FIRST!!

is his statement offensive even if he's jewish?

The "my own Jewish heritage" was a nice touch.

He was Jewish so it's OK. and i'm serious.

I feel kind of bad for the guy. That was pretty stupid, and if he wasn't a partner it would be a career killer.

He clearly needs to not be allowed to use email.

Way to go UT Law alums ...

Zieg Heil!!!!!!

I work at the offending institution, and all I have to say is, "Wow."

That's pretty amazing. I can't for a second imagine any of these things happening at my firm.

Amazing that someone inside D&L leaked this e-mail to Lat. As offensive as it is, leaking it shows no loyalty to the firm whatsoever.

I wonder how their partners in the Frankfort office felt about this.

1:17, Jews are not the only people who would find his comment offensive, as Jews were only one of many races of people put to death under the Nazi regime. Unless this guy has ancestors belonging to all of the groups who were persecuted by the Nazis, it's not "OK". Hell, even if he did, it's still not "OK".

What I don't find offensive, however, is the "Please don't let these puppies go to a Chinese restaurant!" email. Chinese people eat dogs from time to time. It's a fact. Some restaurants hang dead skinned puppies in their windows for crying out loud. If you find the practice of eating dogs to be offensive, that's one thing (and if that offends you, than stop doing it). But I can't see how it's offensive to point out that other people eat dogs, if, in fact, they do.

Nor can I see how it's offensive to call someone "nappy-headed" if, in fact, they have nappy hair (especially considering the term "nappy" is an acceptable -- read: not derogatory -- adjective to define such type of hair. But that's another story...

Who are those words offensive to exactly? Germans? They were obviously tongue-in-cheek so it certainly wasn't offensive to Jews.

Ok, so it was in poor taste. But the direct translation actually works in the context of the exchange. People should really lighten up. I am Jewish and I take no offense to that, and considering that Best is Jewish himself, it makes the comment that much more tolerable. Just my two cents.

He even looks like a Nazi
http://www.llgm.com/stephenbest/

It's got nothing to do with who is Jewish and who isn't. The Jews don't own anti-Nazi sentiments and don't get to be particularly offended by a "Seig Heil". Both my Christian grandfathers fought the Nazi's for this country, thank you very much, not for the descendents of Abraham. I find Best's statement offensive as an American.

I think it's funny.

1:27(1) was going along just fine until that last paragraph. *Sigh*.

1:26 makes an interesting point; I suppose he should be thankful he replied-all to a all-lawyers-US list, and not an all-lawyers-world list. Would he have faced criminal liability in Germany?

It's got nothing to do with who is Jewish and who isn't. The Jews don't own anti-Nazi sentiments and don't get to be particularly offended by a "Seig Heil". Both my Christian grandfathers fought the Nazi's for this country, thank you very much, not for the descendents of Abraham. I find Best's statement offensive as an American.

1:25, you're right.

It's one thing to leak bonus information, but info that makes your firm look bad?? That's another.

Don Imus to 127!!11!!1!!!

Mr. Best was also called on the carpet a few years ago for surfing inappropriate sites from his work computer. Serious

1. American Heritage Dictionary - nap·py 1 (nāp'ē) Pronunciation Key
adj. nap·pi·er, nap·pi·est

Having a nap; fuzzy: a nappy carpet.
Often Offensive - Tightly curled or coiled. Used of hair.

2. Obviously the Chinese restaurant joke is offensive not because of its descriptive content, but its underlying normative content, i.e. that Eastern ideas of eating are barbaric.

3. I don't see why he has to share the exact same heritage as all the other victims in order to make fun of the victimizer or to belittle the suffering the victims felt. You only have to be a member of the victimized class.

4. The only group I can see this offending is the Germans. And who cares about that? Not me.

forget what Best said, I'm pissed about those assholes at Dewey, ... however, them Chinese do make a great sweet and sour poodle.

Maybe if they gave people car rides home last week, the leaker might not have felt the need to pass on this bit of news.

1:26 makes an interesting point; I suppose he should be thankful he replied-all to a all-lawyers-US list, and not an all-lawyers-world list. Would he have faced criminal liability in Germany?

1:19,
Thanks for the sarcastic congrats douchebag. I went to UT Law and I make comments like that all the time. Unlike you liberal douchebags, we don't get out panties all tied up in a knot when someone makes a joke.

1:26 makes an interesting point; I suppose he should be thankful he replied-all to a all-lawyers-US list, and not an all-lawyers-world list. Would he have faced criminal liability in Germany?

lighten up you turds. why are lawyers so terrible? so you're offended for 5 minutes. who f'ing cares? if other people werent egging you on and making you feel like you should be offended, you wouldnt care. does it affect your life? not really. move on and collect your bonus check in feb, which is what you really care about.

How do you know the leaker sent it directly to Lat?

I wouldn't be surprised if someone sent it to a few friends.... who sent it to a few friends.... who sent it to Lat.

1:26 makes an interesting point; I suppose he should be thankful he replied-all to a all-lawyers-US list, and not an all-lawyers-world list. Would he have faced criminal liability in Germany?

1:26:

Ausgelassen!

im not chinese but i would eat dog. so why is it so wrong to say that some chinese do this?

and don't mormons believe that the devil and jesus are brothers?

I think he was just trying to make a joke and didnt really mean any harm. just bad judgment.

1:32, you can't be serious. you are offended b/c your grandfather fought in WWII?

Who cares -- people need to lighten up. I'm Jewish and I couldn't care less. Obviously the guy was trying to make a joke. That it wasn't funny doesn't mean that the firm needs to be subjected to hours of sensitivity training. People are too easily "offended" these days.

1:36: You make jokes like that to your whole firm all the time? Really? And if you don't, why don't you? Your answer is why it's appropriate to make fun of this guy.

When did writing bad German become so offensive?

1:34,

As for #1, I defy you to find me another adjective commonly used to describe the type of hair of people African ancestry. ANY word in the English language (regardless of neutral connotation) can be used in an "offensive" manner if the person stating it is trying to be offensive. "Nappy" is, generally speaking, the most accepted term to describe tightly curled/coiled hair.

As for #2, you -- like many ultra-sensitive people, are reading beyond the lines. Who are you to say that the "chinese restaurant" comment *really* was saying that Eastern ideas of eating are barbaric. You *yourself* would have to think Eastern ideas of eating were barbaric to even make such a connection.

As for #3, in my mind, him being a member of one victimized class doesn't make his statments "OK" for everybody else.

As for #4, you're just a racist.

Isn't "Best" actually a rough translation of "uber alles?"

(Actually, I worked with Mr. Best many years ago -- looking at his picture now, the years have not been kind).

In re nappy:

I think it is difficult to evaluate the offensiveness of Imus' word choice without considering that the full phrase was "nappy-headed hos."

Man, I wish that this would have happened and written about during OCI. I wasn't at all interested in interviewing with either Dewey or LeBoeuf, but that was before I saw how funny these guys are. Had I seen this in time, I TOTALLY would have tried to at least land a callback. Hilarious! (Now if we could get a hold of the lyrics to that song that got them in trouble in 2003...)

People at my high school used to salute Nazis and then remind everyone of their Jewish heritage all the time. It was no big deal.

1:47,

I agree that "nappy-headed hos" is offensive since (a) nappy-headed was used to modified "hos", which is no doubt offensive; and (b) Imus intended to be offensive when he said it.

But taking the word nappy out of the offensive context, I don't think referring to someone as "nappy" or "nappy-headed", by itself is offensive.

I thought it was funny when it got sent out this morning. I mean, better to err on the side of taking antisemitism too seriously than to be flippant about it, but... it was kind of funny.

And, y'know, whenever anyone says anything related to Germany, I think some kind of Nazi joke is in order. Means we haven't forgotten.

OHH! And he brings up teh 'never forget'...

1:27 is a racist, but he won't figure it out until in about 5 years he mistakenly presses reply-all and his boss makes him send out a firm-wide apology letter.
after some reflection, he'll realize his grampa dismissively calling all black people 'boy' was kind of racist too.

Well, if anyone files a lawsuit against them, we know that S&C will take the case....

FS - you've just cemented your reputation as a very big LOSER with that last one.

Congrats.

1:17- Most Chinese people residing in America do not eat dog from time-to-time. "Dog-eating" is not a common practice -- it is similar to the sterotype of southerners who eat racoons. It is absolutely offensive to assume that all Chinese people do or would consume puppies.

i would assume germans would be insulted as well because of his automatic association of german speakers and the german language with nazis.

It figures that the partner who wrote that email is a Texan.

I thought it was funny.

Maybe this is why it's not LeBoeuf & Dewey...

1:25(2) has the most hilarious comment of all time. Yeah, buddy, we're all soooo loyal to our firms, 'cause they're totally loyal to us associates. We're all just a big happy family. You know, like the Mansons.

Last March, the firm issued an apology after the Law Journal reported that at a Jan. 31, 2003, annual dinner, the firm had parodied the closing of its Hong Kong office with a version of "Hello Dolly" retitled "The Dirge of Long Duck Dong," an apparent reference to the stereotyped Chinese exchange student in the movie "Sixteen Candles."

The song said the seven-lawyer office, which closed at the end of March 2003, was "chow mein" and was getting "the gong."

"You were the firm's folly," the song continued, "and now we so solly to be cutting off your source of livelihood."

The black-tie annual dinner and its anonymously penned parodies were a longstanding tradition at the firm.

This has absolutely nothing to do with race! Stop crying racism and trying to play the race card! Isn't that Lat's knee-jerk response to any black person's complaint about anything? So let's just make the knee-jerk response to any complaint about anything.

Last March, the firm issued an apology after the Law Journal reported that at a Jan. 31, 2003, annual dinner, the firm had parodied the closing of its Hong Kong office with a version of "Hello Dolly" retitled "The Dirge of Long Duck Dong," an apparent reference to the stereotyped Chinese exchange student in the movie "Sixteen Candles."

The song said the seven-lawyer office, which closed at the end of March 2003, was "chow mein" and was getting "the gong."

"You were the firm's folly," the song continued, "and now we so solly to be cutting off your source of livelihood."

The black-tie annual dinner and its anonymously penned parodies were a longstanding tradition at the firm.

The real question in all of this: Where's le boeuf?

HI-O!

Firm loyalty? Yeah, as dozens have been boxing their stuff to lateral out after their year-end bonus arrives... "loyal."

its more offensive to germans that jews imo

1:26 - I didn't know they had an office in Kentucky.

it's more stupid than offensive

Whoever created this ridiculous gossip website: I really don't care how you generally spend your time, but associating Dewey & LeBoeuf with NAZIsm is unacceptable. Do you have any regard for what you post or who your offend on this cheap, third-rate gossip site? You are not only demonstrating a lack of knowledge about Dewey, and your own abundant amount of free time, you are also making light of the Holocaust and NAZIsm.

And thus marks the very instant when ATL, properly chastised, wholly changed its ways, became completely serious and put its head down to work, work, work to become a *second*-rate blog.

Later, commenters would remember this as the moment they paused, looked up from their monitors and experienced a wave of regret and shame, followed by two full weeks of introspection concluding with a solemn vow to become better people forever.

1:27/1:46, I believe the word is "kinky."

kinky

Main Entry:
kinky Listen to the pronunciation of kinky
Pronunciation:
\ˈkiŋ-kē\
Function:
adjective
Inflected Form(s):
kink·i·er; kink·i·est
Date:
1844

1: closely twisted or curled

This is ridiculous. I'm Jewish and have never faced any problem or discrimination of any kind at LeBoeuf. The statement was made by one lawyer and should not reflect on the firm as a whole. I've worked at other places, and LeBoeuf - by far - has the most respectful, polite partners.

Nice touch Stephen A. Best, naming yourself "Raj" covers your tracks quite nicely. After all, a Nazi/white supremacist would never use a non-white name as an moniker.

im not chinese but i would eat dog. so why is it so wrong to say that some chinese do this?

and don't mormons believe that the devil and jesus are brothers?

Posted by: Anonymous | December 17, 2007 01:39 PM
-----------------------------------------------

This could be my favorite post of all time. Clearly, if 1:39 would do it, it can't be wrong to say it.

The pictures are hilarious. First rate, Lat!

Move Zig! For Great Justice!

I didn't even know the term was offensive. But I'm not top tier either.

Douche firm merges with Bag firm and...these are the results.

2:15 is right. If Imus had called them "kinky hos" instead, it would have been just fine.

Of course, comments that Lat finds offensive to his ethnic background are considered an affront to all of humanity, while anytime something happens to blacks they need to just get over it.

How shocking.

For the record, the word is spelled "sieg" not "zieg."

Why the pictures of dead puppies?!?!?

I pity the fools who think comments about hurting dogs are funny.

Why the pictures of dead puppies?!?!?

is FS the one they say looks like mango?

Why the pictures of dead puppies?!?!?

the email is obviously a joke. whether or not it was funny or what, there's nothing to indicate that the sender holds any prejudicial views

Well, that apology is too little too late. My holidays are RUINED.

is FS the one they say looks like mango?

FS: is that you, mango?

He should be fired. This is not the first time that the firm has had issues with him.

Lat's site wouldn't exist if it weren't for people emailing items to him that are not in a Biglaw firm's best interest. Do you think firms really want salary and bonus information to be posted on the internet? Stories about moronic summer associates, botched recruiting events, who hooked up at the latest holiday party, etc.? Threads about perks that quickly become firm-bashing sessions?

2:41, please elaborate.

Siegfried & Roy Heil!

Although he does it using the tone of a mid-tantrum crybaby, Raj does have a point about Lat's headline, which is really more offensive as the story it is about.

An uninformed and insensitive associate with horribly bad judgment is one thing - Public suggestion that group is "a bunch of nazis" is IMHO much worse.

Although he does it using the tone of a mid-tantrum crybaby, Raj does have a point about Lat's headline, which is really more offensive than the story it is about.

An uninformed and insensitive associate with horribly bad judgment is one thing - Public suggestion that group is "a bunch of nazis" is IMHO much worse.

2:44 - let's just say, he has had issues with certain commentary

2:44 - let's just say that he has had issues with certain commentaries ...

1:29/1:32 - I find you offensive as a smurf.

lol, its f-in funny! and he was a partner! Making it twice as funny. Did you see his picture? Jewish or not, he may as well be wearing a pointy white hat. I say he's "transferred" by next week.

They court drunk-driving suits, email Nazi salutes
You know, I read it in a third-rate gossip blooogg...
D-D-D-Dewey and the Beef

1:27,

The word "nappy" (as used from one black person to another) is often considered to be offensive.

#1, black people have different hair textures, but I think the word you're looking for might be kinky. In reality, this type of hair just a mass of tiny curls (as curly as it gets) so I'm not sure why we need to use special words to describe it.

Why don't the puppies have health care?

my holidays are ruined and the only cure is a raise.

wrong. the only cure is more cowbell.

Re: the headline, it's a tongue in cheek nod to the commonly used slang phrase, used to suggest people are fascists, dictatorial, controlling, etc.

Google "bunch of Nazis" in quotes - you get thousands of results.

I pity the fools who think that calling someone a bunch of Nazis is worse than using Nazi phrases over email in a conversation with German counsel.

As a Jew, I have to admit I say incredibly offensive things about Jews on a somewhat routine basis. It's a huge perk of being one of the Tribe. However, sometimes I'll say something horrible about Jews and forget that I'm in public and that the people around me have no idea that I'm actually a somewhat religious Jew that's merely joking around. So then I start loudly proclaiming, "I can say that, I'm a Jew" - which only draws more attention to my retarded comments and leaves me embarassed and shamed (except inside I'm laughing hysterically at my wit...and the fact that the Christians don't know that we are still stealing their children and drinking their blood at Passover).

2:03(2). Wow. That is truly incredible. I can't believe somebody gave clearance for that.

As for the "I'm Jewish, and I'm not offended" sentiment, clearly there's a reason such language is criminalized in Germany. Sure, a Jewish associate with a comfy job at a law firm in NYC may have no problem with the language, but a Holocaust survivor or a Jew living in Germany may feel differently.

To "posted at 1:27":

What the hell does Imus' comments have to do with this story?

But for your information, the general and accepted terms used to refer to african hair include "kinky" and "coiled."

"Nappy -headed" is generally not acceptable. This is because it is more often than not used in a deragotry manner. I guarantee you that 9 out 10 black women anywhere in the world, aware of how the term is generally used, will find it offensive, especially when used in conjunction with the term "hos".

I wouldn't crucify someone for calling me a "nappy-headed anything, but I would certainly think the person referring to me as such was unexposed and probably insensitive.

zeig heil!

Come on -- lets here more info about the partners caught with "inappropriate website visits."

I mean, getting caught with porn at work ....

Give us lowly associates a chance to laugh.

I think he became Jewish just because of the jokes.

A Proskauer partner referred to Southeast Asians as Monkeys during a summer associate presentation. He's still employed...

Give me a break--the guy was just having a little fun at the expense of almost every other race but his own. Since when has that been a problem?

"Sieg Heil" to all law firms in 2008!

3:22 - you are a moron

3:13 - Clearly, when language is criminalized, it's for always for a good reason, and not, say, to hide latent antisemitism behind cosmetic changes to what remains an oppressive society. Clearly.

Mr. Best would have been in serious trouble with the upper management if he had made a pink triangle joke -- all you LLGMers know what I mean.

too soon? yeah, too soon

3:13, hit up legal methods again dude. i think there's a complete sentence in there somewhere, but i may be mistaken.

3:28: Good reason or nefarious reason, it's still loaded language.

3:28, hit up legal methods again dude. that sentence is garbage.

Since when did it become a crime to speak bad German?

God rest JFK.

i can't wait for someone to call out the jerkoff who used the word "dude" when correcting other people's grammar. it's a blog, dude. clearly.

After reading about this incident, I don't think I'll even go near that law firm.

I'm Chinese so I'm not offended by the Chinese dog joke. It's true that people eat dogs in China - a lot of older people in Asia do eat dogs from time to time but its disgusting to the younger generation.

Whatever view some bigots in the firm hold toward Asians or Jews or Germans is fine. First Amendment rights and all....but the utter stupidity that is displayed in the email is ridiculous.

What an idiot. Don't touch a blackberry if you don't know how to use one.

Those aren't dead puppies, they are sleeping.

My fingers are crossed that this site won't ever stoop so low as to mock the weak and defenseless . . . .

to 3:54

Why leave the "Hof" off of your signature today? Feeling blue?

Rumor is that innappropriate comments are just par for the course for this Best guy....but hadn't heard the one about surfing porn sites at work. Precious.

It translates "hail to victory"? Isn't that the rough equivalent of "you go, girl"? Hm, I'd have read it as "great job, team" and not have taken any offense.

Mental note to ask for a rewrite of the Washington Redskins' fight song ("Hail to the Redskins, Hail to victory, Braves on the warpath, Fight for old DC"). Oh and the terms Redskins and Braves might need some work, too...

Thanks for the education.

Just don't mention the War!

To whoever described me as a mid-tantrum crybaby, thanks for at least backing up my comment. I've had my cookies and milk and time to settle down. And to ATL: let's be clear, you used a picture of Adolf Hitler to get increased website hits.

your arguments lacks logical suspect or your value systems are misplaced. First you argue that you dont care about the racist nature of the remark but you do care about the stupidity of teh remark. This implies that you rather work with racist people rather than stupid people. If you disagree with this statement than your only other logical out is that while the racism of a single member of a firm does not reflect the general character of the firm as whole, the stupidity of a single member is indeed indicative of the firm. Eitherway, I suggest a lesson in logical reasoning. Good luck on your first year in law!

Why must we all act like characters from a J. K. Rowling story, mortally afraid to speak certain words, lest we make the tragic mistake of offending someone's tender sensibilities?

I realize 1st Amendment protections don't apply to nongovernment action, but the spirit of the 1st Amendment is to protect people's ability to speak freely, without fear of reprisal for saying something unpopular among powerful interests.

why do you post dead puppy pics with Dewey LeBeef article?! That is guilt by implication

why do you post dead puppy pics with Dewey LeBeef article?! That is guilt by implication

WHAT IS WITH DEAD PUPPY POST?!?!

LAT YOU ARE SICK!?!

"Mr. Best would have been in serious trouble with the upper management if he had made a pink triangle joke -- all you LLGMers know what I mean."

??? Please elaborate.

I have to lodge a formal complaint... why Hitler looking so angry? Really.. you couldn't find a more respectful picture? This site is very biased.

I can't believe the anger and fuhrer generated over this. I feel sorry for the guy, and wish him all the best.

Michigan's fight song is thus offensive.

What do you mean by saying innappropriate comments are par for the course for Mr. Best? Is there more of this nonsense?!?!

Rick

s/he means that LGBT@LLGM was well- represented.

4:16, I suggest re-taking grade school English to learn how to communicate coherently.

i figured that was coming. wrote that on the fly. pretty sure scoring perfect on every single standardized exam that tested my English exempts me from having to retake grade school English.

THE PUPPIES AREN'T DEAD. They are napping. And they are very cute.

Was Best in fact trying to mock Nazism by punning on "Hail the Goat" ("Zieg[e] Heil")? I'm being serious -- he knows German well enough to translate it; "Sieg Heil" with an S is a famous phrase; therefore, if he really thought that "Victory" was spelled "Zieg" instead of "Sieg", that would be a remarkable mistake. It's likely he intentionally wrote "Zieg[e]" ("Goat") instead of "Sieg" ("Victory")

racists... i'm glad i didn't accept their ttt offer

Having worked there, I can tell you that one remark like that is sorta funny, but having lived through years of this idiocy I've tired of Dewey's "cuteness" when it comes to racist remarks.

This isn't a one-off.

Ask partners at Dewey about the entertainment during the annual dinner the year they were closing their Hong Kong office. Specifically, ask about the parody of the song "Hello Dolly"! It makes the "don't let the puppy get too close to the Chinese restaurant" remark seem tame.

And it's not the racism that bugs me, it's the stupidity, over and over and over again that I find appalling.

CLOSE THE COMMENTS ON THIS POST: DEAD PUPPIES, HITLER, JEWS -- THIS IS OUTRIGHT SLANDER ON AN ESTABLISHED AND TOP FIRM

Slander = spoken
Libel = written
silly

5:09 - Thanks, mom

People hunt squirrels in Kentucky and eat their brains. Some folks there even fill their freezers with squirrel. The New Yorker had a whole article on this about a year or two ago.

I heard this comment was circulated intentionally to distract D&L associates and employees from the greater "no car" issue at tonight's holiday party. The walls of a certain midtown steakhouse will be buzzing tonight. Kudos to the partnership. I almost forgot I had to walk home across the Queensboro bridge uphill both ways after my drunken bender.

Mr Best seems to be the teflon partner. The silly e-mail snafu is nothing compared to all the sexual harrassment allegations in the D.C. office. Anyone know how much the firm had to pay those ~2 associates to go away?

4:38 Why would Best make a turn-of-phrase joke in German to Ferrara who obviously doesn't understand German (he did ask for a German translator, after all)?

Raj - Do you know how popular this website is? Do you know how established it is, and who its target readership is? Or are you just springing to the defense of the distressed image of your hostile-work-environment-providing firm?

4:17 - Whether or not the spirit of the first amendment is to protect unpopular speech from reprisals from powerful interests, it certainly isn't that you should be able to offend me with your speech and I shouldn't be able to complain about it with my speech. If you call me a kike I can call you a bigot without somehow intruding upon the spirit of free speech.

5:09 - Would it somehow be more acceptable to you if the firm weren't so darned established and top?

6:17 - How's junior high school treating you?

That email was repulsive. Can partners be fired?

Can't we all just get along????

boooooooriiing

All corporate email systems should flash a big warning box on the screen before allowing a message to be sent via "reply all"

this is absurd

I like it raw! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVOCA1EoD_k

Can an old dirty bastard get some love? Peace!

guys in my high school used to say 'hail the goat' all the time.

One word: Schadenfreude. 'Nuff said.

This is so surprising because it is so ironic. Apparently Best's "Jewish heritage" was that his parents died at Auschwitz.

...

Apparently they fell out of the guard tower.

Suh-NAP!

Mr. Best's favorite bedtime lullaby:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QTMUI0RFmxo&feature=related

guys used to day sieg heil all the time at jones day, and it was no big deal.

3:10, haa.

I just r