Discussion of Firms and Life in SF/SV

I'm not a shill for these guys. I just want to find someone who has heard of them. Anyone? Good bad or indifferent . . .

[OscarCrease]

any idea of ballpark figures for a signing bonus for lateral moves at the junior partner level? how about where relocation is involved

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by OscarCrease
any idea of ballpark figures for a signing bonus for lateral moves at the junior partner level? how about where relocation is involved

I don't think there is a ballpark. There are too many variables to the lateral partner deal: size of your book, profitability of the firm, what niche you fill, how their comp. system works, etc. I'm not even sure that signing bonuses are available for a non-superstar.


eta: Not that I've looked or anything. Ahem.

[c2ed]

Originally posted by sfiail
I'm not a shill for these guys. I just want to find someone who has heard of them. Anyone? Good bad or indifferent . . .

Sorry ... haven't heard diddly squat.

I don't think people are ignoring you ... the JF Group just needs to do more marketing or something.

[AngryMulletMan]

The Palo Alto Daily News (not exactly the NY Times) is reporting today that a WSGR associate was arrested on Monday and that his work computer was seized from WSGR's offices. The charges apparently have something to do with unlawful sexual penetration of a child.

Can't say if his leave is paid or not.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by AngryMulletMan
The Palo Alto Daily News (not exactly the NY Times) is reporting today that a WSGR associate was arrested on Monday and that his work computer was seized from WSGR's offices. The charges apparently have something to do with unlawful sexual penetration of a child.

Can't say if his leave is paid or not.

In unrelated news, where's that running dinosaur? I haven't seen him lately...

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by AngryMulletMan
The Palo Alto Daily News (not exactly the NY Times) is reporting today that a WSGR associate was arrested on Monday and that his work computer was seized from WSGR's offices. The charges apparently have something to do with unlawful sexual penetration of a child.

An article with the attorney's name and a WSGR spokeperson comment is here.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Flinty_McFlint
In unrelated news, where's that running dinosaur? I haven't seen him lately...

He went to Burning Man.

If true, that is really sad. I knew this guy a bit when I worked at WSGR -- I consulted him regularly on employee benefits matters.

DCAG

[TalkSock]

From the Chron
Brobeck seeks return of ex-partners' pay
The estate of defunct San Francisco law firm Brobeck Phleger & Harrison LLP may try to recover as much as $275 million paid to its partners before the firm collapsed, Brobeck's bankruptcy trustee said.

Brobeck, which counted Cisco Systems Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. among its clients, collapsed in February 2003 after a series of client and partner defections to other law firms. Brobeck was forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy by its creditors nine months later.

The estate has a strong case to recover money paid to Brobeck partners while the firm was insolvent, Trustee Ronald Greenspan said in a motion filed last week with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco.

Brobeck was carrying a "truly staggering" $560 million in leasehold liabilities and bank debt of around $430,000 per partner in May 2002, when ex- Chairman Tower Snow and 16 other partners left Brobeck to open a San Francisco office for British law firm Clifford Chance, Greenspan said.

A group of more than 120 former Brobeck partners is suing Clifford Chance and Snow for as much as $500 million, claiming their departures caused Brobeck to go out of business.

Greenspan called the suit an effort to scapegoat Clifford Chance and Snow and to divert attention from the payments all Brobeck partners received just before the firm collapsed.

A status hearing on the proposed settlement was set for this morning in San Francisco.

That would really suck having to pay your bonus back. Since I'm no tax wonk, how would that affect your tax situation? Not that it matters to me. Anyone hear from Brobeck Boy? How's that other suit going for them?

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by TalkSock
From the Chron
Brobeck seeks return of ex-partners' pay
The estate of defunct San Francisco law firm Brobeck Phleger & Harrison LLP may try to recover as much as $275 million paid to its partners before the firm collapsed, Brobeck's bankruptcy trustee said.

Brobeck, which counted Cisco Systems Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc. among its clients, collapsed in February 2003 after a series of client and partner defections to other law firms. Brobeck was forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy by its creditors nine months later.

The estate has a strong case to recover money paid to Brobeck partners while the firm was insolvent, Trustee Ronald Greenspan said in a motion filed last week with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco.

Brobeck was carrying a "truly staggering" $560 million in leasehold liabilities and bank debt of around $430,000 per partner in May 2002, when ex- Chairman Tower Snow and 16 other partners left Brobeck to open a San Francisco office for British law firm Clifford Chance, Greenspan said.

A group of more than 120 former Brobeck partners is suing Clifford Chance and Snow for as much as $500 million, claiming their departures caused Brobeck to go out of business.

Greenspan called the suit an effort to scapegoat Clifford Chance and Snow and to divert attention from the payments all Brobeck partners received just before the firm collapsed.

A status hearing on the proposed settlement was set for this morning in San Francisco.

That would really suck having to pay your bonus back. Since I'm no tax wonk, how would that affect your tax situation? Not that it matters to me. Anyone hear from Brobeck Boy? How's that other suit going for them?

Dude. That is harsh. Taking it back from the partners just doesn't seem right, somehow.

[Flinty_McFlint]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Dude. That is harsh. Taking it back from the partners just doesn't seem right, somehow.

You fucking sellout.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by TalkSock
That would really suck having to pay your bonus back.

Nowhere in the article does it say employees would have to pay back bonus. I'm not a BK guy, but I'm unaware of a BK procedure for getting back prepetition wages paid to a non-controlling employee. A better way to characterize it is that the partners would have to pay back the loans the firm was essentially floating to them by giving them advances on their draw while liabilities exceeded revenues and assets. At least in the context of other employee-owned businesses going BK, that's SOP. You're not allowed to drain a failing business enterprise into the owners' pockets and call it salary.

Since I'm no tax wonk, how would that affect your tax situation?

I'm not a tax guy either, but if you were ordered by a federal court to disgorge all of your 2002 and 2003 draw, I imagine you would want to file amended returns for those years. You might find yourself in a lower bracket. Silver lining?

I imagine February 2003 was Thanksgiving Day for the people who were there as Of Counsel because they were passed over for partner. Sometimes it's better to be a wage slave.

[TalkSock]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Nowhere in the article does it say employees would have to pay back bonus. I'm not a BK guy, but I'm unaware of a BK procedure for getting back prepetition wages paid to a non-controlling employee. A better way to characterize it is that the partners would have to pay back the loans the firm was essentially floating to them by giving them advances on their draw while liabilities exceeded revenues and assets. At least in the context of other employee-owned businesses going BK, that's SOP. You're not allowed to drain a failing business enterprise into the owners' pockets and call it salary.



I'm not a tax guy either, but if you were ordered by a federal court to disgorge all of your 2002 and 2003 draw, I imagine you would want to file amended returns for those years. You might find yourself in a lower bracket. Silver lining?

I imagine February 2003 was Thanksgiving Day for the people who were there as Of Counsel because they were passed over for partner. Sometimes it's better to be a wage slave.

My bad. I called it a bonus when I meant gouging, I mean profits.
Silver lining? Hm. Nice way to put it though.

[3L in need of help]

I am a 3L and have decided to decline my offer from my summer (from a LA based firm). As a result, I am interviewing with firms this fall and have to choose a place of employment 'blind.' I hope to work largely with emergent biotechs (corp/transactional practice) and could really use some insight into Heller, WSGR, or Cooley.

Thus far through the process I am really impressed with Heller, but am concerned that the quality of work to which I am exposed will be of lesser quality relative to the others. Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance.