Friday, February 11, 2011

Mark Whittaker to Baker Botts, and Not Much Else

Above the Law reports that Mark Whittaker has decided to join Baker Botts.  This could be a fairly substantial blow in that ITC patent litigation is like patent litigation on $teroid$.  Anyone know how much business Whittaker might be taking with him?  ATL also reports that we have had a fairly slow news week in that we only have two partner resignations of interest.  Anyone know of any more?

However, we did get the juicy tidbit that Bobby paid Tom Watson $100K to play golf with a prospective Howrey client, as reported by Sharktanklegal.  Shame it didn't amount to any business.  (Maybe that's why Bobby didn't like partners to know too much about firm finances.)  The Sharktanklegal post is also has some nice information about the attempted Howrey coup that took place last year.  Unlike Mubarak, Bobby still seems to be in charge (at least in name) at Howrey.  Bobby is still the CEO, Managing Partner, Chairman of the Board, and Leader of the Executive Committee.  I think Steve Jobs has fewer titles at Apple.

In the absence of news, I think I will compile the Honorable Mentions that popped up in the comments for the Howrey's Greatest Hits post.  If you have any more to add, please add to the comments section.  It's a heck of a great list already.

Cheers,
Howrey Doody

25 comments:

  1. No loss there. Not much real business. Plus, Whitaker was always a kiss-up to management. Dying to get out of the dreaded "of counsel" role in which he had been stuck, and finally made partner in 2004 or so. Since then, nothing but empty words of promise from him in terms of commitment to associates, diversity, etc. Nice enough guy when you meet him on the street -- but someone who has absolutely no backbone when it comes down to it. Will not stand up for anyone but himself when push comes to shove, and will bend to the 'boss' or whichever way the wind blows at the time. Sad what "lawyers" have come to be.

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    1. 11:04 sounds like a disgruntled associate/paralegal that just couldnt make the cut. ;)Hence, annonymity.

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    2. Projecting much? I actually found Mark quite eloquent. It sounds as though someone is just not that versed in ITC practice and enjoys hiding behind the thin veil of the internet. Please, explore your thoughts more on what he has/has not done for the ITC practice and Patent law in general. I am sure you are another disgruntled associate that was brushed off by him possibly due to insubordination. ABA and AIPLA seems to think differently of him.. hence his current rise to the top in both organizations. Or haven't you heard?

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  2. Interesting to hear that criticism of him. I don't know about his business and I wasn't at the firm in 2004, but when I met him briefly I found him incredibly impressive... And then had a terrible experience with him doing essentially, well, what 11:04 describes. I had hoped at the time (and continue to) that my experience was just a one-off.

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  3. Another greatest hit: the initial press release announcing the opening of the Madrid office, which touted Madrid as the gateway to LATIN AMERICA.

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  4. Through reading of the comments to the last post, might have stumbled upon yet another greatest hit. According to this press release http://www.howrey.com/news/newsdetail.aspx?news=18881 , Howrey's "The Advantage of Focus" advertising campaign featured "high achievers as Duke Ellington, Claude Monet and Judge John Sirica." Now, let's play the old Sesame Street game "Which one of these is not like the other?" The answer is Judge John Sirica. The achievements of Ellington and Monet were accomplished outside the legal profession. Indeed, the point of the ad campaign apparently was to tie Howrey to the accomplishments of culturally significant visionaries through a common denominator, "focus."

    Certainly, Judge Sirica was a higly regarded and well-respected federal judge. Historically, he is perhaps most well-known for holding that executive privilege did not extend to President Nixon's Watergate tapes. However, he seemed out of place in Howrey's "Advantage of Focus" campaign . . . until I saw this: http://www.howrey.com/ruyakr/

    That's right. Judge Sirica is THE JUDGE FOR WHOM RUYAK CLERKED! Without question, many or perhaps most former judicial clerks view their judges as mentors, but it seems inappropriate to SPEND SUBSTANTIAL FIRM RESOURCES TO AN AD CAMPAIGN APPARENTLY DESIGNED FOR THE PURPOSE OF GIVING A SHOUT-OUT TO YOUR MENTOR! This smacks of precisely the same brand of cronyism for which Ruyak is much-maligned and is reported to have served as a contributing factor to the demise of a once-venerable law firm on which hundreds of good people depend for their livelihoods. Disgraceful.

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  5. And can someone please explain what exactly it is that bob greene does? Is he a fixer of some sort? What is the story with him assuming such a senior role in management? Does he have a book of business?

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  6. Bob Green = Wilford Brimley in "The Firm"

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  7. Bob Greene is George Clooney's fixer character in Michael Clayton.

    If you have to ask, you're not as smart as you think and deserve to be laid off.

    Seriously. You're just not plugged into Howrey internal politics, are you? This is common knowledge.

    Get out of your office and try not breathing through your mouth for once. And, you know, actually talk to live people instead of gaming away on the Internet.

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  8. Thanks for the 2:38 comment, Mr. Green. Well done as always!

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  9. Bob Green may like to think he's a Michael Clayton fixer, but he always struck me as a lot more like Clooney's character in Burn After Reading. For the scandals where I know he was involved, his real goal seemed to be to keep tabs on the fallout and ensure firm management could maintain plausible deniability.

    Maybe all that was just a false persona to cover up his secret life of intrigue and mystery.

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  10. At 12:08: please do tell a bit more about your "terrible experience" with Whitaker... Tx!

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  11. Bob Green as the International Man of Mystery.

    Seriously.

    He's one of the most boring men I've ever met. You haven't lived until you've heard him drone on and on about his vintage Parcheesi board collection.

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  12. @4:58. 12:08 here. Again, I found him extremely impressive when I first met him, and I hope sincerely that my experience with him was a product of some unique circumstances and not a broader reflection on him as a person.

    I really don't feel comfortable explaining what happened beyond saying that he could have and should have backed me up on something at a small, but possibly meaningful, political cost to him, and he chose not to do so. I suffered some very severe consequences as a result.

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  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  14. What does Bob Green do? You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

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  15. I have a bad feeling a lot of you will find out what Bob Green does fairly soon.

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  16. Bob Green is the scariest guy I've ever met. Anyone who doesn't understand why should count themselves fortunate.

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  17. New one?

    http://www.pillsburylaw.com/index.cfm?pageid=19&itemid=5597

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  18. Never heard of that guy, 12:16.

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  19. He may have been the guy who was hired to open Howrey's Indian office. Yet another of Ruyak's colossal failures.

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  20. In some quarters, Bob Green is known as the Man from Tallahassee.

    Those in the know whisper this quietly for fear of attracting the wrong kind of attention. Frightened looks and quick glances behind you are common reactions.

    When there is a problem, Bob Ruyak calls for the Man from Tallahassee and the problem is solved.

    Permanently.

    And, yes, there is a vintage board Parcheesi collection.

    You heard it here first.

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  21. So the "People" link is broken on Howrey's site.

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  22. The "people" link is not broken. It's just slow, like it always was.

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  23. @11:14 and earlier ... Bob Greene fluffing himself.

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