The Lawyer‘s Web Week is a weekly commentary on legal activity on the web. This includes an overview of the best of the week’s blogs. If you want to direct us to useful links, email webweek@ thelawyer. com.
#A comic ideaCheck out www.attorneyman. org for the first appearance of… drum roll… AttorneyMan. It’s a comic book for lawyers folks.
Apparently it documents: “Sales, Service, Survival!!! The rock’em, sock’em, must have business development and sales story of the century!”According to Paul Paperchase, the dean of Law On-line University and Technology College, it’s “a great way to reach law students!”.
We’re not so sure.
#Weil in for hairy timeOn a more serious note, Weil Gotshal & Manges comes under fire at “We’ll Getcha & Mangle Ya” (badlawyers.blogspot .com), which is “a blog on legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit of Weil Gotshal & Manges international law firm, and two partners, separately, and individually”.
Admittedly, badlawyers. blogspot.com has a strange grasp of written English.
It goes on: “The partners are Robert Sugerman esq, who is also being sued by the singer Michael Bolton for very similar reasons and Helene D. Jaffe esq, who stands to be disbarred for her aggregious conduct…”
We’ll Getcha & Mangle Ya didn’t quite explain what the “similar reasons” are.
But all of this means a debut appearance in Webweek for Michael Bolton. If anyone would like to send a link to a story regarding lawyers and that other great pop legend The Hoff, Webweek would be eternally grateful. #Money can’t buy A&O loveAdam Smith Esq is becoming more prolific by the week at www.bmacewen.com/blog/. Here’s his take on Allen & Overy‘s (A&O) new associate bonus scheme: “Allen & Overy has gotten religion about this… Now, of course, comes crunch time. It’s all well and good to pump up morale with a more-than-generous financial gesture, but as the months ahead unfold, if that turns out to be all there was to it – if, in other words, the ‘coaching culture’ initiative falls to inertia, fear, or distraction – then A&O, for all its thought and effort spent over the past year in devising this innovative and, on its face, admirable program, will likely find itself back in the high-attrition-rate penalty box.
“Loyalty and enthusiasm cannot be bought and paid for. This is so for associates, it’s so for partners, and it’s so for clients.
“Would you sincerely prefer it otherwise?”
#Blackstone leaves no stone unturnedWhile most of the UK legal market went home to spend half-term with the kids, with only 10 days holiday a year across the Atlantic, the action never stops.
The Wall Street Journal blog, blogs.wsj.com/law/, reported: “There’s news out this morning that Blackstone Group has decided to increase the size of its private equity fund, already the world’s largest, to $20bn [£10.61bn]. More money means more deals which means, of course, good news for corporate lawyers.
“Blackstone’s go-to firm? Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, say private-equity lawyers. Blackstone’s chief legal officer and chief administrative officer is Bob Friedman, a Simpson M&A partner for 25 years, who joined Blackstone in 1999. According to his Blackstone bio, in addition to his role as lawyer-in-chief, Friedman also works in Blackstone’s private equity and M&A advisory groups. As a partner at Simpson Thacher, Friedman (Columbia; Penn Law) advised Blackstone Group ever since the firm was founded in 1985.
“Simpson Thacher has a storied place in the history of the private-equity business. The largest-ever private-equity purchase still remains the $25.1bn [£13.31bn] acquisition in 1988 of RJR Nabisco by KKR, memorialized in the book (and an underrated TV movie) Barbarians at the Gate. KKR’s advisers on that deal? The lawyers at Simpson Thacher, led by its longtime chairman Richard Beattie.”1.Revealed: Linklaters offers best associate bonuses2. Govt to lose billions as Slaughters wins landmark tax case3. Linklaters hits King & Spalding with second magic circle raid4.Coudert partners reunited in Paris5.Japan mourns passing of legendary lawyer6.Linklaters steps up Asian restructuring7.Dewey Orrick merger given green light8. Milberg hires troubleshooter as chief to calm ‘panic’9.Freshfields partner quits to launch boutique10.A&O axes Turin as last partner departs
