The Origin of PPSC Social

Before there was PPSC Counsel, there was Pink Panther Social Club.

A colleague and friend dubbed me the Pink Panther. Not the dancing cartoon kind. The apex predator kind that looks unassuming at first because she’s usually wearing pink and a smirk. Being dubbed the Pink Panther was unhinged. Categorically unhinged, some might say. It was equal parts observation, accusation and, as it turns out, prophecy. It started as a joke, but it stuck because it captured something real.

Pink Panther eventually evolved into just Pink, which became shorthand for how I move through life: with curiosity, connection, a little mischief and very little reverence for doing something a certain way simply because that is how it has always been done.

I like smart people, unexpected conversations, introductions that turn into something bigger, inside jokes, late nights, big ideas and the kind of energy that makes you want to see what happens next. There is always a healthy dose of strategic chaos involved.

Underneath all of it is a genuine belief that life is an adventure meant to be enjoyed. The serious parts matter. The work matters. The people matter. But none of that requires stripping the personality, joy, generosity or fun out of the experience. That includes lawyering.

The Pink Panther was not born in a branding meeting and was never intended for the real world. But in true Pink fashion, I took the nickname and ran with it.

Music. Funny emails. Encouraging people to bring their personalities to work. Finding ways to keep remote teams connected. Trying to make the work feel a little lighter and the human connections stronger. I dubbed those efforts the Pink Panther Social Club (PPSC). PPSC became shorthand for a particular way of moving through the world. Meet people. Make the introduction. Take the call. Save the extra seat. Share what you know. Follow the interesting idea. Question the default. Have some fun while you are here.

After fourteen years of practicing law, I had also become increasingly convinced that there was nothing inherently professional about conformity. Warmth did not make anyone less capable. Personality did not diminish judgment. And excellent work did not require adopting the same tone, style, or traditions as everyone who came before.

Somewhere along the way, I realized I was not inventing a philosophy at all. I was finally putting words around the way I had always practiced law. In true Pink fashion, the only logical next step was apparently to build a law firm around it and to introduce the world to PPSC.

I wanted the law firm I had always wanted to hire. A firm with serious judgment, modern tools, direct access and absolutely no interest in becoming the roadblock in the room. A lawyer who wants to understand what the business is trying to accomplish before explaining everything that could possibly go wrong. Someone who understands the product, the technology, the people, the pressure and why the deal matters in the first place.

That was when PPSC took on another meaning: Purpose. Perspective. Strategic. Clarity.

Not four words reverse-engineered to fit an acronym. The way I practice law.

Purpose. Start with what the business is actually trying to accomplish.

Perspective. Understand the law and the risk, but also the product, the people, the pressure and everything happening around the legal question.

Strategic. Know when to protect, when to push, when to solve, when to find another path and when to get out of the damn way.

Clarity. Make the judgment call. Give the recommendation. Help the business move.

The name changed meaning, but it did not change philosophy. And as technology becomes more capable, this philosophy behind PPSC matters even more. Technology can make legal work faster, smarter and considerably less painful. It can remove obstacles, improve how information moves and create more room for the parts of lawyering that actually require a lawyer. But the more technology can do, the more important I think it becomes to remember what it cannot do. It cannot care. It cannot build relationships. It cannot make someone feel seen. It cannot replace what happens when smart people spend enough time together to understand what the other person is actually trying to accomplish.

Which brings the story right back to where PPSC started: human connection.

PPSC Social is the human layer of PPSC Counsel.

It is what happens around the work. A coffee that turns into an idea. A dinner where the person across the table becomes someone you call six months later. A founder meeting an operator who has already solved the problem keeping them awake. A lawyer making an introduction simply because two good people should know each other. It is about creating the kinds of rooms I have always wanted to walk into: smart, generous, curious rooms where people can actually talk to one another.

Some of those rooms will be small and deliberately protected, giving founders, operators and legal leaders space to speak candidly and share what they are learning. Others might involve dinner, coffee, a great city or a very good cocktail.

The point is not networking for networking’s sake. It is connection with genuine curiosity and the willingness and desire to grow, learn, evolve and connect. Smart people meeting smart people. Sharing what they know. Opening doors. Building things. Having fun. Remembering that even in an increasingly automated world, business still moves because people trust other people. That has always been the idea.

The acronym evolved because the idea had evolved. What began as a slightly unhinged nickname and a way of creating connection turned out to describe the way I had been practicing law all along. Curious about the business. Connected to the people. Strategic about the problem. Clear about what comes next. Willing to question the default. Serious about the work without confusing professionalism with conformity.

Pink Panther Social Club is part of the DNA of PPSC Counsel.

The expression evolved.

The philosophy did not.

Work hard. Play fierce. Be kind. Build cool things. Save the extra seat.

Welcome to PPSC Social.