General Discussion - Boston

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

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

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

[bold_n_brazen]

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

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

[Anne Elk]

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.

[Anne Elk]

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?

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Anne Elk
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?

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.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Anne Elk
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?

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?!?

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Anne Elk
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.

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.

[Anne Elk]

Judge Mason passed away over the weekend from esophogeal cancer.

Boston Globe obit.

[Anne Elk]

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

[Anne Elk]

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.”

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

OK, what's the new Boston Tagline going to be!

[SlaveNoMore]

Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
OK, what's the new Boston Tagline going to be!

1986 Redux?

[Anne Elk]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
1986 Redux?

NO!

Believe!

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
1986 Redux?

That's a year late.

[Anne Elk]

Originally posted by Anne Elk
Trial date set for Garcia and Nelson.

According to boston.com charges against the groundskeeper have been dropped. Nelson and Garcia are due to stand trial next Tuesday. Like anybody around here cares anymore.

Go Sox!