February 3, 2017 nº 1,834 - Vol. 14
"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
Walter Bagehot
In today's Law Firm Marketing, The easy way to write a story that sells
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Read Migalhas LatinoAmérica in Spanish every Tuesday and Thursday. Visit the website at www.migalhas.com/latinoamerica
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UK parliament votes to empower May to trigger Brexit
The UK House of Commons on Wednesday approved HC Bill 132, which empowers Prime Minister Theresa May to notify the EU of the UK's intent to withdraw. Known as the "European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill," the legislation would confer power onto the prime minister to initiate Brexit pursuant to Art. 50(2) of the Lisbon Treaty, which formed the EU. The bill enjoyed support from Labour as well as the Conservative government, and passed 498 to 114. While UK citizens voted to leave the EU in a June referendum, a vote before parliament was required by a Supreme Court decision in January. Provided the bill progresses through the House of Lords, May will have the power to initiate the exit at the time of her choosing, though she has stated her intention to commence the process by March 31. (Click here)
European leaders decry likely Trump envoy
European Parliament leaders have condemned Trump's potential choice as envoy to the EU. Businessman Ted Malloch is believed to be the favorite for the role. In a letter, the leaders of the main parliamentary groups say he supports the dissolution of the EU and that his views reveal "outrageous malevolence". One of the leaders separately said that Malloch, who has previously compared the bloc to the former Soviet Union, should be declared "persona non grata". In an interview, Malloch said: "I had in a previous career a diplomatic post where I helped bring down the Soviet Union. So maybe there's another union that needs a little taming." He also said Trump was not a fan of the EU, because it is "supranational" and "unelected".
Dodd-Frank's bankruptcy provision could be a Trump target
This week, Trump, signed another in a seemingly endless parade of executive orders, vowed to "do a big number" on Dodd-Frank, the 2010 law enacted in response to the financial crisis. Doing so will require more than a presidential signature on a piece of paper, and we have yet to see what sort of working relationship the president will have with Congress. So far, Trumps seems quite determined to do exactly what he said he was going to do during the election campaign. The effort to dismantle Dodd-Frank will start in earnest with the Orderly Liquidation Authority. This is the special bankruptcy procedure for large financial institutions. It was enacted to allow the "too big to fail" banks an avenue to do the latter, since they are still quite big. Commentators have pointed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the Volcker Rule, which restricts banks from making some of the speculative investments that led to the 2008-9 global economic crisis, as likely first targets. But the consumer bureau has strong defenders, including a United States senator, and dismantling Volcker would have really bad optics. The banks have already figured out several ways around the Volcker Rule — consider trading in distressed syndicated loans — and they may decide it is not worth the negative publicity that repeal would entail. But who is going to stand up for an obscure piece of insolvency law that is easily painted as a bailout tool? Moreover, because the Orderly Liquidation Authority includes a line of credit for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation when it conducts liquidations under the law, any changes to this provision of Dodd-Frank, known as Title II, can happen through the budget reconciliation process, which is entirely immune from filibusters. And once Title II is gone, other pieces of Dodd-Frank may follow. Many of the proposals to create a new part of the bankruptcy code for are pretend solutions. The proposals provide no real way to deal with anything beyond a very stylized form of bank failure.
1 - Pfizer hires JPMorgan to weigh sale of some drugs - click here.
2 - Uber CEO steps down from Trump advisory council after users boycott - click here.
3 - U.S. judge orders Trump administration to allow entry to immigrant visa holders - click here.
4 - The CEO of Deutsche Boerse is being investigated for insider trading - click here.
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The easy way to write a story that sells
By Tom Trush
Somewhere along the way we lost our imaginations.
As a child, didn't you believe you could rule the world?
There was no task too tough ... no obstacle too large ... no limit to your success. Thanks to your imagination, nothing was impossible.
If you have young kids, you're reminded of this aptitude for achievement almost every day -- often in the form of stories. My 3-year-old daughter can spin a tale that would have left Walt Disney scrambling for a pen and paper
As you grow up, however, "wiser" adults target your inner thoughts by telling you what you can and can't do. Consequently, one skill that often deteriorates with your imagination is storytelling.
In marketing, stories are powerful persuasive tools that can help you attract clients because they allow readers to form their own conclusions. There's no need for an aggressive sales pitch.
Where people go wrong is thinking they must come up with a tale about an elaborate experience or else no one will find their story interesting.
And that's a huge mistake!
People are drawn to stories because they have a natural desire to relate to the characters. If you tell a tale about how you took a Sherpa-guided hike through the Himalayas, hopped on an elephant for a safari through Chitwan National Park, and then defied death by rafting the raging rapids of the Sun Koshi River, how many people would relate to your story?
Very few.
Now, if instead you wrote about your trip to the grocery store, your morning drive to the office or even your last vacation, do you think prospects might see some similarities in their daily activities?
Of course.
Don't let your inner critic prevent you from coming up with stories. In every law firm, on every day, people -- including you -- overcome adversity, solve problems and deliver results.
One of the easiest ways to write a story is by explaining how a client successfully used your services.
Start by simply writing down the facts you want to highlight. Then fill in the gaps by explaining the problem, the action taken and the results achieved.
Wherever possible, paint a picture in your prospect's mind by describing details such as sights, sounds or feelings.
An added bonus of storytelling is that it helps differentiate you from your competitors. After all, no one can duplicate the way you present your story.
Now go out there and tell your tale.
Tom Trush is available at https://www.writewaysolutions.com/
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© Trey Ryder
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Contrato
La petrolera estatal China National Petroleum Corp, CNPC, no descarta entrar con una demanda contra Costa Rica por su decisión de liquidar una sociedad conjunta para modernizar una refinería en el país, un proyecto programado para 15 años de inversión. (Presione aquí)
Libre de impuestos
A partir de hoy, por decreto el gobierno de México libero de aranceles la importación de vehículos eléctricos sea fuera el país de origen. (Presione aquí)
TPP
El gobierno de Chile no está dispuesto a enterrar anticipadamente el Acuerdo de Asociación Transpacífico, TPP. Decidió convocar a los miembros del bloque - 11 países -para analizar el alejamiento de Estados Unidos. Uno de los invitados más esperados es el gobierno de China, toda vez que el bloque busca una mayor inserción comercial y económica con Asia vía Pacífico. El encuentro está programado para el 14 y 15/3 a realizarse en la ciudad de Viña del Mar.
House votes to overturn Obama rule restricting gun sales to the severely mentally ill
The US House of Representatives has voted to scrap regulations that require background checks for people purchasing guns with mental health issues. The checks, introduced under the Obama administration, are believed to affect an estimated 75,000 people. The bill now needs to the approved by the Senate and signed into law by Trump. The House also voted on Thursday on Obama-era rules and regulations on the environment. The background-check rules were introduced to provide information on the gun-buying history of people receiving benefits for mental disability. But Republican lawmakers argued that the regulation reinforced negative stereotypes that people with mental disorders are dangerous.
African Union leaders back leaving ICC
Leaders of multiple African countries announced Wednesday that they have backed a "strategy of collective withdrawal" from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Prior to this weeks' African Union (AU) summit, the AU issued a document seen by Reuters that proposed a coordinated withdrawal unless the ICC was reformed. The AU claims that the ICC is improperly focusing on prosecuting individuals from African countries, and their exit could be significant, as almost a third of the ICC's member countries are African. (Click here)
Case study in chaos: how management experts grade a Trump White House
The unanimous verdict: Thus far, the Trump administration is a textbook case of how not to run a complex organization like the executive branch. "This is so basic, it's covered in the introduction to the M.B.A. program that all our students take," said Lindred Greer, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. By all outward indications, Mr. Trump "desperately needs to take the course," she said. Jeffrey Pfeffer, professor of organizational behavior at Stanford and the author of "Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't," said Mr. Trump's executive actions as president "are so far from any responsible management approach" that they all but defy analysis. "Of course, this isn’t new," he told me. "His campaign also violated every prudent management principle. Everyone including our friends on Wall Street somehow believed that once he was president he'd change. I don’t understand that logic."
Brexit plan published in government White Paper
The UK government has published an official policy document setting out its Brexit plans. The White Paper lays out the government's 12 "principles" including migration control and "taking control of our own laws". Brexit Secretary David Davis said the UK's "best days are still to come", outside the EU. Labour said the document "says nothing" and had been produced too late for "meaningful" scrutiny.
US warns N Korea against nuclear attack
The US Defense Secretary James Mattis has said any use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would be met with an "effective and overwhelming" response. Mattis spoke in South Korea, where he had been reaffirming US support, before flying to Tokyo. He also reconfirmed plans to deploy a US missile defense system in South Korea later this year. North Korea's repeated missile and nuclear tests and aggressive statements continue to alarm and anger the region.
Deutsche Bank results hit by legal costs
Deutsche Bank has posted an annual loss of 1.4bn euros after being hit by legal costs, although that was down from a loss of 6.4bn euros in 2015. In the final three months of 2016 alone the bank lost 1.9bn euros, mainly thanks to a record penalty in the US. Earlier this week, it was fined £500m in connection with a Russian money laundering plan. The German banking giant reported a 9% fall in costs and an improvement in the percentage of good quality assets. These assets, known as "tier one", rose to a percentage of 11.9%, the bank's strongest ratio for three years.
Snapchat may be worth up to $25bn despite making losses
Snap, owner of the Snapchat messaging app popular with teenagers, is to sell its shares on the US stock market. The California-based tech firm, which allows users to send images and messages that vanish within seconds, is set to be one of the major US share listings of recent years. The flotation is expected to value the business at between $20bn and $25bn, although Snap has never made a profit. It will turn the company's founders into multi-billionaires. Snap wants to raise $3bn through the share sale, a small percentage but one that will set the market price for the rest of the company.
Trump says new Israeli settlements may not help bring about peace
Building new Israeli settlements "may not be helpful" to achieving peace with Palestinians, the White House has said. The statement contrasted with earlier signals from Trump that he did not object to settlement activity. But it said he did not see settlements as an "impediment to peace" - a departure from previous US positions. The fate of settlements in the occupied West Bank is one of the most contentious issues between Israel and the Palestinians.
Russian hacking aims to destabilize West, Sir Michael Fallon says
Russia is carrying out a sustained campaign of cyber attacks targeting democracy and critical infrastructure in the West, UK Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has warned. Moscow was "weaponizing misinformation" in a bid to expand its influence and destabilize Western governments and weaken Nato, he said. Vladimir Putin had chosen to become a "strategic competitor" of the West. Sir Michael said it was vital alliance members strengthened cyber defenses.
UK human rights lawyer struck off for Iraq War allegations
Phil Shiner, a disgraced human rights lawyer, is no longer allowed to practice law after being struck off Thursday after having 12 charges of misconduct proved against him. Shiner raised a myriad of allegations that British troops tortured and killed Iraqis during the Iraq War. An earlier investigation found Shiner had deliberately fabricated the claims. He had previously admitted to nine ethical charges and to acting recklessly.
ICJ rules it has jurisdiction over Kenya-Somalia boundary dispute
The UN International Court of Justice on Thursday ruled that it had the authority to adjudicate a dispute over a stretch of water in the Indian Ocean that is potentially laden with oil and gas. Somalia asked the ICJ to rule on the dispute in 2014 after negotiations with Kenya broke down over the 100,000-square mile stretch.
Kushner's felon father back at helm of New York empire with two fellow inmates
It's hard to find work right out of prison. But Avram Lebor and Richard Goettlich walked from their Alabama penitentiary into top jobs at the real estate company then run by Jared Kushner, now President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. The two men, convicted in separate sprawling fraud schemes, were hired several years ago by his father, Charles Kushner, who had been locked up in the same federal prison with them.
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