tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85783702673006330552024-03-21T19:06:31.130-07:00O'Melveny & Myers's lack of ethicsA compilation of news clippings to help you understand this firm. By a former O'Melveny attorney, law professor and Wall Street Journal Lawyer of the Year.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-52341424009142671932023-08-20T06:35:00.002-07:002023-08-22T23:43:32.998-07:00Introduction and summary<span><span face=""><span> Welcome and thank you for visiting. I am an attorney who used to work at O'Melveny & Myers. I was so surprised by what I saw there that I took on the role of amateur journalist and started this website. It's one of those acts that takes little time, but might do some good by shining a light. </span></span><span face=""><span><span face=""><span>Below is a summary, which I hope you find informative.</span></span></span></span></span><div><br /></div><div><span><span face=""><span><i><b>They like to silence people</b></i></span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span> According <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/10/omelveny-dan-petrocelli-harvey-weinstein.html">to the New York Times</a>, an </span><span>O'Melveny attorney used violent imagery to threaten a sexual abuse victim into silence, as her assailant watched. This led to an additional decade of sexual abuse by the assailant, and the attorney became a go-to hire for rich men accused of sexual assault (links <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/08/omelveny-sexual-harassment-CBS-Les-Moonves.html">one</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/10/omelveny-omm-sexual-harassment-assault-guess.html">two</a>.) The above may have influenced the attorney's own son, who <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/01/omelveny-omm-dan-petrocelli-son-adam-arrested.html">was arrested</a> for violating a domestic violence restraining order. Later, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/09/omelveny-omm-dan-petrocelli-trump-case.html">Mother Jones revealed</a> that this same attorney chose not to stop a client's racist comments about a judge. This person is </span></span></span>chair of O'Melveny's Trial Practice Committee and vice chair of the firm.</div><div><br /></div><div> Threatening people into silence seems to be part of an O'Melveny lawyer's toolset. For example, the inspector general <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/07/omelveny-michael-walsh-commerce-department-general-counsel-sharpiegate.html">chided an O'Melveny alumnus</a> for threatening scientists in a way that had "life and death consequences." </div><div><br /></div><div><span face=""> In fact, O'Melveny was at the forefront of the document used to silence victims -- the mandatory arbitration and nondisclosure agreement. Although three federal courts told O'Melveny that its document was </span><span face="">"unconscionable" (cases </span><span face=""><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PRZUmt4of2GbZELy86HTBn5KClTb7UjKWxPeePen60ZDyL2h6-eWzwlkQcwPSdG4oOPq6Q5JPFKvCNwWJegMQsv5I3F2VRMUXXv-Pj-N3dzLs18UXZhfhuZ6z4xe5q2wNdnYwLTvQzg/s1600/davis+v+o%2527melveny.JPG">one</a>, </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXNyxgvPTzG2X7n8FL9OXkAtlbwfiJ_Vrubo-1bF_jgHFiBHRP6KCUd9Av0Eyn05FuKaPAvbaUwgSDTtIZkl6l7iFZUvq97PvfneI4p6oa2_CPExAmRxI-WWH7OANiUbcr31CT66cSD4Y/s1600/kanbar+v+o%2527melveny.JPG">two</a> and<span face=""> </span><a href="https://www.law.com/nationallawjournal/almID/900005493896/?slreturn=20191027111509">three</a><span face="">) -- O’Melveny continued to force its employees to sign it until 2018, when law students <a href="http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_law_schools_ask_law_firms_to_disclose_arbitration_agreements_for_summer">pressured all law firms to abandon this practice</a>.</span><br /><div><br /></div><div> They will even contrive claims to intimidate people into silence. For example, after I published this website, they <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/04/their-general-counsel-martin-checov.html">accused me of</a> the federal crime of stealing confidential information – without any digital evidence that I even accessed the data they accused me of taking. When I reminded them that they won't have much of a case without evidence, they <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/06/another-threatening-letter-from-omelveny_18.html">threatened me with a defamation lawsuit</a>. But when I asked them to identify a specific defamatory statement so that I could retract it, they refused to do so. And that's not the first time they attacked an employee who talked about their problematic practices. According to <span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOmyZJgpQuuU4t13WhYE9fN9mPIWJW0o6Hky-4NSt2oPnjl7eeoy1ZEtmO7KiP4Qx4vVpHshctFCqA6R0f6NmECnhhZwxaxY0TPoPatcOgnXgMQHysjupXZxIKVH6R0ESQef-qQiODME/s1600/omelveny+tracking+computers.JPG">this article</a>, they even launched a "witch hunt" to find <span face="">an employee who complained anonymously.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div><span face=""><span><i><b>The quality of O'Melveny's legal work</b></i></span></span></div><div><span face=""><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span> O'Melveny's legal services might not always be of the highest quality. For example, per <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/09/omelveny-omm-bankruptcy-restructuring-governor-newsom-pge-wildfire.html">ABC News's Sacramento affiliate</a>, O'Melveny's lacking advice embarrassed the governor's office and cost California wildfire victims billions of dollars; a judge devoted a paragraph of <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/09/judge-criticizes-omelvenys-lack-of.html">his opinion</a> to criticizing O'Melveny's lack of professionalism; a letter O'Melveny wrote on behalf of a client was so "absurd" that it <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/10/omelveny-omm-employment-law-case.html">caught the attention of</a> reporters; and they couldn't even handle a child sexual abuse matter without <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykVOUhUbghjiM-80nItn8AojaHFnFfYTt6rxrEwyGlO3h7ficCZ4PZfpS-zgQejkLSAnYMdkIUXd7C6aozw884eA8E0kPl95FjcJNOwuehw-ne3ObvpN7tpBJ3qXHcPvh9us0n3Sc_cI/s1600/o%2527melveny-poly-prep-sexual-abuse.JPG">being accused of</a> serious improprieties. These items made it into the news during the period that I wrote this blog, but this has been going on for decades. For example, the city of Los Angeles <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-17-mn-11246-story.html">sued them</a> for malpractice back in 1999.</span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span face=""><span> The firm also has a history of conducting reportedly sham "independent investigations." For example, see this <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/07/omelveny-adam-karr-sexual-harassment-investigation.html">story in Corporate Counsel</a> accusing O'Melveny partner Adam Karr of conducting a sham investigation of sexual abuse at Lionsgate. A saint of a woman returned over a million dollars to break her confidentiality agreement and reveal that information. Or see these stories about a woman who learned that her alleged sexual assaulter's personal lawyer (O'Melveny) had been hired to "independently investigate" whether he assaulted her (links <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/02/omelveny-sexual-harassment-investigation.html">one</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/10/omelveny-omm-sexual-harassment-assault-guess.html">two</a>.) Or s</span></span>ee <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/omelveny-omm-white-collar-independent-investigation-portland-trailblazers.html">this story in ESPN</a> about a backlash that followed O'Melveny's suspicious independent investigation in the Portland Trailblazer organization. Or see this story <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/03/omelveny-alumnus-white-collar-investigations.html">about an O'Melveny alumnus</a> who was arrested by the FBI, as he tried to negotiate his fee for an independent investigation. </div><div><div><span>
<span face=""><span><br /></span></span><span face=""><i><b>Money</b></i></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""> The firm has a <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/12/profits-per-partner-law-firm30.html">money-obsessed</a> culture, which they called "eat what you kill." Its lawyers would constantly search the dockets for new cases, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/12/omelveny-omm-biden-harris-enforcement-doj.html">hoping that</a> one of their clients got sued, and then rush to pitch for the work. Sometimes they might go further. For example, query whether they <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/12/profits-per-partner-law-firm30.html">needlessly dragged out</a> an alleged rape victim's case to maximize billable hours, and then bragged about the money they made off of her <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/02/omelveny-title-ix-sexual-assault.html">in a press release</a>. </span><span face="">Or query whether they were the <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/05/omelveny-culture.html">only defense firm</a> to drag out the Oklahoma opioid crisis case, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/07/omelveny-profits-per-partner-opioid-trial.html">damaging</a> their <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/09/omelveny-profits-per-partner-opioid-trial.html">client's reputation</a> and likely resulting in thousands of avoidable deaths, to maximize billable hours. </span></span></div><div><br /></div><div> Naturally, O'Melveny's partners are exceedingly cheap. For example, they upset law students by <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/05/omelveny-omm-brad-butwin-summer-associate-compensation-pay-recruiting.html">cutting summer associate pay</a> by about $10,000, and replacing it with a $10,000 loan from the partners. That financial maneuver boosted partner profits by about 0.24%. So a partner who would have made $2,000,000 in that year now made about $4,800 more, as a result of reducing summer associate pay by $10,000.</div><div><br /></div><div> For a numerical example of the feast or famine manner in which one O'Melveny group allocated profits among its partners, see <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/10/omelveny-salary-careers-profits-per-partner.html">this post</a>. Here <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/01/what-omelveny-partners-profit.html">you will find</a> an example of an O'Melveny partner's compensation package, and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/02/what-all-those-retired-of-counsels-make.html">here is an example</a> of a retired of counsel's compensation package. </div><div><span><div><br /></div><div><div><span><i><b>They corrupt government</b></i></span></div><div><span><br /></span></div><div><span> Ingrained in O'Melveny's culture was the idea that a government job isn’t accepted to serve the voters, the public, or the country – it’s taken to serve yourself, and the people who pay you. For example, an O'Melveny attorney once shared <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">their plan to "monetize"</a> a government position. </span>Or see <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/04/brian-brooks-used-his-position-in.html">these</a> two <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/06/omelvenys-used-car-salesman-culture-on.html">posts</a> about another O'Melveny attorney who used a government position for his own personal purposes. O'Melveny has also repeatedly tried to change case law to make it harder to prosecute public officials who engage in quid pro quo corruption (cases <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/03/judge-rejects-omelvenys-attempt-to_9.html">one</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/08/omelveny-friend-thomas-barrack-arrested_9.html">two</a> and <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/supreme-court-to-hear-bribery-appeal-of-ex-cuomo-aide/">three</a>.) It doesn't always work out though; one of O'Melveny's friends <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/08/omelveny-friend-thomas-barrack-arrested_9.html">got arrested by the FBI for</a> trying to use his government access to benefit a client.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><span face=""> When serving in the Department of Justice, an O'Melveny practice group leader reportedly <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">lied to</a> a federal court on an important issue in the nation's history. Once caught in that lie by the discovery of documents, he <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">gave a radio interview</a> criticizing the Geneva Convention.</span><br /><span face=""><br /></span></div><div><div><i><b>Diversity</b></i></div></div></span></div><div><div><span face=""><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span face=""><span><span> O'Melveny claims to support diversity by following the Mansfield Rule in hiring, but <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/05/omelveny-diversity-culture-hiring-recruitment-rooney-rule-mansfield-rule.html">their track record</a> suggests otherwise. </span></span></span>O'Melveny also hired two partners who were <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/04/omelveny-welcomes-back-attorney-accused_22.html">sued for discrimination</a>, by a Latina single mother, at their prior firm. It also seems to follow the <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/04/if-minority-sues-for-rape-or.html">too-common practice</a> of assigning minorities to cases where they have to fight someone of their own group.</div><div><br /></div><div> I also <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/05/omelveny-diversity-culture-hiring-recruitment-rooney-rule-mansfield-rule.html">list the players</a> in the lucrative "law firm diversity marketing" industry, how much each charges for their stamp of approval, and what their executives make per year. </div><div><span face=""><span>
<span face=""><br /></span><span face=""><span><span><div><i><b>Pro bono</b></i></div></span><span><span face=""><span><span><div><span><div><br /></div><div> O'Melveny claims to support pro bono work, but <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/12/omelveny-omm-wrongful-termination-lawsuit.html">an attorney said</a> they fired him because he spent too much time on pro bono matters. See also <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/08/omelveny-culture.html">this post</a> about its director of pro bono who, despite a career in legal aid and other pro bono efforts, lives in a $5 million house in Beverly Hills, which might lead to fair questions about how much money he took out of those ostensibly charitable endeavors. </div></span></div><div><div></div><div><span face=""><span><span><br /></span></span></span></div></div><span><div><i><b>Employee wellness</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div> The firm claims to support employee wellness, but its stinginess and environment may interfere with that goal. For example, according to <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/02/medical-center-has-to-send-debt.html">this lawsuit</a>, it provides employees with cheap medical insurance; and one of the firm's <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/09/omelveny-peloton-omm-compensation-salary-pay-profits1.html">most widely publicized</a> wellness efforts amounted to nothing more than a $13 per month Peloton plan. It's also sort of a difficult place to work. For example, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/01/what-omelveny-partners-profit.html">an attorney made partner after derailing</a> the careers of a half-dozen associates; and here are <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/05/i-work-with-omelvenys-self-styled.html">two</a> other <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/03/omelveny-partners-have-their-own.html">posts</a> about the kinds of personalities that thrive there; really, every post on this blog is about the challenges of working there. </div><div><br /></div><div> In fact, it might not be the place to go for wellness. For example, see <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/01/omelveny-careers-recruiting.html">these messages by</a> a woman who lost her health while working there, or <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcy1QHvLvZbgossW3GorB5bH_WsG8p8MXFD9vW9unozKGhkJH7g3ErrBbHB5-CyfNtuFY0M9BsmE3F9-_s4hmrn0CJjHwmJToUxF9bL_oMNbU0P_w9NR9HfhfncqkN9gnigGDB4iBI_sU/s1600/o%2527melveny+have+to+leave.JPG">this story about</a> an O'Melveny attorney who suffered health problems to the point where she was rocking back and forth, whispering: "I have to quit O'Melveny." The firm's chief operating officer <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/08/omelvenys-coo-george-demos-almost.html">also shared</a> a chilling story from his time at O'Melveny.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><i><b>Marketing</b></i></span><span><div><br /></div><span> The firm seems to put a lot of effort into public relations. For example, a</span><span>round 2016, it <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/07/vault-tells-minorities-to-work-for.html">started giving itself</a> the highest scores in Vault's self-graded rankings, so as to rise to the top of those rankings, after which it issued <a href="https://www.omm.com/our-firm/media-center/press-releases/vault-names-omelveny-best-firm-to-work-for-and-best-summer-associate-program-in-2019-survey/">press releases</a> celebrating that victory. Of course, you can't fool all of the people all of the time, and so that effort </span>led to <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/05/omelveny-omm-vault-ranking-salary-compensation-summer-program.html">complaints from</a> law students who felt misled by what they thought was an <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/06/omelveny-vault-best-firm-to-work-for.html">undeservedly</a> high score. Then another firm decided to copy O'Melveny's gamesmanship, and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/07/mcdermott-will-emery-ridicules-vaults.html">started giving itself</a> the highest scores too. That firm <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/07/mcdermott-will-emery-ridicules-vaults.html">rose from</a> a low position in the rankings to the number one spot in all of them, even ahead of O'Melveny, in only one year. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span face=""><span><span face=""><span><span><span face=""><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span face=""><span><span face=""><span><span><span face=""><span><span><span> As a result of all this manipulation, the Vault rankings no longer meant anything. A few months after the second firm's chicanery, Vault <a href="https://firsthand.co/blogs/general-articles/introducing-the-new-firsthand-brand-and-platform">changed its name</a> to "Firsthand" and, based on the timing, I wonder if they did that to try and reboot their rankings' lost reputation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div> O'Melveny also tries to manipulate journalists into advertising for the firm. Here is their manager of public relations <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sharon-berman/law-firm-marketing-catalyst/e/56326548">explaining how to do this</a> on the show, "Law firm marketing catalyst." Some of the resulting articles are <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/05/omelveny-omm-brad-butwin-summer-associate-compensation-pay-recruiting.html">provably false</a>. The firm was even <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/08/omelveny-myers-culture-blog-marketing.html">lambasted in the press</a> for trying to remove truthful information from Wikipedia, of all things.<br /><span face=""><span><span face=""><span><span><span face=""><span><span><span><div><br /></div></span><div><i><b>Other random posts about O'Melveny</b></i></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div> The firm <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/10/omelveny-omm-blog-los-angeles-mayor-eric-garcetti-city-attorney-mike-feuer.html">gives favorable treatment</a> to some associates, especially those from prominent families. <span>A highly respected partner joined O'Melveny with great fanfare, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/07/omelveny-omm-restructuring-bankruptcy.html">only to leave</a> two months later and return to his old firm. O'Melveny <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/08/omelveny-myers-and-allen-overy-two.html">tried</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/09/omelveny-allen-overy-merger.html">failed</a> to merge with the giant multi-national firm of Allen & Overy. The firm <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/04/another-case-in-which-omelveny-fights_89.html">worked on two cases</a> against alleged Chinese torture victims. And </span><a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/06/career-development-at-omelveny.html">here is a post</a> is about O'Melveny's human resources and career development personnel. </div><div><br /></div></span><span></span><div><i><b>Not the first time</b></i></div></span></span><span face=""><div><span face=""><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span face=""><span> If you think this website is unusual, please note that I'm not the first person to do this. The late Judge Stephen Reinhardt <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/03/the-late-judge-reinhardts-experiences.html">expressed his public disgust</a> with things he saw at O'Melveny back in the 1980s. A legal recruiter, whose livelihood depends on ingratiating himself to law firms, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcy1QHvLvZbgossW3GorB5bH_WsG8p8MXFD9vW9unozKGhkJH7g3ErrBbHB5-CyfNtuFY0M9BsmE3F9-_s4hmrn0CJjHwmJToUxF9bL_oMNbU0P_w9NR9HfhfncqkN9gnigGDB4iBI_sU/s1600/o%2527melveny+have+to+leave.JPG">publicly shared</a> a shocking story from O'Melveny.</span></span> <span face=""><span>An O'Melveny attorney <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/01/omelveny-careers-recruiting.html">used twitter</a> to talk about everything they lost while working there. </span></span><span face=""><span>And there's more that I haven't said, </span></span>because I do not have hard evidence and don't want to be caught in a "he said, she said" defamation case (see the first section above), or because the person who shared the information asked me not to post it here. I'm largely restricted to writing about things that made it into the news, which may be the tip of the iceberg.</div><div><br /></div><span face=""><span><div><i><b>The legal profession in general</b></i></div><div><br /></div><div> Not all of the posts are about O'Melveny; some are about law in general. A few posts compare law to other professions. For example, this <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/01/omelveny-omm-greg-jacob-mike-pence-covid-task-force.html">post explains</a> how to "think like a lawyer," and contrasts that with approaches used by other fields. This post is about <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/04/diversity-law-amy-wax-penn-law-exchange.html">my exchange with</a> Penn Law professor Amy Wax, after which I imagine a world where she taught tech instead of a law. <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/02/another-example-of-reporters-fixing.html">This post</a> is about the award-winning movie I Care a Lot, and how sometimes the justice system creates or prolongs injustice, until a reporter exposes and fixes the problem. </div><div><br /></div><div> This <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/08/the-world-of-banking-lawyers.html">post</a> adds to the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=bank+regulatory+capture&oq=bank+regulatory+capture">long list of articles</a> about regulatory capture, and chronicles the careers of a handful of bank regulatory lawyers who spun the revolving door to riches. It also recalls how lawyers <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/08/the-world-of-banking-lawyers.html">have been history's worst</a> Federal Reserve chairs. Here, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/01/elon-musk-tesla-cooley-associate-sec-enforcement.html">you'll find</a> the story of a lawyer who tried to fight regulatory capture, and the consequences he faced.</div><div><br /></div><div> I spend a few posts on torture, for example <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/06/bank-of-america-david-leitch-attorney.html">this post</a> is about Bank of America's former General Counsel David Leitch, who told me that I would never work for his organization because I criticized his friend on torture, and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">these</a> two <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/06/greg-jacob-judge-michael-luttig.html">posts</a> are about my experiences with the aforementioned friend and other related parties, such as former Fifth Circuit Judge Michael Luttig.</div><div><br /></div><div> I also spend some time on the opioid crisis. <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/12/winners-and-losers-in-americas-opioid.html">This post</a> is about the best-selling book Dopesick, which recounts how captured regulators, lobbyists and lawyers put their financial interests above their country to start and perpetuate the epidemic, which has killed half a million Americans so far. It also contrasts the United States' pliable regulators and lawyers with those of Europe, who rejected efforts to expand the use of opioids, saving their continent from the same fate. <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/01/covington-burling-eric-holder-hogan-lovells-neal-katyal_3.html">This post</a> summarizes articles accusing former Attorney General Eric Holder of covering up the opioid crisis back in 2004, when it would have been easier to stop. And this <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/10/omelveny-omm-johnson-johnson-opioid-trial-oklahoma.html">post compares the crisis</a> to the opium epidemic that ended China's High Qing golden age and started the worst century in its history, although hopefully the United States can recover with less damage. </div><div><br /></div><div> Finally, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/only-omelveny-omm-stories3.html">this post</a> is about how unpleasant it was to write this blog, which is why I eventually <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/07/lawyers-are-just-pawns-in-fights-among.html">retired it</a>. </div></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span face=""><span><span face=""><span><span><span face=""> </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">Brad Butwin, Dan Petrocelli, Brian Boyle, Adam Karr, omm, omelveny, Brandon Jacobsen</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3ls0a3nTYxTFgxFA41CCp4cZ1crU9cYqkeBpKhq1d3bvdfZT-6uAlGG9D8WojxnMAqBmzz6fAfbuyI4S7kCfWqssJJ8wg7IZ_7gW8M4HykkT6ot6hfpg6y6UBYuiAEB45dfV3Xz6QD4/s1600/o%2527melveny+blog.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="850" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3ls0a3nTYxTFgxFA41CCp4cZ1crU9cYqkeBpKhq1d3bvdfZT-6uAlGG9D8WojxnMAqBmzz6fAfbuyI4S7kCfWqssJJ8wg7IZ_7gW8M4HykkT6ot6hfpg6y6UBYuiAEB45dfV3Xz6QD4/s640/o%2527melveny+blog.jpg" width="640" /><br /></a><br /><br />
</div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comLos Angeles, CA, USA34.0522342 -118.243684933.2099567 -119.5345784 34.8945117 -116.95279140000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-45632278625632169942023-08-20T06:34:00.000-07:002023-08-22T23:37:08.858-07:00Retiring this blog I'm going to go ahead and do something I've been wanting to do <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/only-omelveny-omm-stories3.html">for a while</a>, retire this blog. So this will be the last entry. If you would like more such reading material, please see <a href="https://law.duke.edu/academics/course/section/2023/spring/611.49">the syllabus</a> of a new course being taught at Duke Law School. <div><br /></div><div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oRNz020X3x6vCcb9Hrech2ZRDj57U9ITX7KlH7F_Y0qaXYEDTVWiitnzRoBb5X6b_1SFPJ0iyfaohbWafIi9e9QYbQY_mPauq_PTiy7ZCQs2TxXD_9Aam5cF3b9t2klfjacUkM2pS3oKLF3Gxi1p_TewUuWzSaIwdFm60YDzwRb-0wIngHELw0Fj/s916/farewell.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="916" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oRNz020X3x6vCcb9Hrech2ZRDj57U9ITX7KlH7F_Y0qaXYEDTVWiitnzRoBb5X6b_1SFPJ0iyfaohbWafIi9e9QYbQY_mPauq_PTiy7ZCQs2TxXD_9Aam5cF3b9t2klfjacUkM2pS3oKLF3Gxi1p_TewUuWzSaIwdFm60YDzwRb-0wIngHELw0Fj/w400-h131/farewell.JPG" width="400" /><br /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-19215462092531870102023-08-19T06:33:00.007-07:002023-09-20T20:14:50.412-07:00O'Melveny's chief operating officer almost killed himself<div> Following up on <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/03/omelveny-partners-have-their-own.html">the prior post</a> about not expecting sympathy from O'Melveny's partners, because they have their own problems . . . the firm's chief operating officer ("COO") recently <a href="https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/aba-journal-legal-rebels/2023/08/changing-the-culture-at-law-firms-to-promote-wellness-and-mental-well-being/">gave an interview</a>. In the interview, he <a href="https://legaltalknetwork.com/podcasts/aba-journal-legal-rebels/2023/08/changing-the-culture-at-law-firms-to-promote-wellness-and-mental-well-being/">talked about how he almost killed himself</a> due to a mix of personal issues and the stress of working at O'Melveny. </div><div><br /></div><div> I was wondering if I should add this, but I'm going to because he publicly disclosed it himself, and it's another piece of the puzzle of why O'Melveny is the way it is. As COO, he supervised many of the dirty dealings you see in this blog. Knowing this about his past might explain why he wasn't bothered by those events. </div><div><br /></div><div> Would he care, for example, that <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/12/omelveny-omm-wrongful-termination-lawsuit.html">an associate was abruptly fired despite meeting his hours requirement?</a> To your average person, that sounds terrible. Why would you fire someone who has done their job, and do so without any warning? Who treats employees that way? But Mr. Demos might respond to such queries with, "So what? That's nothing compared to what I went through." </div><div><br /></div><div> Would he care about being deceptive, for example when he touts the firm's wellness efforts despite the fact that O'Melveny provides <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/02/medical-center-has-to-send-debt.html">a cheap medical plan that pays Medicare rates</a>? Probably not. In the interview he said he "give[s] [him]self grace" (permission to do the wrong thing) as part of his mental health routine. And these are two of the more minor stories on this blog. </div><div><br /></div><div> Of course, not everyone responds to misfortune in this way. Some don't let their past impact their worldview. Some become even more sensitive to injustice, to try and prevent it from repeating. But based on the stories in this blog, Mr. Demos doesn't seem to be in those categories. He seems to be in the "well, that happened to me so why shouldn't misfortune befall others as well" category.</div><div> </div><div> And Mr. Demos didn't only impact associates. I remember a lunch in which a partner loudly complained about distributions for the entire time I was there. It was hard to ignore as he was using the voice I imagine he uses in combative cross examinations. I had never seen him that upset and animated. I want to be equivocal here as I don't know the details, the numbers, and he could have been wrong. But I do remember him complaining that he didn't receive something he thought he should have, trying to understand why, and blaming Mr. Demos. I vaguely recall him saying that another partner shared similar concerns. (Incidentally, both of the aforementioned partners left O'Melveny shortly thereafter.) The partner sitting with him, who seemed more connected to management, tried to reassure him by explaining the calculation. During that back and forth, the explaining partner added that the upset partner did not want to see what Mr. Demos could do if he really wanted to be unfair.</div><div><br /></div><div> As for the rest of Mr. Demos's interview . . . there was nothing of substance. Not a single new benefit, new employee right, or anything of value. His main goal seemed to be to network with in-house counsel. I wouldn't be surprised if one of his motivations was to drum up work. At the end of the interview he gave out his email address and asked people to contact him to discuss the topic further. It would be interesting to see who did, and whether he filtered respondents into categories like "possible revenue" and "no benefit to knowing this person" for his follow-ups.</div><div><br /></div><div> Anyway, there's another clue in trying to understand why this firm is the way it is. And again, please be careful about expecting sympathy or empathy from these folks; as you can see, it's not all rosy in their world. </div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">George Demos, O'Melveny benefits, O'Melveny culture</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97McmRjAQr__XA_anCa-FSBb_GOE6IqFu3eT1f59Cl490bJw0YRWauFjOtAVtHd2uwLLvRyAZU8J9LldPb3uoc5aeCSn0dxooI5xSVv_NOUdmcsoQXh6BSWWVKoLLrxocFNKjlRBq4ywqIqt6v0cUZEy_kA-50ux_evUIfrT7hf4d_ggGef9An0xS_WQ/s872/image_2023-08-17_060601749.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="803" data-original-width="872" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97McmRjAQr__XA_anCa-FSBb_GOE6IqFu3eT1f59Cl490bJw0YRWauFjOtAVtHd2uwLLvRyAZU8J9LldPb3uoc5aeCSn0dxooI5xSVv_NOUdmcsoQXh6BSWWVKoLLrxocFNKjlRBq4ywqIqt6v0cUZEy_kA-50ux_evUIfrT7hf4d_ggGef9An0xS_WQ/w640-h590/image_2023-08-17_060601749.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-36360932186638031892023-05-06T05:17:00.030-07:002023-05-27T17:15:53.959-07:00Artifice and the failure of First Republic Bank A recent bank failure shows the importance of candor in the securities markets. Please let me start by providing a timeline.<div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>On March 10, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/10/business/silicon-valley-bank-stock.html">Silicon Valley Bank failed</a> after customers rushed to withdraw their money, causing its deposits to fall to an unsustainably low level.</li><li>On March 12, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/12/business/signature-bank-collapse.html">Signature Bank failed</a> for the same reason.</li><li>As a result, investors became concerned about the deposits at other banks, including (a) Western Alliance Bancorporation, whose <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhtjj43YunMEK_cLvzVhPIEPMaIGIeCeJgf0nUjVdJdq090ErjXPO1tg569Y4fCNfZa1fZLLKuFRnGdpP1FvsrmQZNy0v3fdN5c0MNQgw3IRsxnkp2GdvIALi68rVzkyKO2bOB9j4DRR5Kx26RLK2iq-8dA9Oqp_89rjlEBuD2Rj3-6s2xRb1l0o4cH">stock price fell by 63%</a> between March 8 and March 13, (b) PacWest Bancorp, whose <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh2Agk_RYtAOeRTAZF4P9T_hdB82kxyisX0XHVUxGzE19yKjT4SBnuvsvuKT1OCC-4vDyjiOH5rBBXLV9T2Sqi_SYDvZuHZW1oNsz5ki9eHr7wDU38xnjzU-u6hnzzS5p_Hufg_2QRudt6gV8VKnCkwPS5hGh0Bl1hg84yLpGv37zdUmHbT9KVXpRfz">stock also fell 63%</a> between those two dates, and (c) First Republic Bank, whose <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_d2AtUaEU74vDlrR_Vw08SbF-nO8csZngL69_RLeg37H23Rktk7HZ66O4lPCE77tZNyR5rQzfsp1w2o6qwSoainifshP-Kg9Pv4SHcn4gO4hPYwaemvQZWbUm89KJlDXClSFhv84hHcNwhJ6yFRObwrmBGH41b6416xw-6hth3cXem8eELZFnPeYC">stock fell 73%</a> between those two dates.</li><li>To assuage concerns, First Republic Bank <a href="https://news.firstrepublic.com/news-releases/news-release-details/reinforcing-confidence-first-republic-bank">issued a statement on March 16</a> titled, "Reinforcing Confidence in First Republic Bank." It said the bank would receive $30 billion of deposits from a coalition of eleven large banks committed to preserving confidence in the banking system. Notably, it did not reveal how much deposits they had lost, only that $30 billion of deposits had been added. </li><li>Based on a google search, its <a href="https://news.firstrepublic.com/newsroom">press releases</a>, and its <a href="https://ir.firstrepublic.com/filings?gnav=globalheader;aboutus-filings">Securities and Exchange Commission filings</a>, First Republic did not issue a single additional statement on its deposit situation in the ensuing month.</li><li>On Monday April 24, First Republic was due to announce quarterly earnings in the afternoon. It would now have to disclose the amount of deposits it had lost. Presumably because the bank had said nothing for a month -- investors were optimistic and pushed the stock <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBdfasc-f1ZvyXu_jgEgW01-Ko7Nq8GK-6BbQ5uUpXBUzNMJl2b_Oapfg3_X4YeOofS-_W1I86sOpw7K_UY3iIcRmNXE2LpvV1beNiBFITM_smYi0maJ1AaB8KdHZaIQlqx9yH6vgCgcNu3KB8iyFyphQ41xSHxzWMBHzDI5UIHCPnGNf884aZ1c-q">from $14.27 in the morning to $16.00</a> right before the earnings release, a 12% increase in one trading day.</li><li>The <a href="https://ir.firstrepublic.com/static-files/013f57fb-b980-4353-bbb3-0e7a3b27f20a">earnings release</a> shocked investors. Analysts had <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/24/first-republic-says-deposits-tumbled-40percent-to-104point5-billion-in-1q-but-have-stabilized-since.html">expected on average $145 billion</a> in deposits, but <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/24/first-republic-says-deposits-tumbled-40percent-to-104point5-billion-in-1q-but-have-stabilized-since.html">the bank only had about $103 billion</a> of deposits. And this was after the $30 billion injection from the large banks. In addition, deposits had fallen to $104.5 billion <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEHgGSS6dz5awGV8e9uPmoFTzgQN4AHems_mF88jOOOuPmdfVlAMt9_fU2EBmxlU-ymhjCFwnW9Y1CtYnoyJs6l6_7fp9xxv3s5tS4UiBCOuB6UIpYrTesUdDqigyP5sQj1TFdst3zNYpR1cl9rzgAlqaNf3wOo8uRrgZHL53EKZQG5AoTUfrBNc_/s918/image_2023-05-06_053345668.png">on March 31</a>, so the bank was sitting on this information for almost a month. </li><li>During the <a href="https://seekingalpha.com/article/4596116-first-republic-bank-frc-q1-2023-earnings-call-transcript">earnings call</a>, the bank said "deposits ha[d] stabilized" and that it had plenty of liquidity. It also announced a three-part plan to "strengthen [its] business" for the future. But having lost trust in the bank's word, investors sold their positions. That night its stock fell by about 25%, and it just kept falling until the <a href="https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resolutions/bank-failures/failed-bank-list/first-republic.html">bank had to be taken over</a> by the FDIC a few days later. </li></ul></div><div><div> One wonders what would have happened if the bank had adopted a more honest communication strategy, rather than painting an overly rosy picture until it was forced to reveal everything. What would have happened if, rather than only touting the $30 billion infusion -- it also disclosed how much it had lost via deposit outflows? </div><div><br /></div><div> It's possible that if the bank's messaging was more trustworthy, investors would not have run for the doors in that final perilous week. If a company is honest with you, you can assess their plan and estimate a value for their stock. But if you can't trust what they say, that adds a layer of uncertainty that makes investing unworkable. (I should be clear that there were no outright lies in First Republic's releases; they were more like half-truths, i.e. they left out what some might consider relevant and important information.) </div><div><br /></div><div> You're probably wondering what any of this has to do with O'Melveny & Myers. Well, it might have nothing to do with them, but a few days go, it was revealed that O'Melveny started advising the bank in March. Per <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/davis-polk-team-advises-jpmorgan-on-purchase-of-first-republic">Monday's Bloomberg Law article</a>:</div><div><br /></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Following First Republic Bank’s issues back in March, a committee of the independent directors was convened and represented by O’Melveny & Myers, led by partners Daniel Petrocelli, Jarryd Anderson, Matthew Close, and Andor Terner.</i></div></div></div></blockquote><div><div><br /></div><div> Of course this doesn't prove that O'Melveny had anything to do with the bank's disclosure decisions. Granted, public confidence was the sole determinant of whether the bank would survive, so a lawyer advising the bank's directors might want to share a thought on that. And as you can see from the posts here, O'Melveny is not always the most trustworthy actor, so it might have had a hand in the bank's messaging. But I don't know what role O'Melveny played; maybe none; or who knows, maybe they tried to get First Republic to be more forthright and were turned down. Any comment on O'Melveny's role would be baseless speculation.</div><div><br /></div><div> I'll try to remember to check the regulatory reports to see if they reveal who devised the communication strategy. Regulators <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/bcreg20230428a.htm">issued</a> multiple <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106736">reports</a> on the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and they might issue one here as well. Whoever was responsible, it shows you how banks are the only type of business that can be celebrated one day, and impaired to the point that they have to be taken over by the government just a few days later.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOLdQJT8iYhTZpHqu5JNhNSOjLhDanbgwAJf7bawABGUr9RkoBalecn-iGnXctfnNOEiKvx9wMO8O8KYXtV3779D3yIszhPXW4EMV99_k9DaPXubJVL_qG9ysHs8jJpN3xT6-TCPNx6xCYkGmpJTuMCABvb8kdSyzNypFr9_OvEt_xsvunu7Pf-rS/s535/image_2023-05-02_061101967.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="526" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwOLdQJT8iYhTZpHqu5JNhNSOjLhDanbgwAJf7bawABGUr9RkoBalecn-iGnXctfnNOEiKvx9wMO8O8KYXtV3779D3yIszhPXW4EMV99_k9DaPXubJVL_qG9ysHs8jJpN3xT6-TCPNx6xCYkGmpJTuMCABvb8kdSyzNypFr9_OvEt_xsvunu7Pf-rS/w630-h640/image_2023-05-02_061101967.png" width="630" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-68252552486348302642023-03-31T01:38:00.063-07:002023-04-09T07:13:49.402-07:00Don't expect sympathy from O'Melveny's partners; they have their own problems<div> According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/law-firms-turn-to-layoffs-amid-slowing-demand-73684306">the Wall Street Journal</a>, law firms are conducting layoffs, some <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/cooley-layoffs-spotlight-risk-in-big-law-boom-bust-hiring-cycle">overt</a> and some <a href="https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1577565">"stealth."</a> So I guess now is a good time to do a post that's been shelved for a while. </div><div><br /></div><div> One day at lunch, an O'Melveny partner shared a story about a ski trip she went on with her children. One of them had gotten into a bad accident, I think he hit something, after which he complained of dizziness. She said that she ignored his concerns and ordered him to get right back up the hill, prefacing it with something like, "you know me." </div><div><br /></div><div> This woman worked on the firm's worst cases, ones where her job was to deny compensation for the most tragic and devastating of injuries. And associates complained about her, even to me, someone who had never worked in her group and had zero management authority. One said that after he turned in a brief, she would force him to sit there and watch her edit it line by line, even though he had other things he needed to get done that day. Another said that, during a trial where they stayed at a hotel and worked 80-100 hour weeks, this partner got upset when she saw attorneys taking a break around midnight at the hotel bar, and complained that they could be working on documents. </div><div><br /></div><div> Based on all this, I assumed she was just a tough person and consistent about it. No concern for the injured people she faced, the associates working for her, or her child's possible concussion. Maybe that was part of it, but later I learned that she was going through a divorce,<span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> and who knows what else. </div><div><br /></div><div> So if you're a twenty-something associate with your life ahead of you -- please be careful about expecting sympathy or empathy from O'Melveny's partners. They may not be the happy, affable and generous people you imagined. Rather, they might be dealing with things worse than any of your concerns.</div><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">_________________________________________</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><sup><span><br /></span></sup></span></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><sup><span>1 </span></sup></span>Like the other two divorce posts, I won't share the documents without O'Melveny's permission (although again these are public documents that anyone can download from the court's website.) But since people joining O'Melveny seem interested in money, see below for that snippet from the divorce judgment. The rest of the documents reveal the standard stuff; e.g. that she had to pay her ex alimony and child support due to her high income. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhVbupGANKZY5KnX-4xkGyblK5uqLPb2hmECxeCSMUckAfgaoeRQqX_k2SyacMv9o7NoKzy4czPrcNpHAGf9yAdew5M9M8zO_zrp1W8TugbnBEh3oW7WvWqUZQHFqX-LFunxjd3-FaZ_WBg74gZUIc2GeQyYs-9B2wH2_Ck1H9-MOZoapma5d1Ia6/s779/o'melveny%20partner%20compensation.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="779" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhVbupGANKZY5KnX-4xkGyblK5uqLPb2hmECxeCSMUckAfgaoeRQqX_k2SyacMv9o7NoKzy4czPrcNpHAGf9yAdew5M9M8zO_zrp1W8TugbnBEh3oW7WvWqUZQHFqX-LFunxjd3-FaZ_WBg74gZUIc2GeQyYs-9B2wH2_Ck1H9-MOZoapma5d1Ia6/w640-h436/o'melveny%20partner%20compensation.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-89850655021489838252023-02-28T13:14:00.110-08:002023-04-15T18:21:57.269-07:00O'Melveny allegedly tricked a surgical center into accepting its cheap medical insurance<div> According to their <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/piabygto3gps24z/healthcare%20ally%20mgmt%20vs%20omm.pdf?dl=0">complaint</a>, before performing surgery on an O'Melveny employee, a prestigious Beverly Hills surgical center called the firm to confirm that its plan would pay their rate. O'Melveny allegedly responded that it would, and so the doctors took their word for it and operated the next day.</div><div><br /></div><div> Then after the operation was completed, O'Melveny said its plan would only pay about 10% of the $200,000 bill. The center expected to be paid based on the promise. So after almost two years, they assigned the bill to their debt collector who filed suit. O'Melveny has responded by removing the case to federal court, seemingly to try and avoid payment via an ERISA technicality. It did not hire a firm to defend the lawsuit; it's using its own internal attorneys: staff attorney James Kidder and partner Catalina Vergara.</div><div><br /></div><div> As I understand, unless it's an emergency, when a patient's insurance won't pay for a doctor's services, the patient simply goes to another provider. This happens all the time in the United States, which has tiers of medical providers, each with a commensurate cost. If you have really cheap insurance, many doctors <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/100215/what-do-when-your-doctor-doesnt-take-medicare.asp">will not accept you</a> as a patient. And this doesn't seem to have been an emergency as, according to the complaint, the surgery was performed a day after the center spoke with O'Melveny. </div><div><br /></div><div> I can't imagine the center would make all this up so, assuming they're telling the truth . . . O'Melveny doesn't seem to provide employees with good medical insurance. Excerpt from the complaint below:</div><blockquote><i>27. On February 27, 2020, Medical Provider conducted surgery and provided services on and for patient for the benefit of Patient and DEFENDANT.</i><div><i><br />28. On February 26, 2020, Medical Provider’s representative Y.P. spoke with Defendant’s representative Shelly.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>29. Defendant represented to Medical Provider that Patient’s deductible is and was $5,000.00 and that the deductible had been met and Patient’s Max Out of Pocket (“MOOP”)expense is and was $7,000.00 and that to date for the calendar year Patient had paid $257.73.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>30. Defendant represented to Medical Provider that Medical Provider would be paid for medical services at one hundred (100) percent of the UCR amount.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>31. DEFENDANT further represented that payment would not be made at a rate based on Medicare.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>32. All of the information obtained in said conversation was documented by Medical Provider at the time of the phone conversation as part of Medical Provider’s policy and practice.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>33. At no time prior to the provision of services to Patient by Medical Provider, during conversations between Medical Provider and DEFENDANT did DEFENDANT advise Medical Provider that Patient’s policy or certificate of insurance was subject to certain exclusions, limitations, or qualifications, which might result in denial of coverage, limitation of payment or any other method of payment unrelated to the UCR rate.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>34. DEFENDANT did not make reference to any other portion of Patient’s plan that would put Medical Provider on notice of any reduction in the originally stated payment percentage.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>35. Despite representing that payment would be made at the UCR rate, DEFENDANT knew or should have known that it would not be paying Medical Provider at the UCR rate.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>36. Despite representing that payment would not be made at a Medicare rate, DEFENDANT knew or should have known that it would be paying Medical Provider at a Medicare rate.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>37. Medical Provider relied and provided services solely based on DEFENDANT’s statements, promises and representations. Statements which had no relation to DEFENDANT and Patient’s plan document, as the statements may or may not have been based in the DEFENDANT or Patient’s plan documents, but that bore no consideration when Medical Provider agreed to provide medical services. Medical Provider took DEFENDANT at its word and promises and provided services based solely on those promises and representations. . . . <br /><br /></i></div><div><i>40. Under either scenario, following the procedure, Medical Provider submitted to DEFENDANT any and all billing information required by DEFENDANT, including a total bill for $200,009.00.<br /><br /></i></div><div><i>41. DEFENDANT paid $21,573.14 to Medical Provider. The amount paid was well below the billed amount and well below a UCR amount.<br /></i><div style="text-align: left;"><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>42. As of the date of this complaint, DEFENDANT has still refused to make the appropriate payment to Medical Provider and Medical Provider was and now HAMOC is entitled to that payment from DEFENDANT.</i></div></div></div></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><div></div></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: white; font-size: x-small;">O'Melveny health plan, O'Melveny medical plan, O'Melveny wellness, healthcare, OMM benefits</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZ_6NGqshj06oIiLf4BAzZcpZbEwC6VsvpQLm1OIhLrZYqxh3zmGyhQdxDUtp05IUfZUZnFoCYjT4A59d1gVqZvIr5ErkCysDUB5yhuT4e8_xqmKpcUeH_a1NIpQGrTVfH6B_JtaWOXz-W2Ugs55fvzUw8vjd1Bl2l0BzEf_evqCNdt6KCq6yVxsG/s1013/medical%20center%20erisa%20lawsuit%20against%20o'melveny.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1013" data-original-width="782" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZ_6NGqshj06oIiLf4BAzZcpZbEwC6VsvpQLm1OIhLrZYqxh3zmGyhQdxDUtp05IUfZUZnFoCYjT4A59d1gVqZvIr5ErkCysDUB5yhuT4e8_xqmKpcUeH_a1NIpQGrTVfH6B_JtaWOXz-W2Ugs55fvzUw8vjd1Bl2l0BzEf_evqCNdt6KCq6yVxsG/w494-h640/medical%20center%20erisa%20lawsuit%20against%20o'melveny.JPG" width="494" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-44921343995991990492023-02-11T05:40:00.154-08:002023-04-15T18:22:38.471-07:00What an of counsel makes at O'Melveny<div> In a <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">prior post</a>, I described an of counsel who had berated me because he mistakenly thought I was trying to take work that he could be doing. You'll <a href="https://www.google.com/search?as_q=&as_epq=of+counsel&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.omm.com%2Fprofessionals&as_occt=any&safe=images&as_filetype=&tbs=">see dozens of these of counsels</a> at O'Melveny, almost all retired partners, and I remember associates wondering why they still came in. Well, a divorce filing might answer that question, so I should probably add it to this site to inform readers.</div><div><br /></div><div> As stated in the court's opinion, the divorcee began working at O'Melveny in the 1980s, became a partner in the early 1990s, retired a few years ago, and is now an of counsel at the firm. Based on the filings, he made between $1 million and $2 million per year in his later years as a partner.</div><div><br /></div><div> Jumping to the numbers, his income and expense declaration states that in 2021 he received:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>$375 per hour for about eight hours of work per week at O'Melveny. This would be about 8 x $375 x 52 = $156,000 per year.</li><li>About $15,500 per month from the O'Melveny & Myers Partnership Agreement Retirement Benefit defined benefit pension plan. (A portion of this goes to his ex-wife, and they are currently litigating over that amount. The legal issue is how the "time rule" should be used to split payments from this particular pension plan. What's amusing is that this dispute over a grand or so per month could wind up affecting other retired and divorced O'Melveny partners. I assume the plan's fiduciary will inform similarly situated retirees of the case.) Any way, this would be about $15,500 x 12 or $186,000 per year.</li><li>A distribution of $93,000 from the O'Melveny & Myers Partnership Deferred Compensation Plan. His ex-wife also received $93,000 from that plan, so if not for the divorce he would have received the sum of those two, or about $186,000 in 2021. </li><li>About $21,000 of "CEI Distribution" and "Tax Distro."</li></ul></div><div> Add the four above and you get $549,000 of income in 2021, of which $156,000 came from the eight hours per week that he worked, and $393,000 came from the firm's retirement plans. So there you have it. If you were wondering why so many retired of counsels continue to come into the office, it's to receive the part-time income described above, and possibly other income from their own clients unrelated to O'Melveny.</div><div><br /></div><div><div> As with the <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2023/01/what-omelveny-partners-profit.html">last post</a>, I won't publish the full document without O'Melveny's permission, although again this is all publicly available information that anyone can download from the court's website. The snippets below have the key numbers. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc5m7_TFAnaKcmQyCOeKvNqZH-SnEg5SgIlPsT0lyu07qtngdVH3GK0llWdFFSx9syh9HYBIMXacpc38rRbfpBbNW_3-jfPU67OsGCMKFZjahP4ppj2sdc7dubns1S3dEMRhGKSr-E_O4XX7m2joTTrqSye3aV8YK4jhD9gMvCnlmwx3tg-U8S5_z/s896/o'melveny%20retired%20partner%20income%203.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="896" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZc5m7_TFAnaKcmQyCOeKvNqZH-SnEg5SgIlPsT0lyu07qtngdVH3GK0llWdFFSx9syh9HYBIMXacpc38rRbfpBbNW_3-jfPU67OsGCMKFZjahP4ppj2sdc7dubns1S3dEMRhGKSr-E_O4XX7m2joTTrqSye3aV8YK4jhD9gMvCnlmwx3tg-U8S5_z/w640-h164/o'melveny%20retired%20partner%20income%203.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW3LAK5P994M5keF3Pb2qt8TUPfNPQgo0pgcZoAo_HUuaZhXFU3ZXng-gWkMKGxJ6uGzu4mWcGodhiaXoN8YZOSWQ5vcW55DGg7vvdqLYWsMsgGUTWQJUUIbMZyPLU17gE7OMiD8XnclPccZGkpoVJ_8GUFSKD1ho5WEjZ-7_ANd_uPiEdQo9VPeL/s1074/o'melveny%20retired%20partner%20income%201.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="407" data-original-width="1074" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrW3LAK5P994M5keF3Pb2qt8TUPfNPQgo0pgcZoAo_HUuaZhXFU3ZXng-gWkMKGxJ6uGzu4mWcGodhiaXoN8YZOSWQ5vcW55DGg7vvdqLYWsMsgGUTWQJUUIbMZyPLU17gE7OMiD8XnclPccZGkpoVJ_8GUFSKD1ho5WEjZ-7_ANd_uPiEdQo9VPeL/w640-h242/o'melveny%20retired%20partner%20income%201.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-80755923020368600842023-02-02T10:34:00.012-08:002023-03-18T09:34:31.389-07:00Attorney sues O'Melveny after being fired for "too many pro bono hours"<div> This attorney did pro bono work to help satisfy his 1900 billable hours target. According to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPI9JV2Vy0zvejQMSHGyhxqh-LsPytJi9Yg4CVBg4pt1HL3sii8NvHtZWBMM5b33MzaqihN_7gSl0mae4OvrIw0UesmrbgphPBeY80atJ0bXV8WdsF-u9J7vMAbWhCf8OSNr4EWevrlKvXc-MluMfgBcqgn4F6ecoJZPnHj4uukv0sAxbesmR6FD18/s954/o'melveny%20omm%20pro%20bono.JPG">O'Melveny's website</a>, that should have been fine. It states that "pro bono hours may be used to fulfill all firm billing expectations, including bonus consideration." But apparently that's not really true.</div><div><br /></div><div> Excerpt from the complaint below.</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><i>15. At all times, Plaintiff was in good standing and competently performed his job duties, such that he was promoted as “Counsel” in March 01, 2022, until he was wrongfully terminated on or about December 01, 2022.</i></div><div><div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i>16. As required in his employment contract, Plaintiff continuously completed and serviced over 1900 hours of billable and pro bono work for OMM every year. </i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i>17. From the start of 2022, Plaintiff noticed he was gradually given less work such that he incessantly advised OMM and/or DOES 1 through 25 of his inability to meet his billable requirements due to the lack of billable assignments presented to Plaintiff.</i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i>18. Despite Plaintiff’s countless requests and advisory notices, he was prejudicially prevented from working on crucial billable projects and transactions on the basis of his race, gender, and sexual orientation.</i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i>19. The work environment created by OMM and/or DOEs 1 through 25 was hostile, but OMM and/or DOEs 1 through 25 did nothing to investigate or redress the prejudice and discrimination.</i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i>20. Yet, Plaintiff impressively managed to exceed his billable requirement before the end of the 2022 term because Plaintiff unilaterally sourced more work by engaging in significant pro bono projects, as authorized per OMM’s policies, which specifically “encourages and gives lawyers full billable credit for every hour recorded on pro bono matters,” ultimately qualifying Plaintiff for bonus compensation in addition to his 2022 salary.</i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i><br /></i></div></div></div><div><div><div><i>21. On December 01, 2022, Plaintiff was wrongfully deceived into organizing, coordinating, and attending a meeting with OMM and/or DOEs 1 through 25 to discuss “staffing,” where he was unexplainably and wrongfully terminated on the basis that he billed too many pro bono hours.</i></div></div></div></blockquote><p> The plaintiff <a href="https://www.law360.com/articles/1571884/ex-o-melveny-attorney-drops-wrongful-firing-suit">voluntarily dismissed his case</a> with prejudice a few weeks after filing, which suggests that O'Melveny settled the case.</p><div><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">O'Melveny layoffs, stealth layoffs, OMM, discrimination, wrongful termination, pro bono, 1999 Avenue of the Stars 8th Floor, </span> <span style="color: white; font-size: small;">Los Angeles, CA 90067</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRHtjAZBPrALaXzjX8PHKc81ns4qtyX-5R0uRhJi2hyI7wgYqI1uFRWnbiGe5cq3U6lTYl343GUcMChIzor57CfYaXU4CW6CBRlqik0X4e0fyzthULpQLGpre7Lm8V2a7Ed0BTKnfPCPH-KRWzxwN2iHEYRlSfjgsJL1j1DjVwfGlNUEyA-ALC9b-/s814/o'melveny%20omm%20pro%20bono.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="814" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlRHtjAZBPrALaXzjX8PHKc81ns4qtyX-5R0uRhJi2hyI7wgYqI1uFRWnbiGe5cq3U6lTYl343GUcMChIzor57CfYaXU4CW6CBRlqik0X4e0fyzthULpQLGpre7Lm8V2a7Ed0BTKnfPCPH-KRWzxwN2iHEYRlSfjgsJL1j1DjVwfGlNUEyA-ALC9b-/w640-h620/o'melveny%20omm%20pro%20bono.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /><div><div></div>
</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-13270053151794587902023-01-21T12:30:00.217-08:002023-03-19T02:21:05.933-07:00What an O'Melveny partner's profit distribution documents look like<div> I was wondering if I should post these, which come from public filings in a divorce case. Since this website's goal is to educate about the firm, I might as well. Readers may want to know what a partner's distribution package looks like. This partner also has a backstory that touches on O'Melveny's culture. (Besides, I have jury duty next week and the profession is on my mind again, so I might as well write a post.)</div><div><br /></div><div> I actually met this woman and worked with her on a few matters. She was promoted to partner a few years ago. The most interesting story about her, is that she and another partner ended the careers of a group of associates. They did so after taking over a client from an attorney who had left over money issues. </div><div><br /></div><div> That departing attorney had, I want to say, eight or so associates helping him. When these two women took over they made that entire team transfer their knowledge. Then they gradually stopped giving them work. I can only speculate as to the reasons. In any case, the prior team was now struggling to meet their billable hour requirements, and they slowly left. </div><div><br /></div><div> Last I heard, one was coding, one was a career counselor at a law school, one stopped working for years and then took a job at a small law firm, one was doing compliance, one works for a county, and one works for a city. I think there were a few more that I don't remember; it's been a while. That was O'Melveny's culture. A group of dedicated and hard-working attorneys had their careers derailed, just because these two women decided to stop giving them work.</div><div><br /></div><div> Don't feel bad for the associates though. In the universe of unfairness what happened to them is trivial. This website has much worse examples, e.g. the half a million Americans and counting <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/12/winners-and-losers-in-americas-opioid.html">who have lost their lives as a result of</a> the actions of lawyers and lobbyists, including O'Melveny.</div><div><br /></div><div><div> Getting back to the topic of this post ... I'll ask O'Melveny's public relations people if I can publish the full 99-page document, and won't until I get their permission. It's a public document that anyone can download from the court's website but I'll let them decide. </div><div><br /></div><div> Maybe they'll even share this information on their own, for all partners. I mean, what is the point of keeping it secret? Are they hiding it from other O'Melveny partners, who might be upset because they make less than they feel they deserve? From employees, who might be annoyed at being nickel and dimed? From clients, who might push back on billing rates? From victims, who might see how much an O'Melveny partner makes for contriving machinations to deny them compensation for an injury? </div><div><br /></div><div> For now, below is the redacted first page for 2019 and 2020, which has the key numbers. For reference, O'Melveny made <a href="https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020/02/25/busy-litigation-docket-big-deals-drive-gains-at-omelveny-myers/?slreturn=20230021163124">$396 million in profit</a> in 2019, and <a href="https://www.omm.com/omm_distribution/our_firm/the_american_lawyer_2021_results.pdf">$457 million in profit in 2020</a>, split among about 170 partners in each year. And remember that this was a junior partner, so the numbers will be bigger for more senior partners. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><div> The only other interesting thing I saw in the docket was that, after her husband filed for divorce, he received not only his share of community property, but due to her high income, he also received alimony and child support.</div></div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">O'Melveny, OMM, compensation, salary, income, wages, </span><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">610 Newport Center Drive</span><span style="color: white; font-size: small;">17th Floor, Newport Beach, CA 92660</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_VosEPQP_caAgpwtB_1ZQwLa-Ln_Bjt8NRyXUvSBKX70aiXxB8NYEL2PDYkIupObKrF2KhKowhE-A6OClz-jQqQrg-YEmF8ffvoEjutQfu3d0xsWOgTqKKKd_foP3dI77eknbyyI7HsZ8bCDz6gpnSnLJXAQw0ZZEsfAIW6Y1j5njJUYyXorTZCT/s1900/o'melveny%20partner%2010-k%2001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="O'Melveny profits per partner compensation" border="0" data-original-height="1900" data-original-width="1523" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0_VosEPQP_caAgpwtB_1ZQwLa-Ln_Bjt8NRyXUvSBKX70aiXxB8NYEL2PDYkIupObKrF2KhKowhE-A6OClz-jQqQrg-YEmF8ffvoEjutQfu3d0xsWOgTqKKKd_foP3dI77eknbyyI7HsZ8bCDz6gpnSnLJXAQw0ZZEsfAIW6Y1j5njJUYyXorTZCT/w514-h640/o'melveny%20partner%2010-k%2001.jpg" width="514" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRK4xuZnS00q-vbuKTHnt16EVPbzqepQ04204mmfMYMkwF2MPwlgOlWTKCRHynvSFIjc0dWeRdj7gikpOIssg-TjpFc17Bbd-ZvFpZTNodInJuzjSDMoaT9PeB_DlBEtF1poPiw7Enkaor32pSl8sMCWoC-urWYq9F4uRhRlxyjgGU9ERNFAVLitzC/s1879/o'melveny%20partner%2010-k%2002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="O'Melveny profits per partner compensation" border="0" data-original-height="1879" data-original-width="1454" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRK4xuZnS00q-vbuKTHnt16EVPbzqepQ04204mmfMYMkwF2MPwlgOlWTKCRHynvSFIjc0dWeRdj7gikpOIssg-TjpFc17Bbd-ZvFpZTNodInJuzjSDMoaT9PeB_DlBEtF1poPiw7Enkaor32pSl8sMCWoC-urWYq9F4uRhRlxyjgGU9ERNFAVLitzC/w496-h640/o'melveny%20partner%2010-k%2002.jpg" width="496" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-48179160038876528352022-08-27T06:42:00.010-07:002023-03-18T09:34:42.980-07:00Judge criticizes O'Melveny's lack of professionalism Excerpt from the opinion below.<div><br /><div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Before getting to the jurisdictional question, an observation about Bitmain's briefs is required. Overall, the briefs filed by Bitmain's counsel, O'Melveny & Myers LLP, fell below the standards of professionalism and quality expected of every litigant and counsel in this District. The many instances of this will be called out in the ensuing discussion, but the Court notes at the start that it has serious concerns about O'Melveny & Myers’ repeated citations to overruled cases, and legal tests that were expressly disapproved well before it filed its brief. These practices are not consonant with O'Melveny & Myers’ duty of candor, and they unduly burdened the Court and opposing counsel with frivolous arguments. Bitmain and its attorneys are advised that future conduct along these lines will be sanctioned, including but not limited to monetary sanctions, defense or evidence preclusion, and professional conduct sanctions. There is no room in our busy and resource-constrained federal courts for parties and lawyers who do not play by the rules and fight fairly on the merits.</i></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><i>Gevorkyan v. Bitmain Techs. Ltd.</i>, No. 18-CV-07004-JD, 2022 WL 3702093, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 26, 2022)<div><div></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: small;">O'Melveny, OMM, cryptocurrency, crypto, bitcoin, DAO</span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2pSwHoPHa_W6lClkRLoRgcqSLm_Li-HwuJ-IXj7N-HdXUjEhsWAhx2p8NnyTJzHUgMYXbhTVtyW0eNwPen_GqoJeg-lsKedqhIR73Kvm4oVYFYxsnpkUXziA5fKcLam8o1Lr7SPym8DsSkQmVS7GrqBOOrQn67BpneaVi6R0T7sowQFVT0yruxQa/s985/2022-08%20bitmain%20opinion.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="985" data-original-width="966" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2pSwHoPHa_W6lClkRLoRgcqSLm_Li-HwuJ-IXj7N-HdXUjEhsWAhx2p8NnyTJzHUgMYXbhTVtyW0eNwPen_GqoJeg-lsKedqhIR73Kvm4oVYFYxsnpkUXziA5fKcLam8o1Lr7SPym8DsSkQmVS7GrqBOOrQn67BpneaVi6R0T7sowQFVT0yruxQa/s320/2022-08%20bitmain%20opinion.JPG" width="314" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-20625005232995623192022-07-14T11:24:00.026-07:002023-04-06T20:28:10.609-07:00The world of banking lawyers, and our current high inflation<span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Last year I <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/bimal-patel-got-his-money-at-paypal.html">wrote about</a> the career of Bimal Patel. I have been meaning to add to that post, because there are a number of other banking lawyers with interesting careers, including one who is having a huge impact on the day to day lives of Americans.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> To review Bimal's career, he had a keen desire for money. But he couldn't make it at O'Melveny because he had few or no clients. O'Melveny's <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/12/profits-per-partner-law-firm30.html">"eat what you kill"</a> culture <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/10/omelveny-salary-careers-profits-per-partner.html">only pays those</a> who produce billable hours. So he devised a scheme to, in his words, "monetize" government positions into a lucrative salary. You can read the details in that <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/bimal-patel-got-his-money-at-paypal.html">prior post</a>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Now take a look at Citadel's general counsel Heath Tarbert. Before chronicling his career, I should let you know that I worked with his wife, who <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7NwnECY3rUctaDHUPhDvXOhHb3ZHBB2_A1nsV3fXaSpNc7f7E0um7WnQvPsd7Sat5ypmyceFHIg8-7ViNaXonj0lyPZU0bpxgkEFTj2SD9yMgo3BuX3TKvUJstRGrvxK-YzhJfPvKYnGLvh_DPcNlpamJVNZuiUQpQ3wZ1-EmnYLRf_NQ7hD3XYUk/s709/kate%20tarbert%20email.jpg">said good things</a> about me (so you don't think that I don't really know these people.) Mr. Tarbert's career started at a law firm, where he worked from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heath_Tarbert&oldid=1097503120">2003-2005</a>. He then pursued clerkships and government positions between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heath_Tarbert&oldid=1097503120">2005 and 2010</a>, which led to his first chance to make a lot of money, as a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. That didn't work out as he seemingly couldn't find clients. I say that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTCVTm34rbpn8tCwbmTQH8V5loCN_y_DEuvC_2b2rK83mtB8E4RuYh054LJjqKqI5a3DmyRWvriP3OoIAkGarJ5odNq7Hg99ibd2VPqXT-S10GyYZhSrqFCDu0rPBlKFqCbkIBSkmCKKxWfSiJTcVNDkWqhxNPj8KSx8zhak_oih-QHVjktKO-8Fw5/s988/heath%20tarbert%20leaves%20weil.JPG">based on this quote</a> in the legal website Above the Law, in which someone who knew him <a href="https://abovethelaw.com/2013/12/as-the-weil-turns-a-promising-young-partner-packs-up-and-moves-on/">said he had to leave</a> Weil because the firm "didn’t support his efforts to develop" a practice. This friend may have been right. It might have been a lack of support. Regardless, he couldn't "make it rain" at Weil and so he had to leave.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> So in 2014 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Heath_Tarbert&oldid=1097503120">he went to</a> Allen & Overy. Seeing <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">how dead</a> our bank regulatory practice was at O'Melveny, I wrote him in 2015 to ask how it was there. He replied that it was very slow, and that they were not looking for anyone. My boss at O'Melveny Brian Boyle confirmed this. He said I could speak with some higher-up at Allen & Overy if I wanted to see how bad they were struggling. So apparently, Mr. Tarbert hadn't learned how to bring in clients and projects at Allen & Overy either. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> So not surprisingly, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_Tarbert#U.S._Department_of_the_Treasury">he left</a> Allen & Overy in 2017 to join the Trump administration, and he didn't return when those political appointments ended. Instead, he joined Citadel Securities, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan/2022/06/23/billionaire-ken-griffins-citadel-becomes-latest-company-to-move-headquarters-out-of-illinois/?sh=1c02845e2c7c">very wealthy market maker</a>, where he is presumably doing well for himself. That's similar to what Bimal did. He tried to monetize a government position into a lucrative and stable long-term salary, failed, and went back into government to try again until he achieved his goal. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Or consider Kathryn Ruemmler, the general counsel of Goldman Sachs. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kathryn_Ruemmler&oldid=1092444157">Her career</a> also evidences a possible desire to monetize government, as she went from the law firm of Latham & Watkins, to government, and back to Latham, to government, and back. Then, after an interesting event, she moved from Latham to Goldman Sachs. According to <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-was-clinton-white-house-lawyer-kathryn-ruemmler-doing-at-epsteins-arraignment">this article</a>, in July of 2019 <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-was-clinton-white-house-lawyer-kathryn-ruemmler-doing-at-epsteins-arraignment">she appeared at</a> Jeffrey Epstein's court hearing. One source <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-was-clinton-white-house-lawyer-kathryn-ruemmler-doing-at-epsteins-arraignment">described it</a> as "probably" "a show of support" for Mr. Epstein, with whom she had a “professional relationship." She sat behind Mr. Epstein's legal team in court. Her time at Latham ended shortly thereafter and she joined Goldman Sachs in 2020. You didn't misread that. She felt she had to take time out of her day and go into court to publicly support Mr. Epstein. A letter or phone call wasn't enough for her. She wanted to really be there for him. And this isn't the first time <a href="https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2018/03/15/nader-muellers-latest-cooperator-a-convicted-pedophile/">she supported</a> this sort of person. That's the general counsel of Goldman Sachs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> If you would like other examples, consider Bank of America's former general counsel David Leitch, who also <a href="https://www.bushcenter.org/people/david-leitch.html">cycled in and out</a> of high-level government positions. He <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/06/bank-of-america-david-leitch-attorney.html">wrote me</a> to tell me there was no room for me at his organization, because I had protested his friend Brian Boyle's torture advocacy, attacks on the Geneva convention and reported dishonesty in federal court. That was Bank of America's general counsel.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Or consider Brian Brooks, who was the general counsel at Fannie Mae and Coinbase, and his attempt to convert his government job into a cryptocurrency fortune (links <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/04/brian-brooks-used-his-position-in.html">one</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/06/omelvenys-used-car-salesman-culture-on.html">two</a>.) He may very well have destroyed the lives of some who invested in crypto as a result of his efforts. Recently, there have been <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=crypto+suicide&client=opera&hs=eJC&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A2%2F7%2F2022%2Ccd_max%3A7%2F14%2F2022&tbm=">numerous articles</a> about crypto-related suicides. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Or consider Ryne Miller. He parlayed years of experience at the CFTC, including as counselor to its Chair Gary Gensler, into a partnership at the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell and then a general counsel position at <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9PSI5F5oftdjOWKVQMxPT4ZtTrx5y7nhN148H6vzRBJBVAP1dhYH-cfzHS3CZR7IBMGAnYEsdbVBVsIdnzKu-htM20SFxjbG073UzHKMRjsItLPIm0B8ryS2SD51hmmpDnjkragnMLs0IvRcW5kBCfotmZCBhF9qsif9G3VUxG7jwgKOLdx8nROf/s982/image_2022-12-04_154140697.png">decabillionaire</a> Sam Bankman Fried's <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ryne-miller-joins-ftxus-as-general-counsel-301346878.html">cryptocurrency exchange</a>. [Addendum: A coworker of Mr. Miller later <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizyYLvSociUYD7DohEexzVRNkuyuG7PEfG4ylBeqFXhh67aUSPXX770TvpVgRVGRjSVeYUvrbRr9hRgy08lbSI71RG54llmV-q2UpPZiAVh3T4s8Jf_vRkO02N98O1xaASMcI3m4QuvsRITaWsQU1CNqQnu68gAvT22kSziYfTu6CE3f220R833Ppr/s996/Ryne%20Miller%20FTX%20Sullivan%20Cromwell%20affidavit.JPG">filed an affidavit</a> attesting that Mr. Miller was hired by the exchange because he "emphasized his close relationship with [SEC Commissioner Gary Gensler] at every possible opportunity."] </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I could give you other examples but I'll stop here. Hopefully by now you are starting to understand the culture of banking law. If you told lawyers in other areas that they shouldn't use a government position for their personal pecuniary benefit, they might agree with you. In banking law, they would laugh at you. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> With that background on banking lawyers, let me move to the main topic of this post: Jerome Powell, the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Like the people above, Mr. Powell <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Powell#Legal_and_investment_banking">started his</a> career in lower-level positions in law firms and a bank. Then in 1990, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Powell#Legal_and_investment_banking">he entered</a> the Department of Treasury. That's when the money started rolling in. He parlayed that government position into his first lucrative job, as a Managing Director of Bankers Trust, which he joined <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Powell#Legal_and_investment_banking">in 1993</a>. That didn't go well. He "<a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/5-things-jerome-powell-chair-federal-reserve-board-governors/">quit his position</a> at Bankers Trust in 1995, after the bank became embroiled in a trading scandal that cost its clients hundreds of millions of dollars." But he was fine. He <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jerome_Powell&oldid=1097972250#Federal_Reserve_Chairman_(2018–present)">moved to other</a> high-paying banking and investing jobs until returning to government after the 2008 financial crisis. Standard revolving door playbook.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome_Powell#Federal_Reserve_Chairman_(2018–present)">2018, the president</a> put Mr. Powell in charge of managing the nation's inflation and employment rate. It was only the second time <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chair_of_the_Federal_Reserve">in history</a> that a lawyer was picked for the position of Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Usually the position goes to an economist. The only other time a lawyer was nominated was in 1978, when Cravath, Swaine & Moore alumnus <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._William_Miller#Early_life_and_career">G. William Miller</a> took the position. Hold onto that year of 1978 as we'll get back to it later. Any way, in 2020, Mr. Powell inexplicably <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/27/powell-announces-new-fed-approach-to-inflation-that-could-keep-rates-lower-for-longer.html">declared a new</a> approach to inflation called "average inflation targeting." Basically, he would be easier on inflation than were prior Fed Chairs. I'm not sure why he changed something that had worked for decades; he claimed it would be good for the country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> It wasn't. Just two years later, inflation is the highest it's been in 40 years. And while some argue that this is temporary, we don't know what will happen. As you can see in the graph below, right now the two key metrics -- actual inflation and inflation expectations (a survey of where people think inflation will go) are where they were in 1978, before a four year period of very high inflation and two recessions. When I started working, older employees would tell me about that time, about how "PhDs had to drive taxi cabs to survive." It was a bad time economically.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSRVVrK8o-p8kT2177WGX294FFbedCZqK43A2pIlTsTqTOnNLz__6z_Vw_1n7xQwyS1qqGgU-lZ6uRVNJrO-Mpm-wLzJRk3lR1hCbHANuA5cAuejFKqHkPs1ThdBiuSHfVbxoWkoe_smk6tKZNIYVdrFrtZaWLWFHQAY-QZOluj_RB_B4pLA9uyPiH" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fred michigan inflation expectations" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="1166" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSRVVrK8o-p8kT2177WGX294FFbedCZqK43A2pIlTsTqTOnNLz__6z_Vw_1n7xQwyS1qqGgU-lZ6uRVNJrO-Mpm-wLzJRk3lR1hCbHANuA5cAuejFKqHkPs1ThdBiuSHfVbxoWkoe_smk6tKZNIYVdrFrtZaWLWFHQAY-QZOluj_RB_B4pLA9uyPiH=w640-h264" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I am not making any predictions and I hope we don't repeat the late seventies. But in at least one analogous point in the past, 1978, things got much worse before they got better. So anyone guaranteeing that inflation will quickly subside and that we'll avoid a recession has one counterexample to explain away. Here is <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=RH48">the source data</a> if you would like to play with it. I also included the "10-2" (a number that, when it goes negative, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/13/us-bonds-treasury-yields-tick-higher-as-traders-prepare-for-inflation.html">predicts a recession, as it did in 1978, and which is currently negative</a>) along with the federal funds rate (the interest rate that is set by the Federal Reserve and Mr. Powell, which is anomalously low in light of where it was relative to inflation historically.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Some commentators wonder if the Federal Reserve can even raise interest rates to lower inflation, as it did in 1980, because the government is more indebted today. Per the graph below, government debt as a percentage of GDP is four times what it was back then. They say that raising rates will raise the government's debt payment, and so is not sustainable beyond a small raise. (Others say that rate increases are sustainable in the short-term, and that a short-term raise is all that's required to lower inflation. Also, a lot of this debt is long-term debt whose interest payment doesn't change as short-term rates increase, and whose value will go down as interest rates rise.) Depending on how this dynamic plays out, the situation might be worse now than it was in 1978. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFhcTCGeHezd-4A4HvQwSn-C5FKxzHewy-fJ74ry8ZTEj430ivaoEAxGFsTO5OFITqIs7EnUcJjrLc7E5WylN3Y1zgobns0fTky_55hFjTjRIUR4FFeDwVw2V3OKZxFRwJtH1FNai8YGWFstsPAo_kT7xbTcSlUG9z8tQDx2lD1k-FY3Lbb2mRfAA/s1156/public%20debt%20as%20percentage%20of%20gdp.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fred government debt" border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="1156" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFhcTCGeHezd-4A4HvQwSn-C5FKxzHewy-fJ74ry8ZTEj430ivaoEAxGFsTO5OFITqIs7EnUcJjrLc7E5WylN3Y1zgobns0fTky_55hFjTjRIUR4FFeDwVw2V3OKZxFRwJtH1FNai8YGWFstsPAo_kT7xbTcSlUG9z8tQDx2lD1k-FY3Lbb2mRfAA/w640-h258/public%20debt%20as%20percentage%20of%20gdp.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> As you can see, Mr. Powell's decision to go soft on inflation may have been a regrettable mistake. By letting the inflation genie out of the bottle, he might have created a problem that will be painful to fix.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Hopefully things magically resolve. Still, the president may wish to think twice before appointing another lawyer to the position of Federal Reserve Chair. As I <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/01/omelveny-omm-greg-jacob-mike-pence-covid-task-force.html">explained here</a>, lawyers aren't necessarily interested in the truth. Their job is to cherry pick facts and laws, and spin them to advance their client's interest. Sometimes, this means obfuscating and distracting from the truth. And yes, cherry picking and spinning, being deceptive, being intellectually dishonest . . . these can be useful skills in life. They're very effective in court, in sales, and other areas where one has to be an advocate. But they're not really useful for a Federal Reserve Chair. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">Kathy Ruemmler Goldman Sachs, Kathryn Ruemmler Latham Watkins, Kathy Ruemmler Obama attorney</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgQqHWH3mzVWJrCD-17eFBKn0OeyEtlc_XpjTAtZJqjMgvRf7hzjuOP2r5zQy9YnwZhmyXr52HgFOpQAkEP7Yjk-FN54uiYlB7__R2fY914OY6y1Aev847-0_wBpnPbV2MIDp4gqDRu4X-Saonef2DBPIJpKXxc8xpYFevNaTsMqSLhn6nniuHeDF/s965/image_2022-07-14_083519260.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jerome Powell inflation" border="0" data-original-height="965" data-original-width="729" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmgQqHWH3mzVWJrCD-17eFBKn0OeyEtlc_XpjTAtZJqjMgvRf7hzjuOP2r5zQy9YnwZhmyXr52HgFOpQAkEP7Yjk-FN54uiYlB7__R2fY914OY6y1Aev847-0_wBpnPbV2MIDp4gqDRu4X-Saonef2DBPIJpKXxc8xpYFevNaTsMqSLhn6nniuHeDF/w484-h640/image_2022-07-14_083519260.png" width="484" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-5333398816408963682022-06-16T18:50:00.324-07:002023-03-18T09:34:51.977-07:00Greg Jacob and his friend Michael Luttig<span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> As I <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/us/greg-jacob-house-lawyer-trump.html">watch Greg Jacob</a> on television, as I hear him quoting Bible passages, I can't help but to recall my interactions with him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I don't want to restate the events; it's all chronicled in my original post <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">here</a>. You should probably read that before reading the rest of this post, as it won't make sense without that background. But I'll add one bit of color here. The mid-2015 St. Louis trial that I described in that original post was a trial for Boeing. In a conference room during that trial, Boeing's General Counsel Michael Luttig -- the person who testified alongside Greg Jacob today -- lectured us about why the United States was justified in the way it dealt with alleged enemy combatants. He sat next to Brian Boyle, praised Mr. Boyle's skills as an attorney, and then explained that when dealing with terrorists, you want them to think that you're crazier and more unpredictable than they are, and that's why the war on terror's methods are justified.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Remember, this was an ERISA case. Why was he giving a speech on this other far off topic? Now that I know how close he was to Greg Jacob, I think I might know why. The reason I was abruptly assigned to that case was probably because Brian or Greg called their buddy Michael Luttig, explained the memo I had written, and had me assigned to the case in order to get me to drop it. It worked; I e-mailed human resources and told them to drop the matter. I didn't want to be sitting next to Brian Boyle in a small war room as they investigated my complaint against him. You can read about how that story turned out in the <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">original post</a> if you're interested, but it wasn't good. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> That's the impact Greg Jacob and his pal Michael Luttig had on my life. And I'm not sure I buy the hero story <a href="https://theweek.com/jan-6-committee/1014460/luttig-i-would-have-laid-my-body-across-the-road-before-allowing-pence-to">they are now writing</a> about themselves. Let me start by distilling what happened in the months preceding January 6, because the facts get lost in the rhetoric. Mr. Trump thought that the election had been stolen from him. That opened the door for John Eastman <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastman_memos">to give</a> Mr. Trump a <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/21/politics/read-eastman-memo/index.html">strategy to litigate his dispute</a>. At that time, Mr. Eastman <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnSYF0UD2mVNCU7UCdKyIo5rsbK1pIBJnzYHPEmUfwWnuvInAAvfsrXpzQmhVtxFi4xVl_ojjTTanjlxWI2EO70E-VvzvSy2RX-RJ9N51DiE7dFBkkb0lOq4JVA1xTjkrdaI_i3Ycxm-61klIXIogwVj5IsefkHNncZ46MlQ0VhKsuk0UZCnzJGFK/s958/image_2022-06-28_112601991.png">thought he could win</a> based, among other things, on prior <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXnSYF0UD2mVNCU7UCdKyIo5rsbK1pIBJnzYHPEmUfwWnuvInAAvfsrXpzQmhVtxFi4xVl_ojjTTanjlxWI2EO70E-VvzvSy2RX-RJ9N51DiE7dFBkkb0lOq4JVA1xTjkrdaI_i3Ycxm-61klIXIogwVj5IsefkHNncZ46MlQ0VhKsuk0UZCnzJGFK/s958/image_2022-06-28_112601991.png">statements by</a> law professor Laurence Tribe. (According to Mr. Jacob, Mr. Eastman <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/jan-6-committee/pence-lawyer-says-john-eastman-admitted-his-plan-to-overturn-election-would-lose-9-0-at-supreme-court/">later retracted</a> this prediction and acknowledged that he would lose in court.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Mr. Luttig, Mr. Jacob and others then argued that Mr. Eastman's position was not worthy of a resolution in the courts. Mr. Pence listened to them, and told Mr. Trump that he would not carry out the plan. That is presumably what caused Mr. Trump and others to assemble a protest, seemingly to pressure Mr. Pence, and the protesters broke into the capitol building. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Mr. Eastman certainly should not have proffered his litigation strategy. But once he did, what would have happened if Mr. Pence had followed the plan? <a href="https://lawandcrime.com/jan-6-committee/pence-lawyer-says-john-eastman-admitted-his-plan-to-overturn-election-would-lose-9-0-at-supreme-court/">Everyone involved agrees</a> that the Supreme Court would have struck it down swiftly and provided <i>closure</i>, rather than letting it linger for years as it has. That is all that would have happened. Democracy wouldn't have ended, and the apocalyptic things Mr. Jacob and Mr. Luttig say they prevented would not have occurred. All that would have happened is that the matter would have been dealt with authoritatively by the highest court, with closure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> And for all his <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/16/j-michael-luttig-opening-statement-jan-6-hearing-00040255">talk of</a> respecting and honoring the law . . . Mr. Luttig doesn't respect it when it goes against him. Here <a href="https://electionlawblog.org/?p=129023">he writes about</a> a possible Supreme Court ruling on election law. He first <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCifAJqam2RZcp_TeZ0BqgRqI5okTgzoUmVIigqSuJPyfaAwjKXl3TqNqAYtmWFUMu1Ub_n7h5PtBdeAvCTdtkADUag48xZ85ZLIqyjHCrHMYKIj21EsgnrJnoOFhkAWzRhNJPyfF3uUPealcvmp5jaEkSNQUiVMzTPBs6I_3BIQHEtUR4arfkCR9/s1131/image_2022-06-20_142313520.png">explains why</a> the court will likely rule against the position that he wants. He then declares that if they rule that way -- if they rule for the side that he doesn't like -- <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI-Yco9A7C23-ZuO5EuKikNjZKAN_lQF_IsJhW7fJ92eqpPu2Sn7bvPgfE_9wqGhFT-KLws-qEpdwFXT-4HNeh-ItQvbiqF_L9Y2g7csofxjZi3DU4r76RfEz3HGvMT1MNE6jrQlkciHoU9CW1_xSuNbSyC3yqL7JSe4o6dDNgWzmU3jGqfEuai9Ts/s1301/michael%20luttig%20independent%20state%20legislature%20doctrine%202.JPG">then it's tantamount to</a> "Trump and the Republicans stealing . . . the 2024 election." The highest court in the country would be nothing more than a thief's accomplice if it disagrees with him. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Similarly, Mr. Pence was reportedly fine with abuse of executive power, if it got him something that he wanted. According to <a href="https://www.salon.com/2021/07/16/mike-pence-and-benjamin-netanyahu-pushed-donald-trump-to-bomb-iran-after-losing-the-election-rpt/">Salon magazine</a>, he and President Trump had <a href="https://www.salon.com/2021/07/16/mike-pence-and-benjamin-netanyahu-pushed-donald-trump-to-bomb-iran-after-losing-the-election-rpt/">concocted a scheme to bomb Iran</a> in the final months of Trump's term. This plan "reflected Trump's seeming willingness 'to do anything to stay in power.'" The article quotes General Milley as saying Mr. Pence was "intent" on carrying out the military attack. If the article is accurate, then Mr. Pence would have let the president start a possible war to stay in power. That's who Mike Pence is. President Trump cancelled the plan only after other advisors counseled against it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> If you want to predict how lawyers like Mr. Pence or Mr. Luttig will act, perhaps don't rely on the normative values they exhort. Lawyers <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/01/omelveny-omm-greg-jacob-mike-pence-covid-task-force.html">were trained to say</a> whatever will advance their client's interest. It's <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/01/omelveny-omm-greg-jacob-mike-pence-covid-task-force.html">their job to</a> say one thing in one setting, and say the exact opposite in another setting, depending on what they were trying to advance in each of those two settings. They'll say whatever suits them at that moment. So please don't expect Mr. Pence to not abuse executive power when it suits him, and please don't expect Mr. Luttig to respect the rule of law, including the Geneva Convention, when it goes against him. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Ultimately, a lawyer started the mess by advancing a frivolous theory, then other lawyers exacerbated it by preventing an authoritative court from deciding the matter. And now with Joe Biden's <a href="https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/presidential-approval/highslows">approval rating</a> at an <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3497964-biden-approval-rating-hits-new-low-poll/">all-time low</a> -- lawyers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/09/jan-6-key-figures-committee-hearings">Liz Cheney and Jamie Raskin</a> are conducting what <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1106933879/jan-6-committee-hearing-tv">some call a "show trial"</a> in an attempt to prevent Mr. Trump from running again. Things are a mess and I have no clue how this will all turn out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> [Addendum: Apparently Mr. Jacob had been trying to leave O'Melveny. In 2018, he reportedly used O'Melveny's connections to the Trump administration to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYJwjV0yDELv3BNVN5Y9dkeIXF8L0ThHEQEYyvHI0Oe1Zn5KLv9FKq7gAVcHrjK9NYNNs8wrjqLpSsVW5UZiJQfh6lgXfqB2V7c2PRH55g1xW5BkXrqjWQUbURVcXzli_T0jkaXVfzvk-gBUlTxqff58-2i3Rnxo0FWhbr7T7mIYqKXPmeq-ERF51/s1140/greg%20jacob%20wanted%20to%20leave%20O'Melveny.JPG">apply for a career position</a> at the Department of Labor (a career government position is often <a href="https://govtrackinsider.com/should-any-of-a-presidents-appointees-be-allowed-to-serve-in-government-for-life-1140640c68f8">held for decades</a>, as opposed to a political one that ends with the president's term.) Only after <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYJwjV0yDELv3BNVN5Y9dkeIXF8L0ThHEQEYyvHI0Oe1Zn5KLv9FKq7gAVcHrjK9NYNNs8wrjqLpSsVW5UZiJQfh6lgXfqB2V7c2PRH55g1xW5BkXrqjWQUbURVcXzli_T0jkaXVfzvk-gBUlTxqff58-2i3Rnxo0FWhbr7T7mIYqKXPmeq-ERF51/s1140/greg%20jacob%20wanted%20to%20leave%20O'Melveny.JPG">that stalled</a> did he take <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYJwjV0yDELv3BNVN5Y9dkeIXF8L0ThHEQEYyvHI0Oe1Zn5KLv9FKq7gAVcHrjK9NYNNs8wrjqLpSsVW5UZiJQfh6lgXfqB2V7c2PRH55g1xW5BkXrqjWQUbURVcXzli_T0jkaXVfzvk-gBUlTxqff58-2i3Rnxo0FWhbr7T7mIYqKXPmeq-ERF51/s1140/greg%20jacob%20wanted%20to%20leave%20O'Melveny.JPG">the job</a> as Vice President Pence's advisor. I wouldn't be surprised if he's still looking to leave. I suspect it's unfortunate at O'Melveny at all levels.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Mr. Luttig seems to be trying to become a <a href="https://twitter.com/judgeluttig">social media star</a>. Here <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0ZTRG_MtgbWWJDcKbJGRLkBZt8qst_CPmFFurard4csBxIyTXCs-clvKZDx3UgOe772bewPGobYohPc3pVaYwHhwQV8MfEqVIX0UI2Zee4fT5e0Iv70M9bfxK5H0N7aVXqRoFqTqtXPlJhadiWuGEhCQQdC1JjEq_KJXuP1qHOsaIwac1pp5VTv_/s799/judge%20michael%20luttig%20asking%20for%20retweets%202.JPG">he asks</a> a handful of established social media lawyers for a retweet, presumably to get more likes and followers. Good luck on your next tweet Mr. Luttig.]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">O'Melveny OMM </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBe8Bawi4JMiFVnZ4wRLS4gaL50zGwysRliFRNTwmU6c2O8wyQY2rszJjrfKyl_cZF740zZ0BHXMUR6_ThVqe9jnphkFhFt4PHn02ix8m2Mhy5OMNgtgUhojaRpDJkSsTHEIlkT-4W1ehjC2D0vgT7dMg04XjE3C8DKWlDnJZj4p9bvWKmkrsZsNw-/s1287/greg%20jacob.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="954" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBe8Bawi4JMiFVnZ4wRLS4gaL50zGwysRliFRNTwmU6c2O8wyQY2rszJjrfKyl_cZF740zZ0BHXMUR6_ThVqe9jnphkFhFt4PHn02ix8m2Mhy5OMNgtgUhojaRpDJkSsTHEIlkT-4W1ehjC2D0vgT7dMg04XjE3C8DKWlDnJZj4p9bvWKmkrsZsNw-/w474-h640/greg%20jacob.JPG" width="474" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-62640175643995849382022-05-14T05:02:00.223-07:002023-04-15T18:23:41.405-07:00Life at O'Melveny<span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> A new case is a good example of how, at O'Melveny & Myers, you may work with a certain type of personality to achieve a certain type of end. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> The best way to explain an experience is via anecdotes, so please allow me to share a few before getting to the point of the post. Shortly after I started at O'Melveny, I was chatting with a partner when a woman, Justine Daniels, walked up and said something like, "so I'm being replaced," in that accusatory tone that lawyers have mastered. I wrote about <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">this before</a>. The partner was in a slow practice group. I was in a different group on their floor, so this other group's associates would accuse me of taking work that they could be doing. It only happened a handful of times, but that was too often for my tastes. Who wants to be accused of taking another person's livelihood?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> One day I was in my office as Justine talked to a male associate a few doors down. For some reason, she very loudly interjected with something like, "it's like oral sex; they're going to know if you don't like doing it!" The guy was quiet and studious so I don't think he appreciated that analogy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Another day, she was down the hall screaming about a dispute she was having with someone. In a voice people use when they're about to cry, she screeched, "they're a contract attorney!" I don't know what the discussion was about, other than that she was emphasizing this person's lower rank to make a point.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> One day she and I were in an attorney's office, when he loaded the "new hire" announcement website for an incoming associate. He groaned and said something like, "I'm going to destroy him." I assume in jest, or maybe not? (Again, remember that this was a slow practice group.) Then Justine excitedly said something like, "did you see what I did to" so and so, reminding him of the time she had apparently harmed someone's future. This attitude of taking pleasure in harming others was something I've seen in law more than any other area of society. I'm suddenly recalling a partner in Century City sharing a story about how she ruined an attorney's future. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Getting back to Justine, she then shared her husband's business idea for "bum fucks," a derivation of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumfights">"bum fights" videos of the time</a>. The plan was to get homeless people to have sex on camera or something like that. Having been quiet as I processed all of this, I joked that it could inspire men looking for dates, so that I didn't seem disapproving.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> One time at lunch, a bunch of attorneys were discussing how O'Melveny wasn't like the television shows about law firms. The then managing partner, Carla Christofferson, came by and we complained to her about that, after which she said that her life <i>was</i> like a television show and walked off. We then joked that she had mocked our humdrum lives. We were just having fun.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> We also talked about the show Mad Men. Who would each of the people at O'Melveny be on that show? To chime in, I said something like, "Ted [my boss] would be the Bertram Cooper character." Justine then said that she would be the show's "negress." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> She was vocal on racial issues. For example, she once lectured me after I said I liked downtown Los Angeles's "urban" feel. I meant that it was more Manhattan-like than the suburban parts of the city, but apparently "urban" isn't a word you should ever use to describe things, because it means black people. I think she did all of this to emphasize her <a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/2013/06/racial-capitalism/">racial capital</a>. As I <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/04/if-minority-sues-for-rape-or.html">wrote here</a>, and as explained by this popular <a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/2013/06/racial-capitalism/">law review article</a> -- if you can survive the discrimination -- there is a real and material economic value to being black in a predominantly white environment. Life at O'Melveny was a cut-throat competition for billable hours and once you made partner, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/12/profits-per-partner-law-firm30.html">a competition for margin</a>. Its lawyers used every asset at their disposal to try and get ahead, and I guess this was one of her assets.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> In 2015, two partners invited me to a small gathering on our floor. One of the partners had recently invested in a Hawaiian shirt business, and they said they would wear them there. So I paid like $70 to buy one, put it on it and attended. When I talked to Justine at the party, she repeatedly called me a "mook," saying that I acted like a mook and that I even had the face of a mook. I didn't know exactly what the word meant so I ignored it, hoping it had dual meanings, perhaps one of which wasn't insulting. She then asked if I knew anything about an obscure legal topic she was working on, and I suggested areas to investigate to be responsive, after which she rolled her eyes and said something like, "duh!"</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Justine then started in on a relatively new associate. This young woman was from a working class background in a more rural part of California, but she had worked her way to an ivy league school, multiple clerkships and hopefully a bright future. I could sense that Justine had mixed feelings about her though. Perhaps she felt threatened, maybe the work issue from earlier or something else. I don't know. At one point she put her arm around the young woman and declared that she was the future of O'Melveny, in a tone that hinted at belittlement. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Eventually the group disbanded and it was just me, this other girl and Justine in my office. The same sort of nonsense continued for an hour or so, e.g. Justine said Ayn Rand was the young woman's bible or something like that. She also attacked the young woman's whiteness, calling her an insult for white people, I want to say Aryan. I tried my best to seem jovial and not offended, trying to participate in the discussion as I waited for things to naturally conclude. Eventually, Justine said something about this young woman's sex life (her boyfriend lived out of state) and I could tell it was the final straw. Her expression changed to, "ok I have had enough of this" and she abruptly left and went back into her office. Everyone has their limit.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> I was so concerned about this that I wrote an email to Justine's manager, and another email to my boss. When Justine called me to discuss, I told her honestly that I was just tired of her and ended the phone call. I was going through <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">stress of my own</a> around this time, and this was all getting to be too much. I didn't need to deal with her too. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Now, Justine wasn't unusual; she was a lawyer. As I wrote <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/04/diversity-law-amy-wax-penn-law-exchange.html">earlier</a>, law breeds a certain type of personality. It's an acrimonious field. If you become a lawyer, you may spend your days working with a combative person, a person whose day-to-day goal is to eviscerate the other side. If they weren't that kind of person, they might not be able to last in law. Actually, now that I think of it, Justine was one of the nice lawyers. There was some humanity in her. The real mean lawyers were like the Terminator robot; they didn't waste time with emotion or extraneous communication; they were cold operators who killed in the most efficient way possible.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Now that we've gone over who you might work with, let's look at what you might work on. Back in 2015, a poorly maintained oil pipeline ruptured and caused a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugio_oil_spill">massive oil spill</a> in Santa Barbara. That tragedy led to all sorts of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugio_oil_spill#Aftermath">legislative, regulatory and other responses</a>. It also prevented ExxonMobil from transporting oil from its offshore rigs, as there was now no pipeline. So they had to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/24/exxon-mobil-halts-operations-oil-platforms-california-spill">shut the rigs off</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Exxon wants to turn the rigs on again, especially now with oil prices at their highest level <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/24/oil-prices-jump-as-russia-launches-attack-on-ukraine.html">in a decade</a>. In lieu of the pipeline, Exxon wants to use trucks to transport the oil. They proposed "<a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/santa-barbara-county-rejects-exxonmobil-oil-trucking-plan-2022-03-08/">up to 24,800 oil-filled truck trips a year</a>[.]" In the past, such trucks have crashed and <a href="https://santamariatimes.com/news/local/trailer-that-rolled-into-cuyama-river-spilled-about-4-200-gallons-of-crude-oil/article_169814ba-43d9-5d1e-b46e-533e0a3a8bc7.html">spilled oil</a> into rivers, so dozens of environmental groups opposed this plan. They started a campaign and, e.g., created the video below.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></span></span>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/5MFdmLWW-8w" width="480"></iframe>
<div><br /></div><div> And the environmental groups won. In March, they <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/los-padres/santa-barbara/blog/2022/03/santa-barbara-county-rejects-exxonmobil-oil-trucking-plan">persuaded the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to reject</a> Exxon’s trucking plan by a 3-2 vote. Well, the community has spoken, so I guess Exxon needs to either forget about those offshore rigs or build a new pipeline, right? Nope. This week, Exxon hired O'Melveny to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/california-exxon-mobil-oil-trucking/exxon-challenges-california-countys-denial-of-oil-trucking-permit-idUSL2N2X52AN">force the county</a> to allow the trucks; they hired Dawn Sestito and Justine Daniels. You can read their <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/i2bas1hai0jyhxd/2022-05-14%20exxon%20vs%20santa%20barbara.pdf?dl=0">complaint here</a>. If O'Melveny wins this case, (a) they will make Exxon a lot of money (and of course O'Melveny is paid well for this sort of big-impact work<span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span>) and (b) there will be rare but inevitable oil spills along these trucking routes.</div><div><br /></div><div> This is life at O'Melveny. And yes, I know O'Melveny's partners <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/10/omelveny-salary-careers-profits-per-partner.html">can make</a> millions of dollars a year. If money is important to you, this life might be worth it at the partner level. But if money isn't important, or if you're a support employee with little chance of ever making that kind of money . . . there may be easier ways to make the same living.</div><div>_________________________________________</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><sup><span><br /></span></sup></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> I wonder if O'Melveny negotiated a <a href="https://www.hollandhart.com/alternative-fees-require-early-assessment">"success fee"</a> here whereby, if they win, Exxon will pay O'Melveny more than it would have paid under a simple billable hours arrangement. Incidentally, O'Melveny has made a fortune on oil spills. For example, they spent fourteen years billing on the Exxon Valdez spill (see this <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/09/us/tenacious-lawyer-turns-exxon-spill-into-pollution-case-for-the-ages.html">link from 1994</a> about the start of the litigation, and this link <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2007/07-219">from 2008</a> about its end.)</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-21895015633294709562022-04-17T03:50:00.273-07:002023-03-18T09:35:01.310-07:00Law can be an unpleasant profession (and my exchange with Amy Wax)<span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Last week, Penn Law professor Amy Wax went on Tucker Carlson's show <a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/trending/social-relevance/us-law-professor-amy-wax-controversial-statements-on-indians-566730.html">to argue</a> that Indians come from a "shithole" country, which engenders feelings of jealousy within them, and causes them to criticize certain aspects of white culture. In the past, she made <a href="https://www.phillyvoice.com/penn-law-amy-wax-asians-immigration-glenn-loury-racism/">similar arguments</a> about how Asians are culturally inferior. She has <a href="https://www.phillyvoice.com/amy-wax-penn-professor-racist-comments-more-whites-fewer-nonwhites-immigration/">also said that</a> the United States "will be better off with more whites and fewer nonwhites," again because nonwhite cultures are inferior. Ms. Wax's comments remind us that talented minorities may wish to think twice before possibly wasting their life in law.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> Let me try to explain via an example. Say you're an Indian engineer in Silicon Valley. Say you stumble on a speech proselytizing that tech companies will not be successful unless they hire white employees, and that Indian employees and their inferior culture impede success. You would have to laugh at how out of touch the speaker is. A big tech company couldn't compete without Indian and Chinese talent; it would be dead in the water and quickly overtaken.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> The same is true for many other industries. But in law, a big firm can succeed if it only hires white lawyers. As a matter of fact, there are huge and successful law firms that are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/27/us/paul-weiss-partner-diversity-law-firm.html">essentially all-white</a>. This unique aspect of the legal profession is why law is different from other industries. It's why racist thoughts can survive in law.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Now, I don't mean to suggest that law is a great profession for white people. It can be an unpleasant job for them too. Lawyers are endlessly engaged in bitter and acrimonious fights. Indeed, I am not surprised to see Ms. Wax go on national television and use vulgar language to insult billions of people who did nothing to her. A life in law breeds that sort of personality. I am also not surprised to see Ms. Wax put on airs, despite the fact that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQngcPh8wde7ha5ZISnlAs7l1QUK2W2UOoCc2hqYw__xZ0lZMgWbVRppT7moen_dTgKNzECbOGKnNB8SBnKujl3Q19edeVt_vbkPJWlWhLn0zvaU8emkPSutgildcOzaXUubzIEonMqbcEgU5nkkf0Dyl8H_XwckQSpWxq0ELAQonwpXOmKGYtjTaz/s766/amy%20wax%20eastern%20european%20jewish.JPG">according to Ari Cohn</a> she comes from a family of relatively new Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Lawyers have to <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/01/omelveny-omm-greg-jacob-mike-pence-covid-task-force.html">train their brains to lie</a>. They do it so much that sometimes they start to believe their own role playing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> The work of a lawyer doesn't necessarily make the world a better place either. Amy Wax talks about how Asian immigrants will harm the country, but, e.g., <a href="pharma lawyers and lobbyists actually did to the nation">pharma lawyers, lobbyists and regulators</a> started an opioid crisis that has killed half a million Americans so far, and could take decades to fix. Some lawyers make money <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/04/brian-brooks-used-his-position-in.html">by promoting corruption</a> in government (and when lawyers do the right thing in the face of an incentive to be corrupt, they <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/01/elon-musk-tesla-cooley-associate-sec-enforcement.html">risk angering</a> powerful people who will come for them with a vengeance.) All of the above occurs if the lawyer actually gets a client, which can be a <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2022/04/if-minority-sues-for-rape-or.html">demeaning process</a> in itself.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> So no, please don't get me wrong, law is not exactly a dream job for white people. But it can be especially bad for minorities because in law, on top of everything else, they have to deal with racism at a level that couldn't exist in other professions.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">* * *</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> After listening to her comments, I <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYCtWoW2fHnP2zsreIq3dWKmqqPejWS4eBPI83ENxX9djzlzUzAAL_bG9TvG6JpcX5GYIN4C01j3AAoLJTNQwXp1X4Ol5rCu8QYTrMtSTUQ3Ns2ruhPXX4UdVWKoqLrhirZcMAGjwLl4DpqU2xYMVTtYq37DcVeJ-FqiBGrkFq1jI71998JjqtWaVK/s1680/amy%20wax%20email%20full.JPG">wrote Ms. Wax</a> to ask her to please research the history of India and China, as well as the state of the world as it is today. The British Empire may have temporarily turned those two countries into "shitholes," but I'm not sure why she would blame Indian and Chinese cultures for that. They did their best to repel the violence and economic waste the British would inflict. Unfortunately, they were a little behind in military technology, and so suffered a temporary <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inglorious_Empire">dark period</a>. Dr. Shashi Tharoor has numerous presentations on this history (links <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8m4sbVyYkw">one</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SEPPnd3380">two</a>.)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> But both India and China kicked the corrosive British out as soon as they could, and are quickly restoring their prosperity to levels that existed before the British arrived. For example, before the <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/10/omelveny-omm-johnson-johnson-opioid-trial-oklahoma.html">opium wars</a>, China was in its affluent <a href="http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/qing/economy.html">High Qing era</a>, where it enjoyed a massive trade surplus with the rest of the world. Today, after <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7k_z7hpFx-8nNOSul4S-tV4HkLFMa9FF8MlPfBdyhcIYU8PlWQbFucV4GIBG9Bj7X0RyuIvdLShUZzkxTPhb1j2aowbIc2kO3ihki9y8wN_u9Zbg2xTE21ZreZSt3p-FZVyIZrFXDO7edGVkKVAYjHk9k2xtmlrvSIgeP-KPKLxf7gKIODqv4rby4/s986/image_2022-04-18_031930557.png">decades of effort</a>, China <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/china-trade-surplus-record-stocks-51642736156">once again enjoys</a> a massive trade surplus with the world. India is also on its way to recovering, after having <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2018/12/19/how-britain-stole-45-trillion-from-india">an estimated $45 trillion</a> looted by the British. Things are returning to the way they were before the 19th century. And that temporary period of decay reflects more on imperial British culture than it does Indian or Chinese culture.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: white; font-size: small;">Amy Wax, Penn, Indian medical students, brahmin</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2NrpBB6l4DGDq6Dmdjj5W6n44-IP5ldIvOD7CgWRvJUYn2Wcosaj1F0XtNJWa2sW4ecgd521BLoRgkXVv38_wNvUBvvvzcB9rY3rB7vzPfk3g5whc3U-MuMg1bSW219IIAFXPzn55kFskWbMM8lkAdxPKaV3aifcOPDAsbCkgXYU_9Jh1EHd0FWg/s9606/india%20china%20share%20of%20global%20gdp.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5725" data-original-width="9606" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-2NrpBB6l4DGDq6Dmdjj5W6n44-IP5ldIvOD7CgWRvJUYn2Wcosaj1F0XtNJWa2sW4ecgd521BLoRgkXVv38_wNvUBvvvzcB9rY3rB7vzPfk3g5whc3U-MuMg1bSW219IIAFXPzn55kFskWbMM8lkAdxPKaV3aifcOPDAsbCkgXYU_9Jh1EHd0FWg/w640-h382/india%20china%20share%20of%20global%20gdp.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202122;">The global contribution to world's GDP by major economies from 1 CE to 2003 CE. From </span><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #202122;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_world">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_world</a></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/IGgiasHFtwU" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IGgiasHFtwU/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div></div></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-59569012716119609622022-04-09T05:44:00.069-07:002023-03-18T09:35:56.110-07:00If a minority sues for rape or discrimination, use one of their people to fight them<span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> It's been a fortunately quiet two months here. I saw the <a href="https://www.sandiegonewsdesk.com/2022/03/soft-corruption-and-newsoms-silence-pge-lawyers-wrote-pge-bailout-law/">article</a> about how O'Melveny hijacked the governor's office to help its former client, at the expense of the people the governor is supposed to serve. But I had already <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/09/omelveny-omm-bankruptcy-restructuring-governor-newsom-pge-wildfire.html">written about that</a> last year, and had written about O'Melveny's <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">"monetize government" ethos</a> two years ago. Then a few weeks ago, the alleged rape victims who O'Melveny <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/02/omelveny-sexual-harassment-investigation.html">said it would help</a> -- only to <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/10/omelveny-omm-sexual-harassment-assault-guess.html">fight them</a> -- revealed their identities in a <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/fashion-mogul-paul-marcianos-sexual-assault-accuser-jane-doe-1-outs-herself-as-amanda-rodriguez?ref=scroll">press conference</a>. But I had <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/10/omelveny-omm-sexual-harassment-assault-guess.html">already written</a> about their story too. So it's been two months without anything new to write about. Great job O'Melveny; keep it up. . . . Well, actually, the press conference does segue into a topic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> When I originally wrote about the rape case, I was surprised to see that Catalina Vergara was assigned to it. She worked on ERISA and financial services matters. Why was she now on a rape case? Then I saw <a href="https://ne-np.facebook.com/LisaBloomEsq/videos/i-represent-three-women-accusing-guess-inc-co-founder-paul-marciano-of-harassmen/374709981168538/">the press conference</a>, and saw that two of the alleged rape victims were Latina. Ohhhh I think I might know what happened here. You see, Ms. Vergara <a href="https://hispanicexecutive.com/omelveny-myers-llp/">marketed herself</a> as a Latina. (As I wrote in <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">an earlier post</a>, I learned that associates mocked her claim, as her parents are European and her maiden name was Dutch, but any way that's how she marketed herself.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> So I think what's going on here is the classic, "we'll use one of your people to fight you" strategy. I don't have any proof of this. I don't have a video of an O'Melveny lawyer saying, "the accusers are Latina so put our Latina on the case." It's pure speculation. But if you see a pattern, I think it's fair to wonder about motivations.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> And you'll see this pattern throughout biglaw. As a recent example, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33690172/steve-wilks-ray-horton-join-brian-flores-lawsuit-nfl-teams-alleging-racism-hiring-practices">multiple black coaches</a> sued the National Football League ("NFL") for discrimination.<span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> Who did the NFL hire to defend them? A <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/nfl-taps-loretta-lynch-to-fend-off-dolphins-discrimination-suit">black woman</a>, Loretta Lynch of Paul Weiss. And she'll take it. As I described in prior posts (links <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/12/profits-per-partner-law-firm30.html">one</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/10/omelveny-salary-careers-profits-per-partner.html">two</a>) -- biglaw has a cut-throat "eat what you kill" sales culture, and partners will take whatever rich client they can get. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Or consider the case of the black associate who is currently suing Davis Polk for discrimination. Who did Davis Polk hire to defend them? A black attorney, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5d5weA957nlvyc6_mKwQxH8y2z1ZnX0tdgUkp1BkQXYWMbJb6BXjYYxOVtfu0-LHp0fSd41KKfpW5wZVrRqlyiCHmqRBYuqrB3vZiIgFyTGv16QkQmPdWie5FB13KoJ67h-fujBoFcwrUE5QhQ-cYU7cSytX31nVQQSzjndfCfed3472bHjltK8qh/s1600/jeh%20johnson%20paul%20weiss.JPG">Jeh Johnson</a> of Paul Weiss. Incidentally, Paul Weiss is such a notoriously all-white firm that The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/27/us/paul-weiss-partner-diversity-law-firm.html">wrote an article</a> about it. But they have a few black lawyers, apparently to fight the black plaintiffs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Any way, I could give you countless other examples but I'll cut this short. Still, perhaps keep an eye on it. You might notice that minority biglaw attorneys fight members of their own group at a higher rate than you'd expect, if their race didn't play a role in assignments.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">_________________________________________</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><sup><span><br /></span></sup></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> The coaches' biggest gripe was something I <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/05/omelveny-diversity-culture-hiring-recruitment-rooney-rule-mansfield-rule.html">wrote about two years ago</a> -- that the Rooney Rule a.k.a. the Mansfield Rule is a sham. That rule requires employers to consider a minority when hiring for a position, and it was marketed as a way to end discrimination. It's a sham because no one checks to see if minorities were actually considered. All an employer has to to do is to say they considered a minority, and they can go ahead and make the exact same decision they would have made if the rule never existed. A blatant racist who would never hire a black coach could easily satisfy the Rooney Rule.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdYN4Y8IegHY62u8TqJP83noxlquU824qjHo9EGYLYDyWL9YeP6D8hb3pKAGa97M9e_4SWtJb3sZKEoGcnpGRJsAI2_nMs0yiuXEcwPfAuv9F5nGUmYSZ1qwvHWokyHjVUA2UuVh_IM05KMKD1Uq0q6dl8xQ5ylwXUcb_EXrZwkLUjltIBzQ8hI8S/s938/o'melveny%20discrimination.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="938" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDdYN4Y8IegHY62u8TqJP83noxlquU824qjHo9EGYLYDyWL9YeP6D8hb3pKAGa97M9e_4SWtJb3sZKEoGcnpGRJsAI2_nMs0yiuXEcwPfAuv9F5nGUmYSZ1qwvHWokyHjVUA2UuVh_IM05KMKD1Uq0q6dl8xQ5ylwXUcb_EXrZwkLUjltIBzQ8hI8S/w640-h510/o'melveny%20discrimination.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-89523726821621358402022-01-30T16:42:00.078-08:002023-05-02T11:39:54.203-07:00Dan Petrocelli's son was arrested<span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I have never met Dan Petrocelli, but I heard stories. For example, an associate told me about the time a partner e-mailed Mr. Petrocelli the final version of a brief, after which Mr. Petrocelli cursed him out for emailing it instead of printing it and dropping it off in person -- humiliating the partner in front of coworkers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Once, an associate told me that someone had contacted numerous attorneys in the firm, complaining that Mr. Petrocelli had kicked a person under the table during a deposition.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> To share another story . . . back in 2014, nine partners left Mr. Petrocelli's Century City office in about seven months (links <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/la-law-shakeup-top-showbiz-748225/">one</a> and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/omelveny-loses-litigator-marvin-putnam-801231/">two</a>.) A person who, by their position, appeared knowledgeable about the goings-on told me that they left because of Mr. Petrocelli. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Or there was the time I overheard Brian Boyle remark, to another attorney, that one of his biggest wishes was to retire from O'Melveny without ever having to work with Mr. Petrocelli. Yes, the <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">torture advocate</a> who criticized the Geneva Convention felt he was too civilized to work with Dan Petrocelli. So apparently Mr. Petrocelli seems to be a rough guy, at least if you believe the stories.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I guess this turbulence crept into his home's culture as well, and perhaps rubbed off on his son Adam, who was recently arrested for "fight[ing] in a public place," "trespassing" and violating an order to prevent domestic violence.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> After receiving the above tip, I wondered if I should add it to the blog. By grace, I have never been arrested. But like everyone I've been through some adversity and hard times. So I wondered if it would be inappropriate to report on someone else's difficult circumstances. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> But I'm going to add it. From <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/10/omelveny-dan-petrocelli-harvey-weinstein.html">reportedly threatening</a> sexual assault victims, to <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/09/omelveny-omm-dan-petrocelli-trump-case.html">choosing not to</a> stop racist comments about a judge, to <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/08/omelveny-friend-thomas-barrack-arrested_9.html">defending alleged corruption</a> in government, Mr. Petrocelli's work is responsible for some content here. The goal of this blog is to help readers understand the firm, and Mr. Petrocelli is its most eminent attorney. Perhaps this story will give readers insight into his world, and help them understand him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> The information below comes from the <a href="https://montereysheriff.org/inmates/">Monterey County Sheriff's Office</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">Adam Daniel Petrocelli arrest</span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZNmoYYzUFSQ7oLTRMe7uOWcU20u2hfVQI_mp6iYxrDuM-fzefoPBxdC9MqJb0rDGvB096ehgrYWBDNCMFdxDKZ0okR3y9P64-RWO824LDqLHEnpZyKJZJceYjbfpvvcBE0wPbePFOByXykabnrZjPvXx3--wxvt9hsZCtRKrNsQNSxJAryF8J64xR=s1149" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="1149" height="580" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgZNmoYYzUFSQ7oLTRMe7uOWcU20u2hfVQI_mp6iYxrDuM-fzefoPBxdC9MqJb0rDGvB096ehgrYWBDNCMFdxDKZ0okR3y9P64-RWO824LDqLHEnpZyKJZJceYjbfpvvcBE0wPbePFOByXykabnrZjPvXx3--wxvt9hsZCtRKrNsQNSxJAryF8J64xR=w640-h580" width="640" /></a></div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">
</span></div><br />.</span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-82300033410831490482022-01-15T12:17:00.127-08:002023-04-15T18:30:04.807-07:00Elon Musk tried to harm a government lawyer who did his job, instead of monetizing it<div><span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> In the past, I've written about O'Melveny's belief that a government job is something to be monetized for your own personal benefit (links <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">one</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/03/judge-rejects-omelvenys-attempt-to_9.html">two</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/04/brian-brooks-used-his-position-in.html">three</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/06/omelvenys-used-car-salesman-culture-on.html">four</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/08/omelveny-friend-thomas-barrack-arrested_9.html">five</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/bimal-patel-got-his-money-at-paypal.html">six</a>). It might have been the most noxious thing I saw at O'Melveny. This attitude among regulators reportedly <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/12/winners-and-losers-in-americas-opioid.html">created the opioid crisis</a>, for example. Any way, one public servant apparently wasn't aware of what he should be doing with his job. So he put duty over his pecuniary interests. His reward for doing the right thing, is that Elon Musk is trying to harm his life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> This all started when Mr. Musk <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-219">tweeted something</a> in 2018 that boosted Tesla's stock price by six percent. The problem was that it was a lie, <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-219">according to the</a> Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Needless to say, allowing an executive to get away with lying to boost his company's stock price endangers the health of the markets -- markets that are far more important than Elon Musk or Tesla. I know Tesla has a trillion dollar market cap, but that number is insignificant when compared to the value of all securities traded on SEC-regulated exchanges. You can't allow one tiny part of the market to corrupt the system, even if that tiny part is connected to the wealthiest man in the country. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> There's a reason why America's securities markets are the most desirable and preeminent in the world -- it's because the SEC fights to make sure that everything is run transparently and fairly. So they naturally <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-219">filed charges</a> against Mr. Musk for the alleged lie. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> To settle the charges, Mr. Musk <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-226">had to pay</a> tens of millions of dollars and make <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-226">severe changes</a> to Tesla's governance. Mr. Musk also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-tesla-asked-law-firm-to-fire-associate-hired-from-sec-11642265007">reportedly did</a> one other thing. When the SEC lawyer who interviewed Mr. Musk left to join the law firm of Cooley LLP, Mr. Musk <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-tesla-asked-law-firm-to-fire-associate-hired-from-sec-11642265007">told the firm to</a> fire him. He <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musks-tesla-asked-law-firm-to-fire-associate-hired-from-sec-11642265007">reportedly said</a> that if they did not fire him, he would not send them any more billable hours. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Based on the harsh settlement and Mr. Musk's ire, I think it's fair to conclude that this attorney did his job. He was not deferential or obsequious to Mr. Musk's status and prestige; he didn't kowtow to Mr. Musk, in the hope of landing a lucrative job at Tesla.<span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> And in response, the centibillionaire is trying to teach him and all government personnel a lesson. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Looking to the future . . . I'm going to try to follow two things: the attorney's career, and whether there will be fewer SEC enforcement actions, because SEC employees are afraid of what will happen to them if they pursue powerful executives. These two questions are another litmus test of whether or not we now live in a corrupt and broken third world country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> [Addendum: An earlier version of this post included the attorney's name, but I later redacted it at Cooley's request. Incidentally, they informed me that his career at the firm has not been harmed in any way.]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> [Second addendum: Mr. Musk claims that he did not lie when tweeting. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220209002245/https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1026872652290379776">His 2018 tweet</a> said that a Saudi Arabian investment fund had offered to buy Tesla. The fund denied that, after which the SEC filed charges against Mr. Musk for the tweet. Mr. Musk, though, claims the fund had verbally made the offer. He <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/25/23040961/elon-musk-saudi-pif-texts-tesla-private-lawsuit">reportedly "privately raged"</a> at the fund's manager for denying it. Whatever happened, there was apparently no evidence of an offer, and so the SEC had little choice but to pursue the matter.] </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> [Third addendum: On February 3, 2023, a jury <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/business/elon-musk-tesla-investor-trial.html">ruled for Mr. Musk</a> in a trial over the 2018 tweet, "finding that Mr. Musk’s statements did not cause the investors’ losses."]</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">_________________________________________</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><sup><span><br /></span></sup></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> This happens, even at the generally competent SEC. For example, in the year 2000, the SEC <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/mar/12/bernard-madoff-timeline-fraud">was told</a> that Bernie Madoff was lying about his investment returns. But the SEC personnel investigating Mr. Madoff's prestigious firm <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/not-so-shocking-sec-really-screwed-up-madoff-investigations">did only a cursory review</a> before blessing him. It wasn't until the 2008 financial crisis, when investors pulled their money out of everything, including Mr. Madoff's funds, that he had to confess that he didn't have their money, because he had been lying the entire time.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOClKQemyV7guaQi4LT4OfFg2tzbulSVxky3_X-VhEoc_rEnb9Yeyzeir3t045V3G007i-XboUtM5KAFEVobG6t8wx5IbUyPs5aFAsqQmwTZDA7XYIaz8xMYChpnxZGIp8h5381A0GTuD0SIsdkmXhZMgNw8wo98i6dxmV5cMvAF5lHYcj65VC0aMz=s1133" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="1133" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOClKQemyV7guaQi4LT4OfFg2tzbulSVxky3_X-VhEoc_rEnb9Yeyzeir3t045V3G007i-XboUtM5KAFEVobG6t8wx5IbUyPs5aFAsqQmwTZDA7XYIaz8xMYChpnxZGIp8h5381A0GTuD0SIsdkmXhZMgNw8wo98i6dxmV5cMvAF5lHYcj65VC0aMz=w640-h632" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-26281093752991322202021-12-11T14:11:00.017-08:002023-03-18T09:36:19.946-07:00Winners and losers in America's opioid era<div><span><span face=""><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> As background on the opioid era, please read <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/10/omelveny-omm-johnson-johnson-opioid-trial-oklahoma.html">this post</a>. In summary, three decades ago, pharmaceutical companies recreated the business model that the British used in 19th century China. Except this time, it was American customers instead of Chinese ones. And they didn't use the imperial British navy to fight those standing in their way; they used lobbyists, regulators and lawyers. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEKgN5Q86bdM29dspFFHGaTv-0YHUycbfqIVemmcXUESG5fObr_mXcUcIOyFlCQ7rzrAjAwMfkaEw8zVGXbOtzCS4zcybWvSLL6_0VKz8G63ejO9NLSRAy0lsDQ0KvDiwodmE5aTb-GA/s2048/o%2527melveny+omm+mass+torts+toxic+torts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="2048" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEKgN5Q86bdM29dspFFHGaTv-0YHUycbfqIVemmcXUESG5fObr_mXcUcIOyFlCQ7rzrAjAwMfkaEw8zVGXbOtzCS4zcybWvSLL6_0VKz8G63ejO9NLSRAy0lsDQ0KvDiwodmE5aTb-GA/w651-h377/o%2527melveny+omm+mass+torts+toxic+torts.jpg" width="651" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div> If you have time, please also <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dopesick-Dealers-Doctors-Company-Addicted/dp/0316551244">read</a> or <a href="https://www.hulu.com/series/dopesick-227de06a-d3d4-42e0-9df1-bb5495e1738d">watch</a> Dopesick, a series about how pharmaceutical companies started America's opioid crisis. </div><div><br /></div><div> And I use the word America's purposely. Dopesick recounts how pharma companies tried to execute their plan in Europe -- but were rebuffed by European regulators. There is one memorable scene where a top pharma executive becomes angry after learning of Germany's final rejection. As you can see below, opioid deaths are relatively rare in European countries. (For a detailed analysis of the differences between the United States and Europe with respect to opioids, see this <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/addressing-problematic-opioid-use-in-oecd-countries_a18286f0-en">OECD report</a>.)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHHMPlhQ48zuwSbXKpMLvh9uSJoo_dJjs4ZPO-tbDhG1rzuHhpfT0wg00GcO_ITrWswj8E22KPAUxkc7B3-cbKSAkcSBqHnOyDOjhMy1J1qrwuXDhApqFb0xXHMvDWnMdjpAWPQiyLFA/s1492/opioid+deaths+25+oecd+countries+united+states.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1492" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHHMPlhQ48zuwSbXKpMLvh9uSJoo_dJjs4ZPO-tbDhG1rzuHhpfT0wg00GcO_ITrWswj8E22KPAUxkc7B3-cbKSAkcSBqHnOyDOjhMy1J1qrwuXDhApqFb0xXHMvDWnMdjpAWPQiyLFA/w640-h408/opioid+deaths+25+oecd+countries+united+states.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I've written about O'Melveny's belief that a job in the United States government is something to be "monetized" for your own personal benefit (links <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">one</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/03/judge-rejects-omelvenys-attempt-to_9.html">two</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/04/brian-brooks-used-his-position-in.html">three</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/06/omelvenys-used-car-salesman-culture-on.html">four</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/08/omelveny-friend-thomas-barrack-arrested_9.html">five</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/bimal-patel-got-his-money-at-paypal.html">six</a>.) Well, according to Dopesick, this was true among some pharma regulators as well. It portrays them as giving approvals because they wanted lucrative private sector jobs. Dopesick even alleged that some top Department of Justice lawyers were on pharma's side. This all illustrates something quite disconcerting -- that the public may wish to be careful when relying on legal and regulatory officials to protect them.</div><div><br /></div><div> China fought wars to rid its country of opioids, and there is a figurative war here as responsible people fight to do the same. This is going to <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/opioids/basics/epidemic.html">take a while</a>, as the trend shows that things are <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzL3VhRc4AOzZql4mG7TaH8vJmKDagmOTdB6WQ3iC66hizWQg8Ll1lL28k0bPW60zSm-BVKtZdudYol7C_7OkguRt3znXc-HjFGwF4DX7WDzMtqZU0QA8tYyjMojHZA71WL-i3aWUjyKo/s16000/o%2527melveny+omm+mass+torts+toxic+torts+3.jpg">getting worse</a>. Apparently, an opioid epidemic is one of those things that's easy to start, but very hard to stop. It took China <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/opium-trade/The-Opium-Wars#ref348538">over a century</a> to remove the scourge, a painful century. Although China was in its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Qing_era">prosperous</a> High Qing era when its opioid crisis started, the drug helped create the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_humiliation">worst period</a> in its history. (I hope that doesn't foreshadow what's in this store for this country over the next few decades.)</div><div><br /></div><div> But even in hard times, some do well. Every period is filled with people who suffer, but also those who thrive. Every era has its winners and losers, and so has America's opioid era. The first picture above is of O'Melveny's opioid team. They dressed up and flew to New York City to <a href="https://www.omm.com/our-firm/media-center/press-releases/omelveny-lauded-at-the-american-lawyer-industry-awards/">receive the</a> "Product Liability Litigation Department of the Year" award at The American Lawyer Industry Awards, for their win on behalf of an opioid manufacturer.<span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> Beyond the award, the litigation was a financial win for O'Melveny. As its chair Brad Butwin <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjihLCxViRfRu_q6HEz1-nvdIOz_3b8b63ePBozfQ1Hljk3WHSgE7QZ-OliccphzdygB63S-8n3qHd-FMDg3wsULaHW9LLBiQeSPtR7YLjsnG7U_6vhvr7ZfNVjDeZ9LcpoJHlAOieIzJA/s1600/o%2527melveny+brad+butwin+opioid+trials.JPG">explained</a>, opioid cases are a key component of the firm's revenue strategy.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> The other four pictures are from these articles: (1) <i><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/overdose-rhode-island-drug-car-narcan-son-1068332">Father Revived With Four Narcan Treatments After Overdosing with Son in Car</a></i>, (2) <i><a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-md-overdose-deaths-2018-story.html">As Maryland's opioid crisis rages on, so does the grief of the families left behind to mourn</a></i>, (3) <i><a href="https://www.heraldnet.com/news/adults-found-overdosed-with-a-small-child-in-their-car/">Adults found overdosed with a small child in their car</a></i>, and (4) <i><a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2020-12-19/overdose-deaths-far-outpace-covid-19-deaths-in-san-francisco">Overdose Deaths Far Outpace COVID-19 Deaths in San Francisco</a>.</i></div><div><br /></div><div><div> Congratulations on your win O'Melveny.</div></div><div><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">_________________________________________</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><sup><span><br /></span></sup></span></div><div><span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> These prior posts describe the related litigation: <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/05/omelveny-culture.html">one</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/07/omelveny-profits-per-partner-opioid-trial.html">two</a>, <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/09/omelveny-profits-per-partner-opioid-trial.html">three</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/10/omelveny-omm-johnson-johnson-opioid-trial-oklahoma.html">four</a>. In summary, O'Melveny lost at trial after being overwhelmed by evidence. But appeals briefs threatened that Oklahoma would be boycotted if it allowed its nuisance statute to be used against opioid manufacturers. Possibly scared of these threats, the appeals court reversed the trial court and held that "nuisance law does not extend to the manufacturing, marketing, and selling of prescription opioids." </div><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">Richard Goetz, Sabrina Strong, Steve Brody, Amy Laurendeau, Charles Lifland</span></div></div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijcwSNzk4vzzv2kl-V4ETzFM0HFWjkRALM7-UsBZaDK3sh22ztVfiG8c-BhPSmOk_59gAn6Zxfh54pfTBJ9YVxLhJjBQsuxg6jPS8zu6sYxYKjoyJadydqNV0egAO4QT76_KarkaIEtg/s1346/o%2527melveny+omm+mass+torts+toxic+torts+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="995" data-original-width="1346" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjijcwSNzk4vzzv2kl-V4ETzFM0HFWjkRALM7-UsBZaDK3sh22ztVfiG8c-BhPSmOk_59gAn6Zxfh54pfTBJ9YVxLhJjBQsuxg6jPS8zu6sYxYKjoyJadydqNV0egAO4QT76_KarkaIEtg/w640-h474/o%2527melveny+omm+mass+torts+toxic+torts+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-44487764515158544412021-11-29T04:16:00.014-08:002023-03-18T09:36:25.572-07:00O'Melveny's suspicious "independent investigation" prompts a coordinated response<div> One aspect of the frivolous and entertaining world of sports is that owners will occasionally fire the team’s manager. George Steinbrenner was the archetype of such an owner, <a href="https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/managers-for-new-york-yankees-under-george-steinbrenners-ownership/article_45190dd6-afcb-5d5b-9195-da02545b3679.html">firing dozens of</a> managers over his 30+ year tenure. He once changed managers three times in a season. But they were honest firings. As far as I know, the owners didn't try to swindle the manager out of severance payments they were entitled to under their contract. Well, according to reports, O’Melveny may have come up with a scheme to change that, prompting a reaction from National Basketball Association (“NBA”) general managers.</div><div><br /></div><div> This all started with O’Melveny <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-trail-blazers-president-neil-olshey-allegedly-created-toxic-workplace-with-bullying-intimidation-065116805.html">commencing</a> a “fair” and “independent" investigation for Portland Trailblazers owner Jody Allen. The investigation <a href="https://twitter.com/trailblazers/status/1457039997563916296">will determine</a> whether General Manager Neil Olshey bullied and intimidated staff members. (Yes, O’Melveny is going to judge this -- the firm whose principals <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">praised torture</a> and reportedly threatened <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/10/omelveny-dan-petrocelli-harvey-weinstein.html">rape victims</a> and <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/07/omelveny-michael-walsh-commerce-department-general-counsel-sharpiegate.html">scientists</a>. If I could tell you all the examples of bullying and intimidation that I heard of or saw at O’Melveny . . ..) O'Melveny will "submit its findings to team owner Jody Allen shortly, and a decision on Olshey’s future will be determined soon after." </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div> Of course, in reality, the investigation may not be fair or independent. As I <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/03/omelveny-alumnus-white-collar-investigations.html">explained here</a>, these investigations violate the most fundamental precept of the legal system -- that each side be represented by their own lawyer, who argue before an independent judge. In fact, if you want to know how O'Melveny will rule in an independent investigation, you may wish to figure out who in the organization pushed to hire them, and what that person wants. You may be surprised by how often this technique predicts the conclusions in O'Melveny's report.</div><div><br /></div><div> And the NBA's general managers figured out what was going on – that Ms. Allen seems to be looking for a way to fire Mr. Olshey “for cause,” so as to screw him out of the termination payments he is due. As <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32659703/nba-general-managers-forming-association-support-executives-amid-portland-trail-blazers-investigation-sources-say">reported by</a> Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, “many top team basketball executives are fearful Portland is creating a blueprint for other ownership groups to invoke firing for cause and sidestep payment on contracts.”</div><div><br /></div><div> The general managers responded by lawyering up themselves. They "<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32659703/nba-general-managers-forming-association-support-executives-amid-portland-trail-blazers-investigation-sources-say">are working to</a> finalize the formation of a professional association that would collectively support executives with access to legal defense funds, lawyer referrals and public relations professionals[.]" </div><div><br /></div><div> So what was once a relatively gentlemanly relationship between owner and general manager is now a morass of scheming and machinations, with lawyers billing by the hour to <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/01/omelveny-omm-greg-jacob-mike-pence-covid-task-force.html">cherry-pick and spin</a> for their side. And O'Melveny is quite proud of what they've done here. They <a href="https://www.omm.com/our-firm/media-center/in-the-news/sportico-nba-gms-seek-collective-voice-as-olshey-faces-trail-blazers-probe/">advertised this</a> story on their website; presumably gratified by the new <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/12/profits-per-partner-law-firm30.html">revenue stream</a> they've helped to create (and O'Melveny is milking this for all the billable hours they can get; they've already decided that they need to <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-trail-blazers-gm-neil-olshey-investigation-extended-expanded-233635363.html">expand and extend</a> the investigation past its original due date.)</div><div><br /></div><div> [Addendum: O'Melveny's report <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/12/03/1061295224/portland-trail-blazers-general-manager-neil-olshey-fired">concluded that</a> Mr. Olshey violated the Portland Trail Blazers' "Code of Conduct," giving Ms. Allen the justification she needed to terminate Mr. Olshey's employment. The article doesn't say whether Portland also used O'Melveny's report to deny Mr. Olshey's termination payments (but I'm guessing they did.)]</div><div><div><span face=""><span><span face=""><span><span><span face=""> </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">O'Melveny, OMM, Apalla Chopra, white collar practice</span></div></div><div><div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkbD8IJJjRPTmLD0gmrTvO7JPpbRD65Mh5IrIafyTbfifc4in1890Q2g3lVmNRsqEDmhSyxWYDqKvjvAn5QbC-182ZdQjBc1XqSbYAm_i-VHJmLcUkF5J8A6RrdnJeILuopO3OMlMjBQ/s1008/o%2527melveny+independent+investigation+portland+trailblazers+olshey+1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1008" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGkbD8IJJjRPTmLD0gmrTvO7JPpbRD65Mh5IrIafyTbfifc4in1890Q2g3lVmNRsqEDmhSyxWYDqKvjvAn5QbC-182ZdQjBc1XqSbYAm_i-VHJmLcUkF5J8A6RrdnJeILuopO3OMlMjBQ/w640-h628/o%2527melveny+independent+investigation+portland+trailblazers+olshey+1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/KV-GJ9iNX8g" width="480"></iframe></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-22333376542825603632021-11-20T13:59:00.037-08:002023-07-14T10:03:54.263-07:00Bimal Patel got his money at PayPal<span><span face=""><span> Bloomberg <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMvjXrXtkEgzjvJSBpIcBfmlrrVKMo8IgqQFvyNwYazQhcQSjIW5tTn34w9QvbgWzwVUXpPRjBjhugnRuyZznJ4A5K0zxA-kBQmRwEvu2mhiX5CIWNleGrwbCF-ZGok0xoY9bhXXJfyw/s0/bimal+patel+paypal+post+2.JPG">reports that</a> Bimal Patel just took the job of Chief Legal Officer at PayPal. This is relevant to this blog for a number of reasons.</span></span></span><div><br /><div><div><div><div><span> Bimal was the person whose anti-Muslim comment and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpE4ygqOD8ihdJ1rQ4-0K3qj_U6Ui3zYCEkIHBjx3fkcxfJffRauZESukpPQmcC4iSiZOXknTpSmDlSUvJPisodyyKlG3OcfZZvpq2hfvDN2s5sHcCGFcfp7y6wvcVP7bn7G_7dEj5LVQ/s1061/bimal+patel+paypal+post+4.JPG">friendship with torture advocate</a> Brian Boyle started <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2017/03/omelveny-myers-llp-discrimination.html">the chain of events</a> that led to this blog. He's also the person who taught me about </span><a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">monetizing government</a>. I'm not surprised to see him pursue PayPal. It's <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhefkX6nZlWCkXXzJfYR15tCGuNCpC1W0kcr9Z9-pSqTqQKEl3eiuGctJye4Rmykv_nwqMuoIMYIyQZD8sZQWYJEpj5eoZTmNCv9Ze3FI5btJSepmTzpfHV-_nPPdbg_5MNpJkej9EqwCU/s847/bimal+patel+paypal+post+1.JPG">one of a handful of</a> companies that pay their lawyer over $10 million per year. I wouldn't expect a person so consumed by money that he viewed not just the legal profession, but also government service, as a means to riches to work anywhere else.</div><div><div><div><br /></div></div></div><div> What's interesting about Bimal, though, is that he was in the same <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">utterly dead</a> bank regulatory practice that I worked in. (If you would like more color on that, please <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">read this prior post</a>.) You may be wondering how someone from such a practice can become the legal officer for PayPal. Wouldn't they want to hire a person with lots of practical experience; a person with a lot of clients, deals and such? Below, I'll explain how that happened. It's a case study on how people monetize government into wealth. </div><div><br /></div><div> Actually, before doing that, let me add one more anecdote about what it was like in the group, because it was the first time I learned what kind of person Bimal was . . . One way the practice rain danced for work was by writing articles offering to do any bottom-feeding act for any client if they would just hire us, e.g., this one Bimal wrote offering to <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/blj133&div=6&id=&page=">defend mortgage lenders</a> accused of racial discrimination. </div><div><br /></div><div> One time, Bimal asked me to write such an article for him, but he said to write it without entering my time into O'Melveny's hours tracking system. Back then I wasn't an employee of O'Melveny. Instead, O'Melveny paid me by the hour; $75 per hour. And so attorneys had to get approval from management before assigning me anything because by assigning me work, they increased O'Melveny's expenses by a few hundred dollars (standard <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/09/omelveny-peloton-omm-compensation-salary-pay-profits1.html">O'Melveny cheapness</a>.) But if I didn't enter my time, he could circumvent that system and get me to do the work for nothing. </div><div><br /></div><div> And actually, while I'm on this topic, Bimal wasn't the only one who did that sort of thing. I heard that another attorney in the group, Trevor Lain, had tricked two brand new associates from another department into doing a lot of non-billable work. I didn't tell anyone about Bimal's request, but these other associates were vocal, and their complaints led to a mess that required a partner to get involved and apologize to them. (Incidentally, those two associates left O'Melveny a year or two later. Trevor also left O'Melveny a few years later. He tried to take one of O'Melveny's clients with him, hoping to use that revenue to fund his new solo bank regulatory law firm -- hubris that ended as you would think.) </div><div><br /></div><div> If I could summarize the bank regulatory practice in a few sentences, it was a group with virtually no work or clients, filled with opportunists using any machination and scheme they could think of to try and get ahead. It epitomized the term, "rat race."</div></div><div><br /></div><div> Getting back to Bimal's career, he knew he wasn't going get anywhere in a dead group. So in 2012, he implemented <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">his "monetize government" strategy</a> and left to take a job at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. He then used strong support from his friend Brian Boyle to parlay that resume entry into a partnership at O'Melveny, which he returned to in 2015. </div><div><br /></div><div> But that only created a new problem -- he now ran the bank regulatory practice. I remember him on calls in 2015 and 2016 bemoaning how hard it was to collect on a small project. Pure misery. And again he wrote <a href="https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/prattjb12&div=5&id=&page=">article</a> after <a href="https://www.law.com/therecorder/almID/1202774121206/?slreturn=20211017045842">article</a> hoping to land a client. During that time, Mr. Boyle staffed him on ERISA matters to help him stay busy. </div><div><br /></div><div> Seeing that he wasn't going to make much money at O'Melveny . . . he once again resorted to his strategy of monetizing government. He used his new title of partner and head of a practice (outsiders didn't know what the practice was really like) -- along with <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/08/omelveny-myers-culture-blog-marketing.html">O'Melveny's intimate connections to</a> the incoming Trump administration -- to attain his second government job, this time at the Department of the Treasury. And now, he has <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/paypals-legal-chief-louise-pentland-to-depart-at-years-end">used that title</a> to attain the large salary at PayPal, the goal he had been pursuing this whole time. </div><div><br /></div><div> Since I'm writing about all of this, let me mention a third attorney in the group -- <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-arena">Todd Arena</a>, as he also had an interesting story. In early 2015, when Bimal was coming back to O'Melveny, Todd worked in the renewable energy and project finance group. One day, the practice head Ted McAniff and I got an email stating that Todd was really interested in our practice, and that he wanted to join the bank regulatory group. </div><div><br /></div><div> Todd had apparently met Ted and gotten the wrong impression. Everyone has their essence, and Ted had his. The first day I entered O'Melveny's offices, he told me that he had lied to get me into the firm. Throughout my time with him, he occasionally shared anecdotes about other times he lied, just as a means to an end, or a way to get out of a difficult spot. I'm trying to remember some of the stories; like one when he was working at an ad agency before he went to law school . . . actually, let me move on. I don't need to dredge up those memories.</div><div><br /></div><div> The problem was that lying can hurt people. Me, for example. Before I entered Ted's sphere, I had received the award for the top tax student in my law school (granted by O'Melveny, ironically.) Had I known the truth about Ted and his practice, I would have pursued that instead of following him. I wrote more about Ted in <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/03/omelveny-prestige-revolving-door.html">this prior post</a> if you're interested. But to add one other bit of detail here, he eventually told me that he worked for no compensation, I assume because the title and having his name on O'Melveny's website led to other opportunities. Once, he told me that he was worried about the firm cancelling his security card and locking him out of the building.</div><div><br /></div><div> Seeing how confused Todd was, and worried that he might ruin his career, I had an hour-long discussion with him where I told him the truth. I tried my best to explain how bad it was to work in a slow group. I gave Todd a breakdown of every project we worked on over the past year, and how much we billed. And Bimal wasn't going to change any of this, because he was just trying to add the title of partner to his resume, as a stepping stone to a lucrative job elsewhere. </div><div><br /></div><div> Despite my efforts, Todd gave up his position as counsel in the project finance group and joined the bank regulatory group in the lower position of associate. And it turned out exactly like I warned him it would. In a year or so, Bimal left the dead practice to return to government, and so Todd had to leave too. He couldn't go back to the project finance group that he had abandoned so, according <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFutoF12lVHC6lQrAvHHjgga-z26zy9OfWvOPr9lftEbOKbN2NuCHiIj-_pTJqqzA4x4xaak9z5l-PrAI9O3M6_VFCvwJ3OQNch2FKRNN-RdX6kLIzX_k3WMbZ63ZJBe8VetGGP9MsZT8/s0/todd+arena+linkedin.JPG">to his linkedin</a>, he has been jumping through a series of short-term jobs. I tried to warn him.</div><div><br /></div><div> Any way, as you can see, monetizing government works as a strategy. You could be someone with virtually no clients and thus little practical experience; you could be an opportunist; you could get your primary support from a torture advocate who lied to a federal court; and still, despite all of that, you can still monetize government into a large salary. And this is the motivation of an untold number of people in government. <br /><span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">Bimal Patel Paypal email</span></div><div> </div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><span><span face=""><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQvxESrD1Q3Y33Rt6yl3awWrFCA2NQjc3QgzIgfFJU271zg0OnFT8CWRN364pPA0jJkPlX8deTJ5EhsD7CxX8xY3k6HmjYQXxfj7KBORbINHn9Z-ym8-aRjxburlrFnUtg3Kr3fIfIpU/s808/bimal+patel+paypal+post+3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="808" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQvxESrD1Q3Y33Rt6yl3awWrFCA2NQjc3QgzIgfFJU271zg0OnFT8CWRN364pPA0jJkPlX8deTJ5EhsD7CxX8xY3k6HmjYQXxfj7KBORbINHn9Z-ym8-aRjxburlrFnUtg3Kr3fIfIpU/w640-h378/bimal+patel+paypal+post+3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span></span></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-79340991282975339772021-11-03T04:20:00.026-07:002023-03-18T09:36:36.489-07:00New rape accusation shows why O'Melveny's "independent investigations" aren't trustworthy<span><span face=""><span> As I <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2019/03/omelveny-alumnus-white-collar-investigations.html">explained previously</a>, one way that O'Melveny makes money is by conducting sham "independent investigations." The risible nature of such </span></span></span>investigations is so well-known that it's now in popular television. Just <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11099454/?ref_=ttep_ep1">last month</a> in the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/succession-season-3-premiere-series-high-ratings-1235033161/">hit series Succession</a>, an executive was accused of sexually assaulting women who wanted entertainment jobs. (And these were valid accusations; the other executives knew that he did this.) As they strategized how best to get rid of the matter, <span><span face=""><span>the company's general counsel suggested </span></span></span><span><span face=""><span>hiring a firm like O'Melveny to do an independent investigation.</span></span></span><div><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span><span face=""><span><div><i>Chief Executive Logan Roy: Everyone, let's go. </i></div></span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span><div><i><br /></i></div></span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span><div><i>General Counsel Gerri Kellman: Okay. Great. So, I suggest I call DOJ and just right away let them know how horrified we were to learn of these, um, allegations and that we intend to form a special committee and we can tell them which white shoe law firms, I have ideas, we are considering to thoroughly investigate and promptly report back their findings. </i></div></span></span></span></div></blockquote><div><span><span face=""><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span><i>Succession</i>, <i>Secession </i>(HBO television broadcast Oct. 17, 2021), <i>script <a href="https://tvshowtranscripts.ourboard.org/viewtopic.php?f=191&t=46954#detail">available here</a>. </i></span></span></span>It's another example of the American Bar Association and state bars failing to regulate the profession in a way that maintains the public's esteem. Any way, a particularly brazen example of this just popped up in the news. </div><div><br /></div><div><div> Back in 2018, the actress and model Kate Upton accused Guess founder Paul Marciano of sexual assault. In response, Guess hired O'Melveny to perform an "independent investigation" of her allegations and decide if he had done anything wrong. Shocked that Mr. Marciano's "personal lawyer" would be hired for that role, Ms. Upton protested publicly, after which Guess used another law firm to conduct the investigation. (See this <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/02/omelveny-sexual-harassment-investigation.html">prior post</a> for the relevant links.)</div><div><span><span face=""><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span> In January of 2021, another woman accused Mr. Marciano of sexual assault. Who defended Guess in that matter? O'Melveny & Myers. (Oddly, the word O'Melveny doesn't appear in <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/s7jnstbxzfzylhg/2021-01-19%20docket%20paul%20marciano%20case%20o%27melveny.pdf?dl=0">the case's docket</a>, but three of the lawyers fighting the victim, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhUaNZsDuGuYqcOBPuKFFaycxeCTdPNVr1yaxHYsWfBLVzrjrxzrvO8KGnvooajwcWeM9AFSO4A69e-uGv9fuEmEqN0gwPTAfhm8pCUpQcqFGvPAlOnlrUaM6VkzlGik4qHaB3uiLf2gYxiXfofRTnk3KJtJbL5r8u6rnlB_39-2hKB4BuFwlo0VD2a=s940">Dan Petrocelli</a>, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vTvXa3sdeXR_hyphenhyphenGAa3LqiL7ek4R0oXyBIisUVvIbXCfoEhhg59xU2-GmHjVQUFykzQG8ZQmR7XBMw9GRZ3afHEkx6Nln0cvlq3agIKw1mkerD8pT3U3_edYvbf_O2vlwFCaJZagoS_o/s1030/o%2527melveny+omm+guess+marciano+sexual+assault+case+3.JPG">Catalina Vergara and David Marroso</a>, are O'Melveny lawyers. See links <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvdEiOSA5Wo8xB7azdLxs2RJnWoioL2SR-6JOrUG__77Fd8n6mM_-FREtBi8jJ0DDSBi5xpKq2jEmbEEqMKefngxLNy4HSHGqcb0RBTJ2DOdN83ub-1Hl_bhXA0kEX9cu9Fg5yWH1LiYRmh3e-STIVlyW1KLQ6kpg4KZueNk5HLPWtz6t3B6joXR3J">one</a>, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTEqLcKfd2W0S7fqbecGlkfWUwH0xOpjcavGq2ySJgPhK_tbIThyphenhyphenxDfQTvPnJx4v_Kngy8Nvj_trgsaUL9saR0AGazn8gXAQ989l4y7sWybusqbA2-gA1ryUswYm9BFD9eO3fO6rduJh0/s1026/2021-10-31+david+marroso+guess+sexual+harassment+post.JPG">two</a> and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb8GNof2Jx008GELLiqSCK-u2xEafyhGjO-DZA2zAPRNOLYTxIrqn8HzPme34jFYFyZgLAjpGCf3ZRDAUZBm3u5gBxS21RP4PwR6MuwIH0jZfhfMAmMTWc8PZMTvNEmxffH1I2kTniE0M/s0/2021-10-31+catalina+vergara+guess+sexual+harassment+post.JPG">three</a>.) </span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span><span face=""><span> What did O'Melveny do in the case? They <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0vTvXa3sdeXR_hyphenhyphenGAa3LqiL7ek4R0oXyBIisUVvIbXCfoEhhg59xU2-GmHjVQUFykzQG8ZQmR7XBMw9GRZ3afHEkx6Nln0cvlq3agIKw1mkerD8pT3U3_edYvbf_O2vlwFCaJZagoS_o/s1030/o%2527melveny+omm+guess+marciano+sexual+assault+case+3.JPG">filed a motion to</a> force the matter into confidential private arbitration. </span></span></span>Some view this as a dirty tactic, as it is designed to move the matter out of the public court system, where a jury would decide, and into into a private forum where a <a href="https://www.hnlr.org/2020/08/forced-into-employment-arbitration-sexual-harassment-victims-are-saying-metoo-and-beginning-to-fight-back-but-they-need-congressional-help/">possibly biased</a> arbitrator will decide. In fact, companies such as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/09/technology/facebook-arbitration-harassment.html">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/15/technology/uber-sex-misconduct.html">Uber</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/why-companies-now-want-harassment-out-in-the-light/2021/06/08/2c2c5884-c8ce-11eb-8708-64991f2acf28_story.html">Microsoft</a> have stopped using this tactic in sexual harassment matters, because it harmed their reputation. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/nyregion/new-york-revised-sexual-harassment-laws.html">New York State</a> even passed a law banning such forced mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment matters. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-285_q8l1.pdf">wrote</a>, forced arbitration reflects “inequality of bargaining power,” thwarts “effective access to justice” and undermines “the well-being of vulnerable workers.” (Sourced from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ginsburgs-vision-led-us-to-a-better-america-we-can-do-the-same/2020/09/20/e3f57194-fb51-11ea-b555-4d71a9254f4b_story.html">this article</a> by Justice Goodwin Liu.)</div><div><br /></div><div><span><span face=""><span> Unfortunately for the young woman, the <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmq3p6e6xyipy9i/2010-05-21%20o%27melveny%20guess%20sexual%20harassment%20catalina%20vergara%20david%20marroso%20mandatory%20arbitration.pdf?dl=0">judge enforced</a> Guess's mandatory arbitration provision and so we don't have any further updates on her case. </span></span></span><span><span face=""><span>But last </span></span></span><span><span face=""><span>week, a new woman <a href="https://www.law.com/therecorder/2021/10/25/omelveny-glaser-weil-soft-pedaled-guess-founders-misconduct-suit-claims/?slreturn=20210926190609">accused</a> Mr. Marciano of rape. </span></span></span>A copy of the complaint is <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21091861-42393429_complaint">here</a>. The case's docket doesn't yet show who will defend the company, but I have a feeling that it'll be O'Melveny & Myers. [Addendum: Indeed it is O'Melveny. The docket shows the aforementioned <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizATYJqUEYZvkLaBK9VypkgvIKAjN-cs3iXHN1_Kpk-soyriSRURue5aD1hC-9S4_VlIGjNa_yVpP73_dOV2_5mlUd1HYDO6E6cU3IWoc694yXJf-Fqqh2f34_EHZE1ScsjlqCfBpoIlA/s1667/2021-11-16+catalina+vergara+sexual+assault+guess+case.JPG">Ms. Catalina Vergara filing a document</a> on behalf of Guess on November 16.]</div><div><br /></div><div> Remember, O'Melveny -- the firm fighting tooth and nail against the alleged victims -- was going to do an impartial and independent investigation of the sexual assault allegations against Mr. Marciano.</div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: small;">O'Melveny, OMM, Apalla Chopra, white collar, investigation, Dan Petrocelli, David Marroso, Catalina Vergara, sexual assault, sexual harassment</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG06UHcmJDxAT6jV-xMXnzodrSKcMt7kJ4zwfXutf07wgcXRDj3z3_7cy9K39TPjvQSRyyc62jXqQ8dptPj3jyypiXl3UqXL3MxCmThPoAxRWDdEkDWcRtvBixYKqVDiRqVdHDpCguBcE/s983/o%2527melveny+omm+guess+marciano+sexual+assault+case+4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="937" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG06UHcmJDxAT6jV-xMXnzodrSKcMt7kJ4zwfXutf07wgcXRDj3z3_7cy9K39TPjvQSRyyc62jXqQ8dptPj3jyypiXl3UqXL3MxCmThPoAxRWDdEkDWcRtvBixYKqVDiRqVdHDpCguBcE/w610-h640/o%2527melveny+omm+guess+marciano+sexual+assault+case+4.JPG" width="610" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-81763792452640683822021-10-23T00:25:00.026-07:002023-03-18T09:36:40.822-07:00O'Melveny embarrasses their client with a reportedly "absurd" letter<span><span face=""><span> Last month, <a href="https://gizmodo.com/apple-fires-program-manager-who-accused-bosses-of-haras-1847649269">Apple terminated</a> a senior engineer after she complained of harassment and other improprieties. I'm guessing O'Melveny played a role in that because a</span></span></span><span><span face=""><span> few days later, they sent Ms. </span></span></span>Gjøvik the letter stating the basis for her termination. O'Melveny's letter was reportedly so "absurd" and "weak" that it caught the attention of reporters, and this matter turned into a front-page article (links <a href="https://gizmodo.com/apple-wanted-her-fired-it-settled-on-an-absurd-excuse-1847868789">one</a> and <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/culture/apple-is-leaning-on-weak-arguments-to-defend-a-senior-engineers-firing">two</a>.) The tech website Gizmodo <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoh36f-H5nq77FEYO_WFj0sSR68W4Dad0ljoX44fXxcXkQVccctcHluab6l23ormlfhUTTBccPHnPcpz8LrgtbiBXpHvOeRFfUmyOS826UTPqh-9gFnUVMvzX0KV3pjrDN7v-fiKTSHxg/s992/o%2527melveny+employment+discrimination+3.JPG">summarized the letter</a> along with <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQBH0Y_YZ6wQSTMNLwyarQAxDA8Waz6ocfreVDzBgGMbtfzf6qlFMnsTpHydR_1spW_Bwk3_X1NfbW3B3AzzdeOIsREB3PC9_BFc1fAxbiTJePYze0kr3akVhXwc2AeNEK97ds7PY8Jg/s1032/o%2527melveny+employment+discrimination+5.JPG">its faults</a>. <div><br /><div><div><div><div><div> I imagine Apple regrets this needless exacerbation and embarrassment. According to <a href="https://mpstaff.com/the-ugly-truth-about-employee-turnover-in-silicon-valley/">Menlo Staffing Partners</a>, the technology sector has a 13.2% annual rate of employee attrition, and the average Apple employee works there for only two years before leaving. With <a href="https://apple.fandom.com/wiki/Number_of_Apple_employees">147,000 employees</a>, Apple deals with a lot of departures, and you never hear of the vast majority of them because they were handled properly. </div><div><br /></div><div> But before you conclude that O'Melveny is upset about any of this, remember that its partners <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2018/12/profits-per-partner-law-firm30.html">dream of lengthy litigation</a>. Firms like O'Melveny compete with each other for a relatively small pool of what is called "premium work" (work for clients like Apple, the ones willing to pay biglaw's high billing rates.) They sit around <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2020/12/omelveny-omm-biden-harris-enforcement-doj.html">hoping for a such clients to get sued</a> because without such lawsuits, O'Melveny can't get to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4nZR_3P0lPBL0FJnw3jiWcW79tV4HNlk7df0RStOs44mLK1VLf9nqVewOLohz4LU6alTD3ysIacrdwMTurVYEhKTzmcJ9wUGZmd7lAzo_HvXLatT4Px7wEvkUxmI-LkVenX6njZa31A/s1008/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+6.JPG">$2.5 million</a> in annual profits per partner. </div><div><br /></div><div> This is where the interests of Apple and O'Melveny diverge. What follows is complete speculation, for which I have no basis . . . but I would not be surprised if O'Melveny's labor and employment group intentionally mishandled the engineer's situation so as to exacerbate the matter and create or lengthen litigation. Again, that is pure speculation on my part, and I have no evidence that O'Melveny actually did this. But still, if someone has a financial incentive to do something, it's fair to wonder if they ever act on that incentive. </div><div><br /></div><div> It's something to remember about private-sector lawyers -- they're not necessarily there to help you; they're trying to make money off of you. Lawyers don't necessarily profit by making your life better. An ever-worsening trainwreck in your life will seem like a tragedy to you, but to the lawyers working on your case, it might seem like a gift from the rainmaking gods. </div><div><br /></div><div> It occurs to me that a week ago I <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/11/only-omelveny-omm-stories3.html">wrote about</a> the unpleasantness of the topics on this blog, and here I am experiencing that feeling again, so I'll cut this short. Any way, hopefully Ms. Gjøvik somehow recovers from all of this, and attains some sense of justice.</div><div> </div>
<span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">O'Melveny, OMM, labor and employment, employment discrimination, sexual harassment</span></div><div>
</div><div><div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_8woyiNTZcywEK3CjVOzcDs8byqh5WEJgZwD8xhEFLyAH1qsJoIIWxoRlmcJ9SSP9-q4FNkAveZamKa2sl-5sct3dZABjuRVFj0RT38fnwbLbNaTW4EC_0XEE-kseXqyOKcluI83qZU/s883/o%2527melveny+employment+discrimination+2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="883" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_8woyiNTZcywEK3CjVOzcDs8byqh5WEJgZwD8xhEFLyAH1qsJoIIWxoRlmcJ9SSP9-q4FNkAveZamKa2sl-5sct3dZABjuRVFj0RT38fnwbLbNaTW4EC_0XEE-kseXqyOKcluI83qZU/w640-h632/o%2527melveny+employment+discrimination+2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-68158508522414570662021-10-11T08:00:00.007-07:002023-03-18T09:37:21.851-07:00Why I can't expand this site beyond O'Melveny & Myers<span><span face=""><span> Sometimes a reader will ask if I can expand this site to cover other law firms. Well, y</span></span></span>ou have to understand that although it's important to shine a light, and although I am grateful to journalists who are willing to gaze into the abyss . . . writing this blog can be an unpleasant experience. (Working on this has taught me that I would not have made a good journalist. I don't really like writing about troubling things.)<div><br /><div><div><div> Beyond that, there's the time commitment. In a few hours per month, I can compile and summarize every troubling public story related to O'Melveny (along with private stories that the teller wants me to publish, assuming I can do so without any risk of violating defamation law.) But to do that for the profession as a whole would be be a full-time job.</div><div><br /></div><div> So if you would like to see other organizations covered, please feel encouraged to set up a site like this about them. If you focus on one, it won't take much time, and you might do some good.</div><div><div><div><span face=""><span><span face=""><span><span><span face=""> </span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">O'Melveny, OMM</span></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42bQY8O6xIn7uA4tTsJiPHvTWnKcmM24iXiPljb_gkp40iV7oy1yROPGAJ_MrtEmfoBL1BAQVSEuyPabJBOyNVZpnGofHoIZ42K7FkOa25ArWwNs5rR2yIO-zo7ihFqBVExM_eZJmXaY/s900/journalism-pen-wide.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="900" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42bQY8O6xIn7uA4tTsJiPHvTWnKcmM24iXiPljb_gkp40iV7oy1yROPGAJ_MrtEmfoBL1BAQVSEuyPabJBOyNVZpnGofHoIZ42K7FkOa25ArWwNs5rR2yIO-zo7ihFqBVExM_eZJmXaY/w400-h225/journalism-pen-wide.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-50613104058792478762021-09-23T14:00:00.132-07:002023-03-18T09:37:26.291-07:00O'Melveny's generous perquisites<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Last week, <a href="https://www.omm.com/our-firm/media-center/press-releases/omelveny-teams-with-peloton-becoming-first-law-firm-to-offer-corporate-wellness/">O'Melveny announced</a> that it would provide Peloton to all of its employees. They then scheduled interviews with reporters to discuss this news, resulting in articles by <a href="https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1421621/o-melveny-teams-up-with-peloton-for-staff-wellness-offering">Law360</a>, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/peloton-rides-into-corporate-law-firm-wellness-market-2021-09-14/">Reuters</a>, <a href="https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/this-biglaw-firm-says-its-the-first-to-provide-free-and-reduced-rate-peloton-content-to-lawyers-and-staffers">The ABA Journal</a>, <a href="https://abovethelaw.com/2021/09/the-new-hotness-in-biglaw-perks-peloton/">Above the Law</a>, and <a href="https://www.law.com/2021/09/22/the-great-equalizer-peloton-is-law-firms-pandemic-obsession-405-91558/?slreturn=20210823110722">The American Lawyer</a>. (Incidentally, here is <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/law-firm-marketing-catalyst/episode/episode-13-how-to-get-media-exposure-secrets-from-an-former-newsroom-insider-brandon-jacobsen-56326548">a link to</a> O'Melveny's public relations manager talking about how he manipulates journalists into advertising for the firm.)</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> With all that publicity, you're probably wondering what they revealed. Perhaps O'Melveny bought <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZCT6YbbPM_shz_KtTp7cMvO77JaHET97fEqelhzalgCAtzr-aBLY0Yz_7dqUiGe3vYlnpQkYR3fUJtBoeHWG8rJfPjFOwIXpGBgyQEiXm2uMkTIn2y_zHNUbpEJZ6YZ00372LFcompXk/s1201/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+5.JPG">a Peloton bike</a> for each of its employees.<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"> </span>The owner of a tiny suburban law firm <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERPADmJVo_bWQeZOfnMe_k73UdiYy4HQI1dfL8rScqbuwbOi0n4ArxRxJaUcyWg-nXzZq1eu9qJ3Os9EZscbbird0H5p98hg7A-zmF9gEqvE61V332e6q7xYU8kxvUyFg0ir3v9hJUVk/s937/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+1.JPG">recently bought</a> his twenty employees Peloton bikes. O'Melveny's partners made an <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq4nZR_3P0lPBL0FJnw3jiWcW79tV4HNlk7df0RStOs44mLK1VLf9nqVewOLohz4LU6alTD3ysIacrdwMTurVYEhKTzmcJ9wUGZmd7lAzo_HvXLatT4Px7wEvkUxmI-LkVenX6njZa31A/s1008/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+6.JPG">average of $2.5 million</a> each in 2020, so maybe they did the same. No, that didn't happen. Did they pay for Peloton's <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBQpj6IwjpCEhso-4lH5l_IRHseZVCamHYfs0Lx-8PXrmkpB4KYw9KVPkyZYbJkuX_wEbPJWNKW-GPo4N52AO4C-l84dGqGp1t7Z_76C2l0-OFxlyXSdoYKUq9bDFCLVbbQzMnBPSafc/s968/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+4.JPG">$39/month</a> "All Access Membership" plan? No, not that either. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> O'Melveny gave its employees the lowest-tier <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieCDViQi2PgeOd-KFT1mEYuFqxXEZHLBDkY1or-2sBEIXi_uoKD2KuTzmsOMWnSPOos6RKjpKyePc3ylgboiakDL6AYcvZQUWtNs7-VKsJy8M-nxy-BgzZ7k1jrjNU66EmdvwEHW_3whM/s982/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+3.JPG">$12.99/month</a> "Peloton Digital Membership," and an <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0og2gHepbd_N5LcfisR4kPUL9Kd3Z0AP_1OSeH3l4TCxZMGIfjK0G7Rv5dytGxZsUqyEoWUV3gUkLyXSgkIZpQLIIX-zS0FpooprCJG4wJTnvMHo6fexuMyKdlxbzoFxIx1nVyo7a4xo/s16000/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+2.JPG">unspecified discount</a> on the $39/month membership and bike. (The amount of that discount is likely trivial, because if it was worthwhile they would have presumably called attention to it during the publicity stunt.)</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> This is being offered through <a href="https://www.onepeloton.com/corporate-wellness">Peloton's "Corporate Wellness" partnership</a>,<span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"> </span>which is a way for Peloton to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/22/peloton-launches-corporate-wellness-program-in-bid-to-grow-memberships.html">sell its service to companies in bulk</a>. So O'Melveny's partners will probably not pay the full $12.99, since bulk sales usually cost less per-unit than retail. I would guess that Peloton is picking up a significant portion of the cost as a way of getting companies to make Peloton their primary exercise offering. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Also, apropos of this topic, below is a passage from a newly-released best seller. After explaining the benefits of exercise, the author cautions against getting addicted to "running wheels."</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><i>It's important to know that running wheels are not necessarily a model for a healthy lifestyle. </i><i>In short, running wheels are a drug. Mice placed in a complex maze of 230 meters of tunnels including water, food, digging material, nests -- in other words a big area with a lot of cool stuff to do -- as well as a running wheel, will spend much of their time on the running wheel and leave large segments of the maze unexplored. Once rodents start using a running wheel, it's hard for them to stop. Rodents run much farther on a running wheel than they do on a flat treadmill or in a maze, and also much farther than they do during normal locomotion in natural environments. Caged rodents given access to a running wheel will run until their tails are permanently curved upward and back towards their head in the shape of the running wheel. The smaller the wheel, the sharper the curve of the tail. In some cases rats run until they die. </i></blockquote><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dr. Anna Lembke, <i>Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence</i>, Chapter 7 (2021). </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> I understand why O'Melveny's partners would want their employees to use a Peloton bike. They want attorneys to be at the firm's beck and call, including after hours. So they should exercise on something compact that they can keep near their computer. That way if they get an email in the middle of it, they can quickly get to work.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> But who would have thought that simply going to a gym with varied options or biking in the scenic outdoors, with no one receiving data on what you did,<span><sup><span>1</span></sup></span> would one day become a bygone luxury.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">_________________________________________</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span><sup><span>1 </span></sup></span>Peloton <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykVjn3KVWJl19r8SimV7lSUThmrfloWYpICtmq2FKdIpeSKnNPryzzitaoVibUeyWtC_oqRMikdsIh14YzAQDtAtEvPaQorQmTfnLnFCZyCxa3mw4099kSUGVYO0TKIHjiltSyDyh2gc/s1042/o%2527melveny+profits+per+partner+peloton+7.JPG">apparently sends companies data</a> on their employees' workouts. The companies "receive aggregated and anonymized data reports that reveal the positive effect Peloton has on employees' physical and mental wellness."</div></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div>
<span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;">Brad Butwin, George Demos, Brandon Jacobsen, o'melveny, omm, pymetrics</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlgkkkWw8wTb50KliBIkG86mQ3X_Aho4wn4TzxgpT_GtPCYESRn-qSFTByJo0PThB8VOZXpWy3SlVm1zma95w7L4UZnXXSZaQfCY-_bDcdx1YLGuoOM0I_EhAdwd3w42BKH6ZYy-KDc4/s1020/o%2527melveny+peloton+aba+journal.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="665" height="867" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlgkkkWw8wTb50KliBIkG86mQ3X_Aho4wn4TzxgpT_GtPCYESRn-qSFTByJo0PThB8VOZXpWy3SlVm1zma95w7L4UZnXXSZaQfCY-_bDcdx1YLGuoOM0I_EhAdwd3w42BKH6ZYy-KDc4/w567-h867/o%2527melveny+peloton+aba+journal.JPG" width="567" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578370267300633055.post-9657515583892240372021-09-11T04:57:00.033-07:002023-03-18T09:37:30.872-07:00After relying on O'Melveny, California's governor gets blamed for a needless two billion dollar loss<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> In 2018, Pacific Gas & Electric's <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/pge-to-plead-guilty-to-deaths-from-california-wildfire.html">poorly-maintained equipment</a> caused a wildfire that killed 84 people. That catastrophe led to extensive litigation, as well as attention from California Governor Gavin Newsom. Normally the governor <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAleb8qtux2skDV5Hz_sntbGWJGsHJZTPJeU_Q8KRmgLrREVOUSxGoa7gSofTdftpLheKTt2LdQoBPVKFdHpF2P4q0IHx8iscBr3Dph8w8C8QglXT7fMaD6FV1FrXTploz8xf8yAkyfE/s1264/202109+Newsom+O%2527Melveny+omm+PG%2526E+wildfire+1.JPG">relies on the state's internal attorneys</a> for legal advice. But for some reason Gov. Newsom declined their help and decided to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI5X22SQUfT3ScddWabGe3CDOTqz64a_DfSSJtR1DVtHa9klEeFqry6vqEwF0DQ1T674jQ2Gh9XOsnpjxElVtGt-OTXHPfTl0FwA028SxH_bfANm_dvaIlxJ98C4bZC_jUAp4KD_tePQ/s1025/202109+Newsom+O%2527Melveny+omm+bankruptcy+PG%2526E+wildfire+2.JPG">use O'Melveny & Myers</a>. That didn't end well; last week, <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/california/newsom-refuses-comment-after-judge-says-law-left-out-pge-fire-victims/103-426007f6-5c82-4217-b83d-43f8526bb136">he had to run away from</a> a reporter's questions. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Apparently, there were two problems with the work that O'Melveny and the governor's office did together. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> First, they allowed <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyeyNPlzhd25OXaKmM4XaKjAbmxX-OT2jYQR_XFR5Hi_jFxXOOO8i3nWG4GXvXHHpJwHnYjByaBfhKy0YhIN46omVMGDrXv5QvZnLaSTq_a4TCKvaI_KpDNtk7rw-Lb9plrUwPa687U6s/s906/202109+Newsom+O%2527Melveny+omm+bankruptcy+PG%2526E+wildfire+4.JPG">half of the $13.5 billion</a> payment to past wildfire victims to be paid in PG&E stock. They were given <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/m10upa26icyo8wy/2021-09-01%20Fire%20Victim%20Trust%20John%20Trotter%20letter%20PG%26E%20fire%20newsom.pdf?dl=0">477 million shares of stock</a>. At $14.15 per share, those shares would be worth $6.75 billion, or half of the settlement amount. Indeed, PG&E's stock <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83f9AVDPhtJYSFrWE2dgqPjbqNMEJRM7ARCPNt1APyDMjj-GTrhl8syu0-MmRofvdwxn1TcrdrNLlAPcJDsBzZ9q1DCw8sxX2XjVMxlvLpQ3e0mkzlmJHDvI35d9Oxns1k8_QqeRX3x4/s1656/202109+Newsom+O%2527Melveny+omm+bankruptcy+PG%2526E+wildfire+5.JPG">was worth more than $14.15</a> in 2020. And it was supposed to go up from there. In February of 2020, when the stock price was about $16, PG&E's CEO Bill Johnson <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2021/04/01/pge-ties-compensation-of-victims-to-its-future-through-stock/">said he was going to</a> "make sure that stock price is up so that when they sell it, they’re going to get a good price and distribute to the victims.” This gamble was supposed to pay off.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> The problem is that by the time the administrative process pays the victims, the stock will probably be worth much less. Its price has been <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83f9AVDPhtJYSFrWE2dgqPjbqNMEJRM7ARCPNt1APyDMjj-GTrhl8syu0-MmRofvdwxn1TcrdrNLlAPcJDsBzZ9q1DCw8sxX2XjVMxlvLpQ3e0mkzlmJHDvI35d9Oxns1k8_QqeRX3x4/s1656/202109+Newsom+O%2527Melveny+omm+bankruptcy+PG%2526E+wildfire+5.JPG">hovering at around $10</a> for over a year, and that's during a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/16/sp-500-doubles-from-its-pandemic-bottom-marking-the-fastest-bull-market-rally-since-wwii.html">booming stock market</a>. If it can't climb back to the break-even price of $14.15 in this market, it may never do so. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> In his <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/m10upa26icyo8wy/2021-09-01%20Fire%20Victim%20Trust%20John%20Trotter%20letter%20PG%26E%20fire%20newsom.pdf?dl=0">Sep. 1, 2021 letter</a>, the Fire Victim Trustee said this poor stock price created a $2.4 billion shortfall. He said this "seems unfair" and asked for "a working group to address what, if anything, can be done to ameliorate" the problem.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> If O'Melveny was going to <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcI5X22SQUfT3ScddWabGe3CDOTqz64a_DfSSJtR1DVtHa9klEeFqry6vqEwF0DQ1T674jQ2Gh9XOsnpjxElVtGt-OTXHPfTl0FwA028SxH_bfANm_dvaIlxJ98C4bZC_jUAp4KD_tePQ/s1025/202109+Newsom+O%2527Melveny+omm+bankruptcy+PG%2526E+wildfire+2.JPG">collect $3 million</a> of taxpayer money to advise Gov. Newsom, the least they could have done was to structure the settlement in a way that avoids this foreseeable risk. (Incidentally, Nancy Mitchell won one of <a href="https://www.omm.com/our-firm/media-center/press-releases/the-american-lawyer-names-nancy-mitchell-a-dealmaker-of-the-year/?sc_lang=en">American Lawyer's "Dealmakers of the Year" award</a> for leading the O'Melveny team that advised Gov. Newsom. She <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/palladium-equity-partners-names-nancy-a-mitchell-chief-administrative-officer-301260403.html">left O'Melveny</a> this past April.)</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> The second problem has to do with their drafting of AB 1054. That law <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/07/11/governor-newsom-statement-on-passage-of-ab-1054-wildfire-safety-accountability-legislation/">addresses future wildfires</a> caused by PG&E. It has been <a href="https://www.utilitydive.com/news/california-tees-up-wildfire-liability-bill-as-utility-consumer-groups-dive/558134/">criticized for</a> being too friendly to PG&E. One California state official said it's designed to reduce the amount PG&E will have to pay in the event of a fire.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><blockquote><i>If this had been in place during the 2017, 2018 and 2019 fires, PG&E shareholders would have been on the hook for about $4 billion dollars, not for the tens of billions that they've ultimately ended up paying out[.] </i></blockquote><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoDOt3x35wN26HcxNnqu_Qoua1rxh23J3iEe9q_2Jw4u80wahXJX0vud-L_L53pTswMTrT9Opv_WII9hpvs40zy3YPP3nuo_MSOWmxtM0GjH4SiaNiGgXHWY8iycN9d2ylXfPYP8F7DM/s1018/202109+Newsom+O%2527Melveny+omm+bankruptcy+PG%2526E+wildfire+AB+1054.JPG">quoting Nathaniel Skinner</a>, Ph.D., <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/natskinner">Safety Branch Program Manager</a> at the <a href="https://www.publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov/">California Public Advocates Office</a>. This <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/abc10-originals/newsom-pge-protection/103-65ca1d41-8efe-45b4-87bc-0cdecc714378">article explains</a> how O'Melveny allegedly "watered down" the bill to harm consumers. It's based on the reporter's review of confidential emails between the governor's office and O'Melveny.</p><p> In summary, if the reports linked above are right, then O'Melveny and Gov. Newsom's work hurt existing victims to the tune of $2.4 billion, and it could hurt future victims by untold amounts. </p><p> [Addendum: A follow-up article <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/investigations/gavin-newsom-pge-bailout-law-written-by-firm-that-had-represented-pge/103-4ffb6304-298d-41c2-816a-a8d2a3d66026">argues that O'Melveny</a> was conflicted, because they represented PG&E prior to being hired by the governor's office to protect the state's and victims' interests.] </p></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on">* * *</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> Virtually all of the above comes from the efforts of reporter Brandon Rittiman of ABC10 in Sacramento. You can find his <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/abc10-originals/fire-power-money-california-wildfires-investigation-pge/103-c273fb35-1c43-4d9a-9bdc-3d7971e5540b#longform_chapter_1">full coverage here</a>, and a video of his most recent piece is below. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> As noted in <a href="https://www.omelvenymyersethics.org/2021/08/omelveny-friend-thomas-barrack-arrested_9.html">my last post</a>, Afghanistan showed how people can lose faith in a government that's perceived to be corrupt. This seems to have happened to one of the fire victims, Steve Bradley. <a href="https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/abc10-originals/pge-gavin-newsom-lobbiest/103-2fc7d4f4-a0e0-492d-ac1d-ec674e58a67b">He said</a> Governor Newsom's response to the wildfires was "really insidious . . . like next-level movie, you know, the bad guy in the background smoking the cigar manipulating all these things." Faith in Gov. Newsom has fallen so much as a result of the above and other issues, that the voters <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/08/california-recall-election-what-to-know.html">tried to recall</a> him.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> In that post, I also listed three things the United States has to maintain integrity in government: (a) the FBI's anti-corruption unit, (b) a vigilant press, and (c) the right to vote out our leaders. Mr. Rittiman is an example of that vigilant press, a low-paid reporter who works tirelessly to keep the ambitious and perhaps temptable Gov. Newsom accountable to the people he was meant to serve. He's doing more to keep Gov. Newsom on the right path than O'Melveny did.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jVia7cuHfp1X14tYdm73_foeD0nFNhFPuK9vHUye1T06xoNT-unKxeDGN6dGGnb4OH4jjhqADehX3i72qEtPYjcx3JmHnwlfUJfN0iaZxhx9Ma-299flXLu7drRDWFFFGqR-TkhphNbkj0KEaFVTeRTmKxEi7bzp-qTodpGBF65Zc38X_GPfydWP/s1004/o'melveny%20omm%20conflict%20of%20interest%203.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="774" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jVia7cuHfp1X14tYdm73_foeD0nFNhFPuK9vHUye1T06xoNT-unKxeDGN6dGGnb4OH4jjhqADehX3i72qEtPYjcx3JmHnwlfUJfN0iaZxhx9Ma-299flXLu7drRDWFFFGqR-TkhphNbkj0KEaFVTeRTmKxEi7bzp-qTodpGBF65Zc38X_GPfydWP/w494-h640/o'melveny%20omm%20conflict%20of%20interest%203.JPG" width="494" /></a></div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXM4VApYzGDCPimw5wYJdQnQL0w1TupWw46ySJRyVz3mZ8ECqKhdGPHrhrmvtVOGAliL5-80CaDZ7BKJwSptMZdygiu0SHLiqH5swNkPZLybCFKgTsOGJpk3SoU0dcwsR1w0UbDR1aAB_Z5stQYytap6pWsBTh2b_mxuk86kFwmQDvNWJhQV2n6vy/s848/o'melveny%20omm%20conflict%20of%20interest.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="848" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXM4VApYzGDCPimw5wYJdQnQL0w1TupWw46ySJRyVz3mZ8ECqKhdGPHrhrmvtVOGAliL5-80CaDZ7BKJwSptMZdygiu0SHLiqH5swNkPZLybCFKgTsOGJpk3SoU0dcwsR1w0UbDR1aAB_Z5stQYytap6pWsBTh2b_mxuk86kFwmQDvNWJhQV2n6vy/w640-h416/o'melveny%20omm%20conflict%20of%20interest.JPG" width="640" /></a><div><br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">Pacific Gas & Electric</span></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com