Category: EOLIS Perspective

On a cold day in January, a busload of students arrived at Weil Gotshal and Manges, from a Bronx neighborhood public school– for lessons in public speaking. The kids are paired with the law firm  in  a New York City Pencil Project. Weil Gotchal and Manges is among the dedicated sponsors of unique learning experiences for students in NYC public schools.

The students settled into the comfy conference room chairs with plenty of spunk and curiosity about the task they were about to begin–preparation for speechmaking. The goal was to pick a subject and  make a speech for 10 minutes that their peers and other attendees would  judge. The reviewers included a group of young Weil lawyers, Pencil personnel and Wendeen, an ardent supporter of the project. and excellence in education.

In a matter of 40 minutes, the students gained some crucial skills and tips with solid coaching from Weil’s energized associates and dedicated Pencil executives. And  Wendeen, a speaker on the lecture circuit, watched listened and cheered as the youngsters got ready to fly solo –many with plenty of confidence. One after another they stood and gave their speeches.

Their subjects were diverse, they grasped current events with startling clarity, and they interacted with each other like “ladies and gentlemen.” What a joy to watch and hear.

After the presentations, Wendeen, participated in the debriefing. She noted, “Choosing a topic that lets you show your passion for the subject usually makes for the best speech.” One of these erudite middle schoolers quickly  piped up, saying you can be more passionate, if you do research. Another, whispered to me,  “Information is power, right!”  One young lady, without any prodding , turned to thank everyone who participated in the critiques– including “our special guest, who helped me so much.”  I was awed by these inner city whiz kids.  Right on!

Wendeen says, “Randy Levine minds his business by speaking his mind–with equal parts knowledge and passion.”

Best known as President of the New York Yankees, except to the lawyers on the other side of his fierce end game in the crunch of a tough labor negotiation, Randy Levine is a man who speaks his mind, but he is a teddy bear at heart.

Some forty years ago, I hunted Randy’s head as a legal recruiter–to no avail.  He had worked closely with Associate Attorney General, Arnold Burns at the Justice Department. They moved as a team into private practice.  Arnie then led the effort to find a more  ideal Firm to serve their big-ticket clients. His colleague Rudy Giuliani  recommended that he consult with me. Randy visited me and then  Big Gun Arnie stopped by to chat. In the end, Arnie and Randy joined an EOLIS  client–the fancy Proskauer law firm–without an ounce of my help. But they graciously tipped their hats in the press release, that trumpeted their arrival. They thanked me for my advice in their consideration of multiple offers.

Randy and I have been friends ever since, as each of us wended our way in the private and public sector and back to business. Our paths intersected as senior advisors to Mayor Rudy Giuliani in his first term. Randy moved up the ladder to become Deputy Mayor. I left the City Hall corridors for a stint in the Governor’s office.  Randy went to the Yankees. I returned home to EOLIS International Group, the  legal search and consulting business I founded.  Our friendship has continued through the years.

Randy has made quite a name for himself, but he is at ease with success and enjoys making more of others’ accomplishments. When I seek out his counsel or call to kibbitz, I know I’ll find him–wherever he is.  If you know Randy you know he returns his phone calls–fast. Have I mentioned  that Randy also has  grace? He has never asked me to explain how the heck it came about that I brought A-Rod to a poker game that landed up as a story in the New York tabloids?

At the end of lunch, I didn’t have to propose a next date. He did. I have a choice of any of the 81 Yankee games he will be watching, intently, in his buzzing president’s suite at Yankee Stadium. I’m on my way!

Wendeen reconnected with a remarkably relaxed and refreshed President Barack Obama, outside Washington (which is where they first met in 2008). The president was the starring attraction at the Streicker Center/Temple Emanu-El, in New York.

After sampling chef Daniel Boulud’s signature short ribs (which Wendeen highly recommends), the President made his way to a reception at the Temple. He arrived in time to warm up with the fat cats and serious VIPs.

As the event photographer approached him, the President caught Wendeen’s eye. He waved and called her to his side, using her childhood nickname that   survived until she turned six.

Wendeen joined the president, noting to everyone within earshot that the only people who call her “Wendy” are stubborn family members, her longtime friend, Wayne Newton, who sings Danke Schoen, in return for the privilege,  and the good president—also known as Tease-in-Chief.

The photographer clicked, catching an impish grin, not intended for the camera. The President chuckled and then signaled he was ready to rock and roll for his eager and enthusiastic audience. Wendeen  dashed off to her appointed seat.

President Obama’s arrival in the main sanctuary of the Temple was greeted with thunderous applause.  And so began his interview, conducted  by Temple Emanu-El’s  Rabbi,  Joshua Davidson.

The president navigated delicately on the subject of Israeli American relations during his administrations, lightened up describing Passover Seders at the White House, and took on the issue of fake news all around us, boldly.

The nation’s first black president resonated deeply with the diverse audience. His simple and sage advice on what to tell our children, in this complicated world, was potent: “I tell my girls, “be kind and be useful.”

How about that for some sanity!

It is reaffirming, uplifting and with extreme gratitude, I start the year by recognizing NYU President Andrew Hamilton who greeted me this past fall, on the occasion of the 50^th anniversary my graduation from the University.  Andrew now fills the shoes of those who preceded him, including my favorite professor and advisor L. Jay Oliva who pushed me to push the envelope—to achieve.

And, Andrew is already filling the soul of the University, its students, teachers and alumni with limitless enthusiasm for the process of learning inside classrooms and beyond them. Thank you, Andrew, for your time, at the podium, on the floor, and during our brief tete a tete at a very special event—that reminds me to count my blessings for the opportunity of an education that sent me on my way.

Wendeen  recalls visit  with Israel’s Consul General, Ido Aharoni at his New York residence. It was an intimate gathering of members of the International Women’s Forum (WFNY), in advance of this year’s IWF cornerstone conference in Tel Aviv.

Ambassador Aharoni and Wendeen chatted about their mutual community of interest and the solid  ties between Israel and New York. Mr. Ahoroni has been in the forefront of Israeli diplomatic initiatives since 1991 with a strong emphasis in New York.  Wendeen has been supportive of Israeli-American friendship and business connections and was a government representative at the funeral of Yitzahk Rabinin). Eolis International Group serves clients in Israel through our affiliated consultants in Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem and hosts Israeli law students for our summer internship programs and. We look forward to finding more of the best and the brightest during this year’s visit to the Promised Land.

Wendeen listened to the tribute to Nelson Mandela at his memorial service in Soweto with first-hand knowledge of the joy, strength, and pride the South African liberator brought not only to his people, but to all who he befriended.

Wendeen was privileged to cross paths with him twice. On the first occasion at Gracie Mansion in 1994, she was totally awed by his presence, his handshake and his glowing smile. She was mesmerized by his voice in their ninety second tete a tete; his every word resonated sharply.

But the second occasion, in a hotel near Johannesburg, was even more inspirational–shortly after he completed his stunning biography. President Mandela insisted on revising Wendeen’s itinerary to accommodate time for a talk about his book and a dinner to celebrate it. Reflecting on the tribute, last week, Wendeen was moved to call him “a most extraordinary man-made wonder of the world.”

(NEW YORK, NEW YORK) The matter of legal recruiting fees has become thornier than ever, as law firms, increasingly, seek to renegotiate placement fees—shortly before (and sometimes after) an offer has been made and accepted by a high- powered rainmaker. Recruiters are well advised, as are law firms, to ensure clarity in their arrangements–at the beginning of the process–to mutual satisfaction. Gone are the days when a handshake will do.

While most law firms put their own drafted fee schedule in front of the recruiter,  with a demand to sign or scram,  exceptional recruiters escape from this potential  rigidity, at least enough to modify terms. And the most accomplished recruiters set their fees and terms with clients, just as the best law firms do—by presenting their own agreements and allowing their clients to negotiate reasonable changes —not the other way around.

Many recruiting fee disputes evolve because of bad practices on the part of  both the law firms and the recruiters  with whom they work; the notion of a resume’s shelf life is chief among them. If both, the employer and the recruiter recognize that the recruiter must be responsible for the placement, and mean by that phrase, that the recruiter’s  referral efforts must rise to the level of substantial cause of the placement —life would be so much easier. The “but for” rule, meaning but for whose efforts did the placement occur, has become a much murkier two edged sword and often leads to far more debate. Let’s get out of conjecture and rely on facts!

At a Washington dinner Wendeen Eolis and MSNBC news anchor Mika Brezinski were curious guests of at a CPAC meeting; both had been invited by the sponsors; they chatted at their ringside table before the Latino band came out to play. Morning Joe Scarborough graced the ladies with his presence, coming down from his perch as the MC ready to watch conservatives show the world they can loosen up.

The unlikely trio mugged for the camera before the band got down to some serious salsa. Wendeen’s dinner partner, Niger Innis took Mika for a turn on the dance floor, while Wendeen moved to the beat of salsa on 1 with a member of the Board of the NRA. Joe took it all in with a slightly smiling face, before returning to the podium.

Wendeen and Bill take a photo after chatting amiably about their  acquaintanceship which dates back to his first stint as NYC Police Commissioner under Mayor Rudy Giuiani. Their first encounter came when each was advising the Mayor during a moment of potential racial unrest in New York. On his watch, for two Mayors  20 years apart, Commissioner Bratton did New York City proud.  He left public service in 2016–shortly after Wendeen’s photographed visit in his conference room, that took place during a tour of the police operations at Police Plaza with the Women’s Forum of New York.

In a meeting, by invitation of the Association for a Better New York ABNY), the Mayor schooled business and civic leaders and a sprinkling of politicos in the crowd, on his determined vision for Equity and Excellence in NYC public schools—for all children. But, he was pointedly mum about public schools that are currently accessible only to specially “gifted children. “

As a graduate of one of those schools, and having been motivated to do the necessary to qualify for admission, I was beginning to lament the prospect of a school system void of special opportunities for those who earn them. I questioned the Mayor as noted in the corrected City Hall transcript:*

Wendeen’s Question: Mr. Mayor thank you very much for the report. It’s exciting, I think for everybody in the room to know the emphasis that is placed on “Equity and Excellence for All.” I am interested in knowing the extent to which we’re going to be rolling out this concept in all of those schools – how will that affect your view of the special schools we currently have in New York, and will we need more of them? Will we need to expand them or will we have lesser need for those few schools that have typically attracted people who are highly talented, as proven through the testing process primarily?

The Mayor’s Answer in pertinent part: “A fantastic question, (Wendeen). Can I give you a gold star for the question? If we were in the classroom, I’d be giving you a gold star right now. This is the kind of thing I think we need to talk a lot about – much more about in this city. Specialized schools are extraordinary. They have turned out a generation of leaders in all fields. You know, we just – an easy example in the national dynamics in just the last few years – Eric Holder one of the most prominent leaders of the Obama administrations, David Axelrod who helped bring you the Obama administration both from Stuyvesant. So, pretty amazing people, congratulations to Stuyvesant. I would make a speech about Brooklyn Tech – great graduates like Len Riggeo and Dante de Blasio.

So they play a very, very crucial role, and they will certainly continue to. And I think there’s absolutely an open door – there’s certainly the potential of more specialized schools, but even more clearly there’s the potential to take models that work and expand them out. For example, where my daughter went – Beacon High School – tremendously successful, was used to create another great high school. That model and that approach was literally transported to another site on the Upper West Side and the new Frank McCord high school has started. So you can take a model and kind of replicate it in many ways, so yes we will continue to take great models and build them out and add new versions of them.

But at the same time – because your question is wonderfully precise about is there a contradiction with this theme – no, I don’t believe there is. The goal is to say, you can take any school and give it the kinds of things it never had, and the world will start to change. That is not a lack of acknowledgement of other realities as to the previous question.”

On the way out the door of the meeting, the Chairman of ABNY, Bill Rudin caught my eye to say, “Great question.” New Yorkers need to keep their foot on the pedal to develop Equity and Excellence without sacrificing the incentive of special schools for parents who succeed in teaching their children the merits and the benefits of accountability, at a young age.