Ed Koch and Mike (1998)

Today's Meeting with Ed Koch

While sending out a bunch of resumes about two weeks ago, I recognized that one of the law firms I was interested in happens to be the firm of Brian/Cave, which is where former New York City Mayor Koch now practices. I decided to send a letter directly to the former mayor and ask him if he would meet with me for a few moments. I was pleasantly surprised when he sent out a quick reply and directed me to call his secretary.

This afternoon I met with Ed Koch in his office at the firm. Not surprisingly, the office is quite plush and comfortable with remarkable views. He secretary was very pleasant and informed me that the Mayor was giving a number of interviews about a relatively big story here in the city that relates to his period in office and that they tried to arrange the interviews around our meeting. I was asked to wait briefly in a conference room.

When I was fetched from the conference room where I was waiting and brought into Koch's office he was working at his desk. He told me to sit tight while he finished up for a moment. Not surprisingly, his walls were filled with really cool pictures and stuff. Most of the photos I have seen reprinted in books over the years.

It was all down-hill once we started speaking.

"What do you want?" he asked me directly. I answered politely, albeit tortuously, and ultimately said, "I would appreciate your guidance with finding a good private firm here in the City."

He told me "That's what I figured you wanted. NO. I don't do that sort of thing. Anything else?"

Remembering the lessons expressed by Dale Carnegie, I decided to get him talking about political history and stuff. I asked him if he would tell me a little about his successful campaign for office in 1977. I read one of his opponent's books detailing the race, but never heard Koch's perspective. "NO stories. Anything else?"

I recognized I was about to get the boot, so I deftly remembered that my good friend Jimmy Boyle told me to say hello. Jimmy was the President of the firefighters union while Koch was in office. This got me a reprieve of about a minute. Indeed, he said nice things about Jimmy.

"Anything else?" I then told him that one of my mentors sent my resume to the partner in the office right next door to Koch and that my mentor asked if Koch would introduce me to the man. "NO. I don't get involved with that. Anything else?"

Okay, having a decent grasp of the obvious, I recognized that this fellow didn't really seem too inclined to help with the job-search. "I understand you're doing a few interviews relating to today's news. Would you mind if I sat in and watched?"

"Lots of interviews. And NO. You absolutely can't stay. Anything else?"

At this point I decided to call it quits. I told him earnestly, that he looked good and he looked just as I remembered him looking the day he left office "when I was a kid" and he thanked me and said he had no doubt that I would find a very good job and have little recollection of my unemployed status in a year from now.

While the meeting didn't result in any job leads, it was extremely gracious of the guy to meet with me and I actually got a pretty big kick out of it. I should have asked him to spend a few more minutes looking at the pictures on the wall. The pictures were interesting without being abrasive.

Special thanks to Mike Simkovic and his mom, Liz Berney, for helping with my job-search and passing along my resume.

Time to Come Home

I've decided it's time to return to the big city. New Zealand is a very special place and I have some extremely close friends here, but it's not home. While it might not sound like a big deal, the food simply doesn't agree with me. It's not awful or anything, it's just very, very different and I'm having trouble eating enough to keep from losing weight.

One of the more enjoyable things about this country is the laid back attitude and the slower pace. Ironically, though, being a dyed-in-the-whool New Yorker, I get a little stressed when folks take a long time to get things done.

And, of course, I miss my friends. Quite a bit.

There's also that pesky little career thing. Having sacrificed my soul for a license to practice law in the great state of New York, I can't play around in New Zealand too long without jeapardizing the little bit of momentum I've developed in the professional world.

With some luck I'll be able to trade in my frequent flyer miles for a nice comfy business class seat from Auckland to New York City and then get settled again in the big apple in mid April. During the next few weeks I'll be doing a little bit more traveling and stuff. (I'll put up some photos when that happens) In the meantime, If anybody knows of any interesting job opportunities or housing options back home.. please let me know!

Leaving the City of Wellington

In a few days I will be moving from Wellington to Auckland. This afternoon I walked around like a tourist for a few minutes and snapped a few pictures. The first picture is actually the view from my bus stop. Underneath is the New Zealand Parliament building as well as a couple of pictures from around the city. While Auckland is a much larger city with more people and stronger job prospects; it's not nearly as beautiful as Wellington. I've heard Wellington described as "the most beautiful walkable city in the world." In other words, you can easily walk all around the city in about an hour or so. It's definitely a cool city and I have some extraordinary friends here but it's time to make my way to Auckland.

 

 

 

 

Dad's Visit and Stuff

My father visited me here in New Zealand and stayed for about three weeks. We had fun time walking all around both Wellington as well as Auckland. We were even fortunate enough to get an invitation for the both of us to attend the annual superbowl party at the US Embassy. When he wasn't with me my father travelled all around both the North and South Island of New Zealand seeing all of the sites and enjoying the natural beauty of the country.

I've decided to move from Wellington to Auckland. Auckland is a much larger city and there are a lot more law firms and businesses. I'm much more likely to find a full-time job that will strong enough for my resume. I've had some promising meetings/interviews with a bunch of other firms and organizations and I'm reasonably optimistic that something enjoyable and fullfilling will come along.

It's been about six months since I've arrived from New York and I can say with some confidence that I don't particularly miss the New York winter or the Brooklyn Criminal court building even in the slightest.

Goldman Sachs... not the place for Mike

This morning I had a meeting with a guy at the American Chamber of Commerce here in Auckland (the largest city in NZ). The meeting went okay because while discussing my resume the guy informed me that Goldman Sachs has a relatively large operation here in New Zealand, and in as much as I worked for them briefly back in NYC, it was worth giving them a call. Even better, the guy told me that he personally knew the executive who "runs the entire operation".

Sure enough, not only did the guy return my telephone call immediately, but he happenned to have a cancellation in his schedule today and he offerred to grab a cup of coffee with me at 3:00pm. This gave me just enough time to do research on the guy online as well as grab lunch with my friend John Dixon, a fellow ADA from Brooklyn.

I soon learned that the building where Goldman is located is very likely the most prestigious and beautiful skyscraper here in the City. The place was nice. Even the coffee shop had all sorts of balconys, over-stuffed leather couches and the works. It reminded me a lot of Manhattan and I certainly enjoyed my time relaxing on the leather couches while the executive was running a little behind schedule.

I really couldn't believe that the Director of the entire Goldman Sachs operation was making time to meet with me the very same day I called him. His graciousness was amazing. It was indeed an excpetionally cool gesture.

Ultimatately, the guy greeted me at the coffee shop and invited me up to see the operation and talk in one of the conference rooms. The view was extraordinary and the entire office was beyond oppulant. It was really striking. While I have to admit that the investment banking industry doesn't exactly excite me... the fact that the money was clearly beyond my imagination was definitely alluring.

We had a cool talk, despite the fact that the Chamber of Commerce fellow gave me the wrong name and all of my research was completely worthless. That little fact explained his complete bewilderment when I asked him about his time as a captain in the US marines. Fortunately, however, the executive was pretty cool and when he told me rather matter-of-factly that the Chamber of Commerce clearly gave me the wrong guy he laughed when I told replied immediately.... "Oh no. You're obviously the right guy. They must have made a mistake with the spelling of your name."

Indeed, we had an enjoyable conversation about my goals here in New Zealand, the most challenging decisions I faced during my time as a prosecutor as well as the fact that I admire the Goldman work ethic and their strong adherence to timeliness and such.

Ultimately, however, the guy became completely candid. He said to me "Mike.. clearly you have a great passion and a remarkable enthusiasm. It was evident within the first five minutes we started talking. But to be honest, I don't think you would be completely satisfied drafting legal briefs about compliance issues. I think you would find it painfully dull and you'd be pretty unhappy here." I couldn't help but laugh and agree entirely. He was right, of course. I was momentarily intoxicated with the potential dough and lost my footing.

I told my friend John, the Brooklyn ADA, after the meeting, and we both got a pretty decent laugh. John shrewdly pointed out that the Goldman exec. probably got to be the guy in charge because he's sharp and has a good read on folks. I agreed. It's a shame, though... because those offices were pretty damn comfortable.

On a completely different subject.. I had a great time with the Crawford family during their Christmas holiday and I'll toss up a few pictures as soon as I get the chance.

Happy New Year from Down Under.

When life hands you lemons . . .

Comments:
When life hands you lemons . . .Mike, you never cease to amaze me. Cliches aside, you are a freak and I love you for it. You know what they say to do when life hands you lemons. Well, since I have known you longer than everyone, your immediate family aside, I feel confient in saying that life has failed to give you even the basic ingredients for lemonade. In fact, at times, life has only pissed upon you, and still you've managed to mix a tasty cocktail -- fit even for royalty and other world leaders.While I can't take credit for any of your spectacular adventures, summer camp escapades not withstanding, I feel a great sense of pride when I read/hear about your goings-on. You truly make the best of it, all the time. As my dad would say, you are a survivor. Although accurate in spirit, somehow that falls short of the truth. You don't merely survive, you thrive.With high hopes,DavidHappy New Year!
# posted by David, of the Poughkeepsie Razon's : 1:23 PM

Mighty Mike

Move over Helen Clark, Mighty Mike is here to be the first American Prime Minister for New Zealand. I do believe he has already held secret meetings with one of NZ’s old Prime Ministers Geoffrey Palmer, in an attempt to get up to speed on NZ’s political antics.
I do feel guilty, as I haven’t actually caught up with Mike since he has been in our shores. Maybe I haven’t had to because I have seen him on TV!
The Morning Show interview was classic, Mike did really well he was confident, pulled answers out of his ass (in a good sense) & fired them back at the presenter. The classic line of the interview came at the end when the presenter said, "Thanks for joining us." But what did Mike reply with, if my memory serves me right, "You bet-cha!!!!" (Please correct me if I’m wrong Mike) Normally it’s a simple nod of the head!

I’m looking forward to seeing Mighty Mike down on the shores of Marlborough! So someone throw some words of encourage his way, as he needs a little shove to swim the 15 miles across the Strait.