For hiring, 2025 was a brutal year to search for a job. The Wall Street Journal reports that 2026 could be worse: "At a gathering of CEOs in Midtown Manhattan this month organized by the Yale School of Management, 66% of leaders surveyed said they planned to either fire workers or maintain the size of their existing teams next year. Only a third indicated they planned to hire." The WSJ adds that pullback from adding manpower could be temporary. But given shareholders' demand for cost-efficiency and the continual improvements in AI, chronic unemployment could become standard. However, there is a solution. An old-fashioned one. That's becoming a solopreneur, that is setting up your own business without partners or employees. The model dates back to ancient times. The golden age of the solo business owner in America had been from the late 1800s to about the mid 1920s. There had been a wave of immigrants, discrimination against them and few jobs. They drove pushcarts ...
In college, backgrounders state that Brad Karp, the long-time chair of law firm Paul Weiss, toyed with the idea of a career path in politics. The specific focus was about running for Congress. Instead, though, he accepted admission to Harvard Law School (turned down the one to Yale) and that was that. Now, during the current crisis for law firms, under comprehensive attack by the Trump administration, Karp seems to be showcasing his inner politico. The guy is a smart strategist. Semafor reports that Karp has gone to Washington. There his objective seems to be to create lines of communication with a power force which, as Steve Bannon puts it, wants his firm and other elite firms out of business. Already Paul Weiss has lost one client as a result of an Executive Order. One way he is trying to connect, notes Semafor: "Karp ... is discussing a particular path back into the administration’s good graces: helping the White House respond to alleged instances of antisemitism that came...
Legacy media such as The New York Times, professional anonymous networks like Reddit and social media such as Blue Sky. All have been intense in responding to how law firms have been managing or been silent about what might be thought of as “The Trump Factor.” Of course, that affects the law firms’ brand, which could impact client retention and business development. That means law firms’ CMOs are busy or should be. Last night the frenzy broke out about Paul Weiss’s negotiations with Donald Trump in the oval office. Well, that dealmaking was effective. The Executive Order had been rescinded. However, some perceived the transaction as “groveling” on the part of Paul Weiss. In my Substack column I disagreed. We also have the Rachel Cohen "situation." A third-year associate at Skadden, Cohen has been an activist in reaching out publicly for law firms, including her own, to condemn the values and actions of the US President. That includes her open letter rallying other asso...
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