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  In the long-going fallout from association with Jeffrey Epstein, some in the loop have been receiving more scrutiny than others.  For example, why are Apollo co-founder Leon Black and Goldman Sachs top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler going to testify about the relationship in April before the House Oversight Committee? Where are the many others who orbited in Epstein's world of wealth, influence and power?  Today, again the spotlight has been put on Black and more in legacy media. The New York Times published a very long detailed article in which the primary subject was this: an allegation, based on financial documents and emails, that Epstein served as the middleman for Black's payments to women. Here is a snippet: "Mr. Black paid about $20 million to a dozen women, at least some of whom he’d had sexual relationships with ... Mr. Epstein was involved in figuring out ways to dispense a significant portion of that money." Black's current lawyers Courtney Forrest and Susa...

  Members of Gen Z are orbiting in two worlds.  One is the nostalgia for the simpler analogue 1990s. That's when  John and Carolyn had their "Love Story."  Buy a Carolyn headband and an old-fashioned alarm clock. Feel safe.  For those I currently coach I explain that, yes, back then was a time of job abundance. It was even possible to make a good living in creative fields. That is, as long as you developed specialized expertise. For me that was executive speechwriting/ghostwriting. Most of us creatives knew to be practical. Even in better times, we recognized that we had to. Few of us had any illusions about being the next F. Scott Fitzgerald and conjuring up a Gatsby. The other world for Zers is the radical uncertainty about employability. Cost-efficiency, off-shoring and AI are sucking off entry-level jobs. Especially vulnerable are creative fields - writing, film production, graphic arts, music, acting and more.  On BusinessInsider a mom shares her an...

It was predictable - to use that current wealth-creation term - that some youth on Wall Street would be featured in Interview Magazine without their employers' permission. Essentially the four were positioned and packaged as lads about town. They were from Goldman Sachs, Barclays and PwC. Not at all the right image for buttoned-down institutions handling global funds.  What they might have sensed is that they no longer had to accept the hazing culture of Wall Street. That ranges from impossible hours to top-down authority. Now, you bet, there are options to making it big. One lad - Demarre Johnson - is already gone from PwC. Details not disclosed. But I have a hunch Johnson isn't skipping a beat in his journey to become wealthy. Things have changed a lot since David Solomon started out. Wall Street could be forced into oblivion. See, among the seductive emerging career options is the prediction markets or what's known as the "collective intelligence." Back when ...

The legal sector recalls the multiple guerrilla-like poaches of Kirkland & Ellis' UK talent by Paul, Weiss. The "value" of those quickly became evident as the latter gained prominence in that location. Although it had been operating in the UK since 2001, only recently did Paul, Weiss become a power player. The UK now is a major profit center for the US law firm. Well, Paul, Weiss did it again. In the Brit legal tabloid RollOnFriday competition for the law firm providing the best creature comforts for employees Paul, Weiss comes out: Tops. The satisfaction rate is 95%. Ahead of Kirkland & Ellis. This law firm receives a 94% rating. So delighted are staff at Paul, Weiss that wild praise is shared with media. One senior solicitor puts it this way: “It’s like working in the Ritz but without the high class hookers” Also citied was the amazing free cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wonder if anyone stuffs their attache case or backpack with some of that to fee...

  Two from Astronomer were caught on camera kissing during a Coldplay concert. Both were married to someone else and it was a boss/subordinate situation. They were CEO Andy Byron and HR executive Kristin Cabot. Both stepped down last July.  Since then , Cabot shared on an Oprah podcast,  she has been unable to get another job. And she needs one. However, Byron had had promising activity on his own job search.  When there is a corporate scandal, is there still a double standard? We all know that at one time it was standard when an inappropriate romance was uncovered, the woman was the one to leave the job. The man stayed on, unless there were ethical considerations such as abuse of power or favoritism.  Could that still be the way it goes?  I'm not sure. In the Epstein files scandals both males and females have been punished severely. There will probably be no coming back for Larry Summers and Leon Black. The same could hold for Kathy Ruemmler and former Har...

 This could be the good times rolling before the perfect storm upends law firms, both large and Main Street.  The time frame US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts sketched out in his Rice University speech is four to five years. After that, things could be "tough" for young lawyers. AI can do many of the tasks they used to do. He adds that, of course, there will always be a place for the best and brightest. But in addition they will have to learn to be "nimble." Partners and judges will also have to change. AI can be leveraged to predict expected outcomes. That will put pressure on partners and judges perhaps to do what is forecasted to be the winning moves. Partners don't want to lose trials and ground in transactions. Judges don't want to have what they oversee appealed. Law firm players actually in the trenches, ranging from Brad Karp at Paul, Weiss and John Quinn at Quinn Emanuel, have been more specific on how much of the manpower at law firms co...