TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

"At my firm the partners have a wide range of personalities and lawyering style. Some carry themselves like movies stars and walk around like they’re f*ckin Brad Karp (or like they  are  him). Meanwhile, others are super introverted and quirky." -  Reddit Big Law , August 31, 2024 That is a post asking what practice areas in large law firms have the most charismatic lawyers. And, no surprise the chair of Paul, Weiss - Brad Karp - popped up.  It's no surprise because on professional anonymous networks (PANs) Karp attracts unusual attention. In contrast, the law firm Kirkland & Ellis dominates the lion's share of posts and comments on PANs but we never hear about its leadership such as Jon Ballis (chairman of the powerful executive committee). Right now, even the obssession is fading about 1) Will there be Milbank bonus matches/toppers 2) If so, when. But the preoccupation with Karp has never abated.  Six months ago, for instance, this was on Reddit : "It’s ha...

  The resale market , and just for the clothes category, grew by 11% last year, totaling $43 billion.  Instead of the former stigma associated with shopping-thrift there is pride about grabbing such bargains and at the same time being eco-conscious (that is, extending the life of manufactured merchandise). This consumption trend has become so grassroots that the Financial Times just published major coverage about it. My particular joy in embracing buying second hand is that I get to look great in prominent brands but pony up one-third which I would have paid in traditional retail. The cheap tops and trousers at the big boxes made me look fat and old.  Of course, scoring bargains requires lots of work. You have to willing to research which supposed thrift shops really offer the best merchandise at the best price and then pop in a lot since there is rapid turnover of the good stuff. In her campaign to be our leader Kamala Harris can connect with us in a deep way if she joi...

Dating way back to the role of Eve influencing Adam to bite into the forbidden fruit, females tend to be portrayed badly in terms of power.  Hillary Clinton never got the hang of how to position and package that key attribute which Bill takes on so smoothly. There is that cringe recall of  Hillary's strutting around the White House during her husband's first term determined to fix the healthcare system - without being elected by the people to do so. Quickly she dropped all that and went low profile. Proably we never forgave her. Then there is prominent litigator Roberta Kaplan who, from her career start at Paul, Weiss, has been gossiped about for how she is alleged to handle power. Now we have presidential candidate Kamala Harris. After her first live interview on CNN some are coming down on her for not exuding a power aura. The New York Post reports: "[Body language expert Susan] Constantine’s overall assessment was that Harris, who is seeking to become the first female ...

The Wall Street Journal features the plight of a 20-something - Sam Lalevee - who 1) Invested in a college degree and 2) Hustles with a day job and a gig to make ends meet. He earns about $45,000 annually for putting in 60 hours weekly. He is so short on time he can't cook a proper meal and is lucky to get his laundry done. This is the emerging version of The Rat Race.  Lalevee's degree is in communications. Professional anonymous network Reddit Public Relations posts the laments of both entry-levels to the job market and more seasoned players who can't get, hold or move on to better positions in communications. Lalevee, whose main income is from working remote for a call center, was among those who didn't make it in to public relations, content-creation or marketing.   Suppose he, like a growing number of Gen Zers, had opted for training in the skilled trades, instead of completing a traditional college degree? CNBC in an article about the youngest generation in the ...

 In the Daily Mail poll asking if the Kamala Harris CNN interview was a "train wreck," so far 85% agree with that assessment. A more telling sign of how badly Harris performed is that the sharks came to feast. Those, such as former Obama aide David Axelrod, were even among the progressives. Liberal media also chewed off pieces of her.  Most cringe was this stumble: Harris didn't agree that Joe Biden had exhibited cognitive decline. The gallows humor there could be the mantra "Biden is no Warren Buffett." 94 today, Buffett remains fully in-control of Berkshire Hathaway and is effective.  The verdict could be that Harris, as believed before she was reborn as a presidential candidate, is a lightweight. Without the props of well-prepared scripting and the best of video production/editing techniques she could actually be just another mediocre player on the political scene. Yeah, she even came across as nervous.  Not only is the Harris honeymoon, which had gone off u...

  How sweet it is: Market Summary  >  Dow Jones Industrial Average 41,552.62 +461.20  (1.12%) today Aug 29, 12:58 PM EDT  •  Disclaimer

Maybe it was a giant conspiracy to prop up the higher-education industry in America. That is, all the memes developed post-WW II to ensure that youth not only go to college but hang around for a pile-on of advanced degrees.  Smirk. They ranged from "They can never take your education away from you" to "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." Even until today LinkedIn has a slot mandating the listing of your educational alma mater. Would I dare put Ace Long-Distance Drivers School? Some posters even include their actual degrees such as Ph.D., MA, or JD smack next to their names.  Whatever the higher-ed prompters were, obviously they were effective. And still are in some circles. For instance applications to law schools are up almost 6 percent this year compared to 2023. That usually comes with a 6-figure nut in educational loans.  Meanwhile the 8-decade cattle-prodding to consume more and more academic degrees has produced an extreme glut of "knowledge workers....

  Now I know: The pile-on of large, well-done four-color flyers in my snail mail paid for by MAGA Inc. might be generated by the latest Fox polls . They put Kamala Harris ahead of Donald Trump by one percent here in swing state Arizona.  Today's flyer headlines: "Planning to Retire? YOU CAN'T AFFORD KAMALA HARRIS." Lots of  "facts" follow. Heavyweight documentation is provided via endnotes to back up the claims. That ranges from a Congressional Budget Office Report to establishment media such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and CNN. AZ is a standard location for retirement. Nice weather, affordable housing, lots of outdoors activities and breathtaking mountain views.  Some attribute Harris' lead to RFK Jr.'s dropping out of the race. She is also leading in Georgia and Nevada by two percent. This latest upset will put the muscle on both campaigns to keep amping up communications outreach, in all mediums including in-person. Obviously la...

"The lack of [Milbank] summer bonus matching is finally making some egos realize maybe they're not a scarce hot commodity as they thought they were. Go ahead, quit your firm. It took half a year to find a half-decent in house job pre-covid (let alone in this market), and the firm will replace you within a month (if even needed)." -  Fishbowl Big Law , August 28, 2024 (Not available for viewing at this time.) Ironically the relatively petty matter (given the big picture in the heady Big Law world of massive wealth, power and influence) of a summer bonus has transformed associates into a kind of Shakespearean character. That's King Lear who is vilified in that drama for perceiving himself as "more sinned against than sinning."  Instead of the usual sympathy for supposedly exploited junior lawyers in large law firms there is the emerging glee that they could be receiving a message from their employing law firms that they aren't all that important. To preven...

  The career-guidance industry, from its surge in influence and power during Baby Boomer times, frequently operates on fear: Don't do this if you want to succeed. Do that to ensure not being forced out. Stick with those fundamentals or else ... Yet, there are no absolute job-search or career models.  For example, some in the heady legal sector made it, as did Eric Holder, through the revolving door serving in government then joining at a high level an elite law firm. Others such as the long-time chair of Paul, Weiss Brad Karp stuck with one leadership role but continually rebranded himself and reset the organization.  So, when the alarm is rung about "job hopping" as a detriment to being hired that shouldn't halt such a  strategy (or necessity). Although we boomers were hammered by the career experts not to have too many jobs we had to do just that to get ahead because of the enormous glut of talent. There were so many of us clogging the upward-mobility pipeline in a...

For the first-half of 2024 revenue for large law firms is up 11%. Applications to law school are up nearly 6%. Law firms ranging from Sullivan & Cromwell to Paul, Weiss have the power, influence and contacts to host massive-money events for Harris-Walz.   Some partners such as Paul, Weiss' Karen Dunn and Covington's Eric Holder have direct hands-on roles in this historic campaign. If the ticket wins, just as in the Trump Administration, lots of those lawyers could have plum jobs inside the beltway. Recall how Jones Day partner Don McGahn headed White House legal affairs after representing MAGA in 2016. Associate lamenting no matches/toppers so far for the Milbank summer bonus is, as the saying goes, a Cadillac problem. In Big Law salaries start at $225k. Along with that there is a shot at bonuses. You're not hearing too many snide lawyer jokes any more.  Unlike the beleaguered sectors of management consulting, graphic design, content-creation, film production, human r...

  Help-wanted in San Diego, California section of Craigslist lists this blog-creation assignment: $15 per hour + 15% of revenue (from websites which seem to not have yet acquired traction) for: Coming up with ideas Creating content  Sourcing images Being "in charge" of the blogs. This niche doesn't seem like a promising one for those who need to make a living. When blogging emerged as a new medium in the early 21st century $50 an hour could be standard. Usually someone else took care of the graphics. It was a sellers' market. In business and life you usually have only one shot at whatever. Up the odds of success with Jane Genova. I am an intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)  

There are progressive organizations pushing for non-cash incentives, such as tax credits , for an individual to provide a kidney to an anonymous someone who needs it. As is well-known, there is a shortage of kidneys available for transplant. The usual wait time is over four years. Meanwhile those who can't hang on could die.  Surveys show that most oppose transactions involving cash payments.  Among the common arguments against ponying up cash or establishing a private market for kidney sales is this: It would exploit those in financial distress. Obviously, the millionaires at Wall Street firms such as JPMorgan Chase and Appolo wouldn't be bellying up for that kind of supplement to their income. But any sense of exploitation is not what I encountered more than two decades ago. The force field was one of human beings trying to solve a problem. I was among them.   Post-9/11, a number of sectors, including mine, collapsed. As a result assignments for my boutique dried up. ...

"Lawyers associated with firms such as Covington, Perkins Coie, Wilmer, Jenner & Block and Munger Tolles have all landed roles in her campaign." -  Law.com, August 26, 2024 Add on to that Paul, Weiss. Not only does partner Karen Dunn have the role of prepper for the Kamala Harris debate. Also its chair Brad Karp has been a master fundraiser + the firm itself has made a record of donations from shareholders and employees. The push is for influence inside the Administration. Obviously there's a dog fight for that. Which firms will manage to position and package themselves as most closely aligned with the new Harris show, if that is how Election 2024 finishes? Currently, Bloomberg Law had saluted Paul, Weiss as being in so tight with the Biden Administration. Can the firm replicate that level of closeness in the next power structure?  Another question: How many of the partners of all these supporters of Harris-Walz will go to work in the Administration? We recall Jone...

 Even though junior lawyers in Big Law are pulling in big bucks, at least in middle-class America compensation levels, there is sustained concern if their law firm will match or top the Milbank summer bonus. That has become a media story, covered today in Bloomberg Law , as well as in extensive chatter including today on professional anonymous networks (PANs) such as  Reddit Big Law . It's a downright obsession, as if associates were struggling with financial survival like flight attendants and myriad content-creators. However, as Bloomberg Law notes, given the current economy and with power returning to law-firm management, there is no real pressure for the leadership to cave. Sure, there is plenty of balking on PANs but who cares. Except for midlevels and senior associates, most of the associates are, as the saying goes, "a dime a dozen." Let them grouse.  The dynamics of large law firms operate on power and Profits Per Equity Partner (PPEP). Associates don't have t...

  Differentiation was supposed to give a large law firm branding power and that would convert into successful new business development. However, from Milbank bonus matches/toppers to financial support for the Harris-Walz ticket, Big Law remains a monolith. Bloomberg Law lists the progressive firms which jumped into aggressive fundraising for Harris-Walz. They include: Sullivan & Cromwell Jenner & Block Paul, Weiss Gibson Dunn WilmerHale. Of course the rhetoric, especially in invitations to special events for fundraising, is noble. After all, lawyers won't survive unless they get the hang of being silver-tongued. But the driver is upping the odds of access. How national politics operates is depicted in the classic "The Power Game" by Hedrick Smith. In addition to raw access there are other levers of influence to connect with an Administration. They range from likability to the porcupine ethos, that is, having a signature for being an obstructionist.  Meanwhile,...

"Former President Donald Trump said he’s considering not participating in the upcoming ABC News debate with Vice President Kamala Harris after the network conducted a 'biased' interview with Republican Sen. Tom Cotton." -   New York Post , August 26, 2024 Then the question which should be pushed on Trump is: So, what broadcast facility would you negotiate with Kamala Harris to do the debate?  What this objection comes off as as a kind of schoolboyish ploy to get out of something that might not be in his self-interest. Harris has proved to be highly skilled in the presentation of self, in contrast to the ossified Trump persona which has become out-of-date. Currently she is being coached for that milestone event by law firm Paul, Weiss partner Karen Dunn.  Embedded in Trump's memory bank has to be how debates halted momentum in campaigns, ranging from Richard Nixon to Joe Biden.  Will America let Trump off-the-hook for September 10th? In business and life you usua...

In snail mail, here is southeast Arizona, the GOP signals it's still in the race. The large well-done four-color flyer is titled "Kamala Harris: 'Sticking It to Seniors'" With documentation from The Wall Street it goes on to claim "Kamala Harris was caught red-handed trying to cover up her plan to raise your premiums & cancel your care." In this neck of woods, where budget-minded boomers come to semi-retire or retire, this is bound to get attention. The GOP, after several near-fatal blows by the Dems, is back. According to Pew Research 62 million 65 or older now live in America. Right here in AZ, 18.3% of us are over-65. Those of us eligible to vote do that and it's primarily to protect our Social Security Security and Medicare. Already we're in a sour mood because as of this month the estimated SS COLA for 2025 is between 2.57-2.6 %, lowest since 2021. So, Harris-Walz better get its flyers in our snail mail, making us feel safe about our en...

With so much affluence and too much supposed sophisticated career advice floating around what has become buried in the abyss is the oldest fundamental about landing a job: Nothing gets you a job like having a job. And that applies even if the title and the tasks involved in your current position are not in what you consider to be your career path or what you studied in undergraduate/graduate and professional school. On professional anonymous network Reddit, a senior in college majoring in public relations laments sending a bunch of applications without receiving any interviews. One response is so wonderfully grounded: "When I was a PR agency hiring manager, I hired a restaurant server and a Best Buy employee. I liked that they had to handle tasks and deal with customers. They had stories to tell during interviews that helped their cases. They continue to have successful PR careers. "Doing something is better than nothing." Embedded in this guidance are four realities...

  REPUBLICANS INCREASINGLY NERVOUS MAGA RUNNING FROM ABORTION BANS TRUMP NOW WANTS  MORE  IMMIGRATION STRUGGLING TO GET HIS GROOVE BACK

In this era of extreme cost-efficiency, the odds are that 1) If you are a knowledge worker you will be laid off and 2) You will be tempted to ease the pain and perhaps get the edge in landing another job through becoming what's called a "Layoff Influencer." The latter ranges from Cloudflare whistleblower Brittany Pietsch to Zoe Pritchard who initially made $5k from being "the layoff girl." Bloomberg covers this trend, citing the pros and cons.  Obviously, losing a job because of the employers' financial situation or changed strategic direction is shaking off its stigma. That's progress. When I had been laid off from a Fortune 50 in 1987 I experienced shame. That shadowed me for about three years even though I had launched a successful executive communications boutique.  Things have changed a lot since Corporate America shifted from being paternalistic to being lean and mean in the final decades of the 20th century. For a while now LinkedIn, the network ...

"Nestle CEO Mark Schneider was ousted in a sudden move by the world's biggest foodmaker as a result of the group's underperformance, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday." -  Yahoo Finance , August 23, 2024 Being "forced out" takes many forms.  The most common is the slow torment of being "iced out." There are fewer or no projects to work on. You are off the e-mail chain. Not invited to meetings. Those in the loop de-loop from you, distancing themselves. There could even be harsh cruel verbal behavior by those who count as well as those who are simply watching. For Schneider the process might have been more nuanced - yet faster. When I was being pushed toward the exit in middle management at the end of the 1980s the experience endured for about four months. Like most, I was aware of what was playing out but hung on for severance. That's what working people do. In my coaching I guide those who suspect they are being forc...

"Fed's Powell at Jackson Hole: 'The time has come' for rate cuts" -   Axios , August 23, 2024 Already the Dow is up about 400 points. Happy investors, even the small-time ones with their retirement nest eggs, can feel themselves being drawn into the Harris-Walz force field of glow. Can we who have been so prudent with our finances feel good about our future again? If the experts guiding the Harris-Walz campaign continue to be smart about public relations they can position and package interest rates cuts as part of the Democratic Party's opportunity platform. Meanwhile Election 2024 moves on to speculation about how the dynamics of the September 10th debate will play out. Will Donald Trump drop the Mr. Bluster persona and cave to the look of leadership? And will Kamala Harris, coached by Paul, Weiss law partner Karen Dunn, be able to sustain the magic?  For Boomers the most memorable campaign had been the JFK one. We learned all about the power of the new mediu...

  41,189.71 +476.93  (1.17%) today Aug 23, 11:18 AM EDT  •  Disclaimer

"Anyone else enthralled by the PR strategies of the DNC? I’m Canadian so I’m viewing all this news and social coverage through a neighbourly lens ..." -  Reddit Public Relations , August 22, 2024  This global fascination with the effectiveness of the DNC public relations mirrors that of world's interest in the Trump phenomenon pre-2016. My international clients wanted to jaw-jaw with me about  Donald Trump's peculiar communications genius.  However, there is a difference. The Harris-Walz approach is positive, inclusive, even joyful. Kamala Harris has evolved as much into a pop culture sensation as had Trump but without the rancor which, as we bear witness to currently, wasn't sustainable. Trump has mutated into a caricature of himself at his peak.  In contrast, Harris is the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan's Morning in America, a meme that never really went away. That ethos has always been beautiful. It will always be marketable, just like the heroism of WW ...

  It's transformative. Clients, although they are able to hang on to hope, remain visibly despondent. What undercuts any joy they may have in planning to walk away from the present situation is their discomfort with the unknown.  That is represented by the Eight of Cups in the Tarot. Notice the mountains ahead. What's behind them are, you got it, many unknowns. That past and the present, no matter how bad, are what we know.  What I have discovered in my recent readings is that the fear of transition eases off when I ask clients this: Can you visualize how your new life will "look?"  One woman immediately shifted into a lightness of being. She described the town she had already visited twice. It had employment opportunities, a university where she could continue her studies and apartments she could afford. She even had attended two 12-step meetings and felt a good vibe. The next step, of course, was to take the next step: arranging the relocation. Visualization is a p...

"They’re saying Cravath is washed up. That K&E are—and this is a quote—a bunch of 'broke bitches.' DPW is rumored to be run by 'penny pinching pussies.' Despite the heroic leadership of Brad Karp, the people tell me that even Paul, Weiss is awash in cowardice and avarice." -  Reddit Big Law , August 22, 2024 That's an excerpt from a Reddit introductory post, in this time of severe disappointment that large law firms haven't matched or topped the Milbank summer bonus. The mood has mutated from euphoric fantasies about how to spend the loot to shock, then bitterness.  Among the responses, they have been getting granular about Paul, Weiss, alleging strained finances: "At Paul, Weiss, the coffers bare ..." Actually I find that accusation about Paul, Weiss puzzling. The retainer the firm had put me on for communications assignments was generous. However, the fit was very wrong, my health quicky went downhill and I hightailed it out there after...

Maybe it's America's soft spot for rascals. There's our fascination with those who dare to play close to the fire, get burned, but reset - stronger and more successful. Classic in that role is Bill Clinton. There are also faux aristocrat Anna Sorokin, disgraced Wall Street player Michael Milken and techie Sam Altman who got forced out of the enterprise he founded. Or maybe Bill Clinton simply possesses the rare gift of being able to enter into the soul of an audience and hang around there long after a speech. John Fitzgerald Kennedy also had that mystical talent.  Probably to us Clinton is both - enigmatic bad boy and a speaker who can transport.  Tonight at the DNC, while looking visibly old, a bit frail and with trembling hands, he immediately unleashed an electric force field. That was obvious when the camera panned the audience, which was often.  Here is that performance art. That started out with the question: Aren't you proud to be a Democrat? With eloquence he sa...

  An arctic blast could be going through BoomerVille: threat that we may have to cave, just as in college/graduate school and in our early working years, to having at least one roommate, maybe more.  Bloomberg posts this: "Surging costs for housing and other expenses are prompting baby boomers to take on roommates."  If my finances ever were in that kind of peril, I have always been determined that I would do anything to dodge that bullet. Actually I did just that post-9/11 when my investment fund, industry and communications boutique crashed. I got myself a security guard gig in an inner city big box. Since it didn't take up a lot of brain space as does knowledge work, within about eight months I was able to start building an enterprise focused on digital marketing. No roommates for me. The brutal reality is that human beings, complex and typically self-absorbed, are difficult to live with. If we love them, as with our biological family (sometimes) and ro...

  The US Department of Transportation estimates the expense for operating a car is $12,182 annually. JD Vance, documents Yahoo Finance , puts that at $50k every year. "JD Vance Shocks With Claim That Owning A New Car Costs Every American $50,000 A Year" When I owned a Smart car in the midwest I only had to pony up about $7k a year. For the original purchase I paid $7,200 in cash. Admittedly being that much below the average played out before I relocated to the southeast where car insurance premiums have been increasing and the heat can be hard on all aspects of driving, especially tires and batteries. More recently, after a serious accident on April 27th of this year in Rolla, Missouri, which involved personal injury (me), and after relocating soon after that in one of those 15-minute  cities (can go carless for all essentials), I have decided to no longer own a car.  Instead, during the first week of May, I had purchased an adult tricyle and had it retrofitted as an elec...