Discussion of Firms and Life in SF/SV

[frodo corleone]

"Stephanie Seidman, who led the biotech patent group at Heller Ehrman and was the first to make the move to Fish & Richardson, said her decision was based on the different cultures of a general-practice firm such as Heller Ehrman and a patent-focused practice such as Fish & Richardson.

In a patent operation, a firm often hires scientists with doctorates and trains them to be attorneys – often footing the bill for law school – whereas general practice firms hire associate attorneys out of law school. The emphasis on science of a patent firm was attractive for her and others in the group that was hired away, Seidman said."

What is interesting about this is that F&R has been moving more and more toward a GP model in recent years, particularly in their SD office. Also, from the experiences of some friends of mine (albeit in other F&R offices than San Diego), while they do have some patent agents go to law school on the firm's dime, they mostly hire law school graduates who have summered or Fed. Cir. clerks. That being said, F&R's biotech practice is pretty strong firm-wide, so probably the real reason is greener pastures (in some "cultures", apparently, less green pastures are prefered.)

Originally posted by frodo corleone
That being said, F&R's biotech practice is pretty strong firm-wide, so probably the real reason is greener pastures (in some "cultures", apparently, less green pastures are prefered.)

The Silicon Valley office is actively trying to recruit agents/associates in biotech, although at this point I don't believe there is work waiting for them. F&R recently hired a partner for the SV biotech from BDSM; and is hoping to build from there.

It's tricky for a firm to balance the conflict space and growth, though. Biotech is relatively small, and clients start to bump against each other.

[frodo corleone]

I think Fish's biotech practice is strongest in SD, Minninninniapolis (I can't be expected to spell that, can I?), and Boston; I don't know about their SV office, except that they've supposedly been looking to start a biotech group there for years (at least according to every third recruiter who calls, looking for a biotech prosecutor.)

"Minneapolis" -- T.S.

Originally posted by frodo corleone
I think Fish's biotech practice is strongest in SD, Minninninniapolis (I can't be expected to spell that, can I?), and Boston; I don't know about their SV office, except that they've supposedly been looking to start a biotech group there for years (at least according to every third recruiter who calls, looking for a biotech prosecutor.)

They have hired and lost various biotech partners in the SV office, one circa 1995; another 1996 or thereabouts; from 98 to 03 not much going on - some dribs and drabs sent over from the Boston office. Mary Ann Dillahunty is the newly hired, current partner.

Personally I would be wary of going in to Fish, given that the job market is pretty good elsewhere for biotech prosecutors; and the practice there is not yet stable. But it could an opportunity for the right person, who wants to establish their own position and could bring in some clients. There still seems to be some prestige with the Fish name.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Threads
F&R recently hired a partner for the SV biotech from BDSM

Okay, I give up. What does BDSM stand for?

(I know how the term is used in San Francisco, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you mean.)

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Okay, I give up. What does BDSM stand for?

(I know how the term is used in San Francisco, but I'm pretty sure that's not what you mean.)

Burns, Doane, Swecker and Mathis.

[frodo corleone]

I've never met the woman in question, but just for fun I'm going to assume "BDSM" doesn't mean Burns Doane, but instead means what it means in the personal ads in the Bay Guardian. Now that would be a lateral hire.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

We have a request for information about the transaction practice at Thelen's SF office. Any skinny on type of work, hours, QOL, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

As always, if you don't want to post it here, feel free to send me a PM or e-mail.

[Atticus Grinch]

There's a post on the Stalin Board, SF/SV Division, that there's an e-mail floating around re: a married associate at Littler SF having an affair with a partner. Associate's husband intercepted partner's hot-talk e-mail to associate (the story goes) and forwarded the e-mail to every Littler attorney.

Anyone have access to the e-mail? PM it to Ty if you're worried about anonymity. I can vouch that Ty is trustworthy on non-partisan matters of general prurient interest.

C'mon, people, this is closer to home than Claire/Brad or Tucker Max, and it's slipping through the cracks! On our watch! Have some pride!

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
There's a post on the Stalin Board, SF/SV Division, that there's an e-mail floating around re: a married associate at Littler SF having an affair with a partner. Associate's husband intercepted partner's hot-talk e-mail to associate (the story goes) and forwarded the e-mail to every Littler attorney.

Don't know anything about it, but I had fun pulling up bio/photos from the Littler webpage, and imagining mix and match combos.

Seems to be an odd ratio of partners to associates over there, too.

I say let them alone. If you have the info, keep it as a confidence.

Given that Littler's an employment shop, this is either ultimate irony or a complete hoax.

I'm inclined to suspect the latter.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Hyperbaric
I say let them alone. If you have the info, keep it as a confidence.

You're new here, aren't you?

ETA: Upon reflection, while I disagree with your apparent reasoning, I would be uncomfortable being the one responsible to decide how much and what identifying information should be redacted. Doubtless some should.

Somebody posted the e-mail on the other board. Better check it out quickly before it gets deleted!

[Flinty_McFlint]

smack(enjoy!)daddy


Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 16:02:32 -0800 (PST)
From: [Name deleted]
Subject: Fwd: [Name deleted] and my wife

in caes you guys haven't seen this yet, it's the e-mail i sent to every attorney at littler mendelson, and it explains why i'm divorcing my wife of 11 months. In case you hear some other reason understand that every word that comes out of [Name deleted]Â’s mouth is a lie. Please feel free to forward it on to everyone you may know

--- [Name deleted] wrote:
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 15:58:42 -0800 (PST)
From: [Name deleted]
Subject: [Name deleted]and my wife

As I am aware of my target audience and any possiblethreat of defamation I am going to limit this to brief factual matters and not what I have since discovered, deduced or had confessed to me.

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:22:13 -0800 a message was sent to my wife's personal e-mail: entitled "for you only."

The sender was [Name deleted] and a word document was attached. The text of the attachment is as follows:

>>>>>
Sunday, en route to Chitown

Dear [Name deleted],

How did we find ourselves at this frustratingly wonderful junction of you and me? It seems like yesterday and long ago that a not-quite-innocent kiss became a spark that engulfed my entire being. It seemed improbable then, and does even today, that we should find such magnetic forces pulling us together.

I am, after all, more than 30 years your senior, slightly pooched around the mid-section; perhaps more a father figure than the kind you would pick for your boy friend. How could you possibly feel the way you do about me? How unlikely is that? What would your friends say after, "Ugh, how could you? He's older than your father?" Imagine bringing me to a baby shower for your friends. Not that I don't deserve the bated-breath of Britney-types, or the much more mature and older 30-somethings of the world. But in most cases the relationship would be a fleeting thing, a detour on the pursuit of the same-aged lover.

Imagine the reaction of even [Name deleted], closest in age to you, that her father had taken up with someone five years younger than she is. Not to mention her older sister.

Yet I can not find the will to resist pursuing the engaging time we spend together, for when we are not so involved I find myself thinking of you almost constantly - when can I talk to her next? See her again? Spend some truly personal time with you? I find it impossible not to think about when I can even leave a message for you, send an email (drat that Tuck who taketh away the Crackberry).

I know you have a lot to deal with in the weeks and months ahead, as I think I will also. I do want you to know that I will be supportive of you in every way you wish as you sort things out and decide what to do. I will do my utmost not to let my feelings affect my judgment, listening skills, advice that may be sought, etc. And I know you will do the same for me as things move forward for [Name deleted] and me (at least as she says they may). If you ever feel compromised by your feelings or desires and have to change things, you know that I will understand. Don't misconstrue that for meaning I would be happy about such change, but rather that I have an understanding of your priorities and I will be supportive of them, as you determine them, for your sake, rather than for mine. I believe you would (and will if necessary) freely do the same for me.

So where from here dear [Name deleted]? Can we find ways to be together discreetly and safely? Is that what you want? Will that be enough for now? For weeks? Months? Longer? Do you know that I think about how nice it would be to spend several consecutive days with you off by ourselves somewhere without having work responsibilities? Just time for you and me to invest in each other and explore each other's deepest inner thoughts and feelings? A warm climate would merely enhance the experience, but I don't care where it is as long as we can find some time just for us (check-in calls permitted, of course).

[Name deleted]. There was something about him last night that just didn't hit me right. I can't describe it, other than the aloofness that I mentioned earlier, and perhaps what I took to be a bit of something akin to quiet arrogance, in a way. A bit of "better than you" sort of attitude. Not directed at me, per se, just an attitude I sensed when he talked about himself -the Chesapeake, for example. And politics. He didn't say much about it, but there was an awfully funny look on his face when I mentioned the ultra-conservative attitudes of the folks that inhabit the Eastern Shore. Yet when I tried to draw him out about his job, for example, he was not talkative at all. His responses were somewhat ambiguous, and sensing what I took to be some mild discomfort I didn't pursue it. But I thought it wise to show some interest, as people do, in what he does for work.

You described him as similar to me, yet I didn't find him very sociable or humorous last night. That could easily be because of your circumstances, but he was far quieter and much more an observer than a participant than I had expected. And I did not get very good vibes about his feelings toward you, especially when you were being your usual witty self. He seemed tolerant, but not engaged, and wondered if he wouldn't have been happier if you weren't saying anything at all. So I wondered where all the chemistry is/was between you, and frankly what it was you see/saw in him that drew you two together. There was something closed, hinting of sinister, or dark, about him, that gave me pause. I was thinking, did he seize upon you in a weak moment so that he would gain your affection through that means? Is your happiness and role of chief breadwinner causing resentment? We've talked about this before, but the visual images of last night confirmed for me some of our discussion points.

I wish I could find you home alone tomorrow morning with a few minutes to spare. Perhaps I will leave you a message saying that if you can be home at 5:45 or so, to go ahead and wake me up so we can have some time together in private. Tired though I may be in the morning with the jet lag, the thought of your voice in my ear you wake me is one that causes a ripple of feelings to course through my entire body.

While I can't have you in my bed next to me tomorrow, I would settle for your voice, and particularly if you were to find yourself in your bed at the time you call me. Then we can see if we can replicate in that way some of the feelings that we share when we are together. Are you interested in that, or too reserved or shy? I long to be close to you, in that way, in every way, every day. Help me through this long and seemingly endless week, until Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

More by phone later,

Love,

[Name deleted]