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Many client problems are solved when taking a shower, working out in the gym or commuting on the George Washington Bridge. Not during normal business hours and not at a desk.  SuperLawyers documents that Paul, Weiss partner Brad Karp frequently develops the big conceptional breakthroughs on managing a case after midnight. Clients such as from Wall Street, who have ready access to him whenever, wonder if Karp ever sleeps. Some quip: The best time to reach Karp is 2 AM.  This continuum of work is known as the inability to disconnect. Most assume it's about the compulsion to always be checking emails and texts. But the reality is much more comprehensive than that in professional services. And, it may be a must to hold onto a job during these disruptive, cost-efficiency, AI-driven times.  Not being able to disconnect is epidemic in the legal sector.  Bloomberg Law reports that 70% of lawyers surveyed about the worsening of their recent well-being note that they can't or...

 Yes, today, go out there and fill up our gas tanks. Oil prices slide.  And we can feel a bit more secure about our nest eggs. Futures are up 400 points. But, the darkness creeping in is the rising expense of healthcare. Sure, we're blessed to have access to Medicare. But recently I have been notified by United Healthcare about alarming boosts in copays and cutbacks in benefits for my Medicare Advantage supplement.  For example, for an overnight in the hospital I will have to pony up about a hundred bucks more. The dental benefit has been cut in half. A visit to a specialist which in this zip code used to run about $35 will now set me back $60. The estimated Social Security COLA for 2027 won't absorb that. Me personally? I feel almost smug that I didn't stop working. Careers. Forget all that. It’s about earning a good living, no matter what. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova, StreetSmart Coaching (janegenova374@gmail.com)

  Tyrant Julius Caesar, portrayed in Shakespeare's history play , looks up stunned at long-time ally Brutus. The latter is among those murdering him. The iconic line from that is: "Et Tu, Brutus." The theme is the need for the public interest to take priorty over personal loyalty. That drama was staged in 1599. And, in 2026, we have the same sort of staging, even before the midterms which is being described, as the "Twilight of the Don."  It takes the form of an "Et Tu, Karl (Rove)." Among his choices of the public interest over party loyalty Rove broadcasts that he's voting Democrat in Texas.  Yes, this is Mr. GOP, turning on what may be perceived as the analogue of Caesar. Meanwhile, there's plenty of manifesting of what America could become the day after the midterms. With the imperial presidency in retreat, so much of the toxic issues dominating since the 2024 election will dissolve into nothingness. Not even left will be much of a bad mem...

It's come to this: Law firm Weil Gotshal has found itself on the wrong side of the global talent war. As a result, the buzz now is it could be exploring a merger with a rival. That should send a chill throughout the firm. Mergers generate redundancies. That can mean loss of jobs. Weil denies that it is in merger talks. Bloomberg Law,  in reporting on this, goes on to document: "Cravath Swaine & Moore is bringing on Aiello along with five other top Weil partners, including Matthew Gilroy, co-head of the firm’s mergers and acquisitions practice. Sullivan & Cromwell [is] … hiring David Avery-Gee, Weil’s co-managing partner in London, and Sarah Flaherty, a partner in Weil’s corporate group in the UK capital." Meanwhile, other law firms experiencing the exits of high-profile partners include Cadwalader, Paul, Weiss, Wachtell and Willkie Farr. Ironically, until recently, Cravath was being watched for partner flight. In the first few weeks of 2026, four partners had lef...

"Father Time always wins." That's what Warren Buffett observed as he stepped down from chairmanship at Berkshire Hathaway. He remains involved with the corporation, though. And he didn't admit this kind of defeat until age 96. If Buffett's hold on that title, power and influence clogged the mobility pipeline there wasn't balking. At least not in public. It was at age 63 that Greg Abel took over Buffett's CEO responsibilities. Yet, here we are with large law firms contending that aging lawyers have to be eased out or, worse, pushed out, to facilitate upward mobility for the next generations. If that's not done, reports The Wall Street Journal,  impatient talent could leave. That is sometimes called keeping the firm "culturally young." The example given is this: "When six lawyers stunned the legal world by leaving Wachtell for Gibson Dunn recently, one of the reasons was a feeling that Wachtell wasn’t clearing the way for new leadership,...

  About eight months into the Scott Barshay era at Paul, Weiss what continues to play out is flight of star litigation partners.  Since retaining those brandname partners is a key metric of how a law firm is doing, this latest development adds to questions if Barshay, prominent in M&A and as a rainmaker, can lead. Leadership is very different from managing. Barshay's bashing of the litigation folks at the firm, reported by The New York Times  in early August, seems to keep biting him in the butt. According to the paper of record: "At a dinner ... Mr. Barshay belittled the litigators, saying that they were soft and didn’t know how to bring in business ..." Paul, Weiss indicated the statements were mischaracterized. Well, apparently the latest exit happened fast. Not even Kimberly Branscome's LinkedIn profile has recorded the poaching by Gibson Dunn. Bloomberg Law , though, caught it: "Los Angeles-based Branscome is joining Gibson Dunn as co-chair of its gro...

  The sticky story in Big Law has shifted. Abruptly. Remember how it was about, including on "60 Minutes," the dealmaking with the Trump administration. Books like "Regime Change" and "Profiles in Cowardice" are still trying to run with that same-old. But, the reality is that those who had been in the loop on that one, such as Paul, Weiss partner Brad Karp, essentially have returned to the normal work of being aggressive representatives for clients. For Karp those include Apollo, Citi and the NFL. The guy is doing great. So are the lawyers at the other eight law firms which negotiated the Executive Orders with the White House. Now, the story, presented in urgent tones, is about hiring. That extends from entry level to those lateral star partners. In the front lines of this are legal journalists Roy Strom at Bloomberg Law and Sara Randazzo at Reuters Legal .  Let's cut to the chase. The grabber is that the leaders making those hiring decisions are more...

Sure, trend watchers know. Marriage is so 20th century. Fewer and fewer couples are getting married. According to Knot , that numbers about 2 million. But here is the reality that bites us, especially in the pocketbook. Of those who marry, over 80% will have a wedding. For those of us who are financially challenged or fear that in the near future (layoff) an invitation to that wedding could be unwelcome. So much so that The Wall Street Journal covers the new etiquette of declining to participate.  Believe it or not, if you're feeling this way, you have lots of company. Research from the Bank of America Institute  found that almost 60% of those receiving an invitation would decline because of their budgets. If the event happens out-of-town there's even more financial incentive to say "no." In addition to purchasing an outfit and ponying up a gift (cash is preferred) there are the expenses of transportation, lodging and meals away from home.  Manners experts recommend ...

  Dow Futures As on Thursday, 17 Sep 2026 04:33 AM, US Time Last Trade on 17 Sep 04:22 AM, Market Open  Last Trade Change Change in %  52,234.0 +319.0 +0.61%

  Our hearts drop. Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 51,370.20 USD ▼ -722.91 (-1.39%) today

  Both parties seem to enjoy drama.  The latest in this high-profile dispute between billionaire Leon Black and the House Oversight Committee it this: The latter voted to hold Black in contempt. He failed to show up at a hearing about NDAs. The Hill reports: "Lawmakers have sought to question Black, who co-founded Apollo Global Management, about payments he made to Epstein totaling millions over a number of years."  There is the hypothesis that Black's money financed much of the Epstein network. However, although this makes makes noise, along with headlines, it has a long way to go before it becomes a legal reality. The entire House has to approve it. Then it goes to the Justice Department. In short, it is too early to look forward to a kind of high noon at the O.K. corral.  Another obstacle to full-blown legal theatrics is that Black filed a lawsuit "Black v House Oversight Committee, et al.  It contends that the defendants overstepped their authority. Black c...

"Profiles in Cowardice" by Jacob Weisberg showcases the eight who, it is contended, enabled the imperial presidency.  Weisberg's book ranks 393 on Amazon. So, like "Regime Change" (ranking 126) it's a best-seller. And it's doing that through an old-fashioned formula leveraged by hustlers, influencers, hot heads and more. That's this: Ride hard a cluster of cliches which have evolved into a kind of wisdom of the mobs.  Those selected for cowardice include Jeff Bezos, George W. Bush and, yes again, Brad Karp. No rolling out of the same-old would be complete without snippets of scenes from Karp's Executive Order Past. That's tied together with what we Boomers used to call "psychobabble." Gen Z labels plunging into the unconscious as "therapyspeak." Meanwhile, isn't that too cute and lazy: Playing on JFK's iconic "Profiles in Courage" for the title and theme of this book.  It's not unthinkable that Karp ...

  Do JDs from the law schools at William & Mary, Columbia, Cleveland State and Harvard navigate Big Law more effectively than other JDs?  That could be. See, each of those has a special course on power. William & Mary's is probably the closest to the "Paths to Power" iconic elective at Stanford Graduate School of Business.  Thanks to the media, professional anonymous networks, books and social law students should be getting it: How they acquire, leverage and grow power, as well as align with the power bases, will determine their performance in large law firms.  Grow up. Performance is subjective. It is well-known that several outstanding reviews will become irrelevant after offending the powerful. Performance could then be rated subpar.  Work usually is, at best, a defensive strategy. It can count though, probably for a lot, if it's for a powerful senior partner. The high grades from your brilliant work in law school will get you into Big Law. But ...

The resignation of Jacob Coxon from Anthropic has certainly been the  game-changer in AI. That action and the positing of the end of humanity have forced AI leadership to admit: 1) There's plenty not known about the technology, and 2) Wiping out the human race could be among the possible side effects. Not hyperbolic is it to frame AI as a Black Swan. Maybe the last of the Black Swans since we might not be around any longer to experience another one of those. In a knee-jerk response, the head of Anthropic - Dario Amodei - issued a kind of manifesto yesterday. It argues for a slow-down in the development of this technology. BTW, even before Coxon entered history's profiles in courage. there had been multiple incidents of AI bots going rogue.   They used sophisticated outlaw strategies, ranging from organizing together to concealing their moves.  So, come on, the credibility of all AI leaders, who now are also joining Anthropic in the need for a pause, is kaput. They knew ...

   Irony. The inflation that keeps us aging in high angst can turn out to be a bit of a blessing.  Because of the current inflation, AARP projects that for those of receiving Social Security retirement benefit there could be for the 2027 COLA a 3.6% boost. How could that play out? Well according to OpenAI's ChatGPT, here it goes. Current average: $2,071.00 3.6% increase: $74.56/month New average: $2,145.56/month.  The  Annual increase: about $895.   But another irony is this. Higher Medicare expenses could eat into this new abundance. Already that is happening with Medicare supplements such as United Healthcare Medicare Advantage. In zip code 43609, a visit to a specialist now sets us back $55. Not long ago that could have been $35.

 In 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli published "The Prince." That was an amoral guide on how to get, hold and increase political power. The core lessons include: Better to be feared than loved Virtue-signaling a must, but no need to be on the right side of ethical norms Destroy the opposition Accept that the means justifies the end. In 2026, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan published "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump."  Ranking 135 on Amazon, "Regime Change" has wide reach. In a sense, it serves to deconstruct the 21st century success formulas for power domination. At least for now. Much of that could collapse after the midterms. However, for now - the setting is the second Trump administration - here seems to be the kind of Machiavelli guidance for power dynamics. The authors present the strategy and then provide copious examples. Following is not a full list. Total lack of shame.  This, though, is not unique to the administration...

  From William Cohan in "Money To Burn" to Dan Adler in Vanity Fair  to government  there's plenty of earnest concern about "the $158 million." That's the amount that financial innovator Leon Black paid to the late Jeffrey Epstein.  So far, the results of the probing have been mere speculation. The hidden agenda seems to be to uncover that the funds were invested by Epstein in his wrongdoing, especially alleged sex trafficking. Therefore, the earnest seem to want to nail Black as an enabler. Maybe accidental but still an enabler. Meanwhile, though, Black doesn't have to care. Sure, there are the reputational body blows. But those are very separate from the life Black leads. He remains prominent in finance and the arts. His family office is successful. His wealth keeps building. So much so that he can afford to continue to hire top lawyers to give him a forum for his points of view. That is the high-profile lawsuit. The most recent is "Black v House ...

  Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 52,656.42 USD ▲ +592.32 (+1.14%) today September 11, 9:32 AM EDT · Market Open

After three brutal days, relief may happen: Dow Futures As on Thursday, 10 Sep 2026 20:33 PM, US Time Last Trade on 10 Sep 20:22 PM, Market Open  Last Trade Change Change in %  52,180.0 +85.0 +0.16%  

  Every spring some of the best and brightest graduates compete for junior analyst positions in financial services. This spring there may be fewer of those plum opportunities. OpenAI announced its ChatGPT for Financial Services . Like Anthropic's Claude for financial services it takes over much of the structured repetitive tasks new entries to the field do. The sweep is end-to-end, ranging from, for example, the research about a target for M&A to the slide deck presentation to pitch to potential clients to handle the business. In between could be building an Excel model.  Not that all junior analyst jobs will be eliminated. The bots have to be overseen. Also the financial firm has to stock the pipeline with the talent to be shaped for senior positions. But, the selection process will be increasingly competitive.  So, where are the ambitious in the Class of 2027 to go for the success journey?  The same AI take-over of entry-level structured repetitive work is happ...