What About Paris? ™

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July 14, 2012

223 years ago, was the Marquis de Sade really a player in the storming of The Bastille?

"And the moral of the story is never lean on the weird. Or they will chop your head off. Take my word for it, Bubba." For the report of an old friend, see our 2008 post How the Marquis de Sade was finally forced into politics.

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

France's Tweetgate: New French President Hollande, man of the people, stud, does his first Bastille Day.

French President Francois Hollande today.
Photo: Antoine Antoniol.

AP: "Hollande oversees 1st Bastille Day as French president; clouded by family feud". It begins:

PARIS - A feud involving the French president's live-in girlfriend, his former partner and his eldest son may have tarnished the new leader's carefully cultivated image as “Mr. Normal” — credited with helping him win the spring election among a populace weary of his flashy predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Francois Hollande agreed to take a question about the family feud that has riveted the media during a television interview Saturday — a sign that in the Twitter era, even French leaders can't keep their private lives private.

But he sure did try.

Mid-way through the nationally televised interview on tradition-steeped Bastille Day, the reporters asked for his reaction to “tweetgate” as the feud is known. It began with a tweet sent out by his companion Valerie Trierweiler during last month's legislative elections. The tweet expressed support for the political opponent of his ex-partner Segolene Royal, the mother of the president's four children, who was defeated in her bid for a parliamentary seat.

Hollande may have agreed to take the question, but he quickly shut it down, saying that he intended to keep his public and private lives separate — and that he had asked those close to him to do the same.

But it may be too late to put the genie back in the bottle, since the tweet has set the French political establishment aflame, and turned the president's image on its head.

Widely criticized as a vindictive move, the tweet went viral and dominated news shows.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2012

At Shaun Belding's Blog: "Lose the Rules."

Some companies still engage Customers in Service Hell. Canadian consultant Shaun Belding has a new post called "Customer Service Tip: Lose the Rules" which, while common sense in approach, reminded me of how many companies have created a we versus them culture about customers. Go to the post for one of the most alarming anti-customer stories you'll see. Here's an excerpt (yes, just partial) from the underlying horror that prompted Belding's piece:

"Please follow these steps to ensure your return goes smoothly

1.Package your item(s) in the original manufactures packaging
2.Package in a shipping box with an adequate and sufficient amount of internal packaging
3.Include any/all warranty cards and parts that came with the item(s)
4.Include a copy of your invoice which clearly indicates the nature of the problem or why it is you wish to return your item(s)
5.Call or Reply to this email with the tracking number of the return, and let us know if you are looking for a refund or a replacement if you haven’t in the initial call. (We are also able to repair these items instead of replacing if a warranty item)
6.If you would like to add any item(s) to your RA please call/email us and let us know what items(s) and what order they refer to
7.Put your RA# on the outside of your return shipping box.

Please DO NOT do the following as this will result in a 15% deduction from your refund:

1.Deface the manufactures packaging in anyway. This includes writing on the item or the packaging or taping anything on it as well
2.Use or assemble the unwanted product, we do not resell products that have been used and therefore can not return these products for refund
3.Improperly package your returning item(s), in turn your return’s manufactures packaging or the item itself arrives damaged( Broken items will no be refunded)
4.DO NOT ship your return in the original manufactures packaging
5.DO NOT mark your package as return to shipper with UPS
If this is an unwanted or a warranty item return, you will have to pay for the return shipping using the carrier of your choice. It is imperative you request a tracking number from the carrier, as Big Al’s is not responsible for delays due to not obtaining a tracking number. Unwanted returns are not eligible for exchanges of different products, they will be refunded and at any time you can go ahead and purchase the item you wish to buy."

Belding comments:

Make it easy for customers to do business with you. The more hoops you make your customer jump through, and the more rules you have for your customers to follow, the less they will enjoy their experience with you.

Posted by JD Hull at 01:14 AM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2012

It's Thursday. Play Loud, Campers.

Morris, Jay and Silent Bob check back in.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

July 09, 2012

Oh Mexico. Sounds so simple. Never is.

See MSNBC on protests of the July 1 election results: "Tens of thousands protest in Mexico against president-elect, alleging vote fraud". Excerpt:

Pena Nieto won the July 1 election by almost 7 percentage points, according to the official count, returning the PRI to presidential power after 12 years in the wilderness. He is due to take power in December, replacing Felipe Calderon of the conservative National Action Party, or PAN.

The constitution barred Calderon from running for a second term. The PAN candidate, Josefina Vazquez Mota, finished third, with many voters dissatisfied over relentless drug violence and sluggish growth.

Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador finished in second place, but has refused to concede, accusing Pena Nieto of stealing the presidency.

Marco Ugarte /AP

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

If you can't shimmy like Rufus Thomas, our firm can't help you.

Try the law firm down the street, Jack.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

Ermes Effron Borgnino (1917-2012).

In 1955, Ernest Borgnine won an Oscar for his title-role performance as the warm-hearted lonely butcher in "Marty". He won it over fellow nominees Frank Sinatra, James Dean, Spencer Tracy and James Cagney.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)

Got Proofreading?

Proofreading errors are avoidable, even under the gun--if you make ardor in proofreading a habit.

Take invoices to clients. Invoices, if done correctly, are a great way to communicate what you've done for a client and they can even serve as a marketing tool. They are a genre of documents we all need to get right. Clients can always be expected to read them. So they need to be really "right", right?

Lawyers don't talk about proofreading enough. It amazes us that badly proofread pleadings and letters still emanate from some of the best American and European law firms. It mars and even desecrates otherwise good and sometimes brilliant work.

Mistakes will happen in law practice in any event--but the idea is to minimize them, and especially those you can control. Proofreading errors are very avoidable, even under the gun, if you make ardor in doing it a habit. Our recurring nightmare is that the GC of a great client says:

"Dan, if at $___ an hour you guys can't spell [or write], believe me, we can find a law firm tomorrow morning that can."

The Holy Surprise of Great Habits. Above: New recruits at Hull McGuire celebrate getting their "Careful Thing" on.

For that reason, as mentioned in a 2005 WAC? "Just Say It--Part 4" post on writing for lawyers, Rule 5 (of 8) in the good writing section of our firm's Practice Guide is:

5. Proofread, proofread, proofread. Pretend that, for every typo you miss or grammatical error you make, you have to buy Dan Hull as many beers as he could drink in one evening in his late twenties on St. Patrick's Day in the most expensive Capitol Hill watering hole he and his friends could find.

(At our firm, we have a written policy on proofreading that employees must actually sign before they start work.)

Together with thinking and writing simply and clearly, there's not a more important habit for a lawyer to develop. Misspellings, omitted or misplaced words and off-the-charts bad grammar are often important errors which blot out otherwise good work--and ones we can control.

It's that hard--and that simple.

Image: M. Judge, Viacom/MTV

Posted by JD Hull at 03:41 PM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2012

Congrats, Rep. Barney Frank. And thanks for showing us in all walks of life the 24/7 importance being who you are.

We do not share the same politics. But Barney's unusually smart, tough, authentic. He gets lots done. And he's got big ones. We will all miss him when he leaves Congress. NBC: Barney Frank weds longtime partner; first congressman in same-sex marriage.

Posted by JD Hull at 12:33 AM | Comments (0)