What, no uniforms?
 

I'd be most happy to sit and watch the game without the uniforms.

Sheesh!

AM(not really a)M

What, no uniforms?
 

If that were the case, I think we'd see a lot more center snap fumbles, especially in cold weather games...

Center snap fumbles
 

Oh my gosh, I forgot about cold weather.

Not to be a timmy, but one would think there would be more fumbles in warm weather. Shrinkage and all.


AM(backfield in motion)M

What, no uniforms?
 

Well, there's one more illusion shattered. Let's hope its also:

(only occasionally)A(and don't really have a)M(since you're not really a)M



Apropos of nothing, NPR this morning had a story about Russian scientists digging up some 20,000 year old dirt in the Siberian permafrost and scanning it for DNA. They found, to their vast surprise, bison, wooly mammoth, and other animal DNA suggesting that the area was vibrant with life prior to the last ice age.

Gatti(thus endeth today's trivia lesson)gap

What, no uniforms?
 

Jeepers! So, any bets on how long it will be before these animals are cloned and brought to term?

I can see the headlines now, "Bessie the Cow gives birth to fraternal twins: a Banteng and a Wooly Mammoth." And later, "Mammoth accidentally pummels Banteng in sibling rivalry gone awry."

Now, if we could get these scientists to make us something useful, like bold new mixed drinks....

Seven

:sportswav

Then, the icy darkness came.
 

I'm glad to hear that was a trivia lesson; I was worried it was one of those parables about the tech industry that East Coasters are so fond of these days.

Then, the icy darkness came.
 

That's tomorrow's lesson, where scientists will report the further discovery that in the same soil sample were recovered fragments of an early model Apple Newton.

Then, the icy darkness came.
 

. . . Although the researchers stress that their conclusions are tentative and they still have considerable work to do, it appears that many of these species had recorded their genetic material on napkins. . . .

They are terminating the plan and charging the people to terminate it? Seriously?

What, no uniforms?
 

OK, here's the truth. A friend of mine tells me "You're not a woman at all, you're a gay man in a woman's body." Translated, this means that, while I am occasionally bitchy and love a good rant, I am only angry at my mother ("Well, dear. Wouldn't you be happier if you were MARRIED?"). I have never had a mullet (even in a biblical sense) and the man part we have already settled. But we're treading on FB subject matter again, aren't we?

AM(strangely hot for Sidd)M:wink:



(edited to fix formatting)

Brobeck 401(k)
 

Originally posted by Associate-No-More
The Greedy IP Board is reporting the following regarding Skjerven Morrill :

"As part of their plan to terminate the 401(k) plan, Skjerven is withholding a portion of each remaining plan participants' account to pay 'Administrative' costs for terminating the plan. "


Brobeck is doing the same thing--prior to dissolving, the firm would have eaten the costs. If you ever leave a firm be sure to take your 401(k) with you.

Poster Deletion
 

Please note that the poster known as Schouten66 was recently deleted due to several violations of the TOS and despite several written warnings to ceast and desist his actions.

This Board was founded specifically because of [apparent] arbitrary deletions of posters and content in other forums, and we specifically do not ever want for that to be the case here.

However, there are certain rules we all must adhere to. In most, if not all, instances, fair warning will be privately delivered to anyone that violates these rules - with the hope that they remedy the situation and remain a vital part of this community.

If anyone has any additional questions or policy concerns, please feel free to PM any of me, Leagl or Tyrone.

Thanks,
not7yS

Death tax.
 

Well, the firm is dissolving. And it's perfectly fine to use fees from the remaining members of the plan if the plan documents had said it was. Bottom line, make sure you read through such documents so you don't get any nasty surprises.

C(Anyone who was in it had better roll it over quick as they can)deuced

Death tax.
 

No doubt!

Bea heading up
 

President Bush nominated Hon. Carlos Bea of the San Francisco Superior Court to the Ninth Circuit.
http://www.law.com/jsp/pubarticleCA....=1049943519040

Brobeck 401(k)
 

Actually, the Brobeck partners didn't pay any of the 401K plan fees since second quarter of 2002. And, oops, they forgot to tell the plan participants that they were stiffing the bank that ran the plan. And, that's just one of the screw-ups. Now, 2,000 participants are stuck with paying last year's unpaid bills and the termination costs, no one's gotten a penny out yet, but no one can even borrow against his/her account. And, here's a swell kicker, estimates are that it will take as much as two years before everyone is processed out. Advice to the Skjerven participants: Get on top of this immediately.

And, just as with the summer associates left high & dry, not one word of apology from the Brobeck partners for this, or any of the messes they made.

PS - Hey Tyrone, thanks for the great pix a few pages back. I'm trying to figure out how to avatarize Gort.

I'll avatarize it for you. Keep an eye out for a pm in a few moments.

I sent you an email with the link.

And for good measure, here are a couple more.

They are sized properly you just need to right click, get properties, copy the link and paste it into the avatar in user cp options,

http://www.boomspeed.com/leagleaze/gort1.gif

http://www.boomspeed.com/leagleaze/gort2.jpg

http://www.boomspeed.com/leagleaze/gort3.jpg

Primative Screwheads
 

A picture of Ash hovering over the Necromonicon would be ever better.

not7yS(hop smart, shop S-Mart)

Leagleaze, You Are the Master!
 

Gort and I are most appreciative.

Brobeck Summer Associates
 

Sorry, I transported back to December/January when hundreds of 1st years were trooped thru the SF office, just to avoid the embarrassment of a summer program with only one 2nd year. None of the 1st years got offers -- probably no money left to pay acceptance letter postage. As to the March SF arrivees, I heard none were coming; presumably, all were smart enough to take the buy out and flee. In sum, the law student carnage is relatively minimal. Soon to be hot off the presses: the staff were/are the most screwed over.

Brobeck Summer Associates
 

I feel bad for the incoming associates -- those who are about to graduate and don't have a job now. When they signed on for their 2L summer, the handwriting on the wall wasn't nearly as clear as it was a year later.

Which is not to say I don't feel for the staff.

Brobeck Summer Associates
 

Spot on point and advice, Flinty. In matters of romance and biglaw, however, its easier to accept/believe lies from someone you know (well?) than truth from someone you don't know (as well). It always seems so crystal clear when we see someone else falling for a line, but it's about as clear as mud when we're the ones being played. The cautionary moral probably is: if you're at a big (any?) law firm, assume you are surrounded by those who will lie to you whenever it's in their interest to do so.

Brobeck Summer Associates
 

You're absolutely right. And we all want to believe that our superiors know what they are doing and have our best interests in mind, and for the most part, it's true. The problem is that sometimes it isn't true, especially when it becomes economically inconvenient for the partners, after all, they have vacation homes and trophy spouses to support. I always try and keep a healthy sense of cynicism when I'm being fed news from the top, and where possible, do my own research, number crunching and fact checking. Sometimes being a little paranoid is a good thing, at least when it comes to job security. When you see longtime employees fleeing (other than normal "I'm grabbing more money/prestige/etc" moves) it should give you pause. For that matter, I've been seeing some longtime partners at Cooley leaving lately...

Best of luck to those still looking for work, it will come, the best we can do is hope that karma catches up soon.

Flinty

Brobeck 401(k)
 

Icing on the cake: Zager was quoted in last week's Recorder as saying the following about former staffers seeking severance pay:

"People want to be paid for not working. It's puzzling to me."

Um, no. People who foolishly believed you and others about the long-term stability of Brobeck, and are now unemployed in a brutal market, want to pay rent, buy food, and take care of their families.

Brobeck 401(k)
 

Some time ago I went back and reread his postings on the old board, as well as the article that was published about it.

Now reading this I have to wonder about his level of apparent cluelessness.

Apropos of, well, something, I cannot hear his name without thinking of this song:

IN THE YEAR 2525

In the year 2525
If man is still alive
If woman can survive
They may find...

In the year 3535
Ain't gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies
Everything you think, do, or say
Is in the pill you took today

In the year 4545
Ain't gonna need your teeth, won't need your eyes
You won't find a thing to do
Nobody's gonna look at you

In the year 5555
Your arms are hanging limp at your sides
Your legs not nothing to do
Some machine is doing that for you

In the year 6565
Ain't gonna need no husband, won't need no wife
You'll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long black tube

In the year 7510
If God's a-comin' he ought to make it by then
Maybe he'll look around himself and say
Guess it's time for the Judgement day

In the year 8510
God's gonna shake his mighty head
He'll either say ``I'm pleased where man has been
Or tear it down and start again

In the year 9595
I'm kinda wondering if man's gonna be alive
He's taken everything this old earth can give
And he ain't put back nothing...

Now it's been 10,000 years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what he never knew
Now man's reign is through
But through the eternal night
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away
Maybe it's only yesterday...

Brobeck 401(k)
 

This from a guy who vehemently declared his everlasting faith and loyalty to Brobeck and to making it stronger than ever (let's light up the night sky!)...and then promptly moved his shit from his office under cover of darkness, helping to tank the merger with MLB, and screwing a whole lot of people as a result. I wouldn't have cared about his moves had he not made a big deal out of it and made such proclamations. With these latest comments, he has revealed himself as not only a liar and a coward, but a freaking heartless one at that. I guess some people don't have a sense of honor or duty. His daughter should be ashamed of him.

Rant over.

Flinty


fixed a typo -- T.S.

Bechtel
 

Apparently not. The Recorder says that Bechtel's in-house lawyers do most of their work. Thelen Reid & Priest is their main outside counsel, and sometimes helps with deals, but it sounds like it's only when they have some overflow.

Bechtel
 

Damn. I thought I might be able to start another conspiracy theory.

Fixed tags. -- T.S.

no kidding
 

The San Francisco Chronicle says it's a bad time to be a VC:

So if you see a VC, give them a hug.

no kidding
 

Hug, hell. Give the LPs a hug.

If you see the VCs, ask them why they only did 2 new deals in the past year while they lived off that 2% management fee.

no kidding
 

Also ask both the VCs and the LPs how they feel about clawback provisions.

Clawbacks?
 

Is anyone actually aware of LP's exercising rights under a clawback provision? Some seem to be under the impression that this is the stuff of urban legend. Seems like you'd have to have GP's who 1) took more than the standard take (whatever that was) and 2) have enough personal assets. OTOH, things could get interesting over at Scary Larry's Funhouse.

Since it's out of my area of expertise, I have no clue what the trend is here.

AM(showing my ignorance again)M

Clawbacks?
 

I don't know what the general trend is, but I do recall seeing articles saying that a handful of major funds reduced management fees to offset amounts that would be owed under clawbacks. I believe TA Associates, Battery and others were on the list. Presumably, there are also more of these battles being fought behind the scenes. For a while there were rumors that some large fund GPs were in big financial trouble because of clawbacks, but I haven't heard those rumors in a while. I've also heard that the fund groups at a number of law firms have been busy for a while with restructurings, reworking fees, figuring out what to do with defaulting LPs, etc.

Clawbacks?
 

Similarly, I've heard that some LPs have told their VCs not to do another capital call anytime soon because they can't/won't make it now, which would trigger a default.

And then what? In this funding environment, you don't want to go down that road.

Record companies sue Hummer Winblad & Hank Barry.
 

Anybody else know Hank Barry, a former WSGR attorney who joined Hummer and served as CEO of Napster? I hate to see something like this happen to him (and to a lesser extent Hummer). But, he had to see it coming.

I think that the outcome of this case could drastically change the way VCs operate their businesses. What say ye?

Seven


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote Follows:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Record labels sue VC firm over Napster support
By Dawn C. Chmielewski
Mercury News


Two record labels filed suit Monday against Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, accusing the venture capital firm of contributing to widespread Internet music piracy through its financial support of Napster.

Universal Music Group and EMI Recorded Music accused the firm -- and partners John Hummer and Hank Barry individually -- of perpetuating global piracy through its $13 million investment in the controversial file-swapping service.

``Businesses (as well as those individuals or entities who control them) premised on massive copyright infringement of works created by artists, should face the legal consequences for their actions,'' the labels said in a joint statement.

Filed in L.A.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, is another in a new round of litigation that has arisen after Napster sought the haven of bankruptcy court in June. That filing resulted in an unresolved end to copyright infringement lawsuits the five major record labels brought, seeking billions in damages. Joining Universal Music and EMI Music in the December 1999 suits to shut down Napster were Sony, AOL Time Warner and Bertelsmann.

But the lawsuits -- like the unauthorized music downloading itself -- didn't stop with Napster's financial collapse. Two prominent songwriters sued Napster benefactor Bertelsmann for $17 billion in February, accusing the German media conglomerate of deliberately helping users of the wildly popular service violate copyrights.

That suit alleged that without Bertelsmann's $90 million investment, Napster would have collapsed in July 2001, and fewer songs would have been downloaded.

Monday's suit seeks to hold Hummer Winblad, which backed Redwood City-based Napster, its one-time chief executive, Barry, and former board member Hummer accountable for what the labels describe as unprecedented global piracy.

A Hummer Winblad spokesman issued a brief statement saying, ``We've received a copy of the complaint and we are reviewing it.''

Possible defense

Sources close to the venture capital firm predict that Hummer Winblad will likely raise the defense that, when the firm invested in Napster in April 2000, there had been no court ruling on the legality of the song-swapping service.

The National Venture Capital Association, in a recent letter to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., wrote that the mere threat of such litigation against one limited partnership firm would shrink the flow of capital to the entire technology segment.

``The uncertainty attendant to those pending lawsuits is deterrence aplenty to the flow of investment capital to new technology,'' wrote association president Mark Heesen. ``Even without the threat of direct suit, investors in innovative technologies face the very real risk of loss of their investment.''

:box:

no kidding
 

If the LPs sue the VCs, and the VCs hire me to defend them, I'll give them a great big hug.


Sidd(billing the time, of course)Finch

That sinking feeling
 

Don't forget National Secretar... um... National Admin... er... to send flowers, candy, wine or thong panties to your assistant tomorrow, unless you want em to hate you until hell freezes over.

Oh, and even if your firm does not celebrate it, your assistant will damn well know what day it is.

AM(lucky have one who is golden and thanking my lucky stars)M:bow:

Pillsbury takes another hit
 

This morning's Recorder says that Chevron's "go to" litigator has hopped from Pillsbury to Jones Day.

Should we have a pool on how long it takes for Pillsbury to announce that the guy was (1) a harasser and (2) not really all that productive anyway?

Sidd(those GraPes are sour, I say!)Finch

Pillsbury takes another hit
 

Smart move on his part, as the relatively new GC at Chevron is a former Jones Day lawyer, the first non-Pillsbury GC there in years. A better pool is how long it will take Pillsbury to have a liquidation event. It's my understanding that Chevron has kept them afloat the last few years.

Pillsbury takes another hit