Imagine if you will the one person in a community that everyone hates. Parents, neighbors, children, pastors, strangers. Different politics. Different moral views. Different ways of living, behaving, of disagreeing, and yes protesting. Is this person entitled to possession and exercise of their civil liberties? If not them, who? What should happen to your own civil liberties if you become unpopular? Are your civil liberties dependent upon a majority (or even an active minority) vote? If the people remove their rights, then does that make us "right"? In February of 2008 it was my honor to stand in a representation of such a person in front of judge and prosecutor as we entered a plea of "not guilty" and prepared for trial. Not because he was great. Because his civil liberties, recognized and codified bestly for the first time in human history in America, were here greatly endangered. The American system of law provides both the best recognition of our rights and the best remedies for protecting them. The offense was [an infringement of the First Amendment Right of Free Speech Expression and Religion of a person masquerading as] two counts of criminal trespass. Somewhere in my mind I imagined that if I could stand alongside someone so very unpopular in order to defend the good of civil liberties for all, that others had done so before, and that others would also do so in the future; and especially for the popularly forgotten. And as conflicting as the representation was sometimes, civil liberties were respected on that day. My client was completely vindicated; all charges were dropped; and an apology provided; and rights of liberty were restored. 3L+6
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During my time with Tano Capital launching our first India Fund I (100m+) US direct investment was there of course but had not yet become popular. Due to the foresight of my boss, we were one of the first movers in the "automatic route" FDI space and it was both intimidating and exciting. His insight was, as usual, far above that of the crowd. "It's a demographic play," said he, "The median age in India is 23 with a population of 1M. Meantime the median age in America is 35 with a population of 400m. They will accelerate the first world more than the first world. Demographics are destiny." The following two charts give an indication of the level of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) into India in the early 2000s and the amount coming from the USA during that time. At the time when people looked at me incredulously, cocked their head, and said something like "you're doing WHAT???" I thought they were negotiating with me or something or misunderstanding me. I didn't know at first all of the various sector restrictions India had placed on FDI (like in retail and brands), and I didn't really realize until now the overall novelty of what we were doing. 3L+2
Coda: It's quite amazing to see it today!
As a joke I brought in a cardboard standup of "Austin Powers" from the 1997 movie and propped it up at the end of our phone bank by the window. It had a special feature. When you walked in front of a sensor on its eye a recording would play "YEAAAHHHH BABY!!! CHUCKLE CHUCKLE"
It made each day fun. People would come from different departments in the company to see it and and make the recording go. When someone on our team had a good call, they'd go hug it and activate the recording. One day our CEO came through because he wanted a picture for a USA Today article in front of a "call center" backdrop. He asked my boss who had put that there because it was "unprofessional" and also asked that it be removed. Someone took the cardboard and put it outside of shot in a different corner of the room. We were all amused when the USA Today article came out and due to a multiplicity of shots and poses directions and angles, and because somebody didn't notice or because somebody did notice -- Austin Powers ended up in the frame over CEO shoulder on the business page of the USA Today. 1L-2mos In my role as Executive Director for the San Francisco Republican Party in the 1990s many people outside of San Francisco even wondered whether there was even a GOP in the City by the Bay.
Most probably it is very different even more today. But in 1997, Republicans counted just over 15% of registrations. We had Democrat leaders in local State and Federal offices (only the "East Bay" remained GOP-controlled). And in 'Bagdad By The Bay' we had not only a Democrat Mayor but the Democrat figure of that era in California, the stylish razor of unbeatable political formidability, Mineola, TX-born Willie Brown AKA "Da Mayor." So it was a surprise when it became my job to work actively with City Hall on a big municipal and public and private initiative; unlikely partners, former "enemies." San Francisco was marketing and sought to approve USD100M in Lease-Revenue Bonds in order to finance a new USD500M+ stadium for the 49ers, along with associated residential and retail. Propositions D & F were therefore the prime undertaking for 1997's political cycle and docket in San Francisco and in my office - many coordinated events, messaging, phone banks and calls, and slate mailer and GOTV efforts whirred. When the votes were counted, the joint measure passed at just over 50%; a squeaker. The certified returns revealed basically a margin just shy of a thousand votes. When we reviewed the post election analytics it became clear that our efforts were a decisive factor: we ran four points ahead of registration (19% of those who voted were Republicans, with a 15% registration). It was a big W for Willie. The project never came into being. But that is a story for another day. 1L-2 |
AuthorTexas + California corporate attorney in Dallas. Archives
February 2008
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