TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

  Paul, Weiss' London office essentially is the House that Brad Karp and Scott Barshay built.  For years following its startup in 2001 the London location had been NoWhereVille. Then the two guys got to work. The latest accomplishment is being Apollo's primary outside legal counsel for its $76 billion purchase of discount carrier EasyJet. Apollo had outbid the investment firm Castlelake. Currently London is for Paul, Weiss a major profit center as well as branding international powerhouse. Bloomberg Law documents: "The firm has boosted its profile in London after hiring rainmakers Neel Sachdev and Roger Johnson from Kirkland & Ellis in 2023. Last year, its London teams guided parties in the $2.7 billion Soho House buyout and tech giant Qualcomm’s $2.4 billion purchase of semiconductor firm Alphawave Semi." Years ago Karp had brought in the Apollo account, then strengthened the hold on it in 2011. That was by poaching the seven partners at O'Melveny & Mye...

  Just like the Trump administration targeted Big Law more than a year ago, it's been in the process of imposing its power on elite higher education. Yale has the bad luck of being in the spotlight. And in process, if it settles as had nine large law firms, it could become the "Next Paul, Weiss." That is, a wounded brand because it did settle and became a symbol of capitulation. Harvard didn't cave, instead going to war on the litigation front as had WilmerHale and Perkins Coie.  The administration's official beef, as The Wall Street Journal reports, is: "Yale is under scrutiny after a Justice Department investigation said its medical school discriminated against white and Asian applicants."  Already, sources claim, Yale has made one settlement offer. It was rejected. It has made a second. Internally, many faculty, students and much of the influential law school are pushing back. The resistance now includes US Senator Richard Blumenthal, a graduate. T...

This isn't scientific. My caution about hope is based on observations from my intuitive coaching practice.  Let's cut to the chase during this era of intensifying financial distress. There shouldn't be a situation in which someone who needs income is without it for an extended period. Those who lost their job or never landed one should have done course correction in their search. The most common and the most effective is to grab work, any kind. That not only brings in income. It restores confidence, provides fresh perspective about what attitudes and skills are marketable and attracts new contacts.  What often prevents that survival move is, you got it, hope. After being unemployed for too long, for example, those now drifting into despair come to me for a complimentary consultation. What tumbles out is that they had embraced the hope that they could replicate the past. Yes, land the kind of job, responsibilities and compensation they had.  Or what was their dream job dur...

Euphoria. The tough job market for recent BA/BS graduates, along with collapsing sectors, has made piling on an advanced degree - MA/MS or PhD - seem like the solution. Then there's the study by Georgetown University projecting that by 2031 (right around the corner) the number of jobs requiring advanced degrees will be 14% higher than what it had been in 2021. So, you're over the moon when offered a free ride, including tuition and living expenses, to enter a graduate or professional school program. Yet, because of harsh warnings about the ROI of advanced degrees by influential sources such as The Wall Street Journal  you're probably also wary.  Postings on Reddit scream out that anxiety: Sure, it's free, no student loan debt but ... In my coaching I'm getting the same sort of questioning.  At the top of the list of what's-to-consider is the opportunity cost. No, you're not accumulating school loan debt. Through teaching or research contracts you might even...

Capitalism, unlike (supposed) communism, is about individualism, not the collective good. Individual strivers scramble to grab the competitive advantage. Okay, you've heard all about those elite cohesive networks. But, come on, they're nothing but Wild West horse-trading. To get in, to stay in you need what's of value to trade.  So, you should approach The Atlantic  long lament by Rose Horowitch about the end of reading from this point of view: What's in it for you to hold on to your voracious reading habit - or to acquire one? That's despite this being a post-literate era.  The answer is: plenty. That is in terms of having the edge. Horowitch's focus is on the damage to the collective good from the ongoing and accelerating decline in reading. Society suffers. Yes, it does. But as it does, individuals like you who are readers hold more and more good cards.    Let's get granular.  See, as the article explains, reading isn't a natural function. Parts of th...

Jeffrey Epstein was a generous contributor to higher education. No question though, a lot of self-interest was involved. Hefty donations gave him access to the world of thought leaders, state-of-the-art researchers and policy influencers.  Now Epstein is gone. Actually, that's been since 2019. And the challenged small, liberal arts sector, unlike the fortunate Bard back then which he financially supported, currently has to go it alone in fundraising.  So, here in 2026 is Seton Hill University , based in bucolic  Greensburg, Pennsylvania (population 14,462). Recently it launched its "Framing the Future" campaign. The goal is raising $110 million by 2028.  Involved in that are influencers such as the daughter and son of Joanne Boyle , the late longest serving president and the change-agent who transitioned the institution from a women's college to the coed university it is. But the list of those on the fundraising front lines lacks the powerhouse players such as ...