Hey there, Readers!

Mark Rubin

I’ve been away. I checked, and I posted last on July 11, almost six weeks ago. So … what?

I returned from the British Isles* on July 5. On July 31 I started what ended up being an eight-day jury trial. In between? Preparation. Preparation. More preparation! And a dark website and FB presence, as I didn’t want jurors looking into the life of the mouthy lawyer.

If your biorhythms need a shake up, try a case to 10 jurors. (We let the alternates deliberate.) My normal workday runs from 7 to about 4:30, with a few hours on weekends. During the trial? Sunrise until about 9:30 p.m., with a bit of evening time for a snack and a cocktail.

Confidentiality obligations prevent me from sharing any details about the case. I can say, though, that the parties got to present their respective cases to a hard-working jury which paid attention and did its best to reach a fair outcome. My work does not often involve trials. Rarer still are jury trials. That said, my jury experiences over 35 years – five cases in which I was directly involved – have been uniformly positive.

I’m back to normalcy, mostly. Behind on work but catching up. More normal hours. And trying hard to favor you, gentle readers, with more writing, regularly.

Thanks for sticking around. Look for posts about babka and big banks in the next few days.

Best.

Mark

*For whatever it’s worth the British Isles include Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man and thousands of smaller islands. And and if you’re reading, POTUS, pay attention: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland comprise the United Kingdom; Great Britain is the island shared by England, Scotland, and Wales. And England is, well, glorious!

What does POTUS believe?

Piers Morgan: The skeptic in me would say: ‘What is the incentive for America to do a great deal with the United Kingdom?’

Donald Trump: We would make a great deal with the United Kingdom because they have product that we like. I mean they have a lot of great product. They make phenomenal things, you know, and you have different names — you can say “England”, you can say “UK”, you can say “United Kingdom” so many different — you know you have, you have so many different names — Great Britain. I always say: ‘Which one do you prefer? Great Britain? You understand what I’m saying?’

Morgan: You know Great Britain and the United Kingdom aren’t exactly the same thing?

Trump: Right, yeah. You know I know, but a lot of people don’t know that. But you have lots of different names. The fact is you make great product, you make great things. Even your farm product is so fantastic.