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  During the first week of shooting "The Godfather," it was obvious to everyone on the set, including the director Francis Ford Coppola, that Al Pacino was not "getting" Michael Corleone. Although Pacino had already won major awards for acting, he couldn't wrap his identity around the boy-scout son of a gangster who would soon enough evolve into an organized-crime mastermind.  But, Pacino was able to override his earlier success and create a Michael. So much so that when "The Godfather" was released New Yorkers greeted Pacino on the street with "Hey, Michael." In his memoir  "Sonny Boy,"  Pacino recounts that challenge. The lesson he learned was not to accept roles even from iconic directors like Igmar Bergman that he knew he couldn't wrap his soul around. That challege dominates most professionals in this continually mutating era. They have to grow into new roles. Some are succeeding.  At the top of the list is the chair of law...

  Amid the many achievement highs in Martha Stewart's life is the poignant reality that, well, she chose the wrong men for matters of the heart. Both her husband and then her long-time lover left her.  As the adage goes, women marry their fathers. Did even a totally professionally focused Stewart do just that: Nurture relationships with men like her father who essentially were not there for her? The husband womanized. The lover abruptly dumped her to marry someone else - and it was in bed. How raw.  That pain is palpable is the new Netflix documentary "Martha," directed by RJ Cutler. It is all the more brutal because, back in Stewart's day, being without a man constituted a social and professional disadvantage. According to the film, after the divorce, as a single woman, she felt she had to relocate from very closed system Westport, Connecticut for a life to the playlands of Long Island, New York.  So, what's the lesson in this? A big one.  In my intuitive coach...

  On the surface it looks like a very good year for being hired by law firms for first-year associate jobs. Overall, that's up 14% from 2023, documents  Law.com.  The average class size is 94, versus 83 last year. THE PAUL WEISS PHENOMENON  The story at Paul Weiss seems even better. Hiring for the Class of 2024 is up 48% and the class size is 182, compared to 123 in 2023. However, since all eyes are on the disrupted and disrupting Paul Weiss it's useful to ask: What will happen to those 182? There are at least five scenarios. MAKING PARTNER Some will thrive and make it all the way to equity partner. In all aspects of their work they will demonstrate what Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp refers to as "commitment."  VOLUNTARY EXIT Many will leave voluntarily after putting in enough time to lateral to another firm.  For example, this particular law firm has developed a reputation on professional anonymous networks such as Reddit Big Law and Fishbowl Big Law for bein...

  From the get-go when Kamala Harris emerged as the Biden replacement prominent progressive law firms have gone high-profile in support. That ranged from Covington lending out partner Eric Holder to vet the VP choice to Paul Weiss' fundraising and providing debate prepping through partner Karen Dunn. As is well-known, the euphoria about the Biden dump created the force field of an anticipated Dem blowout on election day. For once, there was unity. That attracted more and more money and celebrity endorsements. Political strategist James Carville, however, warned about over-confidence since he predicted a close race. The race has proved just as Carville projected: close. Some are presenting data that Donald Trump has the edge.  A sign of that position of strength is that  some business leaders are reaching out to Trump.  In essence they are hedging their bets.  In terms of political contributions, documented by  OpenSecrets  for 2023 throughout part of 2...

  " ... 35 percent of parents who had lost a child found mediums 'very helpful' in relieving grief, versus 26 percent of those who visited mental health practitioners." -  Elle,  October 2024 In psychic services demand is growing, both for consulting with a medium and for workshops teaching mediumship. What's driving that is the buzz in communities about how even one session with a medium helped those with loss process their grief. In addition, it has become irrelevant to those who experienced the healing if folks on their network tell them that the particular medium is a "scam."  In my own tarot reading practice clients tell me that connecting them with those who have passed over - be it a human or an animal companion - has provided relief. I feel blessed that my gifts have lessened pain. In some situations, the sufferers can let go of that relationship, such as a husband who has died years ago, and begin opening up to flirting.  Unfortunately, because ...

As the global labor market mutates - and not in favor of workers - even professional services such as banking at Wells Fargo is turning to unionizing. Or at least considering that. Now and then on professional anonymous networks such as Fishbowl and Reddit there is even floated the once-unthinkable: that associates at large law firms opt for collective bargaining. After all that would put an advocate on their side as they negotiate severance. The system is up-or-out. And since the tier of non-equity partner consists of employees, not owners, NEPs could also join a union. But, now a darkening cloud is hovering over the promises of unionizing. It engenerated such hope in the 1930s.  Recently that seems naive.  For example, it doesn't appear that collective bargaining at Boeing will bring back pensions.  Starbucks front-line workers who put their hopes in even supporting unionizing haven't seemed to have gotten much in terms of improved conditions. At VW in Germany , a natio...

    "Why is Brad Karp / Paul Weiss so revered lately?"  Reddit Big Law , October 2024 Professional Anonymous Networks like Reddit, along with Blind, Fishbowl and Glassdoor, are growing dramatically in influence. Unlike establishment media and typical social media, they provide a range of expertise/opinion and genuine caring. Yes, they are a trusted source.  Responders to this particular Reddit post list the usual reasons why the chair of Paul Weiss has become  the  prominent player whose influence, power, business savvy and thought leadership dominate Big Law. Those include a focus on changing strategy, attention to trends, an early understanding of the importance of hiring stars in the lateral market, network building, political connectiveness, ability to work the media, good looks and charisma.  In essense, Karp is a celebrity CEO, much like JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon and Apple's Tim Cook. His persona carries none of the annoying ethos of being the typic...

42,282.84 USD ▼  -91.52 (-0.22%) today October 25, 12:01 PM EDT   ·   Market Open  

  42,549.91 USD ▲  +175.55 (+0.41%) today October 25, 10:32 AM EDT  ·  Market Open

 During the time period 2023 - 2024, applications to MBA programs soared 11% . That followed 2 years of decline. 80% were to full-time programs. The drivers range from the White Collar Recession in which it is hard to land a Knowledge Work job or even contract assignment to the assumption that adding skills will add marketability. But the recent questions about the ROI of the MBA remain. They include: Will those hiring prefer to bring aboard those who expect less in compensation. Historically the MBA meant a premium wage. More cost-efficient to hire the BA/BS. Eventually will there be a glut on those on the market with that degree? That has happened frequently when going to law school was hot. It could happen again as those booking to take the LSAT for applications to law school has ramped up.  Will the debt be worth it? For Wharton the nut for tuition and fees is $172,200. Many can't afford that out-of-pocket.  What about the opportunity cost, that is what you could ha...

  42,464.86 USD ▼  -460.03 (-1.07%) today October 23, 1:17 PM EDT  ·  Market Open

  Just as M&A activity is picking up again, law firm Wachtell is losing ground.  During the first three quarters of 2024, according to  Bloomberg Terminal , Wachtell fell from second to seventh place in M&A work. This is especially lousy positioning if Election 2024 results in the non-renewal of FTC head Lina Khan's contract and there is reduced scrutiny of M&A. Corporate interest in M&A could surge.  Paul Weiss has managed to take the sixth place in M&A work, a slot ahead of Wachtell.  Bloomberg Law  focuses on Paul Weiss for this ranking. That could be both as a model for how to pounce on the M&A opportunity and also because that law firm overall has reset itself strategically - aggressively and quickly. Its chair Brad Karp has also repositioned himself in a number of ways, be it as a disruptor or as a force of extreme aggressiveness in what it takes to compete in this dog fight of a global marketplace. Paul Weiss' 3 key strategies...

First Olivia Nuzzi was put on leave at New York Magazine when it was confirmed that there had been some kind of personal relationship between a politico she published about and herself. That was Bobby F. Kennedy Jr.  Then, as is standard since Paul Weiss was contracted in 2016 to investigate alleged misconduct at Fox, law firm Davis Wright reviewed if there was any violations of journalistic ethics. There were none, it concluded. But the drama spilled over to other contexts. That included a high-profile legal action by Nuzzi against her former financee Ryan Lizza, Politico journalist now on leave. Boy, media and social media ran with it.  Business doesn't like that sort of thing.  Now, The Hill documents that New York Magazine and Nuzzi "have parted company." Obvious takeaway is not to mix professional dealings with romance which can be interpreted as conflicts of interest. Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is...

  42,995.17 USD ▲  +63.57 (+0.15%) today October 22, 1:55 PM EDT  ·  Market Open

  In the highly competitive law-firm business you can't be a slouch at identifying business opportunity and pouncing on it. That has happened with the growth of the niche practice of being called in as an objective third party to conduct an internal review of a potentially troubled situation. Essentially that kicked off in July 2026 when  Paul Weiss was called in to complete a review of allegations of misconduct at Fox.  That was the era of rumors that Fox head Roger Ailes was engaging in behavior that violated the organization's code of conduct. Soon after the investigation, Ailes departed. As is well known, currently the only probe that is considered "credible" is one done by a brandname law firm. No one trusts internal investigations conducted by the organization itself. Those are not classified as "independent reviews." Most recently, last June 2024, Paul Weiss finally issued its  48-page report of its review of Northwestern University's processes an...

 What could be the death of everything from established media to career counselors is this: the professional anonymous network. They include Blind, Glassdoor, Reddit and Fishbowl. Their power is growing. Their strength is that those commenting on a situation are experienced in the subject matter, objective and caring. All this is provided free.   The sign of that power is that law firm Goodwin recently used PANs Reddit and Fishbowl to kill the gossip that it had laid off. The information was posted by its CMO Konstantin Shishkin. Yes, a major law firm used that medium for some serious communications business.  Obviously all organizations should assign personnel to monitor the PANs in their niches.  Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is a results-driven intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator related to careers. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374...

  It's a phenomenon which management thought leader Jeffrey Sonnenfeld outed in 1988: The leader who wouldn't let go. The expose was "The Hero's Farewell." More recently we have experienced that reluctance to leave the stage with Bob Iger at Disney and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz. Now Disney has finally made a move to ensure that there will be a successor - and a strong one - to Iger when his contract is up in December 2026. It has elevated board member James Gorman, former CEO of Morgan Stanley, to chairman of the board and made succession his priority.  Analysts expect some kind of announcement before Iger's contract is up.  Since Iger's return to CEO the media has aggressively covered the moves he allegedly made to be invited back from retirement. Some are not pretty.  At Berkshire Hathway succession is going slowly, with Warren Buffett still fully in charge. But because of the sustained financial performance of the corporation no one has balked....

  In the tarot one of the most important cards is the Four of Swords - sometimes called the "Pause." Swords symbolize cognitive processes and the human being in the card is putting all that rumination on-hold, for the present time. So many clients, especially during these volatile times, need to shut down the energy-sucking focus on the whatever. And, yes, pause. Either the time is not right or they are not ready to move toward a solution. In readings I provide this manifesting exercise: Lift your arms and place the situation on the highest shelf in your residence. Reach. Reach. Reach. Close the door. Lower your arms, turn your back to the shelfing and walk away briskly. You can return to the shelf at any time but you don't have to put an angst-filled deadline on that.  Then I add the reality: Some things solve themselves. The offspring seemingly is a failure to launch. Then they hit upon a hobby which can be turned into a well-paying career. They move out of your house t...

  When it comes to marketing, Big Law is moving in a different direction than the Fortune 500.  I n large law firms the CMO function remains a powerhouse role - and is growing.  Global competition has become a dog fight. The game is about recruiting star players. In addition, how to get the message out there keeps mutating. How much impact, for example does a bylined guest post by the managing partner in established media have for the law firm these days? Would a customized briefing on a new regulation for in-house lawyers have more impact on branding, client retention and business development?  In large corporations, such as UPS, Walgreens, Etsy and Lowes, the  CMO title is being eliminated.  The power has shifted to finance. Tech is doing more of the heavy lifting. And responsibility for marketing no longer operates in a silo but is absorbed by most departments. That's a trend - we all sell - kicked off in the late 1980s when Chrysler and IBM were in dist...

 In droves, a decade ago we made the soul-wrenching decision to leave all we knew along the Eastern Corridor, including operating our small businesses , to start over again in Arizona. There lifestyles were affordable. There were no hurricanes. And we did adjust to the heat.  I landed in Tucson. Because of the LCOL I paid off credit card debt and shopped around for a financial advisor to put me back on the right path so I could, if I wanted, retire.  Along the way, as Yahoo Finance reports, that comfort zone unraveled: "Arizona voters across the political spectrum expressed frustration that they aren't hearing enough about how Harris and Trump plan to address housing costs and rising prices for groceries and other essentials." Tucson currently is "too expensive." Right now I reside 90 miles south of it. That remains within my budget but where there is not enough for a former New Yorker to do. The choice again has become relocation: Either back to Tucson which w...

  Now, the personality saluted with plenty of noise for the rise rise rise of Kamala Harris is Uber legal head and her brother-in-law Tony West. The gush extends from  Vanity Fair  to  The Wall Street Journal  to chatter on social media. His specific platform for influence is that he has the absolute trust of Harris. You go, Tony. Political strategist James Carville, although never really fading out, has regained the kind of high profile he had in the Bill Clinton administrations. His role is to be the depended-on Greek Chorus for warning progressives not to become too confident of a Harris victory. Because of this hedge position he has a lot of runway post-election, no matter the results. There are also the obvious hungry-for-a-return-to-center stage players like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama (Michelle is just getting back in the spotlight). If there is a loss, both will be vilified for their negative comments. Those could be the opening paragraph for their obi...

  There had been that anecdote floating around: Media genius and cunning businessman Roger Ailes (forget his personal flaws for now) told staff at Fox this: The business at Fox was not about getting awards. It was about the number of eyeballs Fox attracted. And Ailes mandated that they follow his unique formula to keep growing that viewership. Okay,  Business.com  reports, yes, awards can be a multi-dimensional tool for branding, client/customer loyalty, recruitment and actual sales. I would add: When award winners are honored at the ceremonies that's a useful networking opportunity. During the galas they can even showcase themselves for their next job.  But, are the goodies which could theoretically be associated with awards as abundant as they might have been in a less complicated era in business? Or, more specifically, in a less competitive time for top law firms such as Paul Weiss? It's a dog fight for new business and for recruiting and retaining brandname talen...

I can always rent a car for out-ot-town trips.   But in-town my e-trike does just fine, plus it can consume per hour more than 400 calories . The euphoric aspect of this mode of transportation is that maintenance is lots cheaper and less complex than that of a car. For example, when I almost glided into busy-street traffic from a shopping center and had to use my feet to stop I realized my brakes were gone. Not only was this a safety issue. It was a financial one. Although I am a boomer still working my compensation had peaked in my late 50s. You bet, I am focused on not having to withdraw from my nest egg to get by paying off bills.  Well, Mike at M&M Cycling in Sierra Vista, Arizona got me back in the safety zone for 40 bucks. And he completed the work while I waited for about 15 minutes. I recalled the financial hit and the hours sitting in a auto repair shop for when the brakes on my Smart Car needed some tender loving care.  M&M Cycling can provide you with...

  Two married former SCOTUS clerks - Mark Savignac and Julia Sheketoff - who went to work for Jones Day noticed this: Mothers receive 18 weeks paid leave while fathers only receive 10. They contend in lawsuit "Savignac, et al. v Jones Day" that when they brought this to leadership's attention the father - Savignac - was fired.  Now, US District Court Judge Randolph Moss has given that litigation a trial date: November 2025.   However, first before the case is presented to a jury, the parties must try mediation . What this could mean is that Jones Day's iconic black-box culture could be opened up for public view in a court of law. It's a story media will jump on. Not long along gender discrimination class action "Tolton, et al. v Jones Day" was slated to do that. But upon the agreement of all parties the litigation went poof.  Meanwhile the discovery will be handled by third party Steptoe. That is the law firm where Savignac has been working for five yea...

Among the most soul-wrenching experiences for a business is this: The client you got great results for stalls on paying the bill. At some point it even might look like there will be no payment. Since Q4 is the time for law firms to chase those aging receivables  Law.com  recently published an article on how some New York law firms are using legal action - both in court and through arbitration - to get paid.  Although law firm Paul Weiss is not mentioned in that coverage we might assume that it too encounters that financial and emotional business headwind.  For example, in its job openings on its website is the position of  Senior Collections Specialist . (When clicking on that link the message comes up that the job is no longer available. However, if you click on the Job Opening section that opportunity is listed)  The responsibilities of the Senior Collections Specialist range from monitoring payments including aging receivables, to developing action plans...

  There's a wrong question on Reddit Big Law : How to be more charming?  It's wrong because it is so out-of-date in this visual era when the "tells" of a self are totally out there. Instead, as we experience in the new kinds of sales approaches and the ethos of influencers, decoding the tells is about the search for authenticity. That opens relationships. That's what we seek out. In contrast, charm sucks up all the oxygen.  Kamala Harris is faulted for charm w/o authenticity. Some contend it has been a persona shaped by her handlers. The chatter is that the all-important voter category - Black men - "see through it." A boomer white woman I can't connect with Harris.  In addition, the rise and the fall of the Murdaugh Southern legal dynasty provide real-life evidence of the toxic nature of charm. The new book about that - "The Devil At His Elbow" by Valerie Bauerlein - chronicles how Alex Murdaugh glad-handed his way to everything from co...

  "Publish." In the print era that was the mandate to either make the leap into the big time or to accelerate an upward trajectory. But, now, we are bearing witness to the risk which comes with publishing, be it a book or academic papers. On the  hot seat for alleged plagiarism  is Kamala Harris, along with the co-author Joan O'C Hamilton for the  2009 book "Smart on Crime."  Publishd by Chronicle Books, it appeared just before Harris' 2010 campaign for the job of California Attorney General. In timing so close to the election (which makes us suspicious of motivation) conservative activist/journalist Christopher Rufo released information about alleged instances of plagiarism. They include almost verbatim material published in the book without attribution from sources such as the Urban Institute, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Wiki and AP.  Meanwhile, according to an  accidentally released memo  at Chronicle Books, Rufo sizes up the publishe...

Some of us recall back in the global financial downturn how start dates were pushed into the future.  Sometimes, down the road during the wait, the job offer was rescinded. Also, the number of summer interns had been slashed.  Well, is that trend kicking off again in this era of uncertainty, fear of recession and implementation of generative AI to operations? Yahoo Finance reports: "EY has postponed the start dates for approximately 200 graduates scheduled to join its prestigious strategy advisor Parthenon in the US …  EY-Parthenon has reduced the number of internship opportunities for the upcoming summer ..." Driving this decision is that M&A/PE activity hasn't picked up as expected, at least for the dealmaking EY has been anticipating. This kind of disappointment could also apply to certain financial and law firms.  The graduates had been scheduled to come aboard in November. The date has been pushed out to mid 2025. Meanwhile stipends are provided ranging fro...

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  Being voted in as an equity partner at a law firm is no longer a guarantee of 1) Increasing compensation or 2) Employment security. Depending on the consultant calculating the odds, reports Law.com , you have a 10% to 40% chance of having your compensation cut. That may or may not be a signal that you are being forced out. Getting a "haircut" is a shameful experience. However, the reduction in compensation could just indicate you are on the way to retirement.  Unlike more genteel times when practicing law was a public-service profession, the current law firm, like public companies, operates in the short-term. Profits this year determine a lot.  If profits go down, so can the compensation of some of the partners whose financial performance declined that year. The expose on large law firms "Servants of the Damned" by David Enrich provides flashbacks to a more mission-driven period. Now, the focus in on the amount of the money. Even if profit increases and signific...

America was never an nation with an intellectual bent. Even Harvard, which the Puritans established in 1636, had a utilitarian purpose: to train ministers. Now in this era of cost-efficiency, technological upheaval, stepped-up competition and uncertainity as standard anything less than a total focus on results - not theory and pondering - could push you into the loser box. That's despite the pile-on elite academic degrees and even stints at prestigious management consulting firms. On Reddit Consulting there is the observation: "Lots of people ... just enjoy the learning part, and end up with a resume full of degrees but just can't actually get into the work. Don't be that person. They have a lot of debt and are annoying to work with ..."  That is, love of learning in itself can be a downright turnoff in the real world of work. Neither superiors nor colleagues want you to gush how you love learning about generative AI. Instead they want to bear witness to how you ...

  So much of the media attention has been on the difficulty for white-collars to land work, even contract assignments. To use the cliche, it's been a perfect storm of business cost-efficiency initiatives, people not leaving jobs, technology automating tasks and uncertainty which delays hiring. But this  Financial Times video  is focusing on different aspects of the labor market. They include: Overwhelmed hiring manager who receive so many applications How Generative AI is producing a "sea of sameness" in cover letters, which are tossed The emerging role of AI screeners to determine aptitudes versus developed skills And,  most important to the aging population in developed economies:  With the shrinking number of younger people in the workforce, the push by business is to recruit and upskill those who have retired.  I would add to that group of the unretired those who decide not to leave the labor market even if they have closed down a career.  The latt...

  Simplification. Convenience. Comprehensive. The Democrats cheat sheet here in snail mail for Cochise County Arizona provides all of that. The "who/what to vote for" even zeroes in on judges and propositions, in additon of course to the office of US President.  Instead of all the noisy attacks among the parties in establishment media and social this initiative could be the most effective in 1) Getting people to vote and 2) Making it easy for them to filter through all the issues. Life is hard. Business is even more difficult these days. Get answers – and relief. Jane Genova is a results-driven intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator related to careers. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)