YourCommunicationsEdge

  Paul Weiss partner Karen Dunn and others on the prepping team did such as bang-up job that Kamala Harris emerged from Tuesday's debate the top dog in Election 2024. Unfortunately, loss of the underdog status predictably has opened the door to all sorts of new scrutiny. Just as the world loves the underdog it usually will put that top dog on a short leash and could even pull on that leash in painful ways. The flip in media coverage has been swift (and intensified after Taylor Swift endorsed her.) She has been accused of everything from receiving just-in-time coaching on the stage through earrings to maybe special handling during the debate from her sorority sister Linsey Davis.  In essence guerrilla warfare has broken out. As strategist James Carville warned, this will be a tough race. There is an old saying in business: Nothing fails like success. Harris' added responsibility is to figure out how to dodge all the snipers.  In business and life you usually have only one shot a

  This debate had to be about performance art, not policy. Some commentators put the knock on that but the play-out has removed much of the doubt if Kamala Harris could lead a nation as US President. She got down the optics brilliantly. Her masterful presentation of self kicked off with her moving toward Donald Trump for a handshake. He seemed not that welcoming. The pro-active stance, confidence, poise and calm continued throughout the debate.  There must be plenty of high-fives throughout the Democratic party networks, particularly those associated with her prepper Paul Weiss partner Karen Dunn, major fundraisers like Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp, mega donors such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman ande even the cautious-about-too-much-optimism James Carville. Among the high points were Harris' pointing out that the American people fired Trump in 2020, that his supposed buddy Putin would eat him for lunch, praise for conservative John McCain, leveraging the term "aspirational

  "The company [Google] is on the back foot as the trial begins, over the deletion of internal messages that could have been relevant to the case." -  The Wall Street Journal,  September 9, 2024 In addition, Google lost another government antitrust case this earlier this year. The plaintiffs for this legal action which began today are the Department of Justice and a bipartisan coalition of 17 states. The issue is Google's ad tech practices.  In the comment section of the WSJ article there is this: "Karen Roth - People don't use Google because it is the best search engine. They use it because it is the default on their phones and a most people are unaware of Google's manipulative search algorithms, especially with politically related searches." Comments are taken seriously, especially by members of Gen Z. Although I am not a lawyer, I have, as a former legal blogger and influencer, covered trials ranging from the landmark Rhode Island lead paint public nu

  The word on Tom Brady's debut performance in sports broadcasting is non-ambiguous: The guy needs improvement.  The Wall Street Journal  even provides some must-dos.  But the issue is the very familiar, that is this: Can a great in one aspect of human performance exit that comfort zone and dazzle in another? There are precedents, especially on Wall Street. Disgraced players Michael Milken and Henry Blodget both carved out new territory and conquered after their fall. But, does Brady have a second act in him. The comfort-zone issue for Paul, Weiss partner Karen Dunn is if she, as part of the team preppping Kamala Harris for tomorrow's debate, can produce the needed over-the-top results in performance art? This is not a 180-shift for Dunn.  She is a seasoned litigator who has down cold what moves the dial on how humans present themselves for the required impacts. That skill is transferable, of course.  However, according to those who rate such things Dunn didn't score high o

  "The most important divide in American life is the diploma divide. College-educated folks tend to vote for Democrats …The Democrats dominate the media, the universities, the cultural institutions and government." -  David Brooks , The New York Times, September 4, 2024 Sure, a certain number of those with diplomas will develop the influence and power.  Kamala Harris is one. She makes peanuts and will continue to earn relative peanuts if elected US president. (Of course, down the road, she can pass through the revolving door and become fantastically wealthy.)  Some others can combine the influence and power with high-paying jobs. They range from JPMorgan Chase head Jamie Dimon to law firm Paul, Weiss chair Brad Karp.  But, here's what is also happening and it's no longer under-the-radar: The diploma is less and less likely to be the ticket to get, hold and move on to better work. And too many are on the wrong side of the divide. The Wall Street Journal recently featur

  "[Karen] Dunn, co-chair of Paul Weiss’ litigation department, is helping to prepare Vice President Kamala Harris for .. presidential debate ... Meanwhile, Dunn is also serving as a lead attorney for Google in a Justice Department lawsuit ... several legal ethics and political science experts dismissed concerns over a potential conflict of interest, even if it may pose as a 'perception problem.'” -  Law.com , September 6, 2024  The trial which could result in the DofJ breaking up Google's digital ad business starts Monday, September 9th. The debate, in which Harris has to showcase she can stand her ground unscripted, happens on September 10th.  The Biden Administration has been antitrust. That policy stance has been symbolized by the aggressive actions of FTC head Lina Khan who has won some and lost some legal battles.  Meanwhile, major donors such as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and others are advocating that a Harris adminstration force out Khan. Overall corpora