Asians

Viet Dinh: A Dissenting Opinion

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viet dinh.jpgSome of you think that we list a bit too much to the right around here — that we rave about prominent legal conservatives, while mocking the liberals. We’ve heard your complaints.
For the record, we regularly poke fun at conservatives, while raving about liberals. In terms of garnering raves, as long as you’re a Supreme Court clerk, you’re generally golden.
But in a deliberate effort to be even more balanced, we’ll now provide you with an alternative viewpoint on Professor Viet Dinh, of Georgetown Law. Dinh is a leading legal conservative, a former Bush Administration official and Federalist Society celebrity, who has been previously praised in these pages (for his genius, connections, wealth, and svelteness, among other things).
Here is what one reader, who once interviewed for a job with Professor Dinh, had to say about him:

Upon meeting [Viet Dinh] and spending a few minutes with him, I graciously declined to have anything to do with the man. Please, please, don’t pump this guy up anymore.

I have been a card carrying member of the Federalist Society since my first year of law school. [Dinh] may be brilliant, but he is so consumed with his own greatness that he is abhorrent to be around. He name drops, interrupts, questions everything you say, and condescends to you. Also, he stutters profusely.

Sounds pretty bad, eh? But it gets worse:

For a man who hails from Vietnam and California, he should know that is offensive to wear cowboy boots, a Rolex, and a French-cuffed shirt, while wearing jeans.

The horror, the horror! As far as we’re concerned, that disastrous fashion combination should preclude Dinh from being Senate-confirmed to any post. Ever.
Viet D. Dinh bio [Georgetown Law School]
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Viet Dinh (scroll down)

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Viet Dinh Is One Hungry Guy

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viet dinh.jpgRemember Professor Viet Dinh? If not, here’s what we previously wrote about him:

Dinh represents venture capitalist god Thomas Perkins, in Perkins’s (rather tense) dealings with HP’s board and lawyers [concerning the HP spying controversy].

Dinh, for those of you visiting from other planets, is one of the highest-flying legal eagles in the country. He’s a former high-ranking official at the Justice Department, current professor at Georgetown Law, and former Supreme Court clerk (to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor).

The American Lawyer recently published an interesting article about the HP controversy and the troubles it has caused for Larry Sonsini, one of Silicon Valley’s top lawyers. We haven’t had the chance to read it closely; but one of you highlighted this little tidbit:

Over a Washington, D.C., lunch in which Dinh quickly downed three glasses of wine, three orders of oysters and a seafood gumbo, the former government lawyer recalled he was startled when [Thomas] Perkins first told him about the leaks investigation.

Well! It seems that the super-cuddly professor has quite an appetite.
Perhaps Professor Dinh is still haunted by his childhood as a refugee from war-torn Vietnam? Relax, Viet — everything is all right. You are a millionaire, and you don’t need to worry about where your next meal is coming from. (And if you run out of food late one night, you can always eat the prestige of that SCOTUS clerkship.)
Our question to Professor Dinh: Given your voracious appetite, how do you stay so slim?
Where Will the Troubles End for Sonsini and HP? [The American Lawyer]
Hewlett-Packard Lawyer Dinh Gives Washington the ‘Viet-Spin’ [New York Observer]
Earlier: Viet Dinh: Still As Cuddly As Ever

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How Yummy Is Eumi?

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Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco Eumi Choi Eumi Choi Above the Law.jpgThis post is even more random than usual. But it’s Friday, and Mother Nature is going bonkers — a major snowstorm in the Midwest, an epic typhoon in the Philippines — so indulge us.
Some time ago, we characterized the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California (San Francisco) as “well-regarded.” But then John of The Legal Reader helpfully informed us that the office has slipped in recent years. He brought to our attention this fascinating feature, describing problems that have plagued the office under United States Attorney Kevin Ryan.
So we read the article, which was most enlightening. And after reading it, we were left with one conclusion:

EUMI CHOI IS FABULOUS.

Who is Eumi Choi? She’s First Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District, the right-hand woman of U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan. But it seems that, despite her nominal status as Ryan’s second-in-command, Choi is actually running the show, cracking the whip over the assistant U.S. attorneys while Ryan hides out in his office.
If someone were to make a movie about the N.D. Cal. office, Eumi Choi would be the “scene stealing” character. The role of Eumi would turn into a surprise star vehicle for Lucy Liu, en route to an improbable Oscar nomination.
We explain why Eumi is so yummy, after the jump.

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How To Get a Cute Girl To Sit in Your Lap

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Become the Chief Justice of the United States!
John Marshall statute lap.JPG
(Query: Where were the Supreme Court police officers when this fun photo was taken?)

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Benchslapped: The Arizona Voter ID Ruling

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passport united states passport.jpgWe realize we’re late on this, since the news broke on Friday. But at the time, we thought Purcell v. Gonzalez was just a run-of-the-mill Supreme Court ruling. We didn’t realize it featured delicious benchslaps of the Ninth Circuit, the lower court whose decision was vacated.
The state of Arizona adopted a rule for next month’s elections requiring most voters to show photo identification before casting their ballots. Such rules, adopted by other states as well, are generally supported by Republicans — who view them as helping to cut down on voter fraud — and opposed by Democrats — who believe they may deter poor, elderly, disabled or minority voters from voting.
A legal challenge to the picture ID rule was mounted in Arizona. Some background about the case, from the L.A. Times:

In May, the American Civil Liberties Union, the League of Women Voters and several other civil rights groups sued to block the voter identification rule from being enforced Nov. 7. They called the rule a “21st century poll tax” because it could force some poor voters to purchase photo ID cards….

A federal judge refused to block the law from taking effect, but on Oct. 5, a two-judge panel of the 9th Circuit issued an order saying the law could not be enforced for the upcoming election. The appeals court did not explain its ruling.

Arizona’s attorney general asked the Supreme Court to intervene. And on Friday afternoon, the high court issued a six-page opinion that set aside the 9th Circuit’s order. It noted that the 9th Circuit’s “bare order” did not give a good reason for blocking the law from taking effect.

That’s a charitable description of the Supreme Court’s treatment of the Ninth Circuit. Here’s an excerpt from the opinion itself:

On October 5, after receiving lengthy written responses from the State and the county officials but without oral argument, the panel issued a four-sentence order enjoining Arizona from enforcing Proposition 200’s provisions…. The Court of Appeals offered no explanation or justification for its order. Four days later, the court denied a motion for reconsideration. The order denying the motion likewise gave no rationale for the court’s decision.

Translation: “Despite receiving oodles and oodles of briefing from state and county officials, the Ninth Circuit stopped Arizona from enforcing its rule — without even bothering to give the state its day in court. Then, when asked to rethink their decision, those Ninth Circuit morons just said ‘NO’ — again without bothering to explain themselves.”
The discussion continues, after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 10.17.06

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danish pastries danishes.jpg* Here we go again… If the music industry can turn any old 13-year-old into a pop star, then it can also turn any old 13-year-old into a criminal. [Reuters]
* The Danish have taken the transfat out of their pastries (and everything else). [Associated Press via Drudge Report]
* Indeed, politics aside, who is more retarded in this case — the cops or the ACLU? [May It Please the Court]
* Yet again, Walmart proves that cheap has its price. [The Conglomerate]
* The United States population topped 300 million today at 7.46am EST, but just 39 years ago, the official 200 millionth baby was born, and he ended up a lawyer. (And may we objectively comment that this particular person of Asian heritage really does look young.) [Inside Opinions: Legal Blogs]
* I don’t know much about fair trade, but I know this isn’t it. And yes, I know, much more than chocolate is at stake. [Associated Press]

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Skaddenfreude: $910K Buys a Lot of Bibimbap

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100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGOnce you hit your third year at a large law firm, and sometimes even earlier, you start receiving dozens of calls from legal recruiters. Usually you send them to voice-mail, then delete their messages later. But occasionally, when you’re having a bad day at the office, you listen to their dulcet tones — and dream about a happier tomorrow.
(When we were at a firm, there was one headhunter in particular whose voice was so alluring, male associates with no intention of going anywhere would talk to her for hours.)
Legal recruiting can be tough work at the associate level — lots of cold calls, few responses. But at more senior levels, it can be very lucrative. Consider this, from the New York Law Journal:

In May, just one month after Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld announced Chang-Joo Kim had joined its New York office as a partner, the law firm cut a check to recruiting firm Boston Executive Search for for $227,500.

But did it pay the right recruiter? New York search firm Sivin Tobin Associates says it sent Akin Gump a package about Mr. Kim last December, along with a term sheet. Sivin Tobin is now suing the law firm, alleging breach of an implied contract….

The NYLJ article goes on and on about the chronology of events, which didn’t interest us much. What did interest us were these two items: (1) the placement fee of $227,500, and (2) the agreement that the fee was to represent “25 percent of the candidate’s total compensation in his first 12 months at the firm.”
So we did the math (with a calculator, of course). Corporate lawyer Chang-Joo Kim, previously a partner in Dorsey & Whitney’s New York office specializing in Korean transactions, earned $910,000 in his first year at Akin Gump. Very nice!
(Yeah, we know. Many Biglaw partners earn millions, as revealed in the AmLaw 100 survey each year. But they tend to be partners at the top New York-based firms (e.g., Wachtell, Cravath, etc.). We’re impressed that Mr. Kim earned almost a million dollars for joining a branch office of Akin Gump. We’re assuming he brought along with him a sizable book of business.)
Recruiter Sues Firm’s NY Office Over Headhunter Fee [NYLawyer.com]
Chang Joo Kim bio [Akin Gump]

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Viet Dinh: Still As Cuddly As Ever

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viet dinh.jpgThe recent HP leak investigation scandal has drawn into the spotlight a legal celebrity of the first rank: Viet Dinh. Dinh represents venture capitalist god Thomas Perkins, in Perkins’s (rather tense) dealings with HP’s board and lawyers.
Dinh, for those of you visiting from other planets, is one of the highest-flying legal eagles in the country. He’s a former high-ranking official at the Justice Department, current professor at Georgetown Law, and former Supreme Court clerk (to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor).
Despite his platinum-plated résumé, Dinh is a grabby l’il guy. Here’s the lede of Anna Schneider-Mayerson’s very interesting profile of Dinh, in the New York Observer:

On the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Viet Dinh, one of the lead architects of the controversial Patriot Act, was standing in his Washington, D.C., office, waxing poetic about Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

“Justice O’Connor, I love her so much,” the 38-year-old law professor said. “I love her so much. She’s the best.”

As if to return the compliment, her image, in the form of a photo portrait signed to her former clerk “with respect and affection,” smiled back at him.

Hugs all around!

The effusive Dinh is, according to Schneider-Mayerson, “an avid and nonpartisan hugger.” As he readily admits, “I always hug [conservative lawyer] Ted Olson and [ACLU executive director] Anthony Romero,” he said.
Does this surprise us? Not in the least. Learn why, after the jump.

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Non-Sequiturs: 09.01.06

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dan markel and wendi adelson.jpg–Ah, so Goulston & Storrs is going to China.* [WSJ Law Blog]
–Our Legal Eagle Wedding Watch is already generating controversy — see this post (and the comments). But Dan Markel — at right, with Wendi Adelson, his lovely wife — isn’t impartial when it comes to the NYT wedding pages.** [PrawfsBlawg]
–Yes, ATL will weigh in at some point on the controversy over diversity, Supreme Court clerks, and the relatively small number of women in this Term’s group of SCOTUS clerks. [Slate and Concurring Opinions, via SCOTUSblog]
But not on the Friday before Labor Day. Enjoy the holiday, everyone!
* We can make this lame, insensitive, politically incorrect pun, ’cause we’re Asian ourselves. And it’s hard out here for an Asian male. We’re the one demographic group that’s never en vogue — unlike, say, Asian women, or African-American men. So please, allow us the small pleasures.
** Disclosure: We went to college with Dan, worked on the school newspaper with him, and are friends with him. Hell, we’re pals with like three-quarters of the people we link to, write about, etc. The law: it’s a small world after all.
So please assume that everything you read here is potentially tainted with some kind of undisclosed conflict. Actual mileage may vary. Personal-injury lawyers in the rear view mirror may appear closer than they are. Thank you.

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