People Moves: Anyone Need A Lawyer?

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 2:09PM

All the JPMorgan people involved should be gone and the entire lawfirm should be gone. No one lawyer or person can take the whole hit.

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 2:38PM

Is this the lawyer from Wachtell?

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 2:38PM

Scapegoat. Steven Black himself repeatedly confirmed this clause, the unconditional guarantee that would stay in place even if the deal didn't go through, on the conference call. It was made clear to even the meanest intelligence what JPM meant.

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 2:50PM

2:38 is right. They discussed it on the conf. call. Why should the lawyer take the fall for drafting what JPM wanted?

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 3:04PM

does that mean there s an opening at Wachtell? i thought wachtell were invincible

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 3:21PM

On one hand, these are extremely sophisticated bankers... who should know their stuff. The deal is the deal. JPM knows the power shareholders possess.

On the other hand, the deal was put together practically overnight with little opportunity for JPM executives to ponder every possible contingency. That's why you hire a firm like Wachtell... and JPM seemed pretty surprised by the reaction of the shareholders. At the very least, Wachtell probably should have very clearly advised them that 1) a "No" vote from Bear shareholders was possible (perhaps probable); and 2) the guaranty would definitely survive successive shareholder votes.

Maybe this lawyer just decided he'd rather make real money in investment banking.

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 4:13PM

I think the lawyer they're referring to here is Steve Cutler, the recently hired GC of JPM.

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 4:22PM

Anything that helps out the Bear is okay with people still working there.

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 4:35PM

Does anyone remember that Mr. Diamond is on the board of the NY Fed? In case anyone forgot, that is the outfit that engineered the BSC backstop.

That horse's ass Diamond had plenty of opportunity to know what the basics of the deal were.

guest@3:21, I don't think that the clowns who happen to have landed in the executive suites of major banks are really all that "sophisticated".

Mr. Diamond's "sophistication" is clearly on display here. It seems to be lacking some vital ingredient.

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 4:44PM

"Diamond"? Come on now, you're pretty harsh for not knowing the guy's name...

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 4:46PM

Is the use of the word "supposedly" evidence of journalistic ethics???? From Bess freakin' Levin????

Posted by Anal_yst, May 14, 2008 4:49PM

Maybe he meant Barclays Bob Diamond? Either way 4:35 is a rambling mess

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 4:49PM

@4:46-- yes, because it means they're not asserting it as fact, genius.

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 4:52PM

Anal_yst

4:35 has to be the same from the RBS post. This is one lost soul.

Posted by Anal_yst, May 14, 2008 5:25PM

@ 4:52

Must be. Its not even worth correcting someone that clueless (or, to give said individual the benefit of the doubt, a really really - insert at least one: drunk, stoned, cracked-out, etc - former banker)

Posted by AJ, May 14, 2008 5:31PM

Come on guys, if you worked at Bear, you'd be drunk and posting rambling nonsensical messages attacking Jamie by 4:35 pm too

Posted by guest, May 14, 2008 5:48PM

i think 4:35 got lost on his way to "gawker".
something tells me if you worked at Bear you would know Jamie's last name (regardless of whether you were drunk, stoned, cracked out.....)

Posted by counterclockwise, May 14, 2008 6:09PM

I don't think the clueless commenter was a Bear employee. I agree with @5:48pm that every last one of them knows how to spell "Dimon." They probably also know how to spell "Cayne," "Bernanke," and "screwed." I think it was one of the investment-bank hating Wall Street critics that drop by the site. Seems I have heard that use of "clown" before. Hmmm.

Posted by guest, May 15, 2008 6:45AM

It's quite simple. It never occurred to JBW to check the contract to see where the risk was going. A little later they thought it might be relevant.