TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

Of course there has been the noise speculating, especially on professional anonymous networks, if the layoffs in law firms were over. That is, the formal kind. Not those terminations supposedly based on performance. Those are called "being stealthed." However, there had been a hiatus on RIFs (reductions in force). Until now. Am Law 200 law firm Armstrong Teasdale announced it was laying off 11 laywers and 24 staff members. Here are more details from Law.com.  In itself that was not a surprise. During May 2023, that firm announced a 14% decline in Profits Per Equity Partner. That is a key metric in law firms for everything from branding to recruiting/retaining stars. And the unique business the law firm is operates on the wattage of star power. In a Bloomberg Law News interview Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp explained those specific dynamics.  Now, with the Armstrong Teasdale RIF what's kicked off is intensified guessing by associates throughout law firms about how secure the...

In the wild west of content-posting on professional anonymous network Reddit there is a trend which even on that platform shocks.  Thanks to generative AI it is possible to use ChatGPT version 3.5 to create fictional content about brandname organizations and leaders. Very recently, on Reddit Big Law, those range from a comedy routine about working at Kirkland & Ellis to a short short story about a homosexual encounter between two legal stars who are known not to have that alternate sexual identity. The latter are Brad Karp and Neal Katyal. What leaps to mind in this litigious nation focused on civil rights is if those featured in that content should take legal action to 1) force Reddit to disclose the ISP information on the account and 2) when that is secured to file a lawsuit against that poster - and maybe Reddit also.  Interestingly, the anonymous creator of the homosexual tale anticipated potential legal action. They researched the related legal issues and showca...

What is the public relations advice for rusty or downright buzz-hazardous promotional tools? Of course, it's for those who used to emit the wattage to lay low.  That might be what Prince Harry might be forced into. Frozen in the global memory bank is his following behind his mother's casket when he was a wee lad. So, he started out his rebellion against so many whatevers in a position of strength. Indeed, he could do much for mental-health causes, we cheered. Then he seemed to cross the line to excess. Currently he is a liability. Eco tourist firm Travalyst has distanced itself from Prince Harry. It is possible for this trauma-looper to reset his brand, after laying low. Strategies include getting out of the marriage.  Once the symbol of enlightened leadership, Disney's Bob Iger has mutated into the symbol of the corporation's stuckness. Having him out front as in the ham-handed CNBC interview has become counterproductive. Of course, Disney should glide him smoothly int...

  Three days ago on Reddit Big Law was the usual. That was the posting of the question about the culture of an Am Law 50. Actually the firm was way up there in the pecking order of the 50. It was Paul Weiss. Over the past 72 hours, 78 comments have come in. None provides anything new. One comment sums up what we already all know: "Current PW. As in all things, depends on what practice group you're in and which partners you work for." ,A major reality not only at Paul Weiss but throughout much of Big Law is that there is no "culture" per se. The ethos, policies and operations are shaped by each practice and within that practice by those with the power. In a sense the large elite law firm is an umbrella structure housing a broad range of practices. Another reality is that earning the big bucks and holding onto to that lucrative job mandate meeting and exceeding quotas for billable hours.  A third is that you have to be cut out to handle the whatevers being thrown ...

It's in small business - necessity is the mother of invention - that there has been a lot of early adoption of generative AI. So, what is going on there? That data is helpful because it can provide perspective on if the excitement over AI has been just media gush or that the boots on the ground are applying it in actual operations.  Well, insight has arrived. Content Connect and Stories By Us joined together to do a survey of content creators for smaller organizations. They are both in-house employees and freelancers. Here is the report  "State of AI in Content Marketing."    The reality turns out to be that 76% of those responding are actually using AI in their tasks (83% applying it for long form such as blogs). Of course, that indicates that the technology is not in a vortex of hype but is considered a daily tool. The number-one use is brainstorming. Other are research, outlining, creating briefs, improving grammar and flow and visuals.  However, the ...

"For an obese woman, losing 65 pounds has roughly the same impact on her wages as getting a master's degree,  The Economist's Alice Fulwood  reports ."-  Axios, July 29, 2023 Humor showcases a lot about the society. There is that old joke about large elite law firms ranging from Cravath to Paul Weiss: The newbie male lawyers at the firm do the "law-firm 20" - that is analogous to the weight gain known as "freshman 15" in college. The females get thinner. Both experience their respective situations because of so much work and stress. If Tom Wolfe, author of "The Bonfire of the Vanities," were alive he could do a spoof on the "X-ray" kinds of females in law, finance, management consulting and public relations. His book stuck to featuring the trophy wives.  Now research, brought mainstream by Axios, explains those weighty dynamics. Being overweight, which can be a stigma in the workplace since it signals lack of drive and disciplin...

  Currently Goldman Sachs is a target. Timing is almost everything and the timing has been perfect to go after it with a mission to reform its alleged culture of greed and hostility toward women. About the latter, there was also that high-profile long-running gender bias lawsuit which Goldman Sachs settled for $215 million.  In addition, its head David Solomon is being attacked for so many strategic "sins" as well as his DJing side hustle.  Right supposed wrongs was what a former manager at the financial firm Jamie Fiore Higgins tried to do with her expose "Bully Market." The book was published in August 2022. The first anniversaryof that publishing month is this Tuesday. Unlike a number of other exposes of Wall Street, as well as large law firms, such as "The Ceasars Palace Coup" and "Servants of the Damned" it has quickly gone poof. Today, on Amazon its hardback sales metrics are in ratings hell: 220,998.  Initially, since the media likes to...

  How do you go from being a star quarterback, US President or CEO of Disney to, well, a more ordinary life and personal branding? Not easily. The transition usually is not only brutal. It's also confusing.   In John Grisham's novel  "Bleachers"  there is the saga of Neely Crenshaw. He was there in the football big time and then he wasn't. Yeah, an injury in college ended Sports Everything. The book's meme is about being able to let go of that particular former glory and build something new. In the Tarot the potential for putting together the pieces in a different way is signaled by the  World card.  It is the most important of the cards and it comes at the end of the major arcana.  The message that you have started out toward the Next comes when the World card is upright. When it is in reverse, that is upside down, the probability is that you are stuck. Go to most retirement communities and the chatter defaults into the highs of former careers....

 Seven minutes ago this popped up on Fishbowl Consulting: "Hi Everyone- I’m a recent grad and about 18 months into my career with a well respected security cleared level consultancy in the UK. I’m having issues as they’re hiring far too many graduates now without the work to go with it and I fear that my learning and development isn’t where it should be." And this was after all the global woe about overhiring during the pandemic/bypassing employee development and now the Stalin-like purge of Knowledge Workers. Those not yet axed suffer high angst. Any expected bounce-back hasn't happened in professional services around the world. Not in management consulting. Not in most of finance. Not in much of law, with the exception of Paul Weiss which has been buzzy because 1) It is hiring 2) It has not been laying off, and 3) It did not overhire during Covid. Obviously lessons have not been learned. Both seasoned talent and new entries to the workforce are caught in a man-made empl...

  All 24 of the associates at plaintiff firm Outten & Golden have joined union Outten & Golden United and the firm has recognized that collective bargaining unit. Outten & Golden deals with employment issues. Here are more details from Reuters Legal. This development could be huge. Right now there is mashup of trends. Simultaneously management has regained the upper hand post-epidemic (think RTO rapidly replacing WFH and damn WLB) and floating around is the concept of  a cap of 1,800 hours annually on an 8 AM to 6 PM schedule for associates. Here are details about the latter by Law.com . The opposing forces in law firms make it more likely that unionization could catch on. What went down at Outten & Golden could kick off a collective-bargaining movement. Read professional networks such as Fishbowl Big Law and Reddit Big Law and what's obvious that it is career suicide to "stick up for oneself" unilaterally. Usually if there is a perceived wrong the associa...

  Trends, despite being trends not fads, come and go. Lately the trend for favoring extroverts has resurfaced. "Have a friend deciding between PW corporate and STB corporate as an incoming 2L summer. Wants to be at the firm with the healthier culture and leans more extroverted." That's a posting on Fishbowl Big Law. The votes on the network are in favor of PW, that is Paul Weiss, which is seen as cool (versus suit) and where the folks are, yes, extroverts. I would add that the odds of holding onto the job, that is not being laid off, could be better at Paul Weiss. That is because the firm is known for extreme success in new business development. And, that protects jobs.  Rainmaking primarily happens through in-person networking. And that requires the ability to be out there. In an  Insider  interview Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp noted that he would schedule three back-to-back business breakfasts in Manhattan restaurants. Let's get pragmatic. Sure, there had bee...

  Yesterday, McKinsey surprised. Its new report "Generative AI and the Future of Work" focused more on how jobs will change rather than be eliminated. That means reskilling.  What this requires is masssive training for how work will be conducted in the future.  Already, in some organizations such as news centers like Insider , the model is hybrid. That is a mashup of human and robot. As I observe the shift there seems to be more demand for the human - as editor - on the back end of the journalism process than at the front end of research and drafting content. So, those in the news loop who want to remain employed have to retrain for approaching and doing tasks differently. However, McKinsey also points out that some industry categories will experience a falloff in the number of workers needed. Generative AI could wipe out positions in office services, customer service, and food service.  I would add that the loss could be accelerated by outsourcing those tasks to ot...

  In his interview with Atlantic's Ross Anderson, OpenAI leader Sam Altman admits that generative AI will result in job loss. Of course, he adds on the positivity that new jobs will be created and good will be unleashed onto the world.  Emerging in this harsh prediction of elimination of jobs is the euphemism "disruption." Thought leaders on the technology such as Goldman Sachs project that around the world 300 full-time jobs could be "disrupted."  That code word is a hedge needed for  1) Not to scare the jesus out of the workers of the world 2) Prevent looking foolish if the technology isn't a major job-wipeout 3) Position and package the organization as the objective source for information and perspective on generative AI. With all this buzz about disruption, that establishes ample warning to those in work categories targeted for whatever to reskill. Yes they have to pick up other ways to make a good living.  This is now. A lready, for instance, jobs and...

  In the media co-founder of alternate investment firm Leon Black recently had his Camelot moment.  The lawsuit against him by his former mistress Guzel Ganieva went poof. He headed off legalities by settling with the US Virgin Island about his dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. It looked, felt and even to scandal-sniffers smelled like finally the billionaire was making progress on a reputational comeback. Given his wealth and his network he always had a hold on power and influence. He still does.  Then shade was thrown, and on the same day. US Senator Ron Wyden (D - Oregon) disclosed that a year-long investigation had been conducted of Black. That was related to his tax filings. The advice for that had been provided by Epstein, in exchange for millions and millions in fees. Wyden had questions, which he detailed in a 16-page letter to Black. Here is a copy of that communication.  Dragged in the loop on that one has been elite law firm Dechert. It had investigated at Apo...

Rejection not only stings. It could be a disaster, at least early in a law career, if a summer associate does not receive an offer of a full-time position after graduation.  This summer, when the overall job market for junior lawyers is terrible, this no-offer topic is coming up a lot on professional anonymous networks. Here is a recent one on Fishbowl Big Law: "I know of summer associates that are likely not going to get offers, but it is not because they had horrible personalities, did something reckless, or anything. I’m worried for them. Starting this thread so they have something to go to — people who got no offer and are doing great now." In her bestseller book "My Beloved World," current US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayer ponies up the fact that she was no-offered at Paul Weiss. When she graduated Yale Law School she went the route of public service. Never again did she dabble in Big Law for a career path.  In his bestseller "Zero to One," bi...

"One source who knows Iger well saw his comments about the guilds in the CNBC interview as 'angry and self-pitying.'” -  Hollywood Reporter,  July 26, 2023 Remember how we pored over best-seller "Ride of a Lifetime" by Disney CEO Bob Iger. There were so many takeaways for leaders, managers and ambitious but purpose-driven rank-and-file. We also cheered when the troubled corporation boomeranged him back.  Now, what helped get him there - strategy and the charm offensive - is alienating constituencies from the media to investors to talent, internal and external.  Of course, that kind of reversal can happen to anyone. And it probably has. We became formulaic in the ways we operate our careres, the world changes and we are on the losing end. Then, we have to get smart fast about also changing. As I tell those I coach: It's not what happens, it's how you handle it. Iger, observe watchers of this one-time teflon player, hasn't handled unfolding realities we...

"Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today unveiled an  ongoing investigation  into the tax and estate planning of Apollo Global Management Co-founder Leon Black and his financial dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, who advised Black on those matters."  - From Press Release by US Senate Committee on Finance , July 25, 2023  The investigation has been going on for a year.  The Wall Street Journal sums up that is about: "Wyden asked Black whether trust arrangements improperly moved assets out of his estate and why he paid Epstein—who wasn’t an accountant or tax lawyer—$158 million for advice over six years." Here is a copy of the 16-page letter Wyden sent to Black. Big money is involved. About $1 billion in future gift and estate taxes allegedly could have been ducked.  The public disclosure that this scrutiny has been underway for while could create a serious roadblock to Black's journey toward redemption in the eyes of the establishment.  I...