  And that was fast. Yes, autonomous trucks have actually become a reality. So much so that the California Teamsters is suing the California DMV for allowing this to happen without adequate research into the economic impacts. The lawsuit contends 200,000 big-rig driving jobs in the state eventually will be lost.  Just about six years ago I was adv...
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Prediction Markets - Just a New Wrinkle for Betting on Legal Outcomes

  Thanks to the creation of platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi it's now possible to bet on the outcome of jury trials. The Wall Street Journal reports on the wagering for the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. Of course, that generates plenty of issues about ethics, insider-trading kind of sharing of information among family members and the integrity of the whole justice system. But, the reality is that prediction markets are only a new wrinkle on the almost infinite type of betting that takes place in the legal sector. For example, I recall an article by David Sanford of Sanford Heisler explaining the criteria for the law firm's accepting a case. That's about betting that it could achieve a positive outcome. Sure, the firm tends to be altruistic. But come on, it's a business. In addition, the firm has a branding for wins to protect.  Some may recall how much had been at stake in 2011 when the class action "concussion" lawsuit was filed against the NFL.  Shou...
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BoomerVille: FORO & Have We Become Our Parents

  It looks like a good day ahead for Boomers who keep looking and looking at their financial state of affairs. Dow Jones E-mini Futures Future 52,487.00 +377.00 +0.72% But a hardening situation is this: the inability to spend.  There's even a new acronym for that. It's FORO, standing for Fear Of Running Out. Actually, up to 30% experience angst, not elation, when spending money. As The Atlantic puts it, there's been no blowing funds on bucket-list items. Not been around the world? Probably never will be.  All this is so understandable. After all, the 100-year life has become more common. Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffett and William Shatner are all in their late 90s and active.  I'm among them the FORUs. The oldest of the Boomers I get it that I have become my running around shutting off the lights Depression era parents. I add the microwave, which didn't exist for most of them. Unplugging it when not in use prevents what's known as vampire power draw. That sa...
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Finally, Kirkland & Ellis Updated the Game - Now What?

  The largest law firm in the world Kirkland & Ellis made headlines when announcing it would no longer disclose financial data.  The buzz was that move was generated by increasing client discontent with high legal bills.  Smirk. The reality should have always been that it was nutty for a law firm - that is, not a public company primarily accountable to investors - to crow about metrics such as Profits Per Equity Partner. Any business-savvy client would start connecting the dots and maybe begin comparison-shopping. Sure, a law firm should be signaling growth, but not through the PPEP lens.  Yes, on the one hand, a firm had to be  positioned and packaged as in a high-growth mode. Way back in 2021, Paul, Weiss partner/thought leader Brad Karp hammered in Bloomberg Law that firms not on a growth trajectory could actually go out of business. The categories for that include the number of star partners, international expansion and creation/scaling of practices al...
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