If you’re either of the former AND obsessed with contracts, you sublimate your excitement into an analysis of the legal ramifications of the partnership structure of the two meth peddlers on the show.  (No real spoilers, but there are some teasers, so avoid if you’re determined to watch the show completely tabula rasa)

The two main characters, Walt, played by Bryan Cranston — pictured left– and Jesse, played by Aaron Paul, who is fast becoming one of my favorite actors, frequently refer to themselves as “partners” and speak of their meth production and distribution operation as a “partnership.”  And sure enough, they are indeed two or more persons operating as co-owners a business for profit, so I think they’ve got that right.  The two never seem to have formalized their agreement in a writing, which is not advisable, except that their business is illegal and therefore any agreement would likely be unenforceable in any case and any writing evidencing the nature of their business could land them in jail.

The pair’s lawyer, the amazing (“Better Call”) Saul Goodwin (pictured) doesn’t tout contract or partnership law on his website, so Walt and Jesse would be well served to read.

Related posts:

1. Breaking Down a GC’s Comp
2. New Legal Reality Show Doomed to Fail
3. Foundry Group Invests in Legal Process Automation Co.

A certain seer warned Caesar to be on his guard against a great peril on the day of the month of March which the Romans call the Ides; and when the day had come and Caesar was on his way to the senate-house, he greeted the seer with a jest and said: “Well, the Ides of March are come,” and the seer said to him softly: “Ay, they are come, but they are not gone.”

- Plutarch, The Parallel Lives – Life of Julius Caesar, Loeb Classical Library Edition

March has been an unkind month to lawyers.

On the first anniversary of the worst month for law-firm layoffs in history, Law Shucks, the blog about “Life in, and after, BigLaw” takes up Blawg Review #255.

Last week, Niki Black hosted Blawg Review #254, celebrating International Women’s Day.

In at least one respect, we’ve come a long way, baby.

(click to embiggen)

Last March, 3,682 people were laid off by major law firms: 1,337 attorneys, 2,345 staff. March ‘09 included six of the ten all-time worst single days for layoffs. On March 9, 2009, 737 people were laid off – there haven’t been that many people laid off in a single month since May ‘09.

Or compare on a weekly basis. In the week ending March 13, 2009, 1,477 people were laid off: 603 lawyers and 874 staff. In the week ending March 12, 2010, a “mere” 75 were laid off: 45 lawyers and 30 staff. Last March, seventeen separate firms laid off more than 75 people, ranging from White & Case’s 400 down to Blank Rome’s 79.

And last week was a bad week for layoffs, compared to recent trends. There had been none at all reported for the two previous weeks.

Niki’s exasperation with the snails’ pace of progress on gender equality resonates across genders must be particularly exacerbated by the disproportionate effect layoffs have had on women and minorities.

The American Lawyer recently reported that for the first time in ten years, the percentage of minority attorneys at the largest US law firms dropped. While the headline numbers look shocking (6% overall headcount reduction, but 9% reduction in minorities), Adam Smith, Esq. sees a “more nuanced – and optimistic – story.”

However you look at it, last year was unprecedented in the depth and breadth of law firm layoffs.

One school that seems ideally suited to the seemingly illogical decisionmaking of large law firms is behavioral law and economics. Rick Pildes writes at Balkinization that that discipline, which seems well positioned to affect current events, is underperforming. Ironically, behavioral economics attempts to understand why people don’t behave rationally, so should we really be surprised that it’s not gaining traction?

One side effect of all those layoffs has been the rise of the solo. Greatest American Lawyer interviewed Peter Olson of Solo in Chicago who provided some solid insight on what it takes to take that leap.

But there’s also good news coming out of the big firms. Kathleen Sullivan became a name partner at Quinn Emanuel this week, an honor that is being touted as the surprisingly long overdue first woman to grace the letterhead at an AmLaw 100 firm.

Above the Law’s Elie Mystal did his part for gender equality, decrying a New York City Bar Association event purportedly designed to teach female lawyers how to “dress for success.” His efforts caused the NYCBA to realize the program had drifted toward an inappropriate focus, and cancel it – much to the chagrin of Kashmir Hill, Elie’s distaff partner in crime, who wasn’t offended.

Camuccini, Mort de César

Shame is a powerful thing, as Caesar (sort of) recognized

The gods do this in shame of cowardice:
Caesar should be a beast without a heart,
If he should stay at home to-day for fear.
No, Caesar shall not: danger knows full well
That Caesar is more dangerous than he:
We are two lions litter’d in one day,
And I the elder and more terrible:
And Caesar shall go forth.

- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 2, Scene 2

Unfortunately for him, even greater was his fear of the shame of being mocked for listening to his wife’s dreams.

Shaming the NYCBA worked for Elie, and it might be part of a growing punishment movement, according to the WSJ Law Blog.

It might not work at all on sports agents, who are widely perceived to be shameless. Still, Bitter Lawyer rounded up the top lawyers working as sports agents. Sports Agent Blog has an insider’s perspective, including the ninth installment of an intern’s column on breaking into the business.

At Law Shucks, we reminded them all that it was big-firm lawyers who laid the groundwork for the free agency that has made Drew Rosenhaus and his fellows so rich.

Speaking of, umm, “difficult” personalities, Bob Sutton at Work Matters says it’s not necessarily a good idea to give your asshole boss a copy of the book, “The No Asshole Rule.”

Just as there is a hierarchy of geeks, there is a hierarchy of lawyers – and lawyers all slot their own niche at the top. We might make fun of sports agents’ reputations for shamelessness, but all lawyers are probably equally shameless to the layfolk. Niki Black gave us a sobering reminder of one seemingly unfortunate case brought by one of our colleagues that reinforces that stereotype.

Can lawyers agree that politicians would be at or near the bottom of the legal hierarchy? A political fight over back waxing down in Florida certainly supports the idea. Kevin Underhill has the story at Lowering the Bar. With lawyers making the laws, bringing suits, and defending, it basically turns into a game of rock-paper-scissors. For example, how does this “upskirting” story at at On.Point make you feel about lawyers?

The Scarlet Letter. Painting by T. H. Matteson.

Scarlet may be the color of shame, but Keene Trial Consulting thinks red is the right color for court. Unless you’re a mediator, then you should be Beige, according to Brains on Purpose.

Shame is at the heart of hazing, which is part of the current model of medical education, according to David Harlow at his Health Care Law Blog. He writes about a re-focused, reinvigorated medical school curriculum that promotes patient health by laying an educational foundation of teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, mindfulness, and asking for help when help is needed.

Lawyers love to communicate!

There has been no shortage of blog posts recently exhorting counsel to get involved. Ernie the Attorney forwards the call to take up pens (or fingers) and write for The In-House Blawg. That notion is supported in spirit by Kevin O’Keefe at Real Lawyers Have Blogs, who says that social-media engagement starts at the top.

Don’t get too carried away, though. South Florida Lawyers cautions that the Broward County Bar Association has run out of things to do and is now investigating a law blog to determine whether it meets the BCBA’s professional standards.

Michaelangelo. David.

If you were planning to take the plunge and thought the proposed federal Anti-SLAPP laws might be a nice deterrent against frivolous suits seeking to squelch you, Max Kennerly at Litigation & Trial says you better think twice. There’s nothing in the law that would stop Goliath from using it against David.

Twitter (follow @lawshucks!), Facebook, blogging, and the rest of the modern social media are great ways to communicate, but nothing will ever rival being able to conduct a face-to-face conversation. Being locked in a cab with a hedgie should be an ideal situation for a big-firm associate who does fund work, right? We know at least one who blew the chance.

If all the doom and gloom of the Ides of March have gotten you down, cheer up, St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. Just don’t call it St. Patty’s Day, for reasons John McIntyre helpfully provides.

Blawg Review has information about next week’s host, and instructions on how to get your blawg posts reviewed in upcoming issues.

Related posts:

1. Get Ready for Blawg Review
2. The Law Shucks Mid-Year Layoff Review
3. The Month in Layoffs – May 09

Pic: U. Chicago

National jobless news seems to be business as usual. First-time jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week to 462,000.

That contributed to a net gain of 37,000 to 4.56 million people included in the “continuing claims” total. Above those receiving regular benefits, there are also 5.69 million people receiving extended benefits, an increase of about 175,000 for the week.

That becomes particularly relevant, because the Senate voted 62-36 to extend benefits (both unemployment insurance and health-insurance premium subsidies) through the end of the year. Traditionally, benefits lasted up to 26 weeks; under the new law, some people will receive up to 99 weeks’ benefits. Republicans made noise about adding $140 billion to the $12.5 trillion deficit, but were pretty much powerless to stop it.

Layoff news in the law-firm sector was not nearly so good this week. Details after the jump.

After more than two weeks without a layoff, three firms laid people off this week, as many as had reported layoffs in all of February.

The big news for the week was Howrey, which will be losing 10% of its partnership. The firm also laid off a large number of associates and staff last month.

Howrey posted a 35% drop in partner profits during 2009, falling from $1.3m (£876,000) in 2008 to $846,000 (£564,000) last year. Revenues also saw a double digit dip, dropping 16% from $573m (£382m) to $480m (£320m) in 2009.

Robert Ruyak, Howrey’s managing partner and chief executive, said: “After an internal assessment we decided that we need to tighten up and be strong by focusing on our core areas. We added a number of partners laterally during the last part of 2009 and thus far in 2010, while a similar number are departing for firms and practices that should be a better fit for them. We do not expect the partnership to be substantially different in size by the end of the year to what it is now.”

This is an interesting one. Ruyak is saying that the firm is cutting entire practices in an effort to return to its focus as a litigation-only shop. Patent and trademark prosecution, environmental, and insurance recovery are all on their way out.

Less forthright was McDermott Will & Emery, which has been accused of the vile practice of stealth layoffs. Frankly, we’re surprised that there aren’t more reports of stealth layoffs these days.

We made the decision last year not to include firm dissolutions as layoffs, so Darby & Darby’s breakup doesn’t count in the totals (neither do Thelen’s, Heller Ehrman’s or any of the other recently departeds’). Still, that puts the IP boutique’s 62 lawyers (19 of which are partners) and more than 100 staff out of work.

In non-layoff news, Katten Muchin was chided last week for not providing timely salary information. This week, they’re getting berated for the actual salary information they finally got around to providing. To be fair, a lot of the complaining is around the firm’s process and the lack of visibility associates had into the decisionmaking, rather than the salary cuts themselves.

Sonnenschein also took its time getting compensation information out. The firm is going back to $160k base for first years, but 12-15% of that will be retained and paid out as a “base bonus” in 2011 as the firm transitions to a more performance-based structure.

King & Spalding lawyers got slightly better news for their long wait. The firm paid bonuses, although the vague reference to the “2008 scale” wasn’t helpful. We added them to the Law Shuck Bonus Tracker, but numbers from back then are hard to find (part of the reason we started the tracker in the first place). On the salary side, it’s the same small-market blues that Chicago lawyers were suffering through a few weeks ago. There’s always that one local firm that is supposed to be a peer but outdoes your firm. Down in Atlanta, that means Alston & Bird, which pays a few thousand dollars more in most classes.

Of course, having a job at all is a nice thing these days, and the graduating class of 2010 is waiting with bated breath to find out when they’ll start (warning: link is to ATL comments, although they’re not particularly bad in this case). Nothing too surprising right now, with dates reportedly ranging from on time (Sep/Oct ‘10) at firms like Sullivan & Cromwell and Cleary, to Jan ‘11 at Milbank and Sidley.

In news that we found absolutely not surprising at all, there’s a culture gap between deferred associates doing public-interest work, and those who do it as a career. As far as we’re concerned, it’s further proof that this guy hasn’t a clue.

And while we’re at it, don’t be like this guy, either.

Just do what Hiring Partner says: accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.

Layoffs this week (all from the Law Shucks Layoff Tracker):

• Howrey (30, all lawyers – partners, in fact)
• McDermott Will & Emery (15, all associates – stealth)
• Dewey & LeBoeuf (30, all staff)

Major firms have laid off

• 75 people this week and month (45 lawyers, 30 staff)
• 321 people this year (136 lawyers, 185 staff)
• 14,532 people since January 2008 (5,722 lawyers, 8,810 staff)

Related posts:

1. This Week in Layoffs – 11/13/09
2. This Week in Layoffs – 6/19/09
3. This Week in Layoffs – 8/14/09

What is a “me” file?

Well it is a place — either electronic or hard copy or both — where you keep things like articles and client alerts you have published, special training you’ve done, and importantly, notes of praise from clients, colleagues, and other third parties.

After the jump, HP goes into detail on what and why.


The nice thing about the “me” file is that you can basically quickly put things in there and then you have a central location for all the words and things that laud you and show your value to the firm/organization.  This advice goes beyond law firms – the me file can and should be kept by all.

You may be thinking, “isn’t this a little much…am I being a braggart?”

The answer is NO.

First of all, you are not taking the contents of the “me” file and scotch taping them on your office door.  The “me” file is mainly for you, as a source of reference if you need it.

For instance, do you have to do an end of year self-assessment?  Many of us do.

When it comes time, let’s say in December to do these, don’t we sometimes feel overwhelmed?

We want to point out the good things we’ve done and our value, but it is hard to share these things if we can’t remember them and we are facing 10 other deadlines.  Answer:  the “me” file. A quick flip through the 2010 “me” file at the end of 2010 should give you plenty of information.

Significantly, just like I wrote about last week in the “CYA” post, you will have backup and documentation.  So when you say, “I was able to secure prompt approvals so the client could close the XYZ matter,” go ahead and copy and paste the client’s email, that says “HP, thank you for your terrific work in getting XYZ approved so promptly and helping us complete this matter before year end.”  Seriously, I’ve done year-end self-evaluations, and I frequently cut and paste.  I mean, a client’s words speak for themselves.

Another way the “me” file can be used — and please pay attention here — is to protect you against negative reviews and feedback.

Let’s say, times are tough at ABC firm/company and perhaps you might be a target for a layoff.  Let’s say partner Amy puts in your evaluation an uncharacteristic notation that you were not as responsive as you could have been.

But let’s say you have an email from Amy — or even the client — thanking you for giving up a holiday weekend to take care of something.  Remember — just as I mentioned last week — do not take the fall if you don’t deserve it — have the backup to support your cause — and in the case of your career- the cause is YOU.

Hiring Partner has said this before and will say it again — well, I don’t think I made it up, but it is a good reminder.

The only one looking out for your career is YOU.  Not the partners/bosses you work for, not the practice group or department head, not even your nice mentor  - some may help you along the way though.

You need to promote yourself, stick up for yourself, CYA, and document all the great things that you do.

The “me” file can be both a sword and a shield.

And it’s so easy to keep.

Why not take the time to throw something in there that could protect or at least promote your job and career.  Your career and future should not take a backseat; nor should you expect that others will always recognize all that you do. Memories are short, especially when times are tough.

Treat “you” as a brand that must be protected and promoted throughout the year.

Related posts:

1. Hiring Partner: CYA
2. Quick Shucks – 1/30/10

Cousin Oliver. No known relation to Dale Oliver.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP (nee(-ish) Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP) just announced appellate litigator Kathleen Sullivan has been made a name partner.  [HT: ATL]

The former dean of Stanford Law joined the firm in 2005, working out of New York.

Quotes from the press release and a primer on the dropped names (Where’s Oliver?), after the jump.

“Kathleen Sullivan would be on anyone’s list of the top three or four advocates practicing in the United States today. She has not only built a thriving appellate practice at the firm, but has played a key role in the firm’s trial practice, arguing important motions in federal and state courts around the country. Her inclusion in the firm’s name reflects the integration of our trial and appellate practices and our strengths as a national law firm with major presences in both the California and New York markets.”

Curiously, the quote isn’t actually attributed to anyone, but the implication is that Quinn said it.  He certainly didn’t write it, because he’s famous for his disdain of capitalization.

Dropping off the masthead are Messrs. Oliver and Hedges.

Hedges was George Hedges, who joined the firm in 1988.  He passed away due to cancer last spring.  He represented a horde of celebrities, including Richard Gere, Steve Martin, Mel Gibson, and the estate of Elvis Presley.  That was just his day job, though.

But it was a passion for classical studies and archeology that makes accounts of his life so fascinating. In the 1990s, he organized expeditions to the Middle East to trace the trail of frankincense and myrrh, commodities that date to 2000 B.C. The expeditions led to the discovery of what was believed to be the lost city of Ubar, below the sands in the Dhofar region of southern Oman. Since then, some doubt has since been raised over what the group found was, in fact, Ubar.

We have no idea what happened to Dale Oliver (Michigan State BA ‘69, Harvard JD ‘72), who is still actively practicing at the firm as far as we know (and is the spitting image of James Carville in that profile picture).

Two final items presented in the interest of completeness: Sullivan is gay and she famously failed the California bar (she passed second time around).  Lord knows, we’re all for finding amusement at the margins, but frankly neither of those facts is particularly unique, relevant, or the source of any witty banter (but feel free to prove us wrong).

Related posts:

1. Quinn Emanuel in Fee Dispute (Again)
2. More Client Problems for Quinn Emanuel
3. Quinn Emanuel Tries Plaintiff Side of Fee Dispute

White & Case has made an additional round of partner promotions in a bid to rebuild its partnership, following a number of high-profile departures in recent weeks.

The U.S. firm has promoted five lawyers to the partnership.

The promotions plug the gaps in several areas where the firm has been badly affected by recent departures, with two new partners in Abu Dhabi and three in its global banking practice.

Why this is a joke, after the jump.

The firm just announced a huge class of 33 partners just four months ago and none of these people, however nice they may be, made the cut.

Losing others shouldn’t mean that people previously considered not-yet-qualified should get promoted.

Firm chair Hugh Verrier commented: “These new partners are among the emerging generation of leaders cultivated within White & Case, reflecting our future as a truly global law firm. Their election to partner underscores our commitment to serving our clients and further strengthening our global banking and Middle East practices.”

At least Verrier has finally poked his head out with a public comment.See related stories below for plenty of previous coverage on the subject.

Related posts:

1. NYT Features Law Shucks, White & Case
2. W&C Loses Another. At Least It’s Not to L&W This Time
3. Legal Times Special Report: Associates

[Gundlach] stormed out of the room and began walking down the stairs. [Quinn Emanuel's John] Quinn and [Trust Company of the West GC] Cahill trailed him, thinking he was headed for the trading floor one level down, but Gundlach kept going. It was a surreal procession, says Quinn; they marched down 17 stories in total silence. The lawyers followed Gundlach out of the building and onto the street until Gundlach finally turned around and told them he wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon.

We had to chuckle at the visual of two lawyers silently chasing a hedgie down 17 flights of stairs.

Cahill is also a BigLaw veteran, having worked at O’Melveny.

No word yet on whether Quinn is the company’s counsel in the lawsuit against Gundlach.

Does the billing rate go up when physical exertion is involved?

Related posts:

1. Quinn Emanuel in Fee Dispute (Again)
2. More Client Problems for Quinn Emanuel
3. Quinn Emanuel Tries Plaintiff Side of Fee Dispute

In the pleading, the firm (although technically, it’s the Bank that’s the actual party) claimed the debtor developer had leased nine apartments to convicted felons, including a sexual predator.

Turns out it was only two, and neither was a sex offender.

Plenty of bickering, after the jump.

It seems the judge’s real problem was that the firm was either grandstanding or lacked common sense.

“If you truly believed there were dangerous individuals living in that building,” the judge wrote of the Kaye Scholer claims, “then that is something you should have brought to the debtor’s attention immediately, unless it’s more important to score a litigation point than it is to protect the safety of the people living in your collateral.”

Faced with the criticism, the firm stepped up and volunteered to pay the debtor’s counsel’s expenses – although that was probably a foregone conclusion anyway.

Bank of America’s attorneys apologized in open court for not conferring with Cabi first before including the accusations in their pleadings. “I regret and apologize on my behalf and on behalf of the bank for the mistakes,” said H. Peter Haveles Jr., a Kaye Scholer attorney.

Haveles (Harvard AB ‘76, BU JD ‘80) is Co-Chair of the firm’s Complex Commercial Litigation Department and Chair of the Financial Services Litigation group.

Despite the apology, the issue of fault is still simmering.

Outside the courtroom, however, attorneys for both sides continue to argue over the cause of the mistake. A Kaye Scholer attorney blamed Cabi for the false information. “The motion contained data that the bank believed to be true based on the records that the debtor produced from its own lease files for review by the bank’s advisors,” said Ana M. Alfonso, of Kaye Scholer in an email message. “Unfortunately, some of the information contained in the debtor’s lease files was not totally accurate.”

Alfonso (Vanderbilt BS ‘94, NYU JD ‘97) doesn’t seem to want to let it go.  Nor does the debtor’s counsel.

“That’s completely wrong,” said Cabi attorney Andrew Glenn, of Kasowitz, Benson & Torres, in response. “And had they picked up the phone and asked us about it we could have confirmed that in 15 minutes for them.”

So Kaye Scholer is picking up part of the Kasowitz bill, but will they pass it through to B of A?  Will they even bill B of A for the time spent arguing about the pleading defects?

Related posts:

1. Kaye Finally Getting Paid
2. W&C Loses Another. At Least It’s Not to L&W This Time
3. Rakoff Calls Paul Weiss Hypocritical

We’ve decided that rather than limit the treasure of our response to just one person, we’ll from time to time share the question and our answers with everyone. We’re generous like that.

Today, we have a three parter:

Do you think small law firms are less ethical?  My reasoning is that the large law firms have decentralized management.  So recourse seems more possible (by calling someone at a different office) and the threat of it is more of a deterrent.  Do you think that smaller law firms are managed less ethically than bigger ones?  Also, do you think affairs are common at law firms?  I’ve seen attractive women promoted rapidly.

Our answers after the jump.

Do we think small firms are less ethical? No, we don’t think firms are ethical at all.

People behave ethically (or not). In small firms, unethical people comprise a far greater percentage of the firm, so it’s easier to attribute one miscreant’s behavior to the whole. See, for example, Scott Rothstein.

The same problem happens when the unethical person is the public face of a firm. See, for example, Marc Dreier.

Unethical behavior abounds in large firms as well. See, for example, Mark McCombs at Greenberg Traurig. We don’t know whether the behavior is more or less common in large firms than in the general public.

You could argue it either way. Small-firm lawyers have less supervision, so their behavior can go unchecked. On the other hand, large-firm lawyers may feel so alienated and insignificant that they think no one will notice.

Management is a little clearer. There may be small firms that are managed by unethical people, in which case the management is dominated by that person. Large firms may have unethical people in management roles, but they tend to not last long and they certainly don’t have the ability to take control of a large firm. We know douchebags, jerks, and all sorts of other unsavory types who are in management roles at large firms, but in our experience we’ve never come across a big firm that we’d say was either unethical as a whole or managed unethically.

Affairs? Yes, they’re common. At some firms it ranges from rampant to occasional (and even within firms, different practice groups’ partaking vary), but on the whole, it’s common. We know partners who have married multiple secretaries, associates, paralegals, HR staff, and other partners. Associates marry each other all the time. If people are going to cheat, the fact that they’re lawyers who did it where they work doesn’t make them any different from any other segment of society.

It’s like summer camp. You’ve got hordes of similarly situated people locked up together with little opportunity to enjoy outside entertainment. What do you expect to happen? And they’re all consenting adults, so who cares?

Your last comment wasn’t a question, but we’ll respond anyway. Yes, attractive women do well in the workforce. Law firms are no different. Penelope Trunk writes about this stuff all the time, even calling plastic surgery the next must-have career tool.

Readers, what do you think?

Related posts:

1. The Firms Behind the Dear Investor Letters?

If there’s anything you’d like included, make sure to submit it through Blawg Review.

Other than submissions, which should go through Blawg Review, feel free to put any requests in the comments below.

Related posts:

1. Blawg Review #255
2. Quick Shucks – 10/27/09
3. Get Ready, Here She Comes