Over-50

Boomers Revisit Andy Warhol - This Time Through Lens of Crypto

At his core, Andy Warhol had been a shrewd businessperson. He had sized up the market potential of the booming celebrity niche and went in there in an innovative way. 

If Warhol were alive in 2022, he would probably be focusing on - in this order - 1) putting venture capital into crypto and 2) purchasing a parcel of space in the Decentraland metaverse to exhibit his NFTs. The specific location would be downtown (as Token.com's head Andrew Kiguel recommends). 

VENTURE CAPITAL AS THE WHERE TO BE IN CRYPTO

Yes, venture capital is the where to be in 2022. Just as it had been in 2021 when $30 billion flowed into crypto. That had been four times the amount invested in 2018 which had been the previous record year.

As Crypto News reports, the money crowd has determined that venture capital is the best point of entry into crypto. 

"SEC V RIPPLE LABS" SPOOKED ICO INVESTING

That is in contrast to the use of Initial Coin Offerings back in 2017 and 2019. Part of the reason that the ICO tactic has soured has been the landmark lawsuit "SEC v Ripple Labs, et al." Here is a copy of the complaint. Cooley is representing Ripple Labs.

That law firm recently has been in the news for another issue. It had refused to cave to Elon Musk's demand that it terminate an associae who had previously been with the SEC. That lawyer, currently with Cooley's securities practice, had interviewed Musk in a probe that had resulted in his stepping down as chairperson of Tesla and paying a $20 million fine. Yes, Cooley has been a profile in courage and integrity. 

Essentially the SEC is accusing the defendants of raising funds for XRP by selling unregistered securities. That is violation of Section 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933.

Meanwhile, in play is the legal classification of "crypto." Right now, it's on the books as property not a security. But that might not be for long.

VENTURE CAPITAL GAME IS ACTION-PACKED

The venture capital game is about more than money.

It's a game that gets the players into a lot of action. They may themselves have been in crypto directly. Then cashed out. But they want to remain close to all that is happening. Or they simply assess this is the next big thing and are determined to participate in the journey. Some forecast that crypto is the next tech wave. 

ELITE LAW FIRMS RIDE IN AS THE POSSE

Cooley is not the only brandname law firm in the blockchain/crypto space. Yes, it has a formal blockchain practice.

But, like the launching of official ESG (Environmental Social Governance) practices, other law firms see the huge potential in guiding and defending clients in how they navigate this new technical, financial, regulatory, and litigation space.

In fact, those firms will probably be quite busy in 2022. That's projected to be when regulatory frameworks will finally be established. Meanwhile, the "Ripple" lawsuit is being closely watched. Depending on how it goes, there could be plenty more of those filed by both law enforcement and crypto competitors. 

A sign of where the law firms are putting their focus is how Paul Weiss has structured its crypto/blockchain practice:

" ... [It deals with] securities, broker-dealer regulation, commodities regulation, transactional intellectual property and technology, tax, company and fund formation, financing, token fundraising and alternative securities offering options (i.e., Reg A+, Reg D/506(c), Reg S, Equity Crowdfunding) ..  securities litigation, regulatory enforcement, economic sanctions and anti-money laundering, and cybersecurity-focused practices."

OLD TECH WILL ALSO NEED LOTS OF LEGAL HELP IN 2022

Today, The Wall Street Journal reports:

"Big tech companies are facing the biggest expansion in potential technology regulation in a generation. And while the jury is out on whether all that sound and fury will signify anything, for the first time there are signs that the big-tech backlash could have a substantive impact."

RISING TIDE LIFTS ALL BOATS

Across all industries, as Warhol would have picked up on, what's developing in both new tech and old tech has provided fresh business opportunities.

Since I had created a blockchain specialty in my communications boutique what has sprung up is an influential global network. Those on it would never have noticed me in my previous areas of communications expertise.

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

America Was Never the Melting Pot - From Being Pushed Around by the Irish in Jersey City to Being Taken for a Jew in Arizona

Gallows humor: Labeling the discrimination against me as "antisemitism lite."

Ever since I relocated from the New York Metro area in April 2014, I have been harassed by those assuming I was Jewish. I am not Jewish.

Back in New York where there is such a dense Jewish population the residents are able to discern who is Jewish.

First in Ohio, then here in Arizona, they have connected the dots of my heavy New Jersey accent, Eastern European body style, thick hair, and olive complexion and concluded that I am Jewish.

Within a few months of leaving New York I got it not to use Yiddish phrases. Since I had grown up in a section of Jersey City, NJ with Jewish neighbors those sayings had become a part of me. Now they are not.

The hostility frequently takes the form of interrogation about my supposed Jewish culture. The usual is aggressively probing me why Jewish parents "push their kids so much." Another is a statement that I should have stayed in New York. The unsaid subtext was that I was not welcome.

But, all that, of course, is antisemitism lite. Nothing like the carnage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania or what had happened today in Texas at Congregation Beth Israel.

My doctoral studies had been in linguistics, not sociology. But just by the language used in relation to the Jews, I have a hunch this hatred isn't open to healing. Maybe never.

Some influential law firms such as Paul Weiss have come out in a formal way against antisemitism. Yes, those large elite law firms have power. But this isn't taking on a cause and winning a verdict for it in front of SCOTUS. This is a centuries-old hardened prejudice. The force field is one of darkness. And it's volatile, able to blow up at any time. 

Jews across the US have to be proactive. Yeah, layers of security. Adopting personal low profiles. And, because I'm a pragmatist I would advise not meeting the criteria for being "Too Jewish."

Over the past eight years, I have toned down my "Too Jewish." That has included speaking more slowly, in a lower voice, using local word choices, and never ever bringing up what I do for a living. If I'm asked, I just say," a little writing."

So far, so good. My car hasn't been keyed. This holiday season I wasn't tormented about any aspect of Christmas.  

Actually, I am not a stranger to bias. Come on, America was never the melting pot. Back in Jersey City in the 1950s, the Irish, supported the Hague political machine and the Roman Catholic Church, pushed my grandparents, parents, and even my generation around.

We took it. We had to. Frank Hague said he was the law. The Roman Catholic said it was in charge of our souls. 

Feedspot selected Law and More as one of The Top 100 Legal Blogs.

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

Insight Into Us

I am thrilled to share with you my article on the over-50 consumer demographic. It has been published in ST Magazine.

With Inflation, No Lying-Back Option - Lesson on Remaining Working from Mirabel in Film "Encanto"

Bloomberg puts it straight: Given the severity of inflation, the rug has been pulled from those who intended to do a "lying flat" and retire early.

That concept of lying flat sprung up in China with some unwilling to endure the all-work ethos. Through living frugally they are managing to survive w/o buying into that overwork system.

AGING AND INFLATION

Well, the aging no longer have that option of a minimalist lifestyle in order to facilitate early retirement. So, they will have to continue earning income from work. Their investments could peter out because of rising prices and a very long lifespan.

The tough nut to crack on that is getting work, holding on to it, and moving on to better work. Often the aging, just like Mirabel in the film "Encanto," are their own worst enemy in that. 

THE TRAGIC FLAW

The tragic flaw among aging careerists or those who want to simply hang in the work world is trying too hard. That mode of presentation automatically raises the question in the minds of those hiring: Is there something wrong with these applicants that they are pushing pushing pushing? 

In the magical haven of Encanto from the Disney film "Encanto" every member of the Madrigals assumes he or she has a gift. The exception is Mirabel. Therefore, she falls over herself - often literally - in trying to deliver what everyone else wants. Of course, that gets her nothing. It only alienates.

Like too many aging, Mirabel doesn't like herself.

EPIPHANY 

When the magic begins to evaporate for the Madrigals, there is the epiphany that Mirabel's gift is atypical. And it will save them. It does. They return to transcendence. Mirabel melts into self-love.

Those same ah-ha moments do come to those over-50 whom I coach. They come to recognize that they have a special gift and begin to pitch it in their job search credentials and interviews. Or, they have enough confidence to make the investment of acquiring a new gift. That could be certification at a community college or online training in a skill like PhotoShop. 

POWER OF CALM

The journey to valuing what one can bring to the the labor market starts with calm. That's the platform for reflection.

Chairperson of elite law firm Paul Weiss Brad Karp is known for his calm. Actually, that's an aberration in the jittery field of Big Law. 

That signature trait he has been able to maintain amid all the turmoil embedded in the litigation and transactions associated with the firm's Wall Street clients. Instead of spiraling into angst he hunkers down. He tells us:

 “In difficult matters, I will think about my clients’ problems night and day until a solution emerges. I’m a big believer in late-night epiphanies.”

GYM RATS AND BLISSED-OUT MONK TYPES

No suprise, more and more of those who must continue working or who just want to have taken that first step into calm through exercise and/or meditation.

At 4:00 AM during the work week here at the Buena Fitness Center in Sierra Vista, Arizona (once a haven for retirees but not much of that any more), the over-50 gym rats are totally into their workout. That begins at 6:00 AM on the weekend. There they also swap job leads and how to manage X or Y kind of boss. In addition, there is guidance about what lifelong learning courses to enroll in at Cochise Community College. 

Currently the meditation happens only online. But there are plenty of no-cost local choices. They range from Richard Wilder's 8 AM session on Wednesdays to the Shambhala session at 6:00 PM Thursdays. 

All are open to non-locals. Once the habit of regular meditation is down cold that can be done at home. Or a day can be stopped at any time for three or four minutes of meditation. 

PLAYING PINBALL

That embrace of calm prevents the wild and exhausting euphoria which could break free with every professional success. Instead that just provides a sturdy building block for the next success. It's like the game of pinball. Winners get to continue playing the game. 

Intuitive guidance about your next. Drop your story line and open to extreme possibility. Sliding Scale Intuitive Fees. Please make an appointment for a complimentary consultation at janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

NFTs and More - We Boomers Have Been There Before with the Counterculture

"Investors and creators of nonfungible tokens -- a market that has ballooned to $44 billion, Chainalysis data show, and attracted fans from Justin Bieber to Melania Trump -- face billions of dollars in taxes and rates as high as 37%, according to tax experts. Internal Revenue Service officials who deal with tax evaders say they are gearing up for a crackdown." - Allyson Versprille, Bloomberg, January 14, 2022.

Because the NFT niche - both for creators and investors - is so relatively new there are many questions about taxes. The IRS hasn't issued much guidance. 

WHAT WE KNOW

Among the knowns for creators is that their profits if they sell, for instance, on OpenSea, will be taxed as ordinary income.

For investors, if they used crypto (which is classified as property, not a a security), that will be taxed as a capital gain.

Investors should know that they may have to file quarterly. And, even though the IRS is not providing too many details on how much should be calculated, investors are expected to come up with good enough math as not to be assessed as underfunding their tax liability. Meanwhile, they should anticipate the possibility of being audited.

Ambiguity won't get anyone in the crypto loop off the hook with the IRS.

BRING A LAWYER ALONG

In addition to the tax challenges associated with NFTs, there are plenty of other kinds of legal ones. Jones Day highlights them in its white paper. 

A number of law firms are establishing formal crypto/blockchain practices to manage for clients all the aspects, be it tax or IP, associated with what is being derived from the new technology. Those early adopter law firms range from Wilson Sonsini to Paul Weiss. 

Paul Weiss' crypto/blockchain practice  is structured this way:

" ... [It deals with] securities, broker-dealer regulation, commodities regulation, transactional intellectual property and technology, tax, company and fund formation, financing, token fundraising and alternative securities offering options (i.e., Reg A+, Reg D/506(c), Reg S, Equity Crowdfunding) ..  securities litigation, regulatory enforcement, economic sanctions and anti-money laundering, and cybersecurity-focused practices."

MYTH OF POWER TO THE PEOPLE

As with the late 1960s counterculture, blockchain technology has been positioned and packaged as Power to the People. That has been wrapped in the rhetoric of decentralization. That's tied with a bright bow called "The End of the MiddleMan." Go out there and do your own financial thing. Same for art. 

Nice ring to that. But when it comes to digital assets, there is much in the system in terms of must-dos. Or what will be interpreted as applying.

Smirk. That system includes crypto exchanges. You can't enter the crypto anything w/o a crypto wallet. And there are gas fees for the coins such as Ether. Those all involve middlemen. 

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

My Maroon Sweater

Every time this fall-winter I have worn my maroon sweater for a Zoom or Google Meet assignment interview, I landed the work. 

When I wore another sweater or a sweater in that same style but in another color I didn't develop any new business.

A bit before Thanksgiving I had prepared a proposal for communications which I submitted to Paul Weiss. I was wearing a green turtleneck.

I had prepared a similar proposal which I submitted to another law firm. I was wearing the maroon sweater. Very quickly I was invited by the latter to sign a contract - non-compete - for that specific work. I informed Paul Weiss that I was withdrawing the proposal. 

It makes total voodoo sense: Stick totally with the maroon sweater.

But there is a mystical challenge: Is it that color which is lucky or is it that particular sweater? 

Although trained in the scientific method, I don't dare experiment with this. Tomorrow for a Google Meet, it will wear that maroon sweater.

Of course, I have concerns about that sweater wearing out.

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

Re-Learning How to Make Friends (in my 70s)

The average work schedule for junior lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis is from 9:14 A.M. to 11.28 P.M. That's about 14 hours daily. At Ropes & Gray, the average day runs 13.5 hours. And, at Weil Gotshal, it's 12.5 hours. 

HUNGER FOR FRIENDSHIP

Those of us hungering for old-fashioned friendship - remember friends' night out - might consider those lawyers blessed.

They don't have to focus on finding, holding, and deepening friendships. They would be lucky if they can maintain their marriages and any other kinds of romantic relationships. For them, work/life balance is a meme media outlets have conjured up for clickbait.

Meanwhile, those of us who do have enough work/life balance are cursed with the craving to develop the kinds of friendships we had in college and perhaps a few years afterward. 

In The Atlantic, Katharine Smyth details why it's so difficult, perhaps impossible, to make friends as fully-formed adults. "The Friendship Report" by Snapchat documents that at age 21 we are finally capable of developing a real friendship. That's a peaking experience.

After that, the unsuccessful search for new friends can be the source of unique pain.

After all, what friendship provides is so important to human beings that in TechCrunch Amand Silberling attributes part of the downfall of Elizabeth Holmes to the one-dimensional reality that she had no friends.

HARDENED APPROACHES, PREDICTABLE FAILURE 

However, like most hardened types of problems, this one can persist because the same old approaches are used and, although ineffective, continued to be applied. 

Among the standard MOs for making friends is to look for and reinforce common ground. As Smyth highlights, that's often a total dead end.

Contrary to accepted belief, likes rarely click. 

That could be that there is the none of the force field generated mystically by those from different tribes.

I know.

OFF THE RESERVATION

A series of disasters forced me off the reservation. That's a raw metaphor for one's comfort zone.

For example, my dog and I had just relocated from the midwest (where neither of us had friends) to a town in Arizona, about a 90-minute drive from the Mexican border.

After only two weeks, his serious heart condition deteriorated. It was the slo-mo surreal trudge to the vet one very early Sunday morning. There, there was no choice but to assist him in passing over.

Then it was just me. 

That was just the beginning of troubles. 

In a very human way, people then drifted into my life. We had nothing in common. Even the generational silos came down. We still have nothing or very little in common but we are friends.

THE OLD NEIGHBORHOOD

All this is just like the friendship that had existed or how we want to remember it existed in The Old Neighborhood. My experience of that had been pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey. The oppressiveness of the Hague political machine increased social cohesion. 

Could the takeaway be: Just be in there living life and open (we break open in adversity, don't we) and friendship will happen? It has no predetermined set contours. It simply is. Back in those days, Jersey City didn't consist of "planned neighborhoods" of likeminded people. 

WONDERMENT

Off the reservation in the past 13 months I have experienced wonderment. That emerges from my friendships with members of different tribes.

They range from a short-order chef who knows butterscotch-flavored cookies will lift my mood and will whip up a batch (he wants to remain anonymous) to the head of an elite law firm (Brad Karp at Paul Weiss) who guided me out of stuckness into fresh professional territory. 

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

You're Not Imagining It - Inflation Gone Wild

Yes, prices have shot up about 7%. That's what the media had documented.

And, the COLA for Social Security comes in this month at 5.9%.

How to fill the gap?

Of course, there's belt-tightening. Seniors I have interviewed for articles confess that they are buying less chicken - which has been hit hard. In WalMart the 22-ounce bag of frozen diced chicken has galloped up to almost 8 dollars. At one time that was at about 5 bucks and some change.

There is also more chatter about "needing to get a job." The good news is that there are jobs out, especially in this time of COVID. Help-wanted signs are everywhere. And on job search boards there are plenty of openings for both contract and full-time jobs.

Another option is, yes, considering relocating to a nation with a lower cost of living. For example, in Nogales, Mexico, which is about a 90-minute ride from Tucson, Arizona, here are the average prices:

Furnished apartment in upscale area - $329, per month

Utilities - $49 per month

Internet - $23 per month

Cleaning help - $2.69 an hour

The first step to researching living abroad on a permanent basis is the free publication International Living.

What am I doing? Developing new ideas for marketing my communications boutique. That has been effective in bringing in more and better-paying business. But, like you, with inflation I have concerns about outliving my income. 

Feedspot selected Law and More as one of The Top 100 Legal Blogs.

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

 

Think Like a Lawyer: Don't Publish a Book

In all sectors, this used to be the rule: Publishing a book was the price of entry.

That mandate probably still holds for those running for public office. In fact, if someone has published a book, the buzz gets going that he or she will probably run for something. 

Currently, careerists can often get the same reach by having their public relations team land them a high-profile media placement. Then that content is repurposed in social networks, including TikTok, as well as a special event on the metaverse. And there you got it.

The reality is that often a tight, well-done article or a video interview can communicate the essence of what a book would have taken 250 pages to explain - or pontificate about.  

Another reality is that there are fewer people out there willing to take the time to read the book.

Gallup found that the average number of books (print, e- and audio) read annually has plunged from 15.6 in 2016 to the current 12.6. Also, the largest decline in reading has been among college graduates. My hunch is that after sizing up what has to be mastered for the test they get it that, no, you don't have to read a whole book to connect the dots on what's wrong with, for example, the bail system. 

Influential leaders in the legal sector have made it their business to be out there in the right media.

Dentons' Joe Andrew got his message communicated loud and clear about worker inequality through an essay in The Hill. The point was made. Anything more would have been a turnoff. Lot of other media outlets reprinted it. 

For Paul Weiss' Brad Karp, who was an early adopter in launching an ESG practice, the right placement was Corporate Counsel. That highlighted ESG trends for 2022. That was just enough and not too much for chief legal officers to digest. And the market segment for Paul Weiss' ESG practice are those in-house corporate leaders. What busy CLO is going to plow through a book on ESG ...

Sure, if a law firm chairperson is considering a campaign for U.S. Senator or Governor, do a book.

But the other ambitious law firm leaders, in addition to knocking out those articles/op-eds and appearing on "ABC," should also be doing this:  playing around with strategies for sponsoring forums, tutorials, and even business-development pitches in the metaverse.

With their profits from 2020 and 2021, they actually can afford to buy a parcel of property in the Decentraland or Sandbox. Location, as with brick-and-mortar real estate, counts for a lot. The best location is Downtown Decentraland. But those parcels are going fast. They have to do the buying now.

Tokens.com's founder and head Andrew Kiguel plans a gala fashion show staged on his Decentraland property. You bet the media is continually interviewing him. Here is The Wall Street Journal video one. Kiguel has become the thought leader to consult about metaverse trends.  His following on LinkedIn Updates keeps growing. 

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.

We Boomers Need to Be Friends to Each Other

"Maybe if Holmes had friends to confide in, someone would have told her that she was going too far by stretching the truth with investors, or that it wasn’t a good idea to deliver unreliable blood test results to patients, even if her boyfriend-slash-COO said to do so. But by design, there was no one for the single-minded entrepreneur to talk to." - Amand Silberling, TechCrunch, January 8, 2022.

Obviously, the lesson that emerges from "US v Elizabeth Holmes" is the absolute necessity to have friends.

That can and maybe should include family as friends. Silberling points out that Holmes was not close with her family - that's despite the staging of hand-holding in the morning entrances to the courtroom during the trial. For example, her family, when invited to her 30th birthday party, indicated that they were unaware she was even having such a party.

Think about it: Friends could also have given Holmes "permission" to fail. When it was apparent that the finger-prick technology probably would not pan out, they could have gently nudged this entrepreneur to view shuttering the enterprise as an option. That could have prevented the fraudulent activities which were to follow. Holmes would have wound up to be just another Silicon Valley player who had bet wrong. Not a crook who will serve time - maybe lots of it - in prison.

Those with staying power in business such as Warren Buffet have close friends. His include Charlie Munger and Bill Gates.

The same with those in law who have experienced sustained success. For example, Brad Karp has established a powerful brandname both as a Wall Street defense lawyer and as chairperson of elite firm Paul Weiss.

Bloomberg Law has documented that Karp is well-connected in the Democratic Party. Also with his signature ability to take a  sincere interest in others, he has an expansive support system. I have a hunch that is why Karp and Paul Weiss can do rapid course correction when things go a bit awry. 

Siberling speculates that Holmes didn't invest in friendship because she was hell-bent on making the enterprise a Wow. Friendship takes time. 

I have another theory. I have done communications assignments for myriad Holmes types - both female and male. They seem convinced they are the smartest kids in the room. So goes their reasoning: Why let anyone else into that high wattage force field. Inevitably others do them in. There was no network to protect them. 

In workshops for entrepreneurs as well as courses in business and law schools, there should be required training in how to be a friend. That doesn't come naturally to all of us.

Before I launched my communications boutique in 1987, my friends and family mandated I pony up the funds to enroll in the introductory Dale Carnegie seminar derived from Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People." 

Within seven months, thanks partly to the network I had put together, I was grossing 30% more than I had as a corporate middle manager. Today I'm still in business.

But, there's more about friendship. During this challenging year of transitioning to a blockchain specialization in communications I had gained fresh insight on the complex nuances of friendship. And the support they provide. That was from Karp. Yes, that Brad Karp - whose firm Paul Weiss, no accident, ranks in the top 10 selected for prestige by Law360 Pulse:

1. Kirkland
2. Latham
3. Davis Polk
4. Gibson Dunn
5. Paul Weiss
6. Wachtell
7. Simpson Thacher
8. Debevoise
9. Sidley Austin
10. Quinn Emanuel

I have been able to "pass on" some of what Karp has recently given me to fellow boomers who have been determined to never retire. That's what friends do.

Marketing communications for blockchain, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and much much more (including waterproofing, roofing, and shipping containers). You want results. And that’s exactly what you get partnering with Genova Communications. Fees customized for your unique budget. Complimentary consultation - janegenova374@gmail.com.