Joe Nocera on the difference between two corporate cultures

See here.  This is a great illustration of why cultures can create crises or do their darnedest to prevent them.

Good commencement speeches...

Over at the New York Times (here).  My favorite?

Mike Moncrief
Mayor, Fort Worth, Tex.
Texas Christian University
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember: Noah had never built an ark, but it was a large group of professionals that built the Titanic.

For teachers everywhere....

(If you can't see the whole thing, click on the cartoon.)  Hat tip to comics.com.

Update on prior post: and a hat tip to Bankruptcy Law Network

Thanks to Russ DeMott for this great post (here).  I like Russ's bankruptcy posts so much that I'm going to add him to my iGoogle page.

Yet another good post by Michelle Harner over at Credit Slips

I've really been enjoying her posts--and this one's great (here)--and, of course I always enjoy the Credit Slips blog.

My new favorite list: MSN's 10 Companies We Love To Hate

Sprint, of course, is on the list (and has been for years)--see here.  The full Customer Service Hall of Shame is here.  Bravo, MSN! 

Sadly, Sirius isn't mentioned.  But there's always next year....

Marvelous distinction between "leaders" and "stewards" over at The Faculty Lounge.

See here.  Hat tip to The Faculty Lounge.

Worst customer service so far.

Sirius "wins."  I tried to cancel my Sirius over the phone.  (I now have an XM radio and foolishly thought that the transfer to XM would be seamless.  Wrong.)  After being on hold for 20 minutes, I gave up.  I've sent a cancellation letter, but we'll see if Sirius honors that letter.

Why is it that companies don't realize how easy it's become for customers to broadcast their complaints to the world?

I love my Kindle, but . . .

It keeps turning on by accident, draining the battery.  Does anyone have any suggestions about how to prevent the accidental "on"?  Thanks!

More on the shifting law firm paradigm.

From my buddy Gordon Goolsby (see here).  It's definitely time for a heads-up, folks.

R-rated, raunchy, and very funny.

Last night's MTV highlights:  here.  Loved it.

Glenn Reynolds is right about the higher education bubble.

See here.

Hey, when A-Rod is one of the largest unsecured creditors, A-Rod gets to be on the creditors' committee.

See here.  Hat tip to the Wall Street Journal's Bankruptcy Beat blog.

Jim Milles's ethics course sounds fabulous!

See here for his description.  It sounds like a great course!

Fun discussion about anonymity.

See here.  Hat tip to Brad Sims.

Should a lawyer withdraw at the first indication that the client wants to lie?

My buddy Marc Stern forwarded this blog post to me (here).  My first instinct was "What the hey? Of course a lawyer should withdraw immediately."  I liked the blogger's observation below:

In short, the lawyer needs to make sure the client knows what the lawyer knows: the lie will eventually be discovered.  The client needs to confront this fact and agree to be truthful to the court.  It is a rare client whose force of personality cannot be overcome by his or her lawyer’s carefully presented arguments, especially where the client is clearly wrong, and the client is committing a crime by refusing the lawyer’s advice.

My problem with this concept is that I don't think that people who lie intentionally are going to be persuaded to become honest.  (See an earlier article I wrote about this topic here.  The Kaye, Scholer lawyers thought that their client, OPM--which was an acronym for "Other People's Money," always a bad sign for a client--was going to reform after being caught in outrageously dishonest acts.  Kaye, Scholer's mistake in trusting the stubbornly dishonest client is an object lesson for all of us.) 

Although it's possible that a lawyer's "force of personality" may help a client whose honesty is wavering to see the light, I think it's equally possible for a lawyer to persuade herself (wrongly) that she has won over the obstinately lying client.  That lawyer may well find herself the product of a disciplinary action later.

The well-meaning and honest lawyer faces many pitfalls.  (Alan Childress, Mike Frisch, and I are working on a professional responsibility textbook for Aspen based on the premise that honest lawyers can find themselves in all sorts of trouble even though they aren't hell-bent on lying, cheating, or stealing.)  Persuading oneself that one's client is going to see the light based on the lawyer's moral suasion is one such pitfall.

Welcome back from your sabbatical, Joe Nocera!

I've missed you--and I enjoyed your column yesterday (here) immensely!

Sprint "customer service."

I've been trying to cancel my Sprint account for a while now.  It's almost impossible, but I think I've done it--at least until I continue to get those darn bills.  Anyone have any clue about how to kill a Sprint account?

Calling all pre-law advisors!

Please email me at nancy.rapoport@unlv.edu if you'd like a review copy of our Law School Survival Manual.

Best bankruptcy law headline in a long time.

Over at the Wall Street Journal's Bankruptcy Beat Blog (here).  I couldn't have come up w/that Kinkade one all by myself, but I sure love the sense of humor of that headline writer.