Discussion of Firms and Life in SF/SV - Page 25

05-31-2003, 01:49 PM

"Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly is pulling the plug on its Silicon Valley and Orange County offices, marking the end of its presence in California and leaving the firm with a single significant U.S. office in Minneapolis.

The firm announced the closures of the two California offices Friday. The move comes a week after reports that a number of the Silicon Valley office's top rainmakers were jumping ship to Philadelphia-based Dechert."

Here is the link to the rest of the article: http://www.law.com/jsp/pubarticleCA....=1052440819951

Tyrone Slothrop · 06-02-2003, 02:09 PM

Heller Ehrman has merged with a Hong Kong law firm, picking up 20-25 lawyers. This is from the press release posted on the firm's website:

Quote:

Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP today announced that 19 attorneys, formerly with the Hong Kong-based firm of Siao Wen & Leung, are joining the firm's Hong Kong office. Among those joining the firm are four partners, including Siao Wen & Leung lead partner Carson Wen, Michael Phillips, Katherine C.M. U, and Susan Yu. Fifteen associates and six trainee associates will also be joining the firm. This group of attorneys comprises the bulk of Siao Wen & Leung's corporate securities, commercial and China practice and will bring the total number of Heller Ehrman attorneys and trainee associates in Hong Kong to 28.

* * * * *

Mr. Wen and his group have one of the most active IPO practices in Hong Kong, having completed 19 IPOs in the last two-and-a-half years. Some of their IPO clients included Smartech Digital, Phoenix Satellite TV, Neolink Technology, Sun East Technology, ITE Holdings, Datronics, Artel Solutions Holdings, Zhongda Int'l. Holdings, Glory Mark, Skyhawk Computer, Tanrich Financial Holdings, Creative Energy, First Natural Food, China Treasure, Yardway Group, Teem Foundation and China Merchants Dichain, Launch Tech Company Ltd., and Sunlink International Holdings Ltd. In addition, the group currently has 25 IPOs pending for companies in a wide range of industries, including software, consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, fishery, new materials, bio-engineering, CD ROM technology, die-cast collectibles and oil and gas pipelines.

In addition, Mr. Wen and his team were among the first Hong Kong lawyers to represent developers in real estate projects in the PRC. They also were the Hong Kong legal advisors to Guangdong Investment Limited in connection with the corporate and debt restructuring of the Guangdong Group, which was the largest and most complicated corporate and debt restructuring in Hong Kong’s history.

Sidd Finch · 06-02-2003, 04:31 PM

Today's Recorder mentions a new association for senior general counsel in California -- sort of like the elite of ACCA.

Having been to an ACCA function and watched firm lawyers pull muscles in their efforts to suck up, I can only imagine the events this association is going to have. Fear Factor will seem tame by comparison.

Sidd("dude, let's make the outside counsel walk over hot coals while singing our praises in Latin!")Finch

Seven of Nine · 06-02-2003, 06:58 PM

[moved to the Tucker Max thread, and redacted a little to avoiding offending the Grey Lady's lawyers]

Tyrone Slothrop · 06-02-2003, 07:14 PM

[Moved to the Tucker Max thread. Will the idiots who post crap like this on the General Discussion thread never learn?]

Sidd Finch · 06-02-2003, 08:57 PM

[Moved to the Tucker Max thread. Sidd, you may not like this multiple-thread business, but if I've told you once, I told you a thousand times that it's important to follow the rules around here.]

Atticus Grinch · 06-02-2003, 09:05 PM

[Moved to the Tucker Max thread.]

06-04-2003, 03:24 AM

Court Excoriates Both Judge and Defense Counsel

Having just finished reading today's 21-page opinion from California's Fourth District Court of Appeal, all I can say is "WOW"! It's quite a page turner. Miguel Hernandez was injured at work. Later, a physician, Richard M. Paicius, who was treating him for pain resulting from two surgeries on the initial injury, allegedly injured him again. He sued for malpractice. Mr. Hernandez was an illegal alien, but that was irrelevant to his case and defendant's potential liability, as he did not claim any lost earnings. But the judge, in an extraordinary colloquy, refused to grant a motion excluding evidence of plaintiff's immigration status, and betrayed his own extreme bias in the process. The appellate court rakes the trial judge, James M. Brooks, over the coals.

But it gets worse. Plaintiff's expert witness, Dr. Aengst, was also defense counsel's client in several malpractice actions against him! Despite that (and despite her duty of loyalty to him), defense counsel, Constance A. Endelicato (a partner at her law firm), absolutely devastated Dr. Aengst on the witness stand, largely through her own improper testimony (based on inadmissible evidence) about the malpractice cases against him, including at least some in which she represented him! I have never seen stronger disapproval in an appellate court opinion. Not only did the Court order its clerk to report her to the state bar, but it ordered her to report herself! Hernandez v. Paicius is worth the time it will take to read it. And I'll bet you won't stop reading until the end!

Get linked to the whole sordid story:

http://www.weirdofthenews.blogspot.c....html#95265439

Sidd Finch · 06-04-2003, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by HeadLight
But it gets worse. Plaintiff's expert witness, Dr. Aengst, was also defense counsel's client in several malpractice actions against him! Despite that (and despite her duty of loyalty to him), defense counsel, Constance A. Endelicato (a partner at her law firm), absolutely devastated Dr. Aengst on the witness stand, largely through her own improper testimony (based on inadmissible evidence) about the malpractice cases against him, including at least some in which she represented him!

Fascinating. Almost made me break my rule against reading blogs.

One has to wonder why plaintiff's medmal lawyer would use an expert that was a def in several malpractice cases.

Seems crazy to me, though it's not my area of practice. At the very least, though, the expert should have disclosed that he was rep'd by def counsel before.

Tyrone Slothrop · 06-05-2003, 05:43 PM

The Recorder reports that Bingham McCutchen is in merger talks with Riordan & McKinzie, an LA firm with ~75 attorneys co-founded by the former mayor and teenybopper heartthrob. (I've linked to the front page; subscription required to read the article.)

AngryMulletMan · 06-05-2003, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop
The Recorder reports that Bingham McCutchen is in merger talks with Riordan & McKinzie, an LA firm with ~75 attorneys co-founded by the former mayor and teenybopper heartthrob. (I've linked to the front page; subscription required to read the article.)

I get the feeling that the former McDungeon is like a cheap ho, standing on the street corner calling out "Merge with me, Baby!"

Somebody over there has an unquenched urge to merge.

06-05-2003, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
At the very least, though, the expert should have disclosed that he was rep'd by def counsel before.

Truth in advertising department: After all, his name is Dr. Angst. (close enough, anyway)

HH

(Don't even get me started on Dr. Freud....)

frodo corleone · 06-06-2003, 03:52 PM

Can anyone with knowledge give me any insight on the litigation (particularly IP litigation) practice groups of the following SF/SV firms (work load, partners personality, business development, opportunity to work outside specialty)? Thanks in advance.

Altheimer
Pennie
Sonnenschein
Weil

Tyrone Slothrop · 06-06-2003, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by frodo corleone
Can anyone with knowledge give me any insight on the litigation (particularly IP litigation) practice groups of the following SF/SV firms (work load, partners personality, business development, opportunity to work outside specialty)? Thanks in advance.

Altheimer
Pennie
Sonnenschein
Weil

If you run a search you might pick up more here about Weil. I've heard that there SV office gets very good work, but you will have long hours and that it's not a pleasant place to be at all. About Weil generally, I've heard that the partners do not get along with each other well, and are constantly sparring about stuff, which makes for a less-than-ideal work environment.

Sidd Finch · 06-06-2003, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AngryMulletMan
Somebody over there has an unquenched urge to merge.

Dude. Don't we all?