Another Reason Not to Work Late
Ed. note: This post has been updated. Please read below (updates in bold).
Not all Biglaw types are luxuriating in 1600 hours for the year. Some are still working long hours and spending late nights at the office. There can be hazards to late night assignments: canceled dinner plans, sleep deprivation, and running across an armed robbery in the car garage.
Such was the case last night, in a garage shared by many firms, including Paul Hastings. A Los Angeles attorney sent us this e-mail last night at midnight EDT/ 9 p.m. PDT:
This evening, some attys in the office received the following email:“In case you guys were planning on leaving the office, there’s an armed car jacking going on in j2, its barricaded and cops aren’t letting anyone in. Some sort of stand-off with the cops now.”
Our correspondent has since retired. We have inquiries in to Paul Hastings but have not gotten an official statement yet. Are there any early risers on the West Coast who know more about this? Send us tips at tips@abovethelaw.com.
UPDATE: The Los Angeles garage in question is shared by Paul Hastings and other noteworthy Biglaw firms, such as Morgan Lewis, Winston & Strawn, and Jones Day.
The full story from a building manager is that a woman — we don’t know her Biglaw affiliation, if any — was approached by a man in the parking lot who demanded that she surrender her car keys. She did and called the police. That precipitated the closing of the garage. The police investigated the crime scene for a couple of hours, which is why nobody was allowed to leave the building during that time. No “stand-off,” just a crime scene investigation.
The criminal was not apprehended, but police reports indicate that the criminal left behind some physical evidence. As we understand it, the car jacker was not armed.
We’ll keep updating this post as we have more details to report.
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Comments
first. merkin
Any word on the Philly Summer Associate offer rates?
So, if I no longer have substantive work for a client, but am stuck in the building because I was working late for them, can I still bill the time until I get out of the office to that time code? Can I bill it as half-time, like I do when I travel? Please advise.
2, that's pretty funny.
Paul HasTTTings
1 - Merkin, ha ha ha.
2 - I'll give you a hint, Ballard is deferring this year's summers and has canceled summer 2010, but they're getting ready to release a hot new logo and Makadon is rumored to be stepping down at the end of the year.
Must have been a disgruntled summer associate
Is that considered false imprisonment?
Were they carjacking one of them clunkers, so they can get $4500 from the gub'ment?
The e-mail sounds like a bogus way for an attorney to let all of his colleagues know he was in the office at 9:00 PM.
Next week, he's going to send one at 3:00 AM, saying "if anyone is still in the office, and you see some Hispanic folks around, don't be alarmed, they are just here to clean, and I have already checked their green cards."
Good lord it probably was a no-offered summer.
pointless post. the atty forwarding the email must be attention starved.
me and roy scheider got locked in a parking garage one night in west hollywood and slept like babies. woken up by a security guard who looked like the fat guy from the mattress ads. i think this was 1977 or 1978.
yours,
nick nolte
10 for the win!!!
3:10 AM - "PS, if any of you happen to walk by my office around 8, a wake up knock would be much appreciated. Can't be certain the BB alarm is going to cut it this time."
2-Pepper no offered half the summer class-after telling them all summer they had offers for all. get on it ELIE!
10 - No one gives a sh** if you're still in the office at 9pm. I doubt that was the purpose of the email.
Not to mention that Outook's "do not deliver before" option can make it look like you're in the office at 4:17AM on a Tuesday, and again, no one would give a sh**.
However, going into the 98 degree garage and discovering I couldn't get in my car and drive off? THAT would piss me off.
Boring posts today Kash. I expect better,
-PE
Boring posts today Kash. I expect better.
-PE
Whoever called the cops is going to get sued under the good samaritan statute. Keep us posted.
@10: I laughed
8 - Elie certainly thinks so. How about you?
This happens in Los Angeles parking garages all the time. It's not a big deal.
Future Elie has a gun now!? Watch out world, and hide ur donuts.
16 = original Hastings emailer.
Odds that physical evidence was semen?
Is this actually a full blown post, by the ATL editors, because a woman was robbed in the garage of the building where a few firms have offices?
Seriously? This is what they are spending their time on?
Epic fail.
1 -- What is a merkin?
If while working late for a client I get carjacked, can I submit the value of my car for reimbursement?
27: It's a cwig.
27 - google it.
30: "google" is not a verb.
31: yes it is
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/google
- not 30
31:
Ha.
-30.
PS - thanks 32.
Who's gonna jack your f8ckin K-car? He's right Sue, you don't need to carry a gat.
Are you sure it was a carjacking? Remember, we just hired Jeff Randall.
Little known fact - Drew Barrymore "insists" that an allusion to the merkin be made in many of her movies. Although I have never seen it, apparently her "assistant" in "never been kissed" was named Merkin, and the boat on Charlie's Angels was the SS Merkin. She's a perv that Drew Barrymore...just like all child stars. See, e.g., Macauly Culkin is Blanket Jackson's biological father.
Disgruntled Morgan Lewis LA summer associate?
Why the hell is this being given any space at all on ATL? Such a non-issue
38 - I think it is interesting enough. It involves multiple law firms.
P2. Now that was a scary movie!
I've only ever showed up on time to events where food was being served. It's not that my skin color makes me late, it's the racism I endured growing up in the suburbs that weighs so heavily on my mind, that I forget to be on time. Unless you have food. Or change.
Or a job. That I will be late to, of course.
Uhh, Paul Hastings is about three blocks down hill from the other firms. And Morgan is in a different building than Jones and Winston.
This article is gay with bad facts.