Posts

Luigi Mangione - Come On, Who Isn't Experiencing "Extreme Mental Disturbance"

  We legal watchers always wondered why Williams & Connolly didn't use some version of the insanity defense on behalf of tech founder Elizabeth Holmes. After all, the tactics she leveraged to conceal a failing startup were, well, nutty. Had some type of mental aberration been explained to the jurors Holmes might have gotten off with less than the 135 month/$135 million payback sentence . Less promising seems the "extreme mental disturbance" strategy for Luigi Mangione, created by the law firm Agnifilo Intrater. Essentially the argument is that at the time of the alleged shooting of United Healthcare executive Brian Thompson the defendant was experiencing a mental breakdown. However, what seems obvious - premeditation and careful logistics including for a getaway - make proving that seem quite difficult. The guy appeared to be very much in control. Another reason that legal move might not be effective is the high level of stress in current society. Who among us doesn...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Equity Partner in Big Law, But Not a Star: Expect a Pay Cut This Year

It's nothing new. Law firms chase star talent and pay premium compensation for those twinklers. Way back in 2021, Paul, Weiss' Brad Karp hammered in Bloomberg Law  the critical importance of that star power. Law firms which don't have the financial resources to recruit, hold and motivate them could stop growing, going out of business.  What is new are these current realities: the current frenzy of the chase and annual compensation reaching $40 million.  Well, equity partners who aren't stars will help pay for that payout. Law.com  predicts haircuts for some of them this year. There always had been a caste system in Big Law, a niche in which prestige is an embedded value. Never were all equity partners equal. It had been standard to de-equitize those not cutting it or even force them out. A strategy of shaming usually was effective to get them to exit.  Now, it's more brutal. Already the number of equity partners is being reduced. That's to ensure top dollar fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Working Outside: Don't Count on Those Jobs

  Boomers remember that era before air-conditioning became standard . There were times when even in our capitalist max-productivity system it was too hot to work. At a Pennsylvania college - Seton Hill in rural Pennsylvania - the president gave all employees the day off.  By midcentury, projects the Union of Concerned Scientists , that could happen on a regular basis. About 32 million outdoor workers could lose out on $55 billion each year in wages. (College staff didn't lose pay.) Those out-of-work could range from landscapers to construction crews to farm laborers to those Manhattan dog walkers.  So, labor markets are not only being reconfigured by AI, extreme cost-efficiency and the end of management as we've known it. There are the implications of what some believe to be climate change. Yet, in coaching more and more clients tell me that "I want to work outside." A nation tires of The Box, that is, the office. Let's get outside, move around. In addition to wo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delayed: Projected Social Security Trust Fund Depletion

  Unless Congress takes action, the Social Security Trust Fund has been projected to be depleted.  On June 6th of this year, the Social Security Administration estimated that would occur during Q4 of 2032. The monthly payment would be reduced to 83% of the usual. By 2021, that would drop to 65%. Well, there may be a bit of a stay of execution on that. CNBC reports that the Penn Wharton Budget Model came up with a different estimate. Here is that model. According to PWBM, the depletion won't occur until February 2034, with 86% payable. By 2021, that would plummet to 60%. However, lots could happen before February 2034. For the better or for the worse. A significant variable is how effectively those concerned about Social Security lobby Congress.  In coaching, I guide clients on how to live below their income in order to sock away more for retirement. Given increasing longevity that could go on for 30 years. Careers? So Over. It’s about Earning a Good Living. No matt...
Post a Comment
Read more

China Cutting Back on Liberal Arts Higher Education: But, Come On, What's Really Generating Educated-No Work

  The last time China released numbers about  youth joblessness they were over 20%. That was 2023. No numbers have been made public since. I guess we should assume things have not improved.  Perhaps it's in response to concern over jobless youths (a revolution could be brewing) that China is pulling back on the liberal arts in higher education.  For example: "The Communication University of China in Beijing ... cut five undergraduate degrees last year, including photography, comics, visual communication design, new media art and fashion design ... Fudan University is also slashing liberal arts enrollment from 30-40% of total enrollment to 20%."  The push is toward AI training.  But, as we know from the US, AI skills might not necessarily be the ticket for gaining access to entry-level jobs Employers are going for experience, not untested skills and enthusiasm. Those AI natives in the Class of 2026 might not, it is turning out, have an edge. Time will tell i...
1 comment
Read more

Sitting Pretty, Even If Not Wealthy

Right now, at least. You don't have to be rich to feel financially safe. That is if you had invested in the stock market. If you did that you probably also have a reserve in your checking account. All that is enough for psychological well-being in these crazy times. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 51,885.44 USD ▲ +214.41 (+0.41%) today June 16, 9:57 AM EDT · Market Open  
Post a Comment
Read more

Death of Jeffrey Epstein: Charles Homas, et al. Still Haven't Convinced Us It Was Suicide and The Don Is Off the Hook (for now)

Those whose professional lives have been irreversibly damaged by association with manipulative Jeffrey Epstein can feel satisfied that he too suffered. The New York Times article by Charles Homas, et al. documents his despondent state when imprisoned. It was enough for the system to provide attention to his mental health. Also, as Homas reports: "Robert Adams, an M.C.C. guard at the time, thought Epstein seemed like 'a lion taken out of the jungle and put in a cage.'”  However, that extensive bit of investigative work likely hasn't convinced many that Epstein's death was a suicide. Many of the comments responding to the article push back on that conclusion. They go with the theory that Epstein simply was a man who knew too much. Much of the disagreement with the Times argument comes from its reliance on what inmates say. How credible is that kind of input.  As a result, it's now obvious that in the realm of conspiracy whatevers the world has "Another Kenn...
Post a Comment
Read more