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Lawyerly Lives and Loves: A Linkwrap

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In the past week or so, the romantic exploits (and misadventures) of lawyers and law students have been in the news. Here are a few noteworthy links:
Amani Toomer Yola Dabrowski divorce divorcing Above the Law.jpg1. ‘ABORT’ SHOCK IN GIANT DIVORCE [New York Post]
Football star Amani Toomer (at right), a wide receiver for the Giants, is divorcing his wife, Dr. Yola Dabrowski. The parties’ divorce filings are full of salacious allegations, but here’s what jumped out at us:

Dabrowski’s papers complain that Toomer: … * Sabotaged her dream of becoming a lawyer by stealing her computer and files, making it impossible to study for her law-school exams and leading to her getting an incomplete for the term.

If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the way to a law student’s heart — or the way to break her heart, as the case may be — is through her papers.
Another allegation:

[W]hen she didn’t want to have sex, Toomer acted “irrationally and outrageously” – once urinating on her clothes, and another time tossing her BlackBerry into the Hudson River.

Destroying your spouse’s Blackberry? Now you’ve thrown down the gauntlet. If The War of the Roses were updated for 2007, there would surely be a scene of Blackberry destruction.
Damon Colbert Damon D Colbert Pillsbury Winthrop Above the Law.jpg2. Date Lab [Washington Post]
“Date Lab,” in which the Post sets up two people on a blind date and then writes it up, is one of our favorite guilty pleasures. This recent date, involving Pillsbury Winthrop associate Damon Colbert (at right), actually went fairly well. (The column is more fun when the dates are disasters.)
But the WaPo reader comments — “the two shallowest people in all of Creation,” “this Date Lab made me unbearably sad” — are kinda vicious. And we thought ATL commenters were harsh….
Gillian Hearst Shaw Christian Simonds Christian A Simonds Above the Law.JPG3. Page Six: Ready To Wed [New York Post]
Gillian Hearst Engaged! [Socialite Rank]
From Page Six:

LOVE is in the air for Hearst heir Gillian Hearst-Shaw and her yearlong boyfriend, Christian Simonds. Sources say the gorgeous brunette socialite and philanthropist was proposed to with “a blindingly huge diamond engagement ring” from Simonds. Her hubby-to-be, a mergers and acquisitions lawyer, popped the question last weekend, following a romantic sleigh ride for two in the Berkshires. Mazel tov!

Page Six doesn’t identify his firm, but as Socialite Rank points out, Christian Simonds is an associate in the New York office of Lowenstein Sandler. Next time you make a disparaging remark about the New York office of a New Jersey law firm, ask yourself: “If my firm is so much better, then why am I not marrying a beautiful media heiress?”
4. Wendi Adelson and Dan Markel [New York Times]
Happy Anniversary to Wendi Adelson and fellow legal blogger Dan Markel, of PrawfsBlawg fame!

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Lawyerly Lairs: Check Out “The Stouthouse”

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Donald Stout RIM NTP NPT Blackberry litigation.JPGFred Fielding, the incoming White House counsel, did pretty well for himself when the Blackberry litigation was settled. His firm, Wiley Rein & Fielding, represented NTP, the patent holding company that won a $612.5 million settlement from Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry. Wiley Rein took the case on a contingency-fee basis. Ka-ching!
But some people did even better than Fielding — like Donald Stout (at right), patent lawyer to the late inventor, Thomas Campana. Here’s an explanation of how the Blackberry spoils were divvied up:

Biggest single winner was Joletta Campana, widowed second wife and former secretary of patent-holder Thomas Campana Jr., who received one-third [of the $612.5 million,] or about $200 million. Wiley, Rein & Fielding also received $200 million, a huge sum given that in 2004 the Washington, D.C. firm’s two hundred and fifty lawyers generated about $140 million in total revenue. The final $200 million was shared by Donald Stout and some colleagues at his Alexandria-based law firm.

outhouse crapper.jpgSo how did Donald Stout spend his windfall? On real estate, of course. From Washingtonian magazine, via Wonkette, here’s an account of “The Stouthouse”:

Lawyer Donald Stout put up $6.8 million for a 15,000 square-foot Georgian on more than four acres near the Madeira School in Great Falls, VA — this after his Arlington patent-holding firm won a settlement against the makers of BlackBerry and earned him $177 million. HGTV’s Dream Builders featured the six-bedroom, ten-bath house in a segment taped before the sale.

Here are some photographs (Zillow on the left, Google Maps on the right):
Donald Stout mansion Google Maps Zillow.JPG
WOW. This place makes the Feldsuk house look like a law school dorm. At a Tier 4 school.
For those of you who share our obsession with high-end real estate, there’s more discussion of The Stouthouse, plus links, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Lawyerly Lairs: Check Out “The Stouthouse””

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Accept the Things You Cannot Change: Blackberry Addiction

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A 12-step program for Blackberry addicts strikes us as an exercise in futility. When we worked at a law firm, we took our Blackberry with us everywhere. Once we Blackberried a paralegal from the dentist’s chair — while waiting for the anesthesia to wear off, after having four wisdom teeth removed.
In fact, establishing “Blackberry-free” time periods could end up getting you in trouble. Under certain circumstances, it might constitute malpractice. We agree with commenter Willie:

This all sounds swell in theory, but until clients agree to obey the same rules, it will be difficult to observe these common sensical boundaries.

As for the so-called “BlackBerry orphans,” kids who feel neglected by their Blackberry-obsessed parents, the solution is simple. Follow Arianna Huffington’s example: get your child a Blackberry of her own. Then she’ll spend all her time emailing with her friends, instead of bothering you while you’re trying to get work done.
It’s never too early to give your kid a Blackberry. Even babies can appreciate them:
Blackberry baby.JPG
BlackBerry Orphans [Wall Street Journal]
BlackBerry Addicts: A 12-Step Program [WSJ Law Blog]
Earlier: Law Firm Associates: How Not To Deal with the Late-Night Munchies

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Time for Treo Owners to Fret

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treo palm treo 650 Above the Law Legal Blog.jpgDuring the long-running patent litigation between NTP and Research in Motion, Blackberry uses periodically had to confront the possibility of having their happily vibrating devices rendered useless. Such an apocalyptic scenario was averted when RIM settled with NTP — for the handsome sum of $612.5 million (of which $200 million wound up in the coffers of D.C. powerhouse firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding).
Now it’s time for users of another wireless email device to get stress-induced acne breakouts. From the New York Post:

NTP, the tiny Richmond, Va.-based patent-holding company, is setting its sights on industry giant Palm for [patent infringement].

NTP’s lawsuit against the maker of the popular Treo smart phones raises the specter of a prolonged legal battle similar to the one that kept millions of BlackBerry users on tenterhooks as they awaited a federal judge’s ruling on whether they could continue using their cherished mobile e-mail devices.

Palm reportedly has $500 million in cash lying around, so they should be able to pay a sizable settlement — or defend the lawsuit vigorously.
But maybe they can also set up a little legal defense fund. Treo-toting celebs like Lindsay Lohan will probably be more than happy to chip in, to preserve their uninterrupted access to good vibrations.
(Speaking of email troubles, we’re still having some of our own. See here.)
NPT Now Schemes for Palm [New York Post]

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Lindsay Lohan Gets Red Carpet Service

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lindsay lohan subpoena service of process.jpgLast Friday, at the Annual American Cinematheque Awards ceremony (honoring George Clooney), scandal-prone starlet Linday Lohan was slapped with a subpoena. And it happened on the red carpet.
Was Lindsay being haled into court for her hideous keyhole-front halter gown, made of restored 14th-century chain mail, and trimmed with packaging twine? Actually, no.
Lindsay was being served with a subpoena to appear as a witness in a case involving her mother, Dina Lohan, who is being sued for breach of contract by two music producers and managers. TMZ.com reports:

It all started after the actress was approached by a woman who Lindsay assumed was an autograph seeker on her way out of the event. Lindsay said to the woman “You’re my first autograph!” to which the woman promptly answered “You’ve been served.” According to witnesses, Lindsay then dropped the paperwork and chased after the process server. No word on whether she caught up to the process server.

We’re wondering two things. First, what kind of shoes was Lindsay wearing? Second, why did she run after the process server? Was she hoping to return the subpoena to her?
If so, it was misguided thinking on Lindsay’s part. Service of process is governed by the same rule as the second-grade playground: “No backsies.”
P.S. As you can see from the photo, Lindsay Lohan is just like a Biglaw attorney — she never leaves home without her Blackberry. [Ed. note: Or is that a Treo? See the comments. We haven't had a Blackberry in years (which is both a good and bad thing).]
Lindsay: You Got Served [TMZ.com]
Lindsay Gets Served! A Shocking Red Carpet Summons!!! [PerezHilton.com]
Lindsay Lohan Served With a Subpoena — On the Red Carpet! [WSJ Law Blog]

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Law Firm Associates: How Not To Deal with the Late-Night Munchies

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baby eating blackberry blackberries baby girl.JPG

“No,” Daddy tried to explain, “it’s not THAT kind of blackberry…”
Photograph provided courtesy of a former Wachtell Lipton colleague of ours, Scott L. Black (whom we identify here with his permission; our default rule is anonymity for tipsters). Meet the absolutely adorable Shoshana Black, daughter of Scott and Marnie Black, a high-powered exec at MTV.
You may recall Scott Black from this recent Fortune magazine piece on the David Pajcin / Gene Plotkin insider trading scandal, which we highlighted in a previous post. Black, senior trial counsel at the SEC, nailed Pajcin in deposition questioning. Pajcin pleaded guilty to criminal charges and is now assisting the government with its investigation.
Partners in Crime: I-bankers, Insider Trades, Moles, Strippers… [Fortune]
Earlier: Non-Sequiturs: 09.22.06

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