Quote:
Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski
When I was a new GP at my last biglaw my Tier 1 auto supplier client was sold to a mega Tier 1. We also successfully settled a big plaintiff’s case. To celebrate I took the 2 in-house attorneys and the business guy who was head of the division, along with my partner to a very swank out there restaurant. It made sense as they each were going elsewhere and controlled millions in potential lawyer fees.
My partner had recently come back to Detroit from a few years working in wine country. During the course of a very liquid dinner I heard him chatting up the Sommelier, “$250 per bottle? That’s a great price for that wine.”
I thought he was just talking shop, but turns out that is what we were drinking. And it’s on my firm card. The bill was like $2000, $1250 for wine.
And I’m thinking do I tip 20%? There is no difference in work from bringing out a $50 bottle or a $250 bottle, right? But in the end I tipped 20%. And like I said, it did make sense to wine and dine those 3.
The next week our passive aggressive CEO sent out a firm wide email:
“Be wise with your firm expenses. Do you really think a client will send you work because you bought a $100 bottle of wine instead of. $50 bottle?”
I went to her office and explained that I had no idea what partner was ordering. She said she wasn’t writing about me. We had another partner that had a standing reservation each month at the most expensive restaurant around here. He’d take random people where he had some plausible reason why the person might be able to send work.
I was in awe of the gall.
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In case anyone is wondering, I am indeed more likely to send you work if you buy the $100 bottle of wine ($250 one is good too, but the jump from $50 to $100 in wine is mostly about quality and the jump from $100 to $250 is mostly about status and snobbery), but, Sebby is right, the steakhouse will do nothing for me and seems a profligate waste.
Also, none of that California shit. Ideally, a nice 1999 Ch. Musar.
It's all about knowing people's preferences for waste.
As to wasteful business expenses, the key really is that waste should be shared, because everyone enjoys partaking of something wasteful now and then. Whether it be the private box, the nice wine, the fancy dinner... make sure you cut your support staff in on some of the waste, be generous with your profligacy. Let everyone have their piece of the waste.
