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July 29, 2017

Trump

Earlier today.

MOM: So what do you think of Trump?

ME: Most authentic and energetic President in my lifetime. Only a matter of time until we turn on him.

Posted by JD Hull at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)

July 28, 2017

My Earl's Court '75

It's been a long time since I rock and rolled,
It's been a long time since I did The Stroll.

It's been a long time since the book of love,
I can't count the tears of a life with no love.

Seems so long since we walked in the moonlight,
Making vows that just can't work right.

- Peaking Indian Hill, Durham, LA, England, DC

Highland Park Beach, off South Deere Park, 1976
Photo by A. Johnston

Posted by JD Hull at 12:16 AM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2017

Best Books on Lawyering: James McElhaney's Trial Notebook (4th Ed. 2005).

Posted by JD Hull at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)

Winging It. Generally? Not Cool. No Bueno. No Bueno.

You've a talent for Winging It? Great. Congratulations. We will alert the media. Use that gift when you must. But please don't make it a procedure. Prepare.

Blarney Castle, Cork, Ireland

Posted by JD Hull at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2017

The First Franchisor: Singer Corporation.

The first formal business format franchise is an honor that belongs to Singer Corporation. In 1851, Isaac Merritt Singer and lawyer Edward Clark started I.M. Singer & Co. in New York City. In the mid-1850s, Singer started to use franchise contracts to distribute its sewing machines over the then-widespread and disconnected geographic areas of the U.S. The company is now headquartered in La Vergne, Tennessee.

Posted by JD Hull at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2017

"The guy has no enemies. Isn't that great?"

Well, no. It's not good. It's not great, either.

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

--Winston Churchill

Here's some of the best advice on hiring, staffing and re-staffing anyone can give. Please don't stand behind, endorse or recommend a candidate for employment, partnership or board membership--especially candidates over say, the age of 35--on grounds that he or she "has no enemies" or something to that effect. This is not a compliment. Hearing that someone is "a team player" isn't troublesome because it runs the spectrum of Elwood P. Dowd (from the 1950 Jimmy Stewart film "Harvey," about a beloved if quirky man who drinks with his imaginary 6 foot tall rabbit), Willy Wonka and Marie Osmond (all too nice) to Leona Helmsley, Leatherface and one far-out mother named Robert Edward (Ted) Turner III (not known for nice). But saying someone has "no enemies"? It's an insult. It means that he or she hasn't even been in the game, Jack. No bueno.

Do share a drink with Elwood P. Dowd and his pal Harvey. But don't work with either of them.

Posted by JD Hull at 07:41 PM | Comments (1)

July 09, 2017

Redux: My Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

Apart from women who take care of themselves, lawyers who read more than CLE catalogues and a sizable part of the populace who have traveled to places other than King's Island or Lake Erie, the Washington, D.C. area offers Something Else. It does "old" quite well--and even keeps what few authentic American antiquities there are in this country open to the public and open at night. And that is happening more and more; fewer places are locked up after dark.

I lived in Alexandria--including Old Town, which was part of the District of Columbia from 1791 to 1846--as a student, as an employee of Congress and as a young lawyer. Last night I missed a plane back to California. But I did get the churchyard of Christ Church (completed in 1773) to myself for an hour before heading back to my new and suddenly-acquired hotel on N. Alfred and King streets. Rather than go back into DC, I decided to visit the old neighborhood, at least for a night. I am actually glad this morning that I missed last night's plane.

It was about 11 PM when I got to Christ Church, about 3 blocks from the hotel. I sat on a stone bench. No one, of course, could have come away with a still picture, a video or a soundtrack which captures the grounds, the garden lighting, the occasional faraway noises of a great city finally quieting down, the smells of a fall night, the ancient trees, the white alley cat who adopted me, a very old graveyard that fairly whispers to you, and exterior walls of the ghostly stone sanctuary in which Washington and Robert E. Lee spent quite a few Sundays, and in which even Roosevelt and Churchill prayed together in 1942. You need to go there and sense these things for yourself.

If you don't travel for work, I feel a bit sorry for you. If you do travel regularly, mix it every day/night with something authentic and inspiring from wherever you are and whether or not you are alone. Stretch the day out more. Go to bed later. You may not get back there for a good while. You know what I mean?

Orginal post: November 4, 2011. I lived in Soufhern California at the time.

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

July 08, 2017

Lawyers

From a comment I made at Disqus ATLS last week in reponse to a great short opinion post by a lawyer I admire:

"Well done. Well written. Lawyers are at their best when they talk about things other than just the law. Keep doing this. It's why I ever got on line. Blogged. Read other blogs. To see lawyers with personality and actual talent. And you personally are the only reason I ever went to comments at old ATL. I want to see lawyers as humans with style, flair, wit and verve. And having lived real lives. Lawyers are not special anymore. They don't lead anymore. Vast vast majority are followers with sideline lives. Minor players. The Profession now? It's a complicated caste system with an increasingly diluted gene pool. But what you do here is special. Class. Keep doing it."

Posted by JD Hull at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2017

The 'Conservative' Revolution in the West. What happened?

In a nutshell? Liberal overreaching for decades toward "mandatory moral evolution" in the US and Europe woke up millions tired of being called Racist, Sexist and Homophobic.

It got Don Trump elected. And it's just taking hold.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:40 AM | Comments (0)

July 03, 2017

What happens when you think on your own, anyway?

At Saatchi & Saatchi, Paul Arden's ad campaigns changed everything for British Airways.

Posted by JD Hull at 12:50 AM | Comments (0)

July 02, 2017

Penny.

Happy Birthday, and much love, to Penny Hull. Chicago Girl. Uber-Mom. Last of the Grande Dames. Tolerator of Difficult Men. Source of my Hollywood good looks, charm and annoying patrician manner. Healthy, energetic, blessed with longevity, you will likely supervise at my funeral. We love you, Mom. Have the best day today.

Posted by JD Hull at 04:50 AM | Comments (0)