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Musical Chairs: Covington & Burling Snaps Up Heller’s IP Department

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Covington Burling LLP logo Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.JPGIt turns out that the mystery meeting at Covington & Burling involved some great news for Covington, and some bad news for Heller Ehrman.

Fifteen IP partners will be leaving Heller to join Covington, as Covington expands into Silicon Valley. The Daily Journal reports that in the wake of the latest defections and yesterday’s failed merger, Heller Ehrman has decided to stop seeking merger options:

Heller management told the firm attorneys Monday that they are going to cease merger pursuits and “try to go it alone,” the Heller attorney said. But some legal observers said this could be a sign of Heller’s imminent dissolution. Heller partners have been in clustered meetings all day, the Heller attorney said.

Guess San Francisco isn’t far enough west to escape the tough economic climate for law firms.

This should be great news for Covingtion, and you would think they would want to spread the word about their hiring coup. But apparently not. A tipster’s report on yesterday’s firm-wide meeting:

First came the ten-minute lecture regarding tipping off the blogs, and then the news about Silicon Valley. It surprises me that they were so freaked out about the spread of positive news in the scary economy.

It surprises us too. It’s hardly a bad thing if Covington’s surrogates do a better job of publicizing the firm than Covington’s own PR people.

As always, we thank all of our tipsters who are willing to sit through ten minutes of “lawyer talk” in order to bring us the latest information.

Partners Leave Heller as Mayer Backs Off [Law.com]

Heller Ehrman, Mayer Brown Merger Is Off [Daily Journal] (subscription)]

Earlier: Covington & Burling’s Mystery Meeting

Law Firm Merger Mania: The Heller / Mayer Merger Is Off

141 Comments

Non-Sequiturs: 09.16.08

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jimmy walker.JPG* Cyrus Mehri is ready to take on the advertising industry for its depiction, or lack thereof, of African-Americans. Dyn-o-mite! [Gawker]
* Need help picking out a work appropriate nail salon on your lunch hour? Might I suggest a partial frontal lobotomy instead? [Corporette]
* Who is going to replace financial services clients? Tech firms? Green industries? Or nobody at all? [Law and More]
* A bunch of radio talk show hosts are being sued for violating FCC obligations “by using their radio license to discuss only Republican issues.” [Overlawyered]

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Lawyer of the Day: Gabriel Schwartz

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Gabriel_Schwartz_t220.jpgIt seems that things have been going pretty well for Gabriel Schwartz. A 2004 graduate of the University of Denver College of Law, the 29-year-old is already the founder of a law firm, Sandomire & Schwartz. He’s president of his own company (PDF). And he was selected to be a Colorado delegate to the Republican National Convention.

But, at the Convention, he went home with a random new lady-friend — and now he’s the fodder for this headline, “GOP delegate’s hotel tryst goes bad when he wakes up with $120,000 missing.” From the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

He met her in the bar of the swank hotel and invited her to his room. Once there, the woman fixed the drinks and told him to get undressed.

And that, the delegate to the Republican National Convention told police, was the last thing he remembered.

When he awoke, the woman was gone, as was more than $120,000 in money, jewelry and other belongings… The haul included a $30,000 watch, a $20,000 ring, a necklace valued at $5,000, earrings priced at $4,000 and a Prada belt valued at $1,000, police said.

Apparently, Denver attorneys can do pretty well. More on this bling-blinging Lawyer of the Day, after the jump.

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Hot New Trend: Fighting Price-Gouging
(Or, Attorneys General, Unite!)

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price gouging.jpgIn Monday’s morning docket, we asked whether price-gouging investigations during hurricanes were the new trend among attorneys general. Judging from the many investigations launched over the past week, the answer is a resounding YES.

Louisiana AG Buddy “Rattlesnake” Caldwell caught our attention for his battle cry against high hotel and gas prices during Hurricane Gustav. Now that Hurricane Ike has reared its ugly head, other attorneys general are joining the war, including:

  • Florida AG Bill McCollum has hit up four gas stations with subpoenas. [The Gainesville Sun]

  • South Carolina AG Henry McMaster has begun gas price-gouging investigations. [The Greenville News]
  • New York AG Andrew Cuomo is chilling for the moment, just “issuing warnings” about high gas prices. [investigating gas prices and filed suit against a Comfort Inn for doubling the cost of rooms during Hurricane Dolly. [MSNBC]

    • John Lott at Fox News does not think the AGs are fighting the good fight:

    You would think that people had learned their lessons about price controls during the 1970s, though memories have surely faded. Price controls didn’t stop the cost of gasoline from rising. They just changed how we paid for them. Instead of prices rising until the amount people wanted equaled the amount available, chronic shortages of gasoline had Americans waiting in lines for hours. Yet, the supposedly permanent shortages disappeared instantly as soon as price controls were removed.

    But AGs are responsible for ensuring the law is enforced, not analyzing economic systems. So investigate and sue away, noble attorneys general! And if your AG isn’t following the trend, what’s up with that?

    In Defense of Price Gougers [Fox News]

    34 Comments
    • 16 Sep 2008 at 2:03 PM
    • Biglaw

    The Meltdown Awards:
    Law Firm Winners and Losers

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    wall street bull backside.jpgThough the dust has far from settled, it’s time for ATL to hand out some awards to the law firms and other participants that have done well for themselves, or wet the bed, as Wall Street runs with blood.

    The Grim Reaper Award: Weil Gotshal & Manges.

    Weil will be Lehman’s bankruptcy counsel, and they’ve been in talks with AIG. It’s not Weil’s fault that other people’s losses are Weil’s immeasurable gains. When Weil is tapping you on the shoulder, your time is almost up.

    The “Doesn’t Anybody Have Any Missiles Left?” Award: Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

    Bear? Gone. Lehman? Going. Does this firm have any clients left? Or associates left?

    The People Under the Stairs Award: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

    We echo our commenters in asking, “Where the heck is Skadden in all this?” Good question. Better question: which Skadden partner is the point person on BoA business and how many people have rented space under his or her desk in the past 48 hours?

    The K-Y Jelly Award: Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

    Can anything happen in this economy without the lube provided by Wachtell? Don Fanucci didn’t wet his beak this much.

    The Melting ceremony continues after the break.

    double red triangle arrows Continue reading “The Meltdown Awards:
    Law Firm Winners and Losers “

    84 Comments

    More Advice for Law Students: Don’t Do This

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    Paper Chase law school competition.jpgWe recently offered some helpful hints for new law students, distilled from over 200 reader suggestions. We now have an addendum to our list of tips, based on an ill-advised email that found its way into our inbox. Some background:

    Today, all members of last year’s Law Review Editorial Board at [George Washington University Law School] — who have since graduated — received the unsolicited mass email (reproduced below) from a current 1L student whom no one knows or has even met….

    Talk about a great example of what not to do as a 1L. What a way to endear yourself to your new classmates, not even a month into the school year! Can you say G-U-N-N-E-R?

    Check out the Gunner’s email, after the jump.

    double red triangle arrows Continue reading “More Advice for Law Students: Don’t Do This“

    159 Comments

    Proskauer Rose to $190K?

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    We received a very interesting offer letter for the 2009 summer class sent out by Proskauer Rose:

    proskauer rose logo.JPGOur compensation level for next summer has not yet been set, but it will be no less than $3,077 per week – the salary that we paid to those summer associates who were with us in New York this past summer.

    This is most likely just a clumsily worded invitation to summer with the firm. This may well be their standard form letter for offers that they’ve used since 2007 and haven’t bothered to update.

    But consider two other possibilities:

    1) Isn’t Proskauer, like everyone else, looking to cut back on expenses where possible? Why would they lock themselves into $3,077 unless they thought that they could make cuts somewhere else along the way? What other factors could possibly come into play to push summer compensation higher than it was last year? Unless …

    2) Does Proskauer seriously think they might be able to raise salaries next year? Are they trying to signal to the market that they could be in a position to raise salaries if need be?

    Proskauer has already set a price floor, but hasn’t set a price ceiling. Why would they do that? If they are just using standard language from the past, they really should consider updating their offer letters and stop messing with people’s emotions.

    113 Comments

    Open Thread: Is In-House Still Worth It?

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    recession california associate pay raises.jpgIt wasn’t long ago that both associates and partners regarded moving in-house as a “golden ticket.” Better hours, comparable pay, and a sweet “Executive Vice-President” title.
    Now? Ask former firm lawyers who went over to Bear Stearns, Lehman, Merrill, or WaMu how their new gigs are working out. For that matter, ask attorneys at JPMorgan Chase, BoA, or Barclays how secure they feel about their jobs.
    As financial services firms break up and merge, what happens to the in-house attorneys caught up in the mix?
    Much of the value from in-house counsel comes from keeping as much work off the big firm plate as possible. It’s a volume business. When trading is tepid and profits non-existent, businesspeople often turn a greedy eye to in-house attorney salaries. Remember, it’s not like the businesspeople really like the lawyers hanging around anyway. It’s more of a “you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall” type of situation.
    But should an in-house attorney get laid off, how easy is it for them to get back into the Biglaw pipeline? Are firms going to be interested in hiring corporate attorneys with years of expertise in business platforms that are no longer viable?
    If you can’t go in-house, what exit options remain for Biglaw corporate associates? Litigators can always go litigate somewhere. There are lots of frivolous lawsuits just begging to be filed (and defended against). But for corporate attorneys, are you better off just keeping your head down and doing your best to ride out the storm?
    Alternative career resolution ideas are welcome in the comments.

    84 Comments
    • 16 Sep 2008 at 10:12 AM
    • Uncategorized

    Sidley to Associates: Be Cool Boy

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    Sidley Austin new logo Sidley Austin Brown Wood ATL Above the Law blog.jpgWhat do you do when your biggest client gets sold to a bunch of guys from North Carolina? What can you do other than keep cool?
    While Sidley Austin declined to comment to ATL on the Merrill Lynch/Bank of America merger, they did send around an internal memo to their associates. Sidley essentially told their people: “DON’T PANIC!!!!!!!!!”
    Apparently, the firm opened up their books to show the percentage of their business that comes from the companies affected by the yesterday’s meltdown. Merrill Lynch represents well less than 10 percent of the firm’s overall business, so they think they should be fine.
    All of the messages we are hearing from Sidley associates reflect the same theme. People are interested, but as one tipster put it, “nobody is freaking out just yet.”
    But is that a minority opinion or a consensus feeling? How are you Sidley associates feeling this morning?

    69 Comments

    Morning Docket 09.16.08

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    snowmobile.jpg* Judge James Peck, the second-most junior bankruptcy judge in Manhattan, will handle the Lehman case, the biggest bankruptcy in history. [Bloomberg]
    * No vroom for snowmobiles in the national parks, rules Judge Emmet Sullivan. [New York Times]
    * First day of the O.J. Simpson robbery trial. But people are already totally over it. No crowds were there to greet O.J. and friends, just a man holding a “Jesus saves sinners from hell” sign. [Los Angeles Times]
    * Former ATL “Lawyer” of the Day, Howard Kieffer, will not defend himself in his lawyer impersonation trial. [Associated Press]
    * Manhattan restaurant owner + $5,000 designer umbrella + negligent supermodel = a fed-up judge. New York Supreme Court Justice Joan Madden fines attorney $500 for filing a frivolous claim and wasting judicial resources. [Associated Press]

    13 Comments

    An Email From the Former Solicitor General?

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    Paul Clement Paul D Clement US Solicitor General.jpg
    Could it be? A message for ATL from Paul Clement, the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States?
    (It’s not completely out of the question. We have written about Clement a fair amount, and we have also met him in person.)
    The lowercase type for his name seemed a little odd. But some very prominent attorneys, like John Quinn of Quinn Emanuel, use lowercase type for email messages. Based on the subject line, “Order,” we guessed that perhaps the former SG wanted to share a funny court order with us.
    Read the message from Paul Clement, after the jump.

    double red triangle arrows Continue reading “An Email From the Former Solicitor General?”

    37 Comments

    Law Firm Merger Mania: The Heller / Mayer Merger Is Off

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    law firm merger.jpgLast month we reported on merger talks between Heller Ehrman and Mayer Brown. Those talks have now been called off, as reported earlier today by Am Law Daily. This leaves the San Francisco-based Heller with another failed romance.
    From an email sent out today on behalf of Mayer Brown chairman James Holzhauer:

    As you are aware, the firm has been exploring the possibility of a merger with Heller Ehrman. After careful consideration, we have decided not to pursue that course.

    Heller Ehrman is a fine firm with outstanding lawyers. Like us, they have a long heritage of excellence in their work and service to clients. A merger with them would have offered potential benefits for both firms and our clients. In the end, however, various issues, including client and practice conflicts, could not be resolved, and we have ended our discussions.

    Jim

    Speculation has now turned to which other firms might be in the market for Heller. Orrick? Covington? Check out the comment threads for the latest and wildest rumors.
    The only thing we do know for sure is that Heller has once again been jilted. We’ll bring you all of the new suitors as soon as they reveal themselves.
    Mayer Brown Calls Off Merger Talks With Heller Ehrman [Law.com]
    Earlier: Law Firm Merger Mania: Heller Ehrman Is At It Again

    86 Comments
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