We received 1,036 responses to last week's ATL / Lateral Link survey on where you'd most want to work, which, in turn, was based on your nominations last month.

Here's how it turned out:

Survey Results: Which Firm Would You Most Want To Work For?

Overall, Latham & Watkins dominated the field, pulling in almost one fifth of all votes. Latham was the most popular choice among voters in L.A., the Bay Area, and Washington, DC, and was particularly favored by tax lawyers and litigators.

Runner-up Wachtell was actually the top choice of respondents in New York, narrowly besting Davis Polk and Latham. It was also, by far, the most popular pick among M&A lawyers, with roughly 30% of their vote.

Kirkland placed third overall, but was the top choice of Chicago respondents and patent lawyers, with almost twice as many votes as the next most popular firm in Chicago (Latham) and almost as many patent votes as the next two firms combined (Latham and Quinn).

Williams & Connolly, Ropes & Gray, and Davis Polk tied for fourth, with Ropes & Gray dominating the Boston vote, Williams & Connolly pwning DC (and gaining the second highest vote from litigators after Latham), and Davis Polk rocking the investment management scene (with Ropes & Gray running second best in that field).

Paul Hastings was the clear winner among labor & employment attorneys, winning almost 70% of the vote, and was also the most popular choice among real estate attorneys and lawyers in Atlanta.

On the Magic Circle front, Linklaters proved more popular than Allen & Overy, and was actually the most popular choice among securities lawyers. Allen & Overy was the most popular choice among structured finance attorneys.

The Brokeback Lawfirm scandal folded its pup tent months ago. But there's still stuff to cover at one of ATL's favorite firms, the venerable Sullivan & Cromwell.

Here are two items. First, from a tipster:

If I recall correctly, Sullivan & Cromwell sent out a memo in December or January saying that even though they paid the "special bonuses" in December, they still intended to pay additional profit-sharing bonuses in February. [February is over] and as far as I know, not a word from S&C. Can you guys please make a big deal over this?

The tipster's memory is slightly off. From chairman H. Rodgin Cohen's earlier bonus memo:

[T]he Firm will pay senior associates compensation in addition to salary and bonus through our new Senior Associate Supplemental Bonus Plan ("the Plan"). We have decided to accelerate payments under this new Plan to result in the following [market-matching bonuses] being paid on December 14 to our senior associates, with final supplemental payments to be made in the Spring of '08.

We are now officially into spring 2008. So ATL hereby "make[s] a big deal over this." Has S&C paid the supplemental bonuses to its senior associates? If so, can someone please give us the skinny?

Second, here's an interesting rumor of a partner departure from S&C, from a different tipster:

Carlos Spinelli-Noseda is a partner at S&C (do a Google search and check the cached website). At this point, however, you can't find him on the firm's external or internal website anymore. No idea what's up with him, but apparently he [was] involved in a firm event about 10 days ago...

We're intrigued. Partner departures are more common farther down the Am Law 100, but they're rare at a place like Sullivan & Cromwell.

We did some preliminary poking around, but didn't learn anything. A firm spokesperson didn't respond to multiple telephone and email messages. The usual news sources have no stories about his defection to another firm. On LinkedIn, he's still listed as an S&C partner (although it's true, as noted by the tipster, that his bio is gone from the S&C website).

We tried contacting Mr. Spinelli-Noseda directly. Our email didn't bounce back, but we didn't get a response either. When we dialed his direct extension, a receptionist answered the telephone with the firm name, not his name. When we asked to speak with him, the secretary asked us -- in a vaguely hostile tone -- who we were and why we were calling. She took down our contact info, but did not offer to put us into voice-mail, and we never received a return call.

If you know what's going on, please email us. Thanks.

Spring! Cherry blossoms, opening day, and pedigreed lawyers uniting in marriage. We're pleased to be back with another installment of Legal Eagle Wedding Watch, featuring these three impressive couples:

1.) Susannah Foster and Kenyon Weaver

2.) Kathleen DeLaney and Courtney Thomas

3.) Heath Kern and Joseph Gibson

More on our finalists, after the jump.

This month's ATL / Lateral Link survey, focused on which firm you would choose if you could go anywhere, was dominated by Latham & Watkins and Wachtell Lipton. But several firms were close behind.

  * Respondents had several reasons to applaud Latham: "Prestige", "Friends there are happy", "Awesome firm, awesome people", "They rock", "Prestige, substantive work, great litigation practice", and "Top notch clients and matters; kick ass bonuses; selective hiring in a good way (need good grades plus a good; personality); Vault top 10 without the stuffiness of originating on the east coast; good growth but no risk of Brobecking (great management + tons of funds).....should I go on?" Or, as one respondent summed it up: "ass kickers."

  * At Wachtell, with 2007 profits per partner of $4.48 million, money played a key factor in respondents' enthusiasm for the firm: "100% bonus", "money", "it's all about the cash", "I want the compensation!", "money honey" and, of course, "CASH."

  * "Money" was also a big plus for Cravath (even though their profits per partner were a mere $3.3 million). Voters also noted "Prestige, training, can go anywhere else afterwards."

  * "Prestige" and "Exit opportunities" also won several votes for Skadden, who also had more than $2 billion in revenues last year. (Their SideBar program is pretty cool, too.)

  * "Bonuses and work" were praised at Kirkland & Ellis, as was stability: "They're well positioned for the credit crunch and M&A downturn. And the pay's better, of course."

  * Sullivan & Cromwell was also coveted for "good work, and $$$$" as well as "reputation." With profits per partner of $3.13 million, that "$$$$" is appealing at multiple levels.

  * Paul Hastings surged in popularity as respondents complemented their labor & employment practice and their compensation structures in Atlanta and Chicago.

  * In an incendiary match-up, Davis Polk was heralded as "da bomb", while Boston heavyweight Ropes & Gray was declared "the bomb."

  * Among the Magic Circle firms, Allen & Overy supporters declared "Great offices, european attitude" while Linklaters was called "the best globally, both in equity and debt."

  * Debevoise won several votes for its combination of "prestige and culture".

  * Litigators were torn between Quinn Emanuel, where "hard core litigators with a great reputation" create an atmosphere where "[p]ersonality, quirkiness, and fun seem prevalent," and Williams & Connolly, as "the best litigatio[n] shop. Period."

So of these fourteen juggernauts of practice, prestige, and sweet, sweet profits, who would you most like to work for?

Cast your vote in today's ATL / Lateral Link survey, after the jump.

From a blast email we received yesterday from Sullivan & Cromwell (yes, we're on the S&C distribution list):

Please note Sullivan & Cromwell LLP's representation of Microsoft (U.S.) in its proposed US$ 44.6 billion acquisition of Yahoo! (U.S.), announced February 1, 2008. The S&C team on the transaction includes corporate/M&A partners James Morphy, Duncan McCurrach and Alexandra Korry in New York and Eric Krautheimer in Los Angeles.

If you followed the Aaron Charney saga as obsessively as we did, you'll recall that Krautheimer and Korry were the tale's two main villains -- partners who, even if not harboring antigay bias, weren't exactly the most fun people to work for. From an associate's perspective, working on a high-profile deal for this dynamic duo must be super-exciting, but not without its challenges.

In last month's ATL / Lateral Link survey we asked you which holidays you worked on, or expected to work on, during 2007. About half of you reported that you had worked on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Last week, we asked you how you fared this year. Did you take the day off to honor a champion of civil rights, or did you make it a "day on"?

We received just under 1,300 responses, and 44% of you reported that you took the day off. Associates in New York, Los Angeles and Boston were most likely to celebrate the holiday, while associates in Chicago, Atlanta, the Bay Area, and Texas were most likely to be working. (Respondents in the Bay Area were also most likely to work over Christmas and New Year's. Is it time for them to get New York bonuses?)

How did it break down on a firm by firm basis? DLA Piper, Milbank, Sidley & Austin, Dechert, Hunton & Williams, Jones Day, Latham, Mayer Brown, McDermott, Hughes Hubbard, McGuire Woods, Morgan Lewis, Nixon Peabody, Paul Hastings, and Sullivan & Cromwell each had multiple happy associates who reported that they had taken the day off. Kirkland & Ellis, Baker Botts, Dewey & LeBoeuf, O'Melveny & Myers, Weil, and Winston & Strawn each had mixed responses. Associates at Skadden, however, uniformly reported that they had worked the holiday, as Martin Luther King Jr. day is a "floating" holiday for the firm.

Of those who spent the day at the office, about 54% reported that they weren't actually asked to work the holiday, but had things they needed to get done. About a quarter reported that their offices were open. Another quarter said that partners told them to work on the holiday. About 8% were asked to work by clients. A surprising number of respondents wrote in that other associates had told them to work on the holiday.

A little over a third of respondents who worked on the holiday thought that the work did not justify the sacrifice.

In our column for this week's New York Observer, we help you plan an imaginary dinner party. A dinner party, of course, is only as good as the guest list. So we review which colorful characters of the legal world, who made headlines in 2007, should be invited to your festivities.

Think of it as a "year in review" piece, aimed primarily at people who don't read ATL (since most of the names mentioned in the article will be familiar to regular visitors to this site). The potential guests under consideration: Charlene Morisseau, the sassy ex-associate who sued DLA Piper; Aaron Charney, who made S&C "bend over"; and internet celebrity Loyola 2L.

ATL bonus content: Due to space considerations, our write-up of Elana Glatt (née Elana Elbogen) wound up on the cutting room floor. But if you'd like to read it, we've reprinted it after the jump.

Culture of Complaint Spreads Through Law Firms [New York Observer]

We're a week or so into 2008, which raises the question: a new year, a new associate pay raise?

One might expect pay raises to be announced around fall recruiting time, to entice the 2Ls. Historically, however, the last two base salary increases were announced in January (perhaps in an effort to reduce the post-bonus exodus of associates). In January 2007, Simpson Thacher announced its new pay scale, with a $160,000 starting salary. The prior raise, by Sullivan & Cromwell to $145,000, was announced in January 2006.

But don't expect more of the same in January 2008. From the National Law Journal:

As law firms wrapped up operations for 2007, the associate compensation picture looked eerily similar to the boom before the bust seven years ago.

The ratio of bonuses to base salaries for first-year associates at the nation's top law firms in 2007 was on par with the figures in 2000, a year that precipitated a dramatic plunge in those annual perks that help to make the punishing associate hours more tolerable.

For 2007, beginning associates made as much as $45,000 in bonuses in addition to the $160,000 in base pay at top firms in New York and on the West Coast, with some shops doling out "special bonuses" and getting bragging rights ahead of competitors.

But all that cheer in 2007 may become a distant memory as 2008 is looking increasingly leaner.

"There's more concern out there now than there was in the summer," said James Cotterman, an attorney-compensation consultant with Altman Weil. "There's more talk about a recession."

Indeed. If we're not already in a recession, we're about to enter one. Sure, some firms have strong countercyclical practices. But litigation and bankruptcy never make as much as transactional work and M&A in boom times.

More doom and gloom, plus the promised digression on billables, after the jump.

The recruiting season for 2Ls -- scooped up by law firms eager to hire them as summer associates, fatten them up at fancy lunches, and get them addicted to a luxury lifestyle -- is pretty much over. So now is a good time to take stock of who fared well (and who didn't).

From a tipster at Sidley Austin (New York):

On its internal site for new summers, the firm releases the list of incoming 2008 summer associate class. It is 38 people long, and one has to assume hiring has likely ended. The list from last year was accessible until recently, and that list was 62 people long. Additionally, NALP data shows the firm's NYC office had 58 and 54 summers in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

The significant drop in number of incoming summer associates this summer may be a proxy for the economic health of the firm. In a way, it is positive, because it indicates a proactive measure on the part of firm. That is, they aren't going to risk bringing aboard more summers than they can hire; chances of not getting an offer due to a downturn in business are much lower.

That's an optimistic take. Most people would read a drop in summer associate class size as a sign of declining recruiting appeal or "mojo" among law students. Saint-cum-superman Barack Obama met his wife while summering at Sidley. Was that fact not enough to sway recruits?

Update: We have contacted the firm for comment and are waiting to hear back from them.

Here are some other things we've been hearing (mere rumors, so take with a grain of salt):

1. Wiley Rein: vastly oversubscribed, perhaps due to their topping the Am Law 100 in profits per partner, thanks to the RIM / Blackberry settlement.

2. Wachtell Lipton: our former firm, which we shamelessly plug in these pages, is also hosting a much larger summer class than usual. Office space could become an issue.

3. Kirkland & Ellis: a somewhat lower yield than usual. Some people blame us, but we've offered both sides of the story. We also give K&E lots of props around here for their generous bonuses (and awesome summer associates).

So, if you know: How did your firm do in the summer associate sweepstakes? Please discuss, in the comments (or send us email if you prefer). Thanks.

Further Update: Some tips we received via email, after the jump.

We've previously reported on improved parental leave policies at Latham & Watkins, Davis Polk, and Simpson Thacher. We predicted that "with respect to maternity leave for birth mothers, 18 weeks will become the new 'market rate.'"

Perhaps it already is. Tipsters have written in to advise us that Sullivan & Cromwell and Weil Gosthal & Manges went to 18 weeks some time ago -- S&C back in August, and Weil in September.

For anyone who is interested, more details appear after the jump.

If Aaron Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell ever gets turned into a movie, there will be a little epilogue at the end, to inform viewers of the fates of the dramatis personae. Here is our version of it.

Aaron Charney is believed to be happy, spending time with friends, and presumably enjoying those settlement proceeds. No word yet on his future employer (assuming he returns to the work force). Meanwhile, his erstwhile nemesis, partner Eric Krautheimer, passed the California bar and moved out to Los Angeles. He still works for S&C, but now gets to lead more of his own deals.

And what about Gera Grinberg, the former S&C associate who would have been a key witness in the case, who was joined at the hip -- professionally, but not personally -- with Aaron Charney? We've learned two pieces of good news about him:

First, he has landed himself a new job. We understand that he is now the general counsel to a small real estate development company.

Second, on the personal front, here's some news that will put to rest any and all the rumors that he might be gay. Gera Grinberg is engaged (to a woman). His fiancee is a former associate at Kirkland & Ellis in New York, now working in-house for a large hotel company.

Congratulations and best wishes to Gera Grinberg and the future Mrs. Grinberg!

P.S. We still don't know whether he has resolved any of his outstanding issues with S&C. But considering how well Grinberg's life is going right now, both professionally and personally, maybe he should just let bygones be bygones?

Our latest column for the New York Observer addresses a seasonal subject: law firm holiday parties. Here's the opening:

Law firm holiday parties aren’t what they used to be. In bygone days, the booze-fueled blasts yielded up tales of M&A lawyers making out with each other in darkened corners, partners dancing drunkenly with paralegals young enough to be their daughters and similarly dubious behavior.

In recent years, however, stories of scandal have become less common. Perhaps guests are more afraid of public embarrassment, now that cellphone photos of carousing legal eagles can be uploaded to the Internet in minutes....

But even if they’re not as wild and crazy as they used to be, law firm holiday parties still reflect, in ways large and small, the cultures and personalities of the firms throwing them. Let’s have a look, shall we?

You can read the rest of the column -- which describes the December festivities of Wachtell, Cravath, Sullivan & Cromwell, Skadden, Cadwalader, and Fried Frank -- by clicking here.

Boogie, Counselor! Which Law Firm Gives the Best Party? [New York Observer]

Before Thanksgiving, we put up an open thread devoted to discussion of the California bar exam. We're surprised that nobody mentioned this interesting tidbit of news (which we learned about from a tipster via email):

High-powered Sullivan & Cromwell partner Eric Krautheimer, the alleged tormentor of gay associate Aaron Charney, took and passed the July 2007 California bar exam.

Congratulations, Mr. Krautheimer!

Back in April, at the height of the Aaron Charney controversy, it was rumored that Krautheimer was going to be transferred to S&C's Los Angeles office. Some speculated that it was to remove him from the New York office, where Brokeback Lawfirm all went down. But if Krautheimer's move to the West Coast is still going forward, despite the settlement of the Charney lawsuit, we're guessing Krautheimer has his own personal reasons for wanting to move to L.A.

On our earlier post about the move rumors, a commenter called S&C LA wrote: "No truth to this at all. Sorry, this rumor is just that and nothing more." Presumably this commenter thinks that Eric Krautheimer -- a leading M&A lawyer, and a partner making millions of dollars a year, at one of the nation's top corporate law firms -- took California's three-day bar exam just for fun.

It must have been strange for a veteran lawyer, almost 15 years out of law school, to be taking the bar next to newly minted law school graduates -- including 18-year-old Kathleen Holtz. But then again, former Stanford Law School dean Kathleen Sullivan did it -- twice.

On the S&C website, Eric Krautheimer is still listed as based in New York. But expect to see him in L.A. sometime soon, now that he's a member of the California bar.

P.S. On the S&C website, the link to Eric Krautheimer's bio was moved from here to here. Was the firm trying to render all of ATL's links to his bio obsolete? If so, nice try -- but nothing that a site-wide "Find and Replace" can't fix.

July 2007 California Bar Examination Pass List [State Bar of California]

Earlier: Brokeback Lawfirm: Is Eric Krautheimer Headed for Hollywood?

Guess what's at the top of the New York Times Most Emailed Articles list today? A piece entitled For Lawyers, Perks to Fit a Lifestyle, by Lynnley Browning.

We're pleasantly surprised that an article about law firm perks, a niche topic that we cover obsessively around here, is so popular with readers of a general-interest publication. Or is it just that lawyers are the only poor saps at work today?

Among the more notable perks mentioned in the article:

1. Milkshakes and candied apples -- yum! (Perkins Coie) [FN1]
2. Mortgage guarantees for the first $100,000 of associate mortgages (Sullivan & Cromwell)
3. Reimbursements for associates who buy a hybrid car or a certain brand of car (DLA Piper; Fulbright & Jaworski)
4. On-site yoga classes (O’Melveny & Myers)

It's an interesting article; read the whole thing here. There's additional commentary on the piece over at the WSJ Law Blog, by Jamie Heller (filling in for Peter Lattman, who is on his honeymoon).

P.S. Looks like an NYT correction may be in order, due to a slip-up concerning the amount of year-end bonuses:

The perks come on top of higher salaries and larger bonuses — this year, the top-offs have been doubled at some practices. At the New York office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, an old-line firm, associates will receive special payouts of $10,000 to $50,000, in addition to their year-end bonuses up to $35,000.

Our suggested rewording: "At the New York office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, an old-line firm, some associates will receive special payouts of $10,000 to $50,000, in addition to year-end bonuses up to $60,000." (The word "some" is needed before the word "associates," because class of 2007 or "stub year" associates don't get special bonuses.)

[FN1] The Perkins Coie milkshakes come from Potbelly Sandwich Works. Coincidentally, we enjoyed a PSW milkshake for the first time on Wednesday. It was Oreo, and it was delicious!

Update: One of you sent us this great comment, by email:

I thought the most poignant perk was Fried Frank's: they offer psychotherapy (through what sounds suspiciously like a bulk discount deal) to help associates deal with stress, anxiety, depression, and divorce. I love it!

I can imagine the therapist's notes: "Patient distressed re: possibility of negative performance review. Says he has not seen wife or child since, "let's see ... when was that holiday with the fireworks?" Is in constant pain from chronic papercuts and verbal caning associated with ongoing case. Patient noted gratefully that firm is paying for therapy. Possible diagnoses: Stockholm syndrome?"

For Lawyers, Perks to Fit a Lifestyle [New York Times]
Law Job Perks v. Law Job Woes [WSJ Law Blog]

So just how large was the settlement in Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell? Professor Scott Moss argued it was probably modest, while Professor Art Leonard believed it to be more substantial.

Here's some evidence in favor of a larger settlement:

On Saturday at around 5 p.m., I spotted Aaron Charney in a cafe, in the bucolic town of Cold Spring, New York. I would have gone up and talked to him, but I realized who he was too late.

He was dressed in preppy fall wear, very J. Crew, with a wool hat. He was with two friends, and he was joking with them. He looked happy.

Well, how happy? Was it a $500,000 kind of happy, or a $2 million kind of happy?

Earlier: Just How Far Did S&C 'Bend Over' for Aaron Charney?

The settlement of the litigation between Aaron Charney and Sullivan & Cromwell is not even two weeks old, but we miss the case already. So that's why we decided to write about the case for our column in this week's New York Observer:

So exactly how much did it cost Sullivan & Cromwell to make Aaron Charney go away? That’s the parlor game New York lawyers have been playing since late last month, when a settlement was reached between the white-shoe law firm and its former associate, who had sued S&C for sexual-orientation discrimination. Most memorably, Charney said that a partner dropped a document on the floor and told him to “bend over and pick it up—I’m sure you like that.”

Although it was a P.R. nightmare for S&C—where’s Michael Clayton when you need him?—Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell offered countless hours of entertainment and schadenfreude for the Big Law chattering class. The lawsuit was first filed in January, so it took nine months to deliver this baby.

From S&C's perspective, Rosemary's. You can read the rest of the column over here. (For the irony-impaired among you, please note that our "calculations," with their mock precision, are not to be taken seriously.)

One more observation about the case, after the jump.

Apologies for the delay. The bonus announcement of Sullivan & Cromwell was made by firm chairman H. Rodgin Cohen at 5:10 p.m. today, but it took us a few hours to get our hands on the memo.

For associates in the class of 2007 through the class of 2004, S&C is paying the standard year-end and special bonuses. But for more senior associates, it's paying lump-sum bonuses -- none of this "special" business -- of $80,000 (2003), $95,000 (2002), and $110,000 (2001 and above).

These amounts reflect the new S&C senior associate bonuses -- in part. More cash will be forthcoming in 2008. From Rodge Cohen's memo:

As announced earlier this year, the Firm will pay senior associates compensation in addition to salary and bonus through our new Senior Associate Supplemental Bonus Plan ("the Plan"). We have decided to accelerate payments under this new Plan to result in the following amounts being paid on December 14 to our senior associates, with final supplemental payments to be made in the Spring of '08.

Read the rest, after the jump.

We're bored (and so are you). We're just passing time until another major law firm announces year-end bonuses, in the wake of Monday's Cravath announcement.

In today's New York Times, Ellen Rosen has this interesting article on law firm bonuses:

Cravath, Swaine & Moore has raised the salary bar for law firm associates in Manhattan.

The firm has announced that it will award a special one-time bonus for associates in addition to the traditional year-end bonus that the firm, like most others, already pays. All but the newest associates will receive $10,000 to $50,000, depending on seniority, which was first reported by Abovethelaw.com.

Thanks for the shout-out, Ellen!

What about other law firms? Read more, after the jump.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Heath Ledger is in talks to appear in a sequel to Brokeback Mountain. From Defamer:

Who could ever forget the final scene of Ang Lee's tragic Brokeback Mountain, in which Heath Ledger's Ennis Del Mar clutches a shirt belonging to the gay-sheepboy love of his life, as if touching him for the very last time? As shattering as that moment was, however, something called for a coda -- perhaps just a brief shot of a smiling Ennis, finally at peace, serving daiquiris to vacationing tourists at the Key West bed n' breakfast he opened after Jack Twist's death.

We may not have to rely on our imaginations for that kind of closure, however, as OK! Magazine reports that a Brokeback sequel is on the way.

Is life imitating art? Aaron Charney and Sullivan & Cromwell have just settled the litigation between them. But a sequel to Brokeback Lawfirm may be in the works.

Remember Gera Grinberg -- the former S&C associate who worked closely with Aaron Charney, was rumored (incorrectly) to be Charney's gay lover, and left the firm under mysterious circumstances? A reliable source -- we use the source "reliable" intentionally, since all ATL sources should be presumed unreliable, unless otherwise indicated -- tells us a lawsuit by Grinberg against S&C is a distinct possibility.

This source informs us that Gera Grinberg has filed "numerous complaints with S&C," which have not yet been resolved. The former M&A associate hasn't heard back from them regarding the results of any investigation that they may -- or may not -- have undertaken. In terms of pursuing further action against the firm, Grinberg has ruled nothing out.

Very interesting. Stay tuned.

Finally, in happier news for S&C, the firm just announced the election of its new partners. The timing, in the same week as settlement of the Charney litigation, is fitting. The firm is turning a new page in its history.

Check out the memo, and see if you know any of these future (or maybe current) millionaires, after the jump.

The celebrated case of Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell was fun while it lasted. As we mentioned last night, the fun is over: the parties have reached a settlement.

But the case was good to us -- and we intend to give it a proper sendoff, with several post-mortem posts. If you have any info or gossip about the case that you'd be willing to share, please email us.

This post is the obligatory linkwrap. We've collected and read various reactions to the settlement news, so you don't have to.

Links and excerpts, after the jump.