White Collar Advice

I finished Sam Harris's Free Will last night, 1 hour and 14 minutes on Audible, and it made me look again at how I went from USC and Bear Stearns to lying to FBI agent Paul Bertrand. Harris argues we don't choose our thoughts, our genetics, our parents, or our early experiences. That idea is dangerous in front of a judge. If your narrative suggests it wasn't your fault, the c...

A journalist keeps hitting me with one question: isn't what you do manipulation? So on question 11, I stop and read her the definition: to control or influence cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously. Then I walk through it. Sentencing advocacy is influence, yes, but so is the government's case, the defense attorney's argument, and sometimes a victim impact statement (I've seen...

A journalist writing about white collar crime sent me about 50 questions before our call. We cut it to 25, and I answered the first three here. Who I am and why anyone should listen to me: going to prison does not qualify you to give advice, and neither does failing. What matters is what you did with the experience and whether you built a record someone can look at. How I wen...