Wilson Sonsini

Daniel Weiser, R.I.P.

By

Daniel Weiser Daniel J Weiser Abovethelaw Above the Law blog.jpgThis happened a few days ago, but we only found out about it just now. We pass along the information for your edification (see links below).
We won’t comment further. If you decide to comment, please do so responsibly. Thank you.
Accidental asphyxiation likely killed attorney [InsideBayArea.com]
Coroner investigating Daniel Weiser’s death [Palo Alto Online]
Daniel J. Weiser bio [Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati]

19 Comments

West Coast Pay Raise Watch: Wilson Sonsini Raises With One Hand, Takes Away Bonus With the Other

By

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich Rosati WSGR Above the Law blog.JPGAlong the lines of Heller Ehrman’s recent announcement, here’s another pseudo-raise from a West Coast firm. Earlier this afternoon, a source at Wilson Sonsini informed us:

A memo will be distributed later today with the details, but we received a VM a few minutes ago. Essentially, there will be “raises” to match market in places where there has been movement. This is defined as DC, CA, TX. NYC was already at $160k.

BUT the raise will be “mitigated” by an offset in the bonus structure. Also, Seattle and Salt Lake City are excluded from the “raise.”

The memo, which a second source at the firm verified for us, appears after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “West Coast Pay Raise Watch: Wilson Sonsini Raises With One Hand, Takes Away Bonus With the Other”

102 Comments

Skaddenfreude: Chadbourne, A Word on Wilson Sonsini, and an Open Thread

By

100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGEarlier today, we published salary data for Wilson Sonsini. We quoted a poster who was disappointed that the raise was retroactive only to February 1st. We then received this clarification from a source at the firm:

Our raise was made retroactive to February 1 rather than January 1 because we have a February 1 fiscal year start. Compensation matters are always handled as of February 1.

In addition, bonuses were 15 percent higher this year because partner profits were up 15 percent. Staff bonuses were also 15 percent higher.

We are very busy at WSGR these days — cranking on all cylinders!

We also (finally) received confirmed information about Chadbourne & Parke. We reprint it after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Skaddenfreude: Chadbourne, A Word on Wilson Sonsini, and an Open Thread”

21 Comments

Skaddenfreude: ‘W’ Firms, and Morning Open Thread

By

100 dollar bill Above the Law Above the Law law firm salary legal blog legal tabloid Above the Law.JPGWe don’t have memos, but we can confirm associate pay raises at two large law firms:

(1) D.C. powerhouse Wiley Rein & Fielding, former home of the new White House counsel, Fred Fielding; and

(2) Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, home of Silicon Valley legal god Larry Sonsini (although a god who, in the past year or so, has shown signs of being fallible).

More details, plus your comments, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Skaddenfreude: ‘W’ Firms, and Morning Open Thread”

39 Comments

Morning Docket: 12.15.06

By

* Justice Scalia on judicial paychecks. [Associated Press]
And meanwhile…
* “It was just a matter of time before well-heeled business and other interests would expand their influence-peddling efforts, and begin pouring large amounts of money into previously sleepy judicial campaigns.” [TimesSelect (pass-through link) via How Appealing]
* No more melting coins for the value of the metals. [ABC]
* Natalee Holloway’s family files wrongful death suit in Aruba. [MSNBC]
* “Accuser in Duke lacrosse case about to give birth.” [SI.com]
* HP board terminates advisory relationship with Silicon Valley superlawyer Larry Sonsini. [New York Times via Dealbreaker; WSJ Law Blog]

1 Comment

Viet Dinh Is One Hungry Guy

By

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

0 Comments

Musical Chairs: 11.15.06

By

musical chairs 2 Above the Law legal blog above the law legal tabloid above the law legal gossip site.GIFNew Partners:
* Proskauer Rose: Fourteen new partners, three new senior counsel. Names here.
* Baker Botts: Eighteen (!) new partners. Names here.
* Wilson Sonsini: Thriteen new partners. Names here.
(Only two members of the class of 1998. How long is the WSGR partner track as a practical matter?)
At Risk:
* Some are speculating that William Haynes II, general counsel to the Department of Defense, will be replaced after CIA Director Robert Gates gets confirmed as Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s successor (as expected).
But with his Fourth Circuit nomination in limbo, where would Haynes go? The Legal Times suggests that he’ll end up with “a high-powered legal job at one of the nation’s top defense contractors,” which sounds likely to us.
Deceased:
* Anthony Lapham, counsel at Goodwin Procter and former general counsel to the CIA, at the age of 70, of a heart attack.
Proskauer Rose Promotes 17 Attorneys [Proskauer Rose LLP]
Baker Botts Announces New Partners for 2007 [Baker Botts LLP]
Firm Names 10 New NY Partners [NYLawyer.com]
Firm Raises 13 to Partnership [NYLawyer.com]
Will the Pentagon’s Top Lawyer Follow Rumsfeld Out the Door? [NYLawyer.com]
Law Blog Obituary: Goodwin Procter’s Anthony Lapham [WSJ Law Blog]
Anthony A. Lapham, 70, Former C.I.A. Lawyer, Dies [New York Times]

3 Comments

Morning Docket: 10.04.06

By

burka burqa burkha burqha.jpg* An investigation by the Justice Department Inspector General reveals that the Bureau of Prisons doesn’t have enough staff to monitor communications of imprisoned terrorists with the outside world, including mail and phone calls. [Washington Post]
(And what about Instant Messenger? “What ya wearing?” “A burka.” “Love to slip it off you…”)
* The Supreme Court kicks off October Term 2005 — and J. Lo is in the house. José Antonio López’s appeal raises the question of what constitutes a “felony punishable under the Controlled Substances Act” (which the Court has grappled with before, and surely will again). [New York Times; Los Angeles Times; Washington Post]
* That wacky Ninth Circuit ruling from earlier this year, holding that arresting the homeless for sleeping on streets and sidewalks constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment,” may be coming home back to the shelter to roost. It could jeopardize Los Angeles’s attempted crackdown on homeless encampments. [Los Angeles Times]
* Larry Sonsini’s reputation has been tarnished by his involvement in the HP and options backdating scandals. But he’s got all his life to live, he’s got all his love to give; he will survive… [WSJ Law Blog]
* Ex-Comverse Technology CEO Kobi Alexander, wanted back in the United States on options backdating charges, is granted bail by a Namibian court, over U.S. objections. Those starstruck Namibians! Ever since Brangelina, they’re suckers for the rich and (in)famous. [Associated Press]

0 Comments

Legal Fee Voyeurism: Seeking Submissions

By

cash pile or money pile.jpgLast week, the New York Law Journal brought us news of this sizable transaction:

Freescale Semiconductor Inc., the third-largest chipset maker in the nation, has been acquired by a consortium of private equity groups, led by The Blackstone Group and consisting of The Carlyle Group, Texas Pacific Group and Permira Funds. The Austin, Texas company is valued at $17.6 billion; the purchasers will also pay off Freescale’s debts, amounting to $1.25 billion, making the total worth of the transaction roughly $19 billion.

Here are the firms involved in the deal, a veritable legal fee bonanza:

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom led representation for the entire consortium, while Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton assisted in advising every group except Blackstone and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson counseled Permira. Palo Alto, Calif.-based Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati represented Freescale.

WOW — more law firms than you can shake a stick at. This deal’s a permanent employment act for corporate lawyers.
And Freescale isn’t the only eleven-figure transactions announced in recent weeks. It’s small potatoes compared to the $33 billion HCA buyout over the summer.
Now, the important stuff: How much did these firms earn for their work on this transaction — or any other recent transactions you’re aware of?
Unlike the (much larger) fees of investment bankers, the advisory fees of law firms in M&A deals are usually not disclosed in public filings. So if you have any reasonably informed guesses — or, better yet, actual knowledge — of the filthy lucre firms have bagged for this or other recent deals, please email us (subject line: “Legal Fee Voyeurism”). Thanks!
NY Partners and Associates Working on Billion Dollar Deals [New York Law Journal]

1 Comment

Musical Chairs: 09.13.06

By

musical chairs above the law legal blog above the law legal tabloid above the law legal gossip site.GIFThe latest news on the most notable moves within the profession:
Government to Private Sector:
* Seth Silber, to Wilson Sonsini (as counsel), from the FTC. (Quips our tipster: “What a lovely week to join that particular firm!”)
New Office Openings:
* Crowell & Moring — aka “Cruel & Boring”*** — is opening a New York office. They’ve grabbed litigator William McSherry, from Arent Fox, and patent lawyer Janet McLeod, from Dorsey & Whitney, to kick things off.
* The exceedingly profitable, Houston-based Susman Godfrey is opening a New York office, headed by name partner Stephen Susman.
Lateral Private Sector Moves:
* Bankruptcy guru Paul Basta, to Kirkland & Ellis, from Weil Gotshal & Manges.***
* Patent litigators Joseph O’Malley and Bruce Wexler, to Paul Hastings (NY), from Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto.
*** “Cruel and Boring” is just a silly nickname for Crowell & Moring that we’ve heard around town. We have no idea as to whether it has any factual basis. We just think using nicknames for law firms is fun.
Other law firm nicknames we’ve heard: Weil Gotshal & Manges = “We’ll Getcha & Mangle Ya” (self-explanatory); Cravath Swaine & Moore = “The Death Star” (self-explanatory); Davis Polk & Wardwell = “The Teahouse on Lexington Avenue” (for their penchant for hiring geishas attractive Asian-American females — don’t get mad at us, we didn’t make it up).
(Feel free to add more law firm nicknames in the comments to this post.)
On The Move [Antitrust Review]
Basta Says Hasta to Weil Gotshal [WSJ Law Blog]
DC Firm Opens NY Office [NYLawyer.com]
Houston Firm Opens Manhattan Office [NYLawyer.com]
Firm Adds NY Patent Litigators [NYLawyer.com]

18 Comments
Page 4 of 512345