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Bypassing Reputation Rehab: The Emerging Kathy Ruemmler Model

  Remember the traditional thinking about reputation. It goes all the way back to Shakespeare's "Othello" about the loss of one's good name is to lose everything. More recently, that is in the late 1990s, management consultant Tom Peters formalized that with the concept of "personal branding." And there we have been, that is, reputation is almost everything. An entire sector of services sprung up to take care of hits to the personal branding. Terakeet even specialized in the digital piece. But that whole continuum, from the critical importance of reputation to the need to hire a fixer, might be collapsing. Reputation may not be all that important. And fixes might not be all that effective.  The new emerging model of a career in apparent peril might be emerging with the situation of Goldman Sachs top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler. As everyone knows she was quite a Friend of Jeffrey (Epstein), even receiving pricey gifts. Eventually she announced resigning from Go...
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Ruemmler to Stay at Goldman Sachs: Will Heat Cool for Other Friends of Jeffrey?

Obviously. the world is changing. There's a shift away from an obsession about the amazing con connector Jeffrey Epstein to stock markets, AI advancing beyond human control and wars.  So, no surprise, Goldman Sachs top lawyer, close friend of Jeffrey Kathy Ruemmler will continue with her job there. At the request of the CEO David Solomon she has agreed to stay. That was after resigning, with her last day scheduled for the end of June. Therefore, it's not a stretch to anticipate that others sidelined by the Epstein relationship could also re-enter from the darkness. They range from Paul, Weiss partner Brad Karp to economist Larry Summers. A lot depends on how they approach re-entry. There are myriad precedents for that. For instance, Wall Streeter Mike Milken put together a new identity as a philanthropist after a stay in prison. Bill Clinton transcended the intern fallout and more. Robert Downey Jr. made it back from the abyss of drug use.  In coaching I guide clients on seco...
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Listen Up, US Law Firms: Shift in UK for More In-House DIY

  Best practices can quickly go global.  In the UK, found a survey by the region's legal tabloid RollonFriday , a best practice gaining traction is for in-house to go the DIY route. They are keeping more assignments for themselves instead of farming them to outside law firms. The enabler? AI. Also driving the trend is the cost-efficiency mandate, just as in the US RollonFriday reports that there is a strategic push in UK business to not outsource. However, there are exceptions: "AI won't completely replace private practice ... as external advisors 'will remain important for larger transactions or disputes. But routine work may increasingly stay in-house 'in a world where passable redlines for more basic work can be produced at the click of a button'". In addition, hiring freezes in the UK limit manpower in-house. That's another factor in generating some outsourcing of assignments, Those exceptions are enough for an outside law firm in the UK Quinn E...
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BoomerVille: Nest Eggs Did Fine, w/o Glam, Usual Suspects

  Many of us ordinary Boomer stock market investors are stunned: Our nest eggs are ballooning in value, despite all the despites. And, those highs are being reached without tech, such as chip stocks , and the usuals such as financial firms. CNBC reports: "The flashiest group in the market took a step back Thursday as chip stocks dropped 1.5%, but U.S. stock market bulls didn’t miss a beat." The positive action essentially was in healthcare, ranging from healthcare insurers to drugmakers. Some, such on the comment sections of articles, are putting the knock on us Boomers for our preoccupation with the investment quality of the businesses - much more so than their core values. But, the reality is brutal. Many of us can't make it on Social Security. Being able to pull prudently from our nest eggs can prevent homelessness. The Social Security income picture could darken in several years if the monthly payment is cut by 25%. Those Boomers who didn't invest? The sense of d...
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What to Make of Anthropic's Warning to Slow Down AI Development ...

  In great seeming earnestness Anthropic's Marina Favaro and Jack Clark warn of the potential danger in the rapid development of AI. That's especially since it apparently can continue moving ahead on its own, that is without humans participating in the process. So, it's proposing global cooperation to orchestrate a pausing. The Wall Street Journal  explicitly says:  "Anthropic is calling for top artificial intelligence labs to weigh slowing the pace of development, suggesting that AI systems are advancing so rapidly that they may soon be able to improve themselves without human intervention in ways that could pose significant societal risks." But, smirk, let's look at this kind of plea on behalf of the public good. As with a similar caution about its powerhouse Mythos, this could be suspected of being a marketing tactic. Sure, scare people and then reassure them you will do the right by them. So, stick doing business with us, not our competitors which might no...
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BoomerVille: Not Spending It All, Investing Some or Maybe a Lot

  Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 51,610.47 USD ▲ +923.40 (+1.82%) today
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Differentiation, Reputation Rehab Through Generative AI: Not Only Big Law

  That safe elite model of how a law firm should look, walk, talk and bill is fragmenting. To remain competitive law firms of all sizes, even the 300+ lawyer one, have to customize a provocative identity showcasing how it's leveraging generative AI.  That's what we have confirmed for us since Kirkland & Ellis  announced it " ... and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) ... announced the launch of a proprietary enterprise platform designed to transform private equity fundraising."  Among smaller players Vorys in Ohio has developed "AI Twins" for almost 20 partners. Those platforms simulate partners' patterns of strategy, stylistics and more. Associates accessing them reduce the back-and-forth with those partners. The next on this, I posit, is that such platforms would be open for subscriptions and licensing. Yes, the law firm develops a new kind of profit center. Bloomberg Law's Roy Strom  provides plenty of details on how generative AI is p...
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