There
comes
a
point
in
every
Biglaw
partner’s
career
when
they
look
off
the
porch
of
their
summer
villa,
allow
their
mind
to
wander
to
the
army
of
junior
associates
they’ve
kept
at
the
office
until
2
a.m.
all
week
papering
up
deals,
and
ask
themselves
if
there’s
a
less
exploitative
industry
where
they
can
work.
Then,
they
tamp
that
notion
down,
sip
their
Louis
XIII
cognac,
and
fire
off
some
emails
about
the
“expectations”
for
the
weekend.
But,
Skadden
partner
David
Eisman
came
to
a
different
conclusion.
After
two
decades
at
the
firm,
where
he
led
the
firm’s
media
and
entertainment
group,
Eisman
is
decamping
to
become
general
counsel
at
OnlyFans.
Eisman
on
his
first
day:
What
could
be
a
better
fit
for
a
website
built
on
skimming
profit
off
young
women’s
talent
than
the
architect
of
Shamrock
Capital’s
purchase
of
Taylor
Swift’s
first
six
masters?
Eisman
steps
into
a
hectic
environment.
The
site’s
owner,
Leonid
Radvinsky,
unexpectedly
died
in
March,
leaving
a
leadership
vacuum
right
as
OnlyFans
is
in
advanced
talks
to
sell
a
minority
stake
in
a
deal
that
values
the
company
at
more
than
$3
billion.
According
to
Bloomberg
News,
“OnlyFans
declined
to
comment
on
a
potential
sale
or
any
connection
to
the
hiring
of
Eisman,
who
it
said
will
start
in
the
coming
weeks.”
I
assume
they
mean
“in
the
next
few
weeks.”
Snickering
aside,
Eisman
is
joining
a
financial
juggernaut.
The
global
sex-adjacent
industry
is
booming.
OnlyFans
is
a
content-licensing-and-payments
business
that
throws
off
enormous
cash,
has
4
million
creators
and
377
million
users
on
its
books,
and
—
per
The
Economist’s
recent
breakdown
of
the
global
sex
economy
—
sits
inside
a
category
that
includes
a
$100
billion
porn
industry
and
an
entire
emerging
“virtual
companionship”
subsector
that
nobody
has
figured
out
how
to
value
yet.
That’s
before
considering
the
implications
of
hyperrealistic
AI
—
and
the
corresponding
legal
risks
from
deepfakes
—
and
from
a
chief
legal
officer
perspective,
it
is
hard
to
think
of
a
more
interesting
in-house
seat
in
media.
Speaking
of
AI,
Jane
Genova,
an
executive
coach
who
tracks
the
legal
industry,
flagged
the
Eisman
move
alongside
The
Economist’s
reporting
and
made
the
blunt
observation
that
the
sex
economy
is
a
growth
sector
at
the
exact
moment
that
traditional
knowledge-worker
pipelines
are
getting
hollowed
out
by
AI.
She
also
noted,
with
what
I
can
only
describe
as
professional
understatement,
that
“the
majority
of
my
forced-out
white-collar
clients
regret
their
blind
faith
in
traditional
career
paths.”
It’s
hard
to
go
less
traditional
than
amateur-porn-site-that-assures-us-it’s-more-than-an-amateur-porn-site.
But,
from
Eisman’s
perspective,
he
departs
Skadden,
a
firm
that
cut
a
$100
million
deal
with
the
Trump
administration,
to
work
with
people
who
do
less
degrading
stuff
for
money.
Nor
is
this
the
first
time
OnlyFans
looked
to
Biglaw
for
talent.
Management
talent
that
is.
Current
CEO
Keily
Blair
came
from
Orrick,
a
firm
that
has
advised
the
company
on
privacy
issues
in
the
past.
“David
is
a
seasoned
professional,
respected
across
the
tech,
media
and
entertainment
sector,”
Blair
told
Bloomberg
in
a
statement.
“He
will
be
a
great
addition
to
the
OnlyFans
team
as
we
look
to
grow
and
enhance
our
business
offering
and
footprint.”
Congratulations
to
their
press
team
for
making
sure
the
CEO
talks
brought
up
foot
stuff
in
an
official
statement.
OnlyFans
looking
to
Biglaw
for
leadership
is
intriguing
when
you
compare
business
models,
where
OnlyFans
operates
as
a
mirror
image
of
Biglaw.
The
site
takes
20
percent
of
creator
earnings
and
lets
the
talent
run
the
business.
Skadden
reported
$2.3
million
revenue
per
lawyer
last
year,
meaning
when
you
plug
in
the
current
salary
and
bonus
scale,
associates
take
home
around
10-20
percent
of
what
they’re
bringing
in.
Just
flip
the
pyramid
and
OnlyFans
leaves
80
percent
to
the
masses
doing
all
the
work,
while
Biglaw
funnels
80
percent
away
from
the
masses
at
the
bottom.
And
OnlyFans
models
actually
get
to
work
from
home.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.