Corporate Governance

Sometimes, you just need to think about cats to have a good day....

Posted on February 03, 2009
Take a look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF8LqoIC_5k. Our cat Shadow eats wheat toast. We should video that sometime, but at 5 a.m., we're too groggy.See also this, which reminds me of Grace. Enjoy!

Today's moment of validation . . . .

Posted on January 30, 2009
Take a look at Jonathan Glater's article in this morning's NYT (here), which describes the changing world of law firm economics.A side note: I was a Morrison & Foerster associate when Carl Leonard (mentioned in the article) was the managing partner...

I'm still exhorbitantly priced (and worth it!), but here's a new record.

Posted on January 29, 2009
See here. It's not the billing amount per se that I'm sure everyone's going to watch, but what bang for the buck folks get for those rates.

Hitting close to home

Posted on January 29, 2009
Just read about Morrison & Foerster's recent layoffs (see here). I learned so much from my time at MoFo (yes, that's its nickname), and I sure feel for the folks there, as well as for folks laid off in other law firms and other business sectors. It's a scary world right now.

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Why I'm so proud of Rice University, part n

Posted on January 29, 2009
In an earlier post (here), I bragged about what Rice is doing to help with the global health crisis. If you'd like to see a video of what Rice, through Rebecca Richards-Kortum's program, is doing, click here for more on Rice 360.Bravo, Rice!

A cautionary tale about law firm economics

Posted on January 26, 2009
Today's Wall Street Journal has a front page article on the economic pressures facing law firms (here), with a particular focus on Heller Ehrman's demise.I knew many of the folks at Heller, having been a summer clerk there in the mid-1980s. The folks whom I knew were bright, talented, and dedicated, but clearly those attributes aren't enough to manage large businesses in tricky economic times...

Finally--graphic proof!

Posted on January 24, 2009
more music chartsActually, we think that the green part of the graph should be much, much smaller. Thanks, GraphJam!

Why the State of Nevada needs a strong higher education system.

Posted on January 24, 2009
I'm heading home to Las Vegas this afternoon, having attended the Winter Board Meeting of the Association of Rice Alumni. This afternoon's meeting included a talk by Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Bioengineering. She described the many ways in which Rice University professors' research can be used to address global health issues (water-borne diseases, the high costs of getting technology to the medical personnel in developing countries who need them, etc...

An opportunity to give Jon Ralston your thoughts about the proposed cuts to higher education

Posted on January 22, 2009
See here. I've voted in this poll. You might want to do so, too. Thanks!

More on Nevada's budget crisis

Posted on January 21, 2009
My colleague Sylvia Lazos (here) just reminded us of an interview that our Dean, John Valery White (here) gave to In Business Las Vegas last semester (here), in which he quite rightly pointed out how devastating more budget cuts would be for our law school...

A shout-out to Jack Ayer (and Ed Fein)!

Posted on January 21, 2009
Jack Ayer's blog, Underbelly (here) is always delightful (as is Jack!), and in one recent post (here), Jack, well, deconstructs a cute joke that Ed Fein (who collects groanable but funny jokes) had sent along to me. Well, Jack, your post made me think that I "got a flucky," too.

A shout-out to my dance teacher, Sergei Shapoval

Posted on January 21, 2009
Sergei's blog (here) was nice enough to give me a shout-out (here), and I wanted to return the favor. Thanks, Sergei!

Score: 13 pounds of cat, 1; two adult humans, 0

Posted on January 20, 2009
Our girl Grace (on left) was supposed to be on diet cat food. After four days of a hunger strike (hers--not ours), we finally called our vet, who told us to give up on the diet food and just give her less of the regular food. We are still trying to figure out which one of us gave her the "stubborn" gene...

Thanks, Wild Wild Law!

Posted on January 17, 2009
Just wanted to thank Wild Wild Law for letting me join the blog. Thanks!

I have never been "cool."

Posted on January 17, 2009
And I'm still not cool. But seeing this WAS cool. Here's a pic of my buddy Arnold Peter (of Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon LLP) at the AMEC Awards, which counts as one of my top-ten evenings of all time. Thanks, 944!

A shout-out to Las Vegas's own James Patrick Shea

Posted on January 17, 2009
Who's in a great article in today's Las Vegas Sun about the epidemic of bankruptcies. See here. Bravo, Jim! Check out Jim and Candace Carlyon's firm here.

And here's a partial list of the "good guys" in business ethics

Posted on January 16, 2009
See here.

You heard it here (and in a lot of other places) first....

Posted on January 16, 2009
But the economy, coupled with the structure of law firms and their reliance on billable hours, is creating an environment in which a lot of formerly strong firms may well collapse. See here.

Dear government of the State of Nevada: some thoughts

Posted on January 15, 2009
I know that you're struggling right now with a horrifyingly bad economy, and you're trying to minimize the pain to Nevada's citizens. I don't envy you your choices, because you're at the point where you're deciding between choices that are devastating and those that are merely awful...

And today's thought on the bailout....

Posted on January 14, 2009
Hat tip to my buddy Ed Fein for passing this one along (see here).

Why it's important to proofread, part 2

Posted on January 14, 2009
Why one should proofread before sending a document out, part 2 (see here). (For part 1, see this post.)

Why it's important to proofread, part 1

Posted on January 14, 2009
See here. Hat tip to Seymour Serebnick, my buddy who sends me all sorts of cool stuff. For a lovely take on why this mistake would count as a CLM (career-limiting move), see here.

Thanks, AMEC!

Posted on January 13, 2009
I had a wonderful time at the 4th Annual Counsel of the Year awards last Friday. For information about this year's awards, see here. For pictures, see here. (Yes, that's my dance teacher, Sergei Shapoval, with me in one of the photos. I brought a real-live artist with me, as my hubby Jeff was giving firearms instruction to my cousin visiting from NYC that weekend...

Newsflash: Skilling loses appeal but will get resentenced

Posted on January 06, 2009
See the story here. The Westlaw cite for the opinion is 2009 WL 22879.

A shameless plug for the Seventh Annual DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal Symposium

Posted on January 02, 2009
Seventh Annual DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal Symposium--Into the Sunset: Bankruptcy as Scriptwriter of the Dénouement of Financial DistressThursday, April 16, 2009, 10:30 a.m. ? 5:00 p.m., Westin Michigan Avenue, 909 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IllinoisFor Better or Worse: Chapter 11 in the Post-BAPCPA Downturn BAPCPA, the 2005 Bankruptcy Code overhaul, brought some significant changes to corporate reorganization, leading some to dub Chapter 11 as the "National Foreclosure Act...

Texas Bowl--a picture is worth 1,000 words

Posted on December 31, 2008
Rice 38, Western Michigan 14

Can someone please help me find a link to this really funny Cinemax promo?

Posted on December 27, 2008
I just saw a "happy holidays" promo on Cinemax that was a spoof of former Soviet propaganda about the West, but I can't find a link to it anywhere. If you know of the link, can you please let me know? Thanks!

Fun at the Holiday Dance Classic 2008

Posted on December 24, 2008
See here, here, and here. Thanks, SuperShag!

Shameless self-promotion

Posted on December 24, 2008
Our second edition of the Corporate Scandals book is coming out next month, thanks to the hard work of Foundation Press: see here.

A shout-out to the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC)

Posted on December 08, 2008
AMEC (here) is the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel, which was created to advance the professional development and to recognize the achievements of in-house legal counsel within the media and entertainment industry. It's a marvelous organization for networking and education, and I'm looking forward to attending the 2008 Counsel of the Year Awards out in LA this coming January...

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