"Special" Attorney General?
 

FoxNews reported last night that Romney was trying to get legislation passed that would allow him to appoint a Special Attorney General. One who would do his bidding on the gay marriage issue.

I've done some digging this morning, but can't find any articles or details on this.

Can't they come up with a descriptor better then Special? I've got a mental image of a slightly disheveled guy wearing a bad suit, hockey helmet with smiley stickers on it, carrying a lunch box and getting off the "small bus" in front of the State House.

Anne

Marathon Monday
 

You mean St. Patrick's day, right? :D

"Special" Attorney General?
 

I believe the SJC will, indeed, tell whoever draws the short straw on this assignment that his or her arguments are "special".

Marathon Monday
 

Evacuation Day = March 17th. Coincidence? I think not.

And don't forget Dot Day.

"Special" Attorney General?
 

Here's a link to an article at boston.com

Can't find a photo of a "Special" Attorney General.

"Special" Attorney General?
 

Doesn't look like we'll ever get to find out just how "special" they would be. Senate President Travaglini dismissed Romney's request. boston.com article here

Apparently the folks in P-town are busy planning. And for all you out-of-staters who were thinking about coming to MA for the big event:

Finneran Investigation
 

A federal grand jury is investigating Speaker Finneran and other lawmakers for possible perjury charges.
Yeah, right. One of the news stations reported last night that the software used to generate the plan was located in Finneran's office. Maybe it wasn't on his computer, but.....

Herald article here

It's Friday! What? No CAMS?
 

Hale and Dorr in merger talks with Wilmer Cutler. Sources say its a done deal.

http://www.boston.com/business/artic...s_talk_merger/

It's Friday! What? No CAMS?
 

That is news. I'm very disappointed with my spies, I didn't hear a peep on this one. They must be pre-occupied with their work for SS.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
 

Boston.com article on the merger.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
 

well, this is an optimistic statement:

I think he must mean to say " . . . will be asked to leave . . . ."

You know there will be some partners who get snatched up fairly quickly because the compensation system will not mesh correctly. Who knows who it will be, but inevitably someone will be asked to suck it up and will leave instead. Not to mention the numerous senior associates on the verge of partnership who get screwed by new standards and uncertainty.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
 

Or maybe . . . " . . . will be asked to leave now. . . ."

I'm sure the end of year evaluations will result in a higher than usual number of non-performers being asked to look for employment elsewhere.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP
 

Those non-performers always screw up a good story.

Who's your landlord?
 

Chiofaro files for bankruptcy.

Let's Work Around It!
 

Hah! I'd rather take the week off, but since that is not an option I'll be dealing with the travel mess. I know that some financial firms have been making arrangements to use satellite offices outside of the city, have any law firms made announcements on how they intend to deal with the DNC in town?

From an article in today's Globe: Links to several articles here.

Speedy trial
 

Well that didn't take long. First lawsuit for loss of consortium filed by recently wed lesbian couple.

Speedy trial
 

I saw that. Looks like a pretty tough argument to make--they've lost official consortium only for three days. And isn't there a "preexisting condition" rule or something?

BTW, you can read about the Goodridges' marriage in the NY Times.

Speedy trial
 

their lawyer is arguing that legal marriage only just became an option, but their desire to wed was evidenced by their commitment ceremony in 1992. and since the marriage is now legal, they should be treated as though they were married in 1992. there is no case if that argument isn't allowed. because otherwise they were not married when the claim arose.

[Horseshack] Oh-oh-oh-oh, pick me! [/Horseshack]
 

Trial date set for Garcia and Nelson.

So I'm out with my soccer team last night and we were discussing ways to get out of jury duty. I don't think anyone will be trying to get out of it in October.

Best Places to Work
 

Bingham and Ropes make the top 10. Who woulda thunk it?

Best Places to Work
 

Did the survey ask the lawyers?

Although if the criteria include a lot of benefits, of course law firms are going to come out well, because they have to pay people so much to keep them around.

BBJ Best Places
 

I think the benefits criteria related only to general staff benefits, not lawyer benefits (that's what it looked like from the benefits they listed in the print version of the article, anyway). They must have talked to some lawyers, since they've got pictures of some, but I'll bet the firms told them which lawyers to talk to.

proskauer
 

I am told Proskauer Rose is preparing to launch a labor and employment practice in Boston. Any guesses as to who the partner(s) will be or where they will come from?

proskauer
 

Mark Batten, ex-Bingham, is over there now.

Do as I say....
 

New Hampshire AG resigns over sexual harassment allegations. Boston.com link

My favorite part of the article:

Extra cheese?
 

4 waitresses file sexual harassment suit against the manager of Pizzareia Regina's in the North End. Link to Boston Herald article. This is certainly a hot topic today.

Those darn Catholics
 

The 4 dioceses in Massachusetts are considering a new employment policy, one that would allow them to fire workers who marry their same-sex partner. boston.com article here

If this is enacted, when does the first complaint get filed with the MCAD?

Those darn Catholics
 

Will they continue to have a policy of not firing the workers who don't marry their partners, but just fuck 'em and cover it up?

Those darn Catholics
 

Gives "Don't ask, don't tell" a new meaning.

I do not heart Keith Lockhart
 

But I will be in Boston for the 4th. Anybody interested in a cocktail?

I do not heart Keith Lockhart
 

Still around on the 5th? Out of town over the weekend, but in town on 5th.

I do not heart Keith Lockhart
 

I fly out of Logan at 11. So not really. Bummer.

DNC
 

13 days and counting....

Anyone else working that week?
Any firms made special arrangements?

It's business as usual at my firm, which means the attorneys can work from home and the rest of us have to be here 9-5, commuting complications be damned.

I'm planning on riding my bicycle in to avoid all the searching and bag restrictions that will plague the T.

Goodwin Procter, meet Shea & Gardner
 

Goodwin & Procter to merge with Shea & Gardner by October 1st. boston.com article here

Once again they say that there will be no layoffs.

Does this put pressure on the other Boston biggies? Should we be expecting news from Ropes, Testa, Mintz, Choate, etc. any time soon?

Goodwin Procter, meet Shea & Gardner
 

Since GPH has about 10 people in its DC office, layoffs wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. Moreover, since Shea is bigger here, they'll probably move into Shea's space, but the GPH staff will get to come along because GPH is the whale in this one. There may be some demotions w/in shea staff, though.

Guess S&G figured that the era of the midsize boutique was pretty dead. It seemed that way to me, at least at S&G, when I interviewed there a number of years back.

Goodwin Procter, meet Shea & Gardner
 

Just my opinion, but:

Mintz is trying, but doesn't look like anyone's favorite dance partner these days; Ropes has had merger announcements like this recently; Choate looks more like a target than anything else (ditto Palmer, Foley, others).

Interesting question is Testa - they've always been rabid about being a one-office shop, but so much has changed so fast?!?

DNC
 

It's the natural order of the Universe. We were going to have choppers ferry us in during the week, but apparently they've grounding small aircraft downtown. So instead all the partners are being driven in by associates and staff, so we can work on the way.

Judge John H. Mason - RIP
 

Judge Mason passed away over the weekend from esophogeal cancer.

Boston Globe obit.

Testa news
 

Deutsch is leaving Testa and joining Ropes & Gray in an attorney development role.

Wedding Plans?
 

From today's edition of The Recorder:

September 17, 2004
By Brenda Sandburg

Fish & Neave has sat on the porch and held hands with Boston-based Ropes & Gray, but it hasn’t yet decided to go to the altar.

That’s what firm Chairman Jesse Jenner told lawyers and staff at a firmwide meeting in New York Tuesday. Jenner said the meeting was called to dispel a flurry of rumors that a merger was to take place within 10 days, that a letter of intent had been signed, and that 20 lawyers were set to join 580-lawyer Ropes & Gray.

“We’ve had preliminary talks with Ropes & Gray, but there’s no deal,” Jenner said. “They are not the only firm we’ve talked to.”

Jenner said the intellectual property firm has been getting marriage proposals since 1982 and would consider tying the knot if the right partner came along. He pointed to the recent merger between Washington, D.C.’s Wilmer Cutler Pickering and Boston’s Hale & Dorr as a deal that looked good for both parties.

“If a situation like that were to arise, where we thought we would benefit and the other firm would benefit, I suppose it could happen,” Jenner said.

Two years ago the firm had some initial discussions with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati that were ultimately dropped. The 149-attorney Fish & Neave has 18 lawyers in its Palo Alto, Calif., office, 12 in its Washington, D.C., outpost, and 119 at its headquarters in New York. Founded in 1895, the firm has boasted clients such as Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the Wright Brothers.

The firm has held steadfast as a string of IP firms shuttered their doors or merged with general practice firms in the last three years. Limbach & Limbach, Los Angeles-based Lyon & Lyon, San Jose, Calif.’s Skjerven Morrill and, most recently, New York’s Pennie & Edmonds are among the firms that have disbanded.

In the last 18 months, however, Fish & Neave has lost at least a dozen partners. The exodus has prompted others to consider leaving, former partners say.

“Once two or three people start leaving, it creates instability for the next level,” said former partner Steven Cherny, who joined Latham & Watkins’ New York office in June. “It’s the run on the bank mentality.”

Cherny said the departure of John Nathan, a big business generator, increased the feeling of instability at the firm. Nathan joined Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison last year. Among more recent departures, Kevin Johnson jumped to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges’ Silicon Valley office in May, and Terry Kearney joined Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in August. In the next couple of weeks, New York partner Gerald Flattmann Jr. will leave the firm for Kirkland & Ellis.

Jenner attributed the bulk of the departures to a restructuring of the firm’s compensation system and retirement program in May. The firm switched from an accrual-based compensation system – in which partners are not paid until income from specific work comes in the door – to a cash-based system in which partners are paid as income is generated. He did not specify how the retirement program had changed.

But former partners said this tinkering with the system was not a factor in their decisions to leave. Kearney, who left for Wilson Sonsini, contended there’s still a place for IP boutiques but said multi-practice firms can provide more comprehensive services and stability than are possible in single-practice firms.

Law firm consultants say a marriage between Fish & Neave and Ropes & Gray would broaden each firm’s practice areas. Ropes & Gray would get an instant IP litigation practice and Silicon Valley presence, while Fish & Neave would acquire a diversified platform.

“It’s a good, natural fit between the two of them,” said recruiter Gary Davis, of Patterson Davis Consulting. “Ropes wants to get into the IP space, and Fish & Neave understands the markets work against IP-only firms.”

Recruiter Avis Caravello said Ropes & Gray’s transactional capabilities in the health care area and its strong focus on the Food and Drug Administration could be attractive to Fish & Neave.

Ropes & Gray set up shop in San Francisco about 2 1/2 years ago with the goal of becoming a national firm like Latham & Watkins or O’Melveny & Myers. The firm has seven attorneys in San Francisco with the rest split between offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Providence, R.I., and London.

The firm did not return phone calls about a potential merger with Fish & Neave.

“Ropes & Gray receives inquiries from other law firms about possible combinations with some frequency,” managing partner John Montgomery said in a statement. “As a matter of policy, however, we do not comment on any such communications.”