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October 31, 2012

One Man's 2012 Halloween Plan: Turn off the lights. Lie on the floor.

So go away, okay? Look, I didn't buy any Candy this year--and when the neighborhood kids ring my doorbell tonight, I'll pretend I am not there. I was supposed to be in the District of Columbia tonight. The thought of stocking up with Candy for Halloween never entered my mind. I was off the hook this year. And then Hurricane Sandy pulled me back into Halloween. Early Monday morning US Airways cancelled my Tuesday flight to Reagan National Airport. This in turn has ensured an even busier week this week reshuffling things so I can do the trip next week. Look, I live alone. My last girlfriend evacuated weeks ago. No one to pick anything up for me.

As of this morning I still haven't bought any Candy. In a pinch, I could be okay: I still have 4 vintage Jolt Colas, 7 Red Bulls and a new carton of Marlboro Red Labels I can hand out at the door. But I decided a few minutes ago to "bypass" Halloween. Don't get me wrong. I love kids. I love Candy. For a bachelor, it is virtually a food group. I love anything with strong Celtic roots--I love Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Eve, Samhain or whatever you and your Pagan, Christian, Atheist or Other young ones call it. I just didn't get to the Vons in SoCal. I am not even here. So go away. Please. I am out of town. Spread the word.

Posted by JD Hull at 01:17 AM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2012

New India Infrastructure: Who's got the cash?

See in Sunday's The Hindu "Abysmal Infrastructure". Although the piece focuses on dangerous pedestrian walkways and cycling tracks in Hyderabad, India's fourth largest city (population 7 million), all of India badly needs new roads, railways, bridges, airports and power stations. But the country's economy--globally, the third largest in purchasing power, and tenth largest in GDP--still grows at a slower than expected rate. Many Indian infrastructure and engineering firms not only build but often own or operate projects, sometimes with the Indian government as a partner. Several of the country's leading infrastructure firms, however, are plagued themselves by debt and downturns in business. Goldman Sachs recently estimated that India's infrastructure sector (which broadly defined accounts for about a quarter of India's industrial output) will require $1.7 trillion (USD) in investment over the next ten years. The questions: Where's the money going to come from? Which firms, in and out of India, will do the work?

Posted by JD Hull at 11:58 PM | Comments (0)

New York State of Mind: Let It Pass Quickly.

Something you don't see much: an angry East River (CNN photo).

Posted by JD Hull at 05:18 AM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2012

Charon QC's UK Law Tour: Report No. 1

Out of Kent, England, our friend Charon QC's Van Rouge Tour begins. And whether we like it or not, The Law is All Pervasive:

It exists in every cell of life. It affects everyone virtually all of the time. It governs everything in life and even what happens to us after life. It applies to everything from the embryo to exhumation. It governs the air we breathe, the food and drink that we consume, our travel, sexuality, family relationships, and our property. It applies at the bottom of the ocean and in space. It regulates the world of sport, science, employment, business, political liberty, education, health services, everything, in fact, from neighbour disputes to war....

Posted by JD Hull at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2012

Lawyers and Depression: It Happens.

Speaking of the Black Dog, a term Winston Churchill gave to his bouts with depression, I've often wondered why the subject of lawyers with booze and drug problems has been out in the open for a fairly long time--at least since I started to practice law--but the discussion of clinical depression in our ranks is much more recent. Given the Type A personality of many (if not most) of us in the profession, you'd expect the discussion to at least keep pace with the one on substance abuse. It hasn't. When the Recession hit lawyers hard about three years ago, I started to notice some changes in more than a few of my friends and colleagues. But I am not an expert. It turns out there's an interesting blog called Lawyers with Depression, and it's a brave and thorough resource. Its author writes especially well. See his October 21 post, "Lawyer Blues or Depression? It begins:

I can spot sadness on lawyer’s face. Like a craggy poker player reads dog-eared cards in a smoke-laden backroom bar, world-weary drooped eyelids, even on young lawyers, which suggests a great weight borne, a solemnity. To others, their expressions may seem like a seasoned lawyer’s humorless, steely resolve. But, I know better. Their faces a subtler shade of grey, the somber hue of a 1L’s textbook on Contracts.

Their humorous repartee amongst each other, if any, can be a deeply cynical and sarcastic. It is a tough life for many in this boat; many dream, sadly, of a different life. “Every man has his secret,” wrote the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.”

Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2012

Getting Paid: Pedestrian Tip No. 2 on Invoicing to Avoid Hating Life.

Make sure the client representative who actually requests or directs your work sees the bill each month or quarter. For long-standing clients, it's not unusual for a company employee who does not routinely deal with outside law firms to be directing the work your firm will do from time to time.

In the case of a client with more than one office or plant--and especially when in-house counsel or the the usual client representative is in just one central location--you may be working for an engagement or two with a client rep in another location who does not normally see the bills from outside firms. An environmental permitting project for one of your clients' plants or terminals in the boonies is a good example. The local person with the company will be in charge. And he or she do not regularly work with the client's lawyers.

Or maybe your client may have just one office or plant--and a sporadic or "new user" of your firm is suddenly calling the shots on what you are doing. They may not even think that much about the lawyer charges they might be ringing up.

In either case, BOTH (1) that local, sporadic or "new user" of your law firm AND (2) the usual rep or in-house counsel who normally approves invoices and pays them need to see the bill whether anyone suggests such a protocol or not. And you, as outside counsel, need to make sure that happens. Obvious reasons: Don't give a blank check to the client's local, sporadic or "new user" to use your law firm without some accountability. Make sure the rep or in-house counsel knows what the local project manager is spending. Those two operatives at the client need to be on the exact same page.

Another creature hating life.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2012

Getting Paid: Pedestrian Tip No. 1 on Invoicing to Avoid Hating Life.

Send the bill to more than one person. Everyone has a back-up these days, including "Opal" in the back rooms of Accounts Payable at your longstanding client down in Mobile. And everyone takes time off, gets sick, travels, has family emergencies and, well, you get the idea. Of course, whoever asks you to do the work you are trying to get paid for should always see your invoices (more on that in another post). But you should always find out right away and before the first bill is sent who Opal's back-up is (her name is often "Nadine") in the administrative section of your client and send your invoices to both Opal and Nadine. Whether it's by regular mail or e-mail, send invoices to both.

Vengeful animal hating life.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2012

Man, were we wrong: Obama the Aggressor owns Night 3.

It wasn't that the talented Mitt Romney performed poorly last night; he didn't. It was just that Obama was so uncannily good. And he was all over Romney without seeming like a bully. Well done. Night 3 was no "draw" and came close, in my view, to being a rout. My last three serious live tweets (from earliest to latest) sum it up:

Obama dumbing it down: Surrender Mitt. You don't know the world. You screwed up small biz in Massachusetts. It's curtains for ya', kid.

Obama seems to fairly glow tonight. On his game even more than #2. Telegenic. Confident. He's enjoying Battle. Warrior in Zone.

I was wrong to predict draw tonight. Am calling this for Obama to same degree Mitt triumphed in #1. Obama in Zone at times. He's the Man.

At the Gannett House: Who's the Man now?

Posted by JD Hull at 12:53 AM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2012

Prediction for Obama-Romney Night 3: A Street Fight with Mitt as Aggressor--and a Draw.

Tonight at 9:00 EST President Obama and Governor Romney debate foreign policy--expect lots on China, Libya and Iran--in Boca Raton, Florida with Washington CBS Bob Schieffer mainstay as moderator. As Round 3 is foreign policy, you would expect it to be Obama's night. But you can also expect Romney, once again, to be over-prepared. And Romney will try to launch several attacks that the President is "soft" on China and Iran. He will be planting seeds with voters across the board who are uncomfortable with Obama's internationalist view of the world. Romney, of course, doesn't have any foreign policy experience to attack. So he will be the aggressor. His attacks will neither succeed nor fail; he will just be lobbing them in there. Obama, in turn, will not miss a trick in any of his responses. However, Romney's secret weapon in the debates has been Rob Portman, the junior U.S. Senator from Ohio who's done a great job of getting Romney ready. For the first time ever, Romney will sound like he knows his stuff on world affairs--and he will startle us. Both candidates will hold their own tonight. Our prediction: a street fight and a draw.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

Senator George S. McGovern (1922–2012)

He is the most decent man in the Senate.

--Robert F. Kennedy, 1968

Growing up, professionals born in the 1960s were often likely to have political heroes on the GOP side of things. Ronald Reagan is a good example, and he seemed to excite college kids in a way other Republicans had not since Ike. But if you were born earlier, say in the 1950s, your heroes came in a veritable pantheon that included certain "lefty" U.S. senators: Robert Kennedy, Birch Bayh, Gaylord Nelson, Eugene McCarthy, Tom Eagleton, Ed Muskie, Hubert Humphrey, Abe Ribicoff, Dick Clark. And George McGovern from South Dakota. McGovern, who by his own missteps was beaten by Nixon in 1972, was really heir to Robert Kennedy's ideas and following after Kennedy was shot and killed in 1968.

A lot of people thought this bookish WWII war-hero was a little too liberal, and personally a bit too peaceful and gentle, to be the President of the United States. But those around him--like Gary Hart, Frank Mankiewicz, Warren Beatty and Hunter Thompson--knew better. Senator McGovern was a tough and feisty guy. He just wasn't flashy about it. But once in the fall of 1972, McGovern was mercilessly heckled at a rally by someone very close to the stage. When the rally was over, McGovern stepped down from the stage and gestured for the man to come over to him. The man came. In the middle of a throng of Secret Service agents and admirers, McGovern cupped his hand over his mouth, got real close to the man and whispered in his ear: "I have a secret for you. Kiss my ass."

Posted by JD Hull at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2012

The Economist: Do Europe's transport corridors help or hurt the EU Single Market?

Trains, boats and planes. You have clients or customers selling within, out of or into Europe? See Charlemagne's "Coming off the Rails". Excerpt:

So a train carrying Volvo cars from Sweden to Italy must change locomotives and crews three or four times. It could be held up in bottlenecks in Germany and Austria. Before entering Italy over the Brenner Pass, the crew must stop to switch the reflective panels at the rear with warning lights.

Thalys high-speed passenger trains may zip between Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne. But on some older sections of track in Germany they slow to a crawl, and they must carry seven boxes of expensive signalling gear.

How is it possible to promote competition and get freight off the roads when new models of rolling stock have to be separately certified in each country?

Graphic: The Economist and Peter Schrank

Posted by JD Hull at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2012

Bob Redford, Santa Monica's Mayor for Life, Weighs in on Obama v. Romney.

No matter what they think of his politics, few people doubt actor Robert Redford's decades-long commitment and contributions to environmental protection. Or his expertise. And even while everyone connects him to that cause, his real work in environmentalism is still mostly unknown and unsung. Since the early 1970s, he's been more than a figurehead and money-giver. For example, he has been one of the main drivers in the growth and success of the Natural Resources Defense Council, arguably the largest and best environmental law firm in the world. While we don't think that the Obama-Biden Administration's record has been a standout in environmental policy and enforcement (Clinton-Gore certainly wasn't either, and for the entire eight years), Redford apparently thinks it sure beats the alternative for the coming years 2013-2016. See his recent guest column "Why I'm Supporting President Obama" in The Huffington Post.

Posted by JD Hull at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2012

Voice of America interviews Patrick Ukata on Ibrahim Prize for African leadership.

Yesterday on Voice of America's Straight Talk Africa, VOA mainstay Shaka Ssali interviewed our friend Patrick Ukata, Professor of International Relations at American University's School of International Service in Washington, D.C. The entire show, which was broadcast live simultaneously on radio, television and the Internet, is here.

By way of background, earlier this week, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation released its 2012 edition of Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which annually assesses governance in every African country. Interestingly, the Foundation also announced that this year no one deserved the annual Ibrahim Prize for achievement in African leadership this year. Only three leaders have been awarded the prize in the last six years. In yesterday's hour-long Straight Talk program, Patrick was asked: who do you think deserved to win this year’s Mo Ibrahim Prize for governance and why? Also on the show was Eric Chinje, Communications Director for the Ibrahim Foundation, via a London studio. Listen to Shaka Ssali, Patrick and Eric discuss the quality of new leaders and new regional governments in the daily-changing political and economic canvas of the new Africa.

At American University, Patrick, who also a lawyer, specializes in the political economy and international relations of Africa, legal reforms and governance. He is widely known in American and Africa for building and directing the American University of Nigeria (AUN), a privately funded American-style university in Nigeria. It began in 2004, and is the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Patrick Ukata on Gwen Ifill's "Washington Week" in July. (PBS photo)

Posted by JD Hull at 03:57 AM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2012

Obama Blows Off His "No Angry" Rule to Seize the Night. And, Fellow Yanks: Do You Feel Lucky, Yet?

Candy Crowley just before last night's thriller. (ABC News)

The problem with people in 2005 having talked me into having "a blog" is that actual non-wanker work--yes, they still have that--interferes with blogging and other digital New Age life. Blogging in my case does beat some alternatives. Like explaining to a Capitol Hill cop at 1:30 AM you thought it was perfectly okay to drive on the sidewalk in front of the Tune Inn and that, growing up back in Ohio, you did that all the time.

Anyway, I thought one of my always-sober "live tweets" last night during Obama-Biden Night 2 in Hempstead, New York--a town hall format led by CNN's Candy Crowley on both domestic and foreign policies--summed it up. Very nice to see the president get his Mojo back:

Dan Hull ‏@Whataboutparis 7:27 pm ET
Am calling it. Obama "won" handily tonight--but not on scale Romney won Oct. 3. New game. A feistier than ever prez rehabilitates himself.

I also liked another live tweet by my talented friend and political commentator Mike O'Neil:

Mike O'Neil ‏@michaeljoneil
Most awesome moment of the debate: Candy Crowley remembering exactly what the Pres said on the day after the Libya attack. Incredible!

Speaking of the moderator Crowley, did she show a disposition toward favoring Barack Obama last night? Yes, I thought she did, but that it was slight. One possible explanation? When things heated up, Governor Romney on a few occasions adopted a barely perceptible but weird patrician tone of voice with the both Obama and Crowley. Which in a way was funny (is that the real silver-spoon Mitt?). However, in Candy Crowley's case, and when things were not going his way, he talked to her cavalierly and crisply, like she was hopelessly bad extra kitchen help on Parents' Night at the Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills.

My overwhelming take-away if pedestrian feeling after seeing President Obama and former Governor Romney go at it? That I am, frankly, lucky to live in a country (a) that attracts national candidates of this caliber, (b) that attracts and encourages such diverging viewpoints and (c) that lets us talk about those viewpoints openly and without fear. Every four years, I am amazed by this. I am proud of it. You don't get this everywhere else on the planet, Jack.

But we have a big problem now in the quality of the discourse from the voters--not from politicians running for office. From the looks of the both traditional and digital media I see in this election cycle, our culture wars in America at the "higher-information" voter levels alone are getting meaner, uglier, more polarized and more intensely personal than they have ever been. Check out Twitter last night and the blogs this morning. Some Romney supporters believe that Obama has an agenda to destroy the American way of life. Obama supporters often believe Mitt Romney is an anti-middle class elitist who is comfortable with sick or old people dying in our streets.

Neither of these portraits, of course, are accurate. Yet more and more people act as if one of these two sketches are true--and an alarming number of people have decided to hate or fear one of these two candidates. The blackest of agendas are imagined. The candidates are assumed to not even be acting in good faith.

How did we ever get this dumb?

We have two jihads going on. More than any time in my memory, educated people are buying into stark portrayals of the two contenders in either black or white. The candidates have become grotesque cartoon characters. Let's get something straight. Neither Obama nor Romney is evil. Each can competently run the United States--and even arrive at the same outcomes under different policies and philosophies. Both will lie to us a bit to keep or get power. That happens in politics. Get used to that, please.

Sure, the stakes are high right now. A down-economy has Americans, and people all over the world, in unexpected and new kinds of pain. Vigorous debate between citizens is important and to be expected now. In the meantime, let's not dumb down our conversation so much that the personalities or ideas of Barack Obama, Mitt Romney and anyone else on the national stage are painted in gross distortions and absurdities.

Posted by JD Hull at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2012

Great Clients: Meet Tess Cacciatore of GWEN.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. On Wednesday Bennet Kelley, host of the Cyber Law & Business Report, interviewed Tess Cacciatore, co-founder and COO of the Global Women’s Empowerment Network (GWEN), on his weekly radio show. Based in Hollywood, GWEN uses technology and multimedia--both mobile and online platforms--to fight for, organize and empower abuse victims all over the world. Bennet has an excellent write-up of GWEN here but don't miss his interview of Tess here (second half of segment 2).

And more about GWEN above.

Posted by JD Hull at 02:36 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2012

Debate Prediction: Joe Biden Over Paul Ryan By Two Touchdowns; Ryan Way More Annoying.

In tonight's vice-presidential debate in Kentucky between two talky Irish Catholic guys, Joe Biden, about to turn 70, will triumph over but not trounce Paul Ryan, 42.

Unfortunately, Ryan is more annoying than any pol alive (including Biden) when he gets going. Further, the young Wisconsin congressman has trouble "seeming smart" or seasoned when he talks his highly-touted economic plans, policies and especially underlying numbers. Like the late Jack Kemp, my old buddy at the Longworth Building, and who Ryan used to work for, when Ryan talks economics he sounds like he's parroting something Dan Moynihan or Milton Friedman said or wrote but really doesn't get that well yet. Even low-information voters pick up on this stuff.

Joe Biden? He is way smarter than people think. He is more likable (and, yes, smarter) than Ryan. And he is one of the best natural politicians the country had ever produced. He will be very well-prepared. Biden will be feisty--but not talk as much as Ryan. Watch also for Biden to strip away on national television his GOP-painted cartoonish "buffoon" image in much the same way Mitt Romney last week blew away the "uber-robot" caricature. People will be reminded, too, that on foreign policy he's more knowledgeable and experienced than the president, Romney and Ryan put together.

Finally, this is Ryan's first national debate; he will be a little nervous. The Vice-President has done a few; he is never nervous.

2008: Senator Obama confers with Biden during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which Biden chaired. (Washington Post)

Posted by JD Hull at 11:53 PM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2012

The Customer Experience: Should retail buyers just start creating their own?

When the seller won't give the customer a better service alternative or a choice, and its competition is just as bad, nothing happens until customers at a "store level" pipe up. You need a bit of a revolution to change bosses and companies who have decided they do not need to change.

It could be on store floors or phone lines--but lots (if not all) of us retail customers daily deal with companies that have decided (a) to never exceed your expectations and (b) to never give you an easy choice. Switch stores or banks, you say? Most of us know that the competition is just as bad.

At this blog, we believe that these kinds of companies need daily en masse demonstrations of acting up. Don't worry. Your message will eventually get relayed from thick store clerks and forms of plant life called "customer service representatives" up to a few bosses, officers and board members. But we have got to get off our knees. Don't completely lose it with them, folks. No violence, of course. No yelling.

You will, however, need to try to make clerks and CSRs uncomfortable and a bit anxious about your unhappiness. They, too, want to work in happy shops. Even though Western logic often fails to reach them quickly, do have something clever or reasonably intelligent--but strong--to say. Make sure you have some fun, though. Stores are great because you can do it in public. "Jason [from nametag], I have all this money with me and I need to buy something you sell here--are you ready to help me yet?" Stuff like that. But say it loud so other customers can hear you and join in.

Folks, you are the customers, buyers, fiduciaries, clients. Do something.

Not going to take it any more: Peter Finch as Howard Beale in Network (1976). Finch won a posthumous Oscar for the role.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:32 PM | Comments (0)

October 09, 2012

The Customer Experience: We've got one for you right here, Jack.

And it's the new Emoki animal ears "you control with your mind". Yeah, that's right. But this is no snake oil salesman's gimmick. It's pure fun that works.

Based on established brain-wave technology--and one that doesn't require any wires or gooey liquids touching your cabeza--it's a headset of any number of types of animal ears that flop around and wiggle depending or whether you are jazzed, relaxed or like something or someone. Or don't like something or someone. Or you're in a "clear mind" zone or perhaps straight-up vegetable state, something our readers, anonymous commenters and Gen-Y employees apparently know lots about.

Emoki ears? How are they truly different than, say, other products, gadgets or things (including humans) with moving parts? Four (4) ways, folks. They are Fun. They are Exotic. They are Smart. And they Always Tell the Truth.

Emoki animal ears is the brainchild (pun intended) of NYU Stern business school alumni Nick Hoffman who, along with Emoki co-founder and recent Wesleyan grad Hannah Masius, aims to turn the ears into a must-have item for every London bar fly, New York City, LA and DC reveler, Berlin convention attendee, Amsterdam coffee house cowboy, Chicago 300-pound shirtless Bears fan or Duke undergrad who wants to finally class-up his or her Cameron (Stadium) Crazies thing.

Emoki launched on Kickstarter yesterday. Read the Forbes piece, and click (contribute, if you want) on the widget and video below. You have got to see the video.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:19 PM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2012

My Marrakesh: Tales Of a Designing London--and A New World Order.

Our friend Ms. Maryam has been on an elegant London jag. As usual she's writing wise but sensual narrative vignettes--but lately they are about my second favorite city. See "London Modenus Design Tour: And a Tale of People and Places".

Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

The Customer Experience: Can it get much worse?

Paying customers at counters and on phone lines everywhere should start to act up--and demand better service and treatment. Maybe get a little loud?

Let's talk about retail customer service.

In America, my customer service retail stars have been GEICO, for auto insurance, and Enterprise, for car rentals. Each has been consistently good everywhere and in every respect--and they should be studied. And that's about it. Customer service retail nightmares have been American Express, most stores, especially Staples (none of the clerks I've met could care less), Starbucks (nice try but the hospitality is generally fake in every country), Circuit City (now defunct--and good riddance), every large bank (they apparently have trouble hiring good people; most retail people they do hire treat nearly all customers--i.e, their fiduciaries--like troublesome peasants and serfs unless you are charming as hell or have the soul of a bootblack) and just about every "not-GEICO" insurer.

In the cases of all of the foregoing but GEICO and Enterprise, there are of course some good, but mainly bad, moments. With respect to my nightmare companies, customer service--which no one said is easy to institute and keep up--is a cynical joke. I would have far more respect for them if they just admitted they simply do not care. In the meantime, I would very much like to see customers at counters and on phone lines everywhere start to act up--and demand better service and treatment. For example, you are the customer, and if the store, bank, insurer has made a mistake, they should correct it proactively rather than giving you another place to go or another phone number to call.

If they do not, get a little loud, folks. Tell them you expect better; you are a long-time or merely prospective customer, but one with money. You came ready to do more business or that all-important "first business", which is a valued "moment of truth" for every seller. And, hey, you don't call them back during regular hours. They take a message and call you back, Jack.

At some point, I would love to see more chronic service failures to result in business failures--along with a way to measure it. In the meantime, all we have is this little gem I came across yesterday by a British customer service watchdog/publication called Customer Think. The article is "Customer Experience: Why haven’t more retailers gone bust?" by by Maz Iqbal. Some interesting reporting and anecdotes here. The Answer to Maz's question? It's because the retail customer in the West is too jaded, polite and wimpy to call counter clerks and store employees out on the carpet or to let "customer care employees" have it when they are being jerks.

The Solution? I think customers should pipe up--and get specific but loud and rude, if necessary. To get the message through to management--granted, dealing with some retail employees is like talking to, say, rocks or very simple plant life--a little street theater may be in order. Folks, you are the customers, buyers, fiduciaries, clients. Demand service. Don't apologize. Be loud about it if you must.

Customer Experience: Is it time for acting up?

Posted by JD Hull at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2012

Horse Race: Debate Night 1 Belongs to Mitt Romney.

Whether I like it or or not, Mitt Romney did well last night and, for the time being at least, completely destroyed his "robot" image. He connected with the audience--something I and others thought he simply could not do. In this first debate of three, on domestic policy only, both candidates were less than perfect and credible on the substance and validity of their economic and taxation plans, but Romney was energetic, feisty and human. The president seemed tired and anxious. Round One to the formerly moderate silver spoon Republican pol and ex-governor of Massachusetts. Mitt Romney was very, very well-prepared.

Domestic Policy Night: Mitt Romney's Night. (AP photo)

Posted by JD Hull at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

October 02, 2012

Prediction: Mitt Romney "Wins" First Debate.

No, it's not wishful thinking. It just makes sense. As I type, Mitt Romney, who is often dull but hard-working and mega-bright, is preparing for what is obviously the three most important nights of his political life: the televised debates of October 3, 16 and 22. Respectively, the debates will cover the topics of domestic policy, domestic policy/foreign policy in a town hall format, and foreign policy. If Romney can shine, it will be tomorrow tonight--again, the topic is domestic policy and not in a town hall format--and I expect he will shine and out-perform President Obama in this first one. To all my cookie-cutter and doctrinaire fellow Democrats out there who think Mitt's a "robot": maybe so--but he's a talented robot. Romney has everything on the line and, to be fair, he is no choke-artist. He is preparing for the debates with the equally hard-working and smart Ohio GOP Senator Rob Portman. Expect him tomorrow night to be the most prepared candidate for a presidential debate ever. He will surprise everyone. And he must "win" tomorrow night. The second and third debates? Obama already has the upper hand. The president is better than Romney in town hall settings (October 16) and at least sounds more articulate than Romney on foreign policy (October 22). The second and third debates are the president's to lose.

Tomorrow night's debate host Jim Lehrer, of PBS's NewsHour.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

October 01, 2012

HBR: "The Rise of the General Counsel."

GE's former general counsel Ben Heineman, Jr. has this one right. See his "The Rise of the General Counsel" appearing last week at Harvard Business Review. The in-house community is smarter and stronger than ever. And, no, apart from some GCs and their key lieutenants at a some publicly-traded and private companies, depth and great talent in in-house regimes was not the rule twenty years ago. But that has changed. And it's good news for great outside corporate lawyers.

Posted by JD Hull at 09:08 PM | Comments (0)