Discussion of Firms and Life in SF/SV

Originally posted by To Serve Man
Originally posted by Associate-No-More
The Greedy IP Board is reporting the following regarding Skjerven Morrill :

"As part of their plan to terminate the 401(k) plan, Skjerven is withholding a portion of each remaining plan participants' account to pay 'Administrative' costs for terminating the plan. "


Brobeck is doing the same thing--prior to dissolving, the firm would have eaten the costs. If you ever leave a firm be sure to take your 401(k) with you.

Actually, the Brobeck partners didn't pay any of the 401K plan fees since second quarter of 2002. And, oops, they forgot to tell the plan participants that they were stiffing the bank that ran the plan. And, that's just one of the screw-ups. Now, 2,000 participants are stuck with paying last year's unpaid bills and the termination costs, no one's gotten a penny out yet, but no one can even borrow against his/her account. And, here's a swell kicker, estimates are that it will take as much as two years before everyone is processed out. Advice to the Skjerven participants: Get on top of this immediately.

And, just as with the summer associates left high & dry, not one word of apology from the Brobeck partners for this, or any of the messes they made.

PS - Hey Tyrone, thanks for the great pix a few pages back. I'm trying to figure out how to avatarize Gort.

[leagleaze]

I'll avatarize it for you. Keep an eye out for a pm in a few moments.

I sent you an email with the link.

And for good measure, here are a couple more.

They are sized properly you just need to right click, get properties, copy the link and paste it into the avatar in user cp options,

[SlaveNoMore]

Klaatu B. Nikto
PS - Hey Tyrone, thanks for the great pix a few pages back. I'm trying to figure out how to avatarize Gort.

A picture of Ash hovering over the Necromonicon would be ever better.

not7yS(hop smart, shop S-Mart)

Gort and I are most appreciative.

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
I think em was talking about the people who had been summer associates back in... 2000? 2001? .... who were given full-time offers, but whose jobs were later "deferred" for a year or so.

My guess is, those people are screwed. Sad to say.

I wonder what happened to the law student who was asking this board (in its former incarnation) whether he should go to Brobeck San Diego. If I recall correctly, he got pretty pissy when some of us suggested that doing so might not be a good career move.

Sorry, I transported back to December/January when hundreds of 1st years were trooped thru the SF office, just to avoid the embarrassment of a summer program with only one 2nd year. None of the 1st years got offers -- probably no money left to pay acceptance letter postage. As to the March SF arrivees, I heard none were coming; presumably, all were smart enough to take the buy out and flee. In sum, the law student carnage is relatively minimal. Soon to be hot off the presses: the staff were/are the most screwed over.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Klaatu B. Nikto
Sorry, I transported back to December/January when hundreds of 1st years were trooped thru the SF office, just to avoid the embarrassment of a summer program with only one 2nd year. None of the 1st years got offers -- probably no money left to pay acceptance letter postage. As to the March SF arrivees, I heard none were coming; presumably, all were smart enough to take the buy out and flee. In sum, the law student carnage is relatively minimal. Soon to be hot off the presses: the staff were/are the most screwed over.

I feel bad for the incoming associates -- those who are about to graduate and don't have a job now. When they signed on for their 2L summer, the handwriting on the wall wasn't nearly as clear as it was a year later.

Which is not to say I don't feel for the staff.

Originally posted by Flinty_McFlint
. . .There were a lot of Brobeck apologists/zealots on the old board, all who insisted that "All is well," much like Kevin Bacon proclaimed in Animal House. Whoops, bet on the wrong horse on that one.

I wonder why so many associates spent so much time defending the firm from anonymous criticism on a web board instead of trying to find another job. It couldn't have been all that stable over there the last few years...seemed like there was plenty of warning.

Here's a hint kids from your internet pal Flinty, when your peers start a Death Pool on your firm, it's time to start polishing the resume. (That is not a dirty joke, you sick bastards.)
. . .
Flinty

Spot on point and advice, Flinty. In matters of romance and biglaw, however, its easier to accept/believe lies from someone you know (well?) than truth from someone you don't know (as well). It always seems so crystal clear when we see someone else falling for a line, but it's about as clear as mud when we're the ones being played. The cautionary moral probably is: if you're at a big (any?) law firm, assume you are surrounded by those who will lie to you whenever it's in their interest to do so.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by Klaatu B. Nikto
Spot on point and advice, Flinty. In matters of romance and biglaw, however, its easier to accept/believe lies from someone you know (well?) than truth from someone you don't know (as well). It always seems so crystal clear when we see someone else falling for a line, but it's about as clear as mud when we're the ones being played. The cautionary moral probably is: if you're at a big (any?) law firm, assume you are surrounded by those who will lie to you whenever it's in their interest to do so.

You're absolutely right. And we all want to believe that our superiors know what they are doing and have our best interests in mind, and for the most part, it's true. The problem is that sometimes it isn't true, especially when it becomes economically inconvenient for the partners, after all, they have vacation homes and trophy spouses to support. I always try and keep a healthy sense of cynicism when I'm being fed news from the top, and where possible, do my own research, number crunching and fact checking. Sometimes being a little paranoid is a good thing, at least when it comes to job security. When you see longtime employees fleeing (other than normal "I'm grabbing more money/prestige/etc" moves) it should give you pause. For that matter, I've been seeing some longtime partners at Cooley leaving lately...

Best of luck to those still looking for work, it will come, the best we can do is hope that karma catches up soon.

Flinty

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Klaatu B. Nikto
And, just as with the summer associates left high & dry, not one word of apology from the Brobeck partners for this, or any of the messes they made.

Icing on the cake: Zager was quoted in last week's Recorder as saying the following about former staffers seeking severance pay:

"People want to be paid for not working. It's puzzling to me."

Um, no. People who foolishly believed you and others about the long-term stability of Brobeck, and are now unemployed in a brutal market, want to pay rent, buy food, and take care of their families.

[leagleaze]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Icing on the cake: Zager was quoted in last week's Recorder as saying the following about former staffers seeking severance pay:

"People want to be paid for not working. It's puzzling to me."

Um, no. People who foolishly believed you and others about the long-term stability of Brobeck, and are now unemployed in a brutal market, want to pay rent, buy food, and take care of their families.

Some time ago I went back and reread his postings on the old board, as well as the article that was published about it.

Now reading this I have to wonder about his level of apparent cluelessness.

Apropos of, well, something, I cannot hear his name without thinking of this song:

IN THE YEAR 2525

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find...

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, or say
Is in the pill you took today

In the year 4545
Ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to do
Nobody's gonna look at you

In the year 5555
Your arms are hanging limp at your sides
Your legs not nothing to do
Some machine is doing that for you

In the year 6565
Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long black tube

In the year 7510
If God's a-comin' he ought to make it by then
Maybe he'll look around himself and say
Guess it's time for the Judgement day

In the year 8510
God's gonna shake his mighty head
He'll either say ``I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down and start again

In the year 9595
I'm kinda wondering if man's gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing...

Now it's been 10,000 years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what he never knew
Now man's reign is through
But through the eternal night
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away
Maybe it's only yesterday...

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Icing on the cake: Zager was quoted in last week's Recorder as saying the following about former staffers seeking severance pay:

"People want to be paid for not working. It's puzzling to me."

Um, no. People who foolishly believed you and others about the long-term stability of Brobeck, and are now unemployed in a brutal market, want to pay rent, buy food, and take care of their families.

This from a guy who vehemently declared his everlasting faith and loyalty to Brobeck and to making it stronger than ever (let's light up the night sky!)...and then promptly moved his shit from his office under cover of darkness, helping to tank the merger with MLB, and screwing a whole lot of people as a result. I wouldn't have cared about his moves had he not made a big deal out of it and made such proclamations. With these latest comments, he has revealed himself as not only a liar and a coward, but a freaking heartless one at that. I guess some people don't have a sense of honor or duty. His daughter should be ashamed of him.

Rant over.

Flinty


fixed a typo -- T.S.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by sgtclub

Kenneth Starr?

Apparently not. The Recorder says that Bechtel's in-house lawyers do most of their work. Thelen Reid & Priest is their main outside counsel, and sometimes helps with deals, but it sounds like it's only when they have some overflow.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop

Apparently not. The Recorder says that Bechtel's in-house lawyers do most of their work. Thelen Reid & Priest is their main outside counsel, and sometimes helps with deals, but it sounds like it's only when they have some overflow.

Damn. I thought I might be able to start another conspiracy theory.

Fixed tags. -- T.S.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

The San Francisco Chronicle says it's a bad time to be a VC:

Venture capitalists saw a drop in their returns for the eighth straight quarter, with back-to-back losses of 20 percent or more the past two years, according to an industry report released Monday.

* * * * *

Returns in 2002 showed a loss of 23.3 percent, a slight improvement over the year before, when losses stood at 27.8 percent.

That's in sharp contrast to 1999, when returns soared to an average of 166 percent above the amount that the venture capitalist invested. By the end of 2000, the average valuation of startups stood at $85.8 million.

So if you see a VC, give them a hug.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop
So if you see a VC, give them a hug.

Hug, hell. Give the LPs a hug.

If you see the VCs, ask them why they only did 2 new deals in the past year while they lived off that 2% management fee.