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  Does this mean Paul Weiss is back, that is as having confidence in itself as a social-justice change agent? Some might assume that had been knocked out of it when the Trump administration targeted it and then issued that Executive Order. The "this" is this: Paul Weiss has put up again on its website The Center to Combat Hate. Click on it here. What further ground will Paul Weiss reclaim in social activism? Keep monitoring the website. Need help sorting out how to make a living? Complimentary consultation with intuitive coach Jane Genova (text 203-468-8579, email janegenova374@gmail.com).  

You know your practice area. You have a brandname in it. You are well-connected. You understand the sales process. What's left in starting up your own business is learning how to operate a businesss. That's very different than the business development you used to do at Kirkland & Ellis, Paul Weiss or Perkins Coie.  But thanks to legal tech and more specifically AI tools for everything from keeping the books to managing client relations operations become more doable.  Reddit Big Law focuses on that trend: Big Law lawyers leaving that prestigious setting to fly solo. You probably will have lower compensation than in large law firms but you'll still retain an upper middle class income. The lawyers I coach who have navigated that transition usually succeed with a niche approach. For example, one man's solo practice specializes in the legal needs of dentists. Currently the challenge is getting the pricing right.  Tomorrow I deliver an hour seminar on starting your own bu...

 What goes on in public opinion - and for Paul Weiss there had been plenty of that - can be irrelevant when it comes right down to the business.  Despite that "public relations nightmare," associated with dealmaking with the Trump administration the law firm had a busy Q1. For example, as Bloomberg Law reports: "Paul Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison is guiding online mortgage provider Rocket Cos.’ plan to buy Mr. Cooper Group Inc. in an all-stock deal is valued at $9.4 billion." In addition, during the quarter Paul Weiss also led Rocket’s plan to buy Redfin Corp. for $1.75 billion.  The firm is known to do excellent work and with so much at stake in these kinds of transactions businesses will choose or stick with those law firms having a track record in that niche.  Paul Weiss' positive business performance amid being hammered in the court of public opinion isn't atypical. In the past when Big Oil was under fire by myriad constituencies many of those ...

There's the belief that only one entity can occupy a space at one time. The old joke is that in a psychiatric facility there can only be one Jesus Christ. Other patients will have to adopt the identity of a St. Peter or Michael the Archangel.  Buy into that and this is predictable: Now that the spotlight in the legal sector has shifted to Skadden Everything - ranging from the dealmaking with the Trump administration to the exits of two associates to the alleged shutdown of the firm's email system  - it would be the law firm enduring the lion's share of the heat.  That could be a relief for Paul Weiss. Over there at its Mid-Manhattan headquarters there could be a collective exhale. The worse of what's being termed The Public Relations Nightmare could be over. Chair Brad Karp can turn again to producing thought leadership observations. But most law firms, not only those which have been caught in the vortex of Executive Orders or which have headed off EOs, have been propel...

  41,289.05 -294.85  (-0.71%) As of Mon. Mar 31, 2025 9:31 AM EDT · Free Realtime Quote (USD) · Market open UPDATE:  Not all is lost. 41,556.69 USD ▼  -27.21 (-0.065%) today March 31, 10:57 AM EDT  ·  Market Open Day Week Month Year 5 Year Max 10:00 12:00 2:00 3:30 41,000 41,200 41,400 41,600 Vol Need help sorting out how to make a living? Complimentary consultation with intuitive coach Jane Genova (text 203-468-8579, email janegenova374@gmail.com).

When the brutal recession hit in the mid-1970s, boomers were said to face a career apocalypse. And, believe me we feared that ourselves.  Then Gen X were told they would never be able to take hold of professional success because they were slackers.  Millennials were said to be doomed because they were the impatient gen which job-hopped way too much as their career lost focus. Now, as if it is a new finding BusinessInsider headlines with:  "Gen Z facing career apocalypse" The article trots out all the usual suspects. They range from the severe economic uncertainty which has halted organizations from hiring to the purging of federal jobs to the business model of cost-efficiency.  There also could be grim outcomes for those who took refuge in graduate-degree programs and professional schools such as law. About the latter: In three years when they graduate generative AI could already be reconfiguring manpower demands. And not in their favor. Law firm Cleary has acquire...

  Since Paul Weiss negotiated with the Trump administration, professional anonymous networks Reddit and Fishbowl have been coming down hard (and with raw expletives) on the law firm about that decision. With an exception. That's today. Fishbowl posts the question yet again about the why: How come Paul Weiss backed away from its usual sticking to principle. There's a long-form answer. Here are the points that might persuade about the rightness of that move and the urgency: "The answer is that law firms are fragile businesses. Even if Paul Weiss had lost only a few clients, the firm could have been destroyed. "[If business declined so would Profits Per Equity Partner.] Once their pay goes down, some of the partners may decide to leave ... This exposes a law firm to the risk of a cascading spiral of partner withdrawals akin to a run on a bank." Although this could be persuasive, it probably will not persuade. Once a mindset has hardened into a position of being ab...

Decades ago - remember the counterculture? - a stint in activism provided an excellent political education. Later I was hired to be a research assistant for a senator.  Now, the gain can be so much more. And so we wonder if former Skadden associate Rachel Cohen is on the way to becoming a powerhouse wealthy influencer. Among youth that is the dream.  While at Skadden she was a busy bee, including transmitting an open letter to-be-signed protesting what Donald Trump was up to in focusing on the rule of law. She challenged her employer to do the right thing or she would leave.  According to her they didn't do the right thing and she left. Skadden stayed mum throughout the drama and blocked her email. With great glee, those who dislike what Big Law seems to represent can imagine how this upstart proved such a nuisance to the brass. In the front lines was there the CMO Luke Ferrandino? How many heads needed to be put together to decide the blocking move? What great material ...

"At (name of corporation name withheld) hundreds tore up their credit cards and thousands of others applied for one." That's what a middle manager clued me in about a public relations nightmare for that oil company. What confirmed they were passing along credible intel was that the financial performance results were positive. No meltdown in profit or revenue. That same pattern could wind up playing out in the sustained tarring and feathering those law firms which have made deals with the Trump administration and those which are in any way associated with it. Today's example is the Reddit Law posting seeking input on: "... which firms have been honorable/dishonorable ..."  Paul Weiss, of course, is on the list of the dishonorable. So is Skadden.  So far, Paul Weiss hasn't taken a hit in loss of clients or partners. It's too early for a diaspora to break loose at Skadden. Sure, two associates left Skadden and issued manifestos but that seems a mere p...

First Rachel Cohen. Now Brenna Trout Frey.  Those associates have resigned their positions at Skadden. Cohen did it anticipating her employer would not "do the right thing." Frey made her move after a deal had been transacted with the Trump administration.  Like the Norma Rae force field in that classic film about equitable treatment of employees  there has been lots of drama. For example, Frey issued a manifesto on her LinkedIn profile . It ends with: "The rule of law matters. As an attorney, if my employer cannot stand up for the rule of law, then I cannot ethically continue to work for them." She calls on other associates to join her in exiting. As of now, there have been 7,244 page views, 407 comments and 207 reposts.  So?  That makes great copy for tabloids such as  BusinessInsider and Abovethelaw.   The professional anonymous networks such as Reddit have been maintaining high-vibration rants.  The buzzword, referring to Skadden and, of cou...

 As expected, prominent law firm Skadden ducked being issued an Executive Order by cutting a deal with the Trump administration. Now, its CMO Luke Ferrandino will have to "sell" it to the many constituencies which balk about negotiating with the administration. This at a time when the role of CMO is being scrutinized by leadership in organizations.  Another critical public relations issue Ferrandino has to manage is the resignation of third-year associate Rachel Cohen. She challenged Skadden to do what she determined was the right thing in this hot-button matter of the administration's focus on the legal sector. According to her, that didn't happen. Cohen's activism has received plenty of media attention. The terms and conditions of the deal, according to the President include $100 million of pro bono work which the two approve. Paul Weiss got off easier with only $40 million of pro bono work. Also, as Bloomberg Law notes: "Skadden also commits to funding ...

  There's a disconnect between how communications platforms, ranging from legacy media to professional anonymous networks, are taking sides in the Trump Executive Order controversy and what clients are doing.  Essentially some of the messaging channels are designating the bad guys, like Paul Weiss and now Skadden, and the good ones such as Perkins Coie, Wilmer Hale and Jenner and Block. But, in general, clients are staying out of it - and staying put with the law firms which have bumped up against the Trump administration's ire.  For instance, at Perkins Coie, The Wall Street Journal documents, there have been some client dropouts such as Honeywell. But: " ... some of Perkins’s oldest and biggest clients, including Boeing, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Intel and the National Football League’s Seattle Seahawks team, have stuck by the firm so far, according to people familiar with the matter."  Paul Weiss, which went for dealmaking, hasn't lost clients.   As ye...

  Dow Jones 30 Industrial Index  , DJIA 41,657.17 -642.53 UPDATE: Things got worse. 41,592.16 USD ▼  -707.54 (-1.67%) today March 28, 1:57 PM EDT  ·  Market Open Day Week Month Year 5 Year Max 10:00 12:00 2:00 3:30 41,200 41,800 42,400 Vol

  Beaten down in a doctoral program at an Ivy as well as during the dog years in corporate (before I started my own businesses) the smug was knocked out of me.  Until about a month ago.  I 1) purchased a used car before the tariffs went into effect and those boost the price of used too and 2) paid cash so I dodged any possibility that it would be hauled away for late payments. The brand is Smart Car. It feels like the European roadsters. I pretend I'm in Italy tooling around the steep mountain highways. It's compact enough for me to wash it by hand myself. That saves even more money. Gets about 40 miles to a gallon of gas.  The only limitation? Too small for a big dog. I am searching for a small guy or gal, 10 years age or older since I myself am a senior. Text me (203-468-8579) if you're in Southeastern Arizona and have a pooch which needs a quiet forever home.  Have to change? As your intuitive career coach/tarot reader I guide you in transitions. Clients rang...

  Coincidence?  The CMO at law firm Skadden, which is mulling a deal with the Trump administration , had also been the CMO at Paul Weiss, which already cut a deal. That's Luke Ferrandino. Could there have been a spill-over in thinking?  It's speculated that Skadden is heading off an Executive Order. That could be the motivation for possible negotiations with the administration. Paul Weiss had already been hit with an EO and made the pragmatic decision to negotiate versus filing a lawsuit for injunctive relief as had Perkins Coie.  A critical branding matter also at Skadden has been that Harvard Law School graduate third-year associate Rachel Cohen resigned Skadden because she experienced that it wasn't properly supporting her notion of the right thing to do during this crisis in the legal sector. Her activism has been covered by all sorts of platforms ranging from legacy media to professional anonymous networks to Substack. How Skadden handles these public relations...

So much for vilifying Paul Weiss for negotiating with the Trump administration.   Elite law firm Skadden could be adopting the dealmaking model used by Paul Weiss. The New York Times  reports: “The elite law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has had discussions with President Trump’s advisers about a deal to avert the type of executive order that the White House has been imposing on many of its competitors, according to five people briefed on the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations." Read my analysis on Substack of this kind of approach to new realities. Will the Paul Weiss model become standard? Meanwhile, shame on Abovethelaw for pounding Paul Weiss over and over again. BTW, here is my Substack column on that very unobjective coverage, by lawyers trained in critical thinking, of the crisis in the legal sector.  Have to change? As your intuitive career coach/tarot reader I guide you in transitions. Clients range ...

  The mythology is this: Early adopters have an extreme edge. The reality, as with the Xerox graphical user interface, is more often dropping the ball on implementation and being shamed. Kodak (digital camera) and Nokia (mobile phone) were also caught in that brand damage. Only history will decide how institutions such as universities, government agencies, law firms and auto companies, facing Trump administration edicts, will be judged for how they navigated that new territory. Those “Accidental Early Adopters” are experiencing soul-wrenching transitions, not an adventure. In Substack I take a hard look at this issue. In the late 1980s, my generation of middle-aged middle managers were purged from corporate. We had nowhere to go in corporate. We became Early Adopters of massive entrepreneurship.  Have to change? As your intuitive career coach/tarot reader I guide you in transitions. Clients range from lawyers to entrepreneurs to the trades to new graduates. Free confidential c...

  If you're looking for #recessionindicator, of course, you'll configure the data to deliver that dark forecast.  Some are pointing to the falloff in demand for exotic dancers.  Some in the decline for purchasing snacks.  Others in the DC Metro area notice all the cars which don't leave the driveway in the morning because of the unemployment triggered by DOGE. Mine? Clients for my intuitive coaching/tarot-reading business suddenly report concern about keeping their jobs. They describe the internal environment as "tense." In the law-firm sector the darkness is taking shape internally among the leaders.  Citi law firm advisory group  has picked up that law-firm leaders: " ... are feeling much more bearish now than at the end of last year." When Donald Trump had been elected there was downright euphoria among partners anticipating another golden age of M&A. After all this US President was pro-business, FTC head Lina Khan was out and the nation could cir...