by
Stephen
Maturen/Getty
Images)
Anyone
else
stressed
by
the
world
around
us?
Punxsutawney
Phil
poked
his
head
out,
as
he
does
every
February
2,
aka
Groundhog
Day,
saw
his
shadow,
and
declared
that
we
would
have
six
more
weeks
of
winter.
Well,
at
least
part
of
the
country,
freezing
and
snowing
as
it
has
been,
would
have
six
more
weeks.
In
California,
not
so
much.
Does
anyone
think
that
ICE’s
tactics
in
Minnesota
(and
elsewhere)
are
reminiscent
of
the
Gestapo
in
Nazi
Germany
in
the
1930s?
I
do,
and
even
Joe
Rogan
(not
exactly
on
my
wavelength)
does.
For
those
of
you
Gen
Xers,
Millennials,
and
others
so
young
that
you
don’t
remember
9/11,
please
take
a
few
minutes
to
read
up
on
Nazi
Germany
and
the
Gestapo.
Even
better,
read
Erik
Larson’s
nonfiction
book,
“In
the
Garden
of
Beasts,”
about
how
Nazi
Germany,
both
blatantly
and
insidiously,
infiltrated
the
German
psyche
in
the
1930s.
Fair
warning.
No
one
is
above
the
law.
(Pun
not
intended.)
Some
people
disagree.
The
judicial
system
is
the
last
remaining
bulwark
against
what
47
and
his
merry
band
of
pranksters
(not
of
the
Ken
Kesey
variety)
would
like
to
do
if
they
could
have
their
way
unimpeded
by
anyone
or
anything.
Habeas
corpus
and
all
those
pesky
little
amendments
to
the
Constitution
thankfully
stand
in
47’s
way
to
impose
even
more
authoritarian
measures
than
what
we
already
experience.
The
Supreme
Court
seems
to
look
askance
at
precedents,
ghosting
it
like
a
bad
online
date.
And
I
would
be
remiss
if
I
didn’t
mention
the
latest
installment
of
the
Epstein
files,
which
seems
to
have
something
for
everyone,
that
is,
everyone
who
is
rich
and
famous,
or
if
not,
then
rich
and
famous
adjacent.
Some
lawyers
have
been
caught
in
Epstein’s
net,
whether
intentionally
or
not.
We’ve
all
admonished
our
clients
over
the
years
to
not
put
anything
in
emails
and
texts
that
we
wouldn’t
want
to
see
on
the
front
page
of
any
newspaper,
digital,
print,
or
in
any
social
media.
Unfortunately
the
latest
DOJ
data
dump
of
Epstein
files
has
done
exactly
that,
and
not
just
everyday
lawyers,
but
big
“machers”
(Yiddish
for
doer,
a
wheeler-dealer,
someone
with
connections.)
The
first
to
suffer
the
consequences
of
any
connection
with
Epstein
is
Brad
Karp,
until
very
recently
the
chair
of
the
Paul
Weiss
firm.
Karp
has
been
too
much
in
legal
news
in
the
past
year.
As
the
then-chair
of
Paul
Weiss,
he
was
one
of
the
first,
if
not
the
first,
to
bend
a
knee
to
47’s
executive
order
addressed
to
Biglaw.
Karp
feared
the
firm
would
sink
if
it
didn’t
agree.
How
ironic
that
less
than
a
year
later,
Karp
is
no
longer
chair,
not
because
of
his
deal
with
47,
but
because
of
his
relationship
with
Epstein,
a
former
friend
of
47
until
a
purported
falling-out
some
years
ago.
Meanwhile,
consider
the
language
that
some
firms
use
when
laying
off
business
professionals
to
be
replaced
by
AI.
The
phrase
“we
do
not
take
these
changes
lightly”
does
not
pass
the
“straight
face”
test.
Just
wait
until
AI
reduces
lawyer
headcount.
We
know
that
may
be
coming.
AI
in
its
various
current
iterations
does
not
require
compliance
with
wage
and
hour
laws,
FMLA,
ADA,
and
a
host
of
other
employer-employee
laws.
Robots
work
24/7,
they
don’t
need
vacation
or
sick
time
or
time
off
for
the
myriad
human
responsibilities.
They
don’t
complain
about
too
much
work,
and
they
don’t
have
interpersonal
conflicts
with
coworkers.
They
just
work
and
work
and
work,
unlike
humans,
even
if
some
fancy
themselves
robotic
in
their
work
habits.
However,
if
you
are
seeking
any
emotional
intelligence
in
AI,
you
are
barking
up
the
wrong
large
language
model.
Lastly,
I
would
be
remiss
if
I
don’t
tell
anyone
in
the
legal
world
who
doesn’t
already
know
that
the
DOJ
is
hiring.
Yes,
that
DOJ,
which,
for
some
reason
(ahem)
is
having
trouble
recruiting
lawyers
to
join
what
used
to
be
a
prestigious
office
and
often
a
stepping
stone
for
Biglaw
partnerships,
judgeships,
and
political
careers.
Instead
of
swearing
to
uphold
the
Constitution
of
the
United
States,
these
new
recruits
must
now
swear
allegiance,
not
to
the
Constitution,
but
personally
to
the
president,
who
believes
that
the
DOJ
is
his
personal
law
firm.
No
wonder
why
the
DOJ
will
probably
need
to
scrape
the
barrel’s
bottom
to
find
lawyers
willing
to
sacrifice
their
ethics
and
reputations.
Since
47
likes
his
name
on
everything
and
he
always
wants
his
name
first
(don’t
get
me
started),
perhaps
the
more
appropriate
name
would
be
Trump’s
Department
of
Justice.
Res
ipsa
loquitur.
Jill
Switzer
has
been
an
active
member
of
the
State
Bar
of
California
for
over
40
years.
She
remembers
practicing
law
in
a
kinder,
gentler
time.
She’s
had
a
diverse
legal
career,
including
stints
as
a
deputy
district
attorney,
a
solo
practice,
and
several
senior
in-house
gigs.
She
now
mediates
full-time,
which
gives
her
the
opportunity
to
see
dinosaurs,
millennials,
and
those
in-between
interact
—
it’s
not
always
civil.
You
can
reach
her
by
email
at [email protected].