Where Were You in 1962? Legal Lessons from a Year That Changed America
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Where Were You in 1962? Legal Lessons from a Year that Changed America Speaker: David Krell, Esq. Author: Christmas Movies and the Law (2017) 1962: Baseball, Hollywood, JFK, and the Beginning of America’s Future (2017) Our Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers in History, Memory and Popular Culture (2015) 1962: Legal Lessons From Baseball, Hollywood, and JFK David Krell Copyright © 2017 David Krell, All Rights Reserved Any reproduction of this document without express authorization, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. 1 David Krell Member of PA, NY, and NJ bars JD from Villanova Law School LLM from Cardozo Law School Television news writer Deputy Press Secretary for gubernatorial campaign Author of 300+ articles for magazines, web sites Author of “Our Bums: The Brooklyn Dodgers in History, Memory and Popular Culture” (McFarland, 2015) 2 Introduction What legal lessons can we learn from 1962? Improving legal practice Crisis Management Adjusting to new scenarios 3 Cuban Missile Crisis Lasted almost 2 weeks President Kennedy brought everyone into the room, listened to all opinions. Kennedy’s response to the nation was clear, succinct, and laid out alternatives 4 Writers Influence Writers: JFK & Oliver Wendell Holmes "...it is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for the country in return." – Oliver Wendell Holmes, In Our Youth Our Hearts Were Touched With Fire, Address delivered on Memorial Day, May 30, 1884, at Keene, NH, before John Sedgwick Post No. 4, Grand Army of the Republic. 5 JFK and Holmes (continued) “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” – President Kennedy Inauguration Speech, January 20, 1961 6 Use Simple and Concise Language: Ziegler’s Rule “You want the benefits of free trade? Food is cheaper. Food is cheaper, clothes are cheaper, steel is cheaper, cars are cheaper, phone service is cheaper. You feel me building a rhythm here? That's 'cause I'm a speechwriter and I know how to make a point. It lowers prices, it raises income. You see what I did with ‘lowers’ and ‘raises’ there? It's called the science of listener attention. We did repetition, we did floating opposites and now you end with the one that's not like the others. Ready? Free trade stops wars. And that's it. Free trade stops wars! And we figure out a way to fix the rest! One world, one peace. I'm sure I've seen that on a sign somewhere.” 7 Name That Theme In One Sentence Whether you appear before a judge, jury, client, or the media, you need to pull out the theme of the story. Essentially, the theme is like the trunk of a tree. Everything branches from the trunk. Example: Kenneth Frequency terrorized a family of three when he pointed a gun, shouted orders, and violently yanked jewelry from the wife’s neck. Example: Kenneth Frequency is a dangerous thief who terrified his victims by using force, 8 threats, and a weapon. Slogans Are Great Examples of Simple and Concise Language This Is Beer (Budweiser) Quality Is Job #1 (Ford) The Pause That Refreshes (Coca-Cola) The Choice of a New Generation (Pepsi) Fair & Balanced (FOX News Channel) Imagination At Work (General Electric) We Never Close (M*A*S*H #8063) Best Care Anywhere (M*A*S*H #4077) Commitment to Excellence (Oakland Raiders) Just win, baby (Al Davis, Owner of Oakland Raiders) Sin A Little With Star Time (from “One Day at a Time”) Frost Yourself (from “How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days”) 9 Military Example of Simple and Concise Language “The F2A-3 is not a combat aeroplane. It is inferior to the planes we were fighting in every respect…The Japanese Zero can run circles around the F2A-3. “It is my belief that any commander that orders pilots out for combat in a F2A-3 should consider that pilot as lost before he leaves the ground.” – Phil White (quoted in The Black Sheep by Bruce Gamble) 10 If Romeo & Juliet Were Attorneys “Deny thy father, refuse thy name” becomes… “Whereas we are in love and notwithstanding the potential impact on your inheritance and possibility of retaliation by your family in a physical or reputation sense, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to abdicate your name, family, and all of the benefits pertaining thereto. If abdication is fully and completely accomplished, we can enjoy our lives freely and without interference from members of either the Capulet or Montague families or their duly authorized representatives.” 11 If the Beach Boys Were Attorneys, Then Lyrics To “California Girls” Might Be… Whereas East Coast girls keep up with and sometimes set fashion trends, Whereas Southern girls have endearing accents, Whereas Midwest girls have courteous and friendly tendencies, Whereas Northern girls like to embrace and create bodily warmth on cold nights, I am attracted to them and I wish they could all have their primary residence in the geographic area commonly known as the State of California 12 The Jack Benny Rule aka Economy of Words The key to good communication is brevity. The key to great communication is brevity combined with clarity. Be economical with words. Corollary: Repetition and synonyms have their places, too. Exercise: Explain why you like or dislike 13 something in 10 words or less. Oliver Wendell Holmes and the Jack Benny Rule: “The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic.” – Schenck vs. United States, 249 US 47 (1919) (emphasis added). Holmes addresses freedom of speech in the context of the WWI draft. The ‘clear and present danger’ rule originates. 14 Earl Warren and the Jack Benny Rule “We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” (emphasis added). – Chief Justice Earl Warren in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka 347 US 483 (1954). The Brown case opened the doors of integration. 15 Military Examples of the Jack Benny Rule “Nuts!” – General Anthony McAuliffe’s reply to German demand for surrender in WWII “An intellectual is a man who takes more words than necessary to tell more than he knows.” – President Eisenhower, former US Army General and Commander of Supreme Headquarters of Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) 16 Ronald Reagan Examples of the Jack Benny Rule “There you go again.” – 1980 presidential election campaign “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?” – 1980 presidential election campaign “I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent’s youth and inexperience.” – 1984 presidential election debate 17 STOP: State Theme Or Purpose STOP: State Theme or Purpose. You must always ask, why you are writing this communication or taking this action? What do you want to convey? What is your optimal outcome? 18 STOP Exercise Your boss asks you to research the law in Illinois on an arcane issue for a high-level client in Chicago. This is your big break! Your work will 1) give you visibility with senior partners 2) put you on a higher career level 3) involve travel to Chicago, San Francisco, and Honolulu. What is your purpose for writing the memo? 19 Adjusting to Crisis Any scenario has a built-in option of abort Assess the cost: getting in, getting out, staying there Is it worth the cost? 20 Lawyer as Networker Roy Hofheinz and William Shea managed the operation of bringing major league teams to Houston and New York Inspiring through politics and civic leadership Ensuring a team effort rather than individual glory Outlining the goals and costs 21 Rebounding from Failure Nixon loses 1960 presidential election and 1962 California gubernatorial race Dismisses television as a non-factor in political discourse Meets Roger Ailes, producer of “The Mike Douglas Show” before an appearance Ailes convinces Nixon of television’s importance, shapes a new image Nixon authors policy books after resigning 22 Examples of Adjusting to Crisis Freedom 7 launches on February 20, 1962 John Glenn is third American astronaut in space, first to orbit the Earth Flight is cut short after three orbits because of a problem with the space craft 23 Adjusting to Image Crisis Aurora 7 launches in May 1962 Scott Carpenter lands in the ocean several hundred miles from the designated area Carpenter gets criticized Never flies for NASA again Becomes involved with SeaLab 24 Learning From What Didn’t Work Wally Schirra launched in Sigma 7 in October 1962 Schirra was adamant about a flight plan with lots of white spaces on the pages Simplified his flight plan to launching, orbiting, and returning safely 25 Diversify Your Legal Assets In 1962, Vaughn Meader was sitting on top of the world as a JFK impersonator. Meader often appeared in nightclubs and on television. When JFK was killed, Meader’s career went south. Had JFK lived for a second term, Meader’s value may have ended after eight years. 26 Protecting Your Intellectual Property Johnny Carson débuts as host of The Tonight Show on October 1, 1962 After 20 years, Carson became an institution Portable toilet company named “Here’s Johnny” Carson sues 27 Jackie Kennedy as Icon Jackie Kennedy marries Ari Onassis in late 1960s “Jackie O” becomes New York City icon of fashion, poise Ron Galella becomes famous as the photographer noted for pursuing Onassis Onassis sues 28 Dodger Stadium Walter O’Malley couldn’t get the deal he wanted in Brooklyn O’Malley struck a deal with Los Angeles Migrant families removed from Chavez Ravine If it happened today, public relations challenges in 24/7 world 29 To Kill A Mockingbird Was Atticus Finch really a hero or just a lawyer doing his job? What could Atticus have done differently in representing Tom? What is the true power of a lawyer? 30 Supreme Court Cases Engel v.