Poor, poor partners

The AmLaw 100 is out, and many big law firms had a decline in revenue last year. And you've seen many if not most of them whacking staff, associates, non-equity partners and even some equity partners in response.So how much should we cry? I'm not so sure. Take Chicago, for instance. According to the Tribune, "Average profits per partner at six of the 11 [Chicago-based firms in the AmLaw 100] either fell or were flat compared with 2007." That means five were up, perhaps modestly, but up nonetheless.And those that fell? Mayer Brown: PPP went down to $1.11 million.Sonnenschein: oh my gosh, the...

Read more »

Don't forget the tweets!`

There are times -- today is one of them -- when I'd like to be writing about a lot of topics, but business just won't allow it. I do, however, to tweet about them when I can. So check out or subscribe to my Twitter account or the column to the right, which is updated continuously. Have a great da...

Read more »

CMBS delinquiencies still on the rise

OK, now this is one we can expect. The question is, where does it end? Loans are coming due, CMBS is dead and equity will need to be found to refinance stuff even when you can find a lender. Call it both a great opportunity and a scary time, depending on where you sit at the table. Thoughts, anyon...

Read more »

Sheldon Good & Co.'s BK

Well, I had no clue on this one. I know it happened the other day, but now that I am back home from vacation I cannot help but say a few words (beyond my previous tweet) about the Chapter 11 filing by Sheldon Good & Co., the Chicago-based real estate auction powerhouse.The company says its filing can be blamed upon its late Chair and CEO, Steven Good, who sadly took his own life in January. Millions of dollars may be missing. Ouch. (By the way, a link to Steve's book and his web tribute are still on the website.)Those who follow the company had to assume there had been some down times...

Read more »

GGP and asset sales

GGP says it does not want to sell core assets in its bankruptcy. But Retail Traffic correctly points out that many industry insiders don't think that can happen. And that makes sense to me. Look at the LTV of its portfolio and the amount of debt the company has to restructure.In any event, read for yourself and make your own conclusions. And sharpen your due dilgence pencil...

Read more »

Dear Jenner & Block - stop working so hard!

A Trump Tower Chicago resident is apparently complaining that Jenner & Block's lights are on 24/7, and that this is disturbing her sleep, not to mention that Jenner's wasting energy. Not very green, I guess, but yhey are a BigLaw firm, and that's the way many of these folks operate. (When I was in BigLaw lights went out around 9 as I recall; after that you had to work them manually in your office.)OK, so this buyer never bothered to check out a million dollar-ish condo at night for the views or other issues? She's apparently using eyemasks now (uhhh, yeah, a good idea), but that's not...

Read more »

Tuesday Tidbit - 4/21 edition -- letters of intent

I'm on vacation this week, which explains the dearth of posting. But I did run across an item from South One Capital's blog that made me want to say something quick about letters of intent.An LOI, while generally non-binding, is important for two reasons: first, as the post says, most institutional investors will seldom look at a deal without an LOI. This is as true for sales and leases as it is for loans.Second, the LOI is the general road map for the structure of the deal. Yes, things can change, but if deal terms change thereafter then you get accused of retrading. That's okay, of course,...

Read more »

GGP files Ch. 11

Well, it happened, but not without making a good run at trying to stop it. General Growth Properties filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning. I am reading this: "The filing affects properties owned by the company but does not impact its third-party-management business and some centers owned in joint ventures." Here is the press release that says "broken credit markets" require this filing. (Well, that and levering yourself to the hilt. Wonder how certain former CFOs feel today.)Now, not all the malls are in this 11:Of the 158 regional centers included in the filing, some high-profile...

Read more »

Not all GGP bondholders are so patient

Or so says Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, the lawyers who say they are representing a bunch of bondholders demanding repayment...or else. You can read about it here and here.There are some people who might be happy about this, including possibly William Ackman. That said, I find this quote telling:The bondholders' action pushes General Growth closer to a bankruptcy filing but doesn't mean one is imminent. A trial spurred by the bondholders' lawsuit likely would take months to play out. Meanwhile, General Growth previously pledged to work with its unsecured lenders to craft an out-of-court...

Read more »

Landlords or Carnies?

You may recall reading my post the other day about landlord's coming up with creative uses for vacant space, including indoor surfing. Well, the Llenrock Blog has taken this one step further with an informative and humorous post on creative use, to wit:This concept seems all to familiar to retail landlords of regional malls, power and lifestyle centers. The only thing worse than a rainy day to a carnie is a dark store to a landlord. And landlords aren't being all that shy about it either. A recent article in the New York Times showed that a burgeoning trend to fill up the mounting oceans of...

Read more »

Tuesday Tidbits - April 7, 2009

There's a lot going on both in dirt and in my profession. Here's a quick summary of what I have been thinking about and reading:In the "It's about time" department: many law firms are cutting way back on summer associates, retooling the programs from cocktail parties to work and even reevaluating the necessity of them altogether. I actually worked hard as a summer associate, but I wonder aloud whether we should to to an articling/apprenticeship system (a la medical residency) where law grads are low-paid interns at firms for a year before taking the bar -- and if they cannot find an articling...

Read more »

Surfing at the mall? Yup. And I don't even mean web surfing or channel surfing.

Desperate time require desperate measures. And with mall owners facing vacancies, you'll see just about anything. Community colleges, multi-level anchors with two users, temp stores, medical offices....but surfing?Yes. That is not a typo. Read here. It makes lot of sense, especially here, and also because it appeals to the young demos that retailers covet.Leave it to the dirt industry to find ways to use space creativel...

Read more »