🚨⚠️ OFFICIAL: Belgian Federation statement on Folarin Balogun red card case, saying they are “astonished”. “The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA's decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. (Seattle time). FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. This provision states that the FIFA Disciplinary Committee may decide to suspend the enforcement of a previously imposed disciplinary sanction. However, Article 66.4 of the same FIFA Disciplinary Code clearly provides that a red card (sending-off) automatically results in a suspension for the team's next match, as has been the case for all previous red cards issued during this FIFA World Cup. Furthermore, and irrespective of the above, the decision is in direct contradiction with the provisions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Competition Regulations, as set out in Article 10.5: "If a player or team official is sent off as a result of a direct or indirect red card (second caution), they will automatically be suspended from their team's subsequent match. In addition, further sanctions may be imposed.” The automatic nature of such a suspension was also explicitly reaffirmed in FIFA World Cup 2026 Circular No. 16, which was distributed to all participating member associations on 12 May 2026. The same rule is reiterated at every FIFA World Cup 2026 Match Coordination Meeting prior to each match and is included in all FIFA World Cup 2026 workshop presentations. ❗️In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options.”

POV: You are a large law firm attorney who just graduated from one of the best law schools in the country. You make $250K a year as a first-year lawyer… crazy. Your parents are really proud, and you feel like you’ve won the lotto. Yes, the expectations are high, but you have $100K in student loans, so it’s worth it. Plus, you’re learning a lot, and that’s important. A firm called Milbank just announced a salary increase, and firms are matching… how exciting! You check @atlblog every day to see if your firm will match. But as your compensation rises, so do your rates and client expectations. You feel your practice becoming an expectations race to the bottom. If you’re not willing to work nights, weekends, holidays, grandma’s funeral, and Christmas Day, some other associate will, and the work will migrate to them (or so you fear). You still have your student loans (shoot… should have prioritized them over that expensive car!) and you’re a rational actor, so you work. Endlessly. You justify this to your family as a “short-term sacrifice.” Your partner handles things with the kids. You move up and are now a mid-level making almost $400K per year! Insane! You now have associates under you to handle some of the grunt and late-night work… score. But those associates aren’t very good, and their time is demanded by others. So you still do a lot yourself. “If you want something done right, do it yourself!” right? The years go by fast. “Two more years,” you tell yourself over and over. Close enough to feel optimistic, far enough to not be scary. You occasionally check job openings, but they come with a big pay cut… not yet. Time flies, and you’re now a senior associate making $500K . You make so much you can’t even tell anyone. But everyone knows because of your expensive house, private school for the kids, exotic vacations, and paying for every meal. You still check the job market periodically. Nothing pays enough… Hell, let’s keep going for partner. We’ve come this far, right? So you grind. Maximize hours. Develop client relationships. Double duty! Ouch. You justify this to your family as a “short-term sacrifice.” Your partner handles things with the kids. You make it! The “brass ring” has arrived! But it’s non-equity. Time to show your chops! Maximize hours, BD and a leadership committee. Triple duty. Ouch!! Another 2-3 year sprint. You justify this to your family as a “short-term sacrifice.” Your partner handles things with the kids. Now you start learn the “business of law” Wait… Associates are expensive, they churn constantly, and clients always want you, the relationship. Your work is project-based. Some recurring but no recurring revenue. So you’re constantly selling, and your pipeline fluctuates. Transactions close and die; litigation matters are decided or settle. These things are hard to predict, and you don’t want work to dry up. So you keep taking new work, even when you shouldn’t. Rates rise dramatically: $1,000 per hour becomes $1,500, then $2,000. You earn awards and designations: Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Chambers and Partners. You become a practice group leader. Dozens or hundreds of lawyers report to you. Pretty cool. Unfortunately, it doesn’t increase your income. It actually hurts it because you’re distracted by admin tasks. You “step back.” Your kids leave for college. Finally, you can really focus. You’re now 55 and work 12 hours per day, even on Sundays, to close big matters. You’re at the absolute tippy top of your profession. You’re made a “Star Individual.” Finally, you approach retirement age and are forced to retire. The value of your “equity” is insignificant and is cashed out by the firm. You retire high net worth, but short of many friends who are ultra-high net worth. You begin exploring non-work hobbies again. Pickleball sounds fun! You worry about your knees though. You go look for your spouse and see what they’ve been doing all these years.

Real estate bloodbath is upon us. If your deals are healthy and you haven't had to call capital over the last 3 years, you are in a good spot. Whoever can raise money to buy real estate over the next 5 years will do very, very well. Storage, multifamily, industrial, you name it.

Just got this out of office from a hyper successful big law attorney who’s at the tippy top of our profession. His firm’s profit per partner exceeds $5 million a year. I’ll be sure to let him know that you guys think he’s not a serious person. I bet he’ll care.

I’ve never known a highly successful person who uses an auto-away email.

I’ve never known a highly successful person who uses an auto-away email.