Today is JG's birthday. I used to work for JG while he was a partner at the Perm. Today, JG is Managing Partner of his own firm. A firm he and his partners call "Bite" (like what a dog does).
I know. Bizarre name. But that's what they want to be called. So Bite it is. This really isn't a birthday shout out for JG, it's more of a post on Bite and the effects the breakaway caused at the Perm.
I was lucky enough to be in Manila the day JG and 5 other lawyers from the Perm (all except JG are litigators) simultaneously handed in their resignation letters and packed their bags. I was at our favorite watering hole at 5 in the afternoon drinking San Miguel lights with The Six. If I wasn't in a wool suit that was making me sweat profusely, I could have easily been one of them.
On that fateful day 2/22 (admittedly, this does not have the same audible catchiness as 9/11) I was reminded of a few things:
1. There's no easy way to break somebody's heart. (Let's all thank James Ingram for coining this truism.) Breakaways, like breakups, are always painful. At least for one party. And if you're talking about six lawyers leaving a 120 man firm, that's a lot of potentially broken hearts.
2. It's not what you do, it's how you do it. I gotta admit even I was suprised by the way The Six chose to leave i.e. all at once, and with a letter addressed to clients and collegues, not to the Perm. I guess they had their reasons for choosing to inform people that way.
3. Back up your hard drive. Within minutes of the "Notice" going out, The Six were locked out of their rooms.
4. Giving someone a "drive-by finger" is so gay. I suggest getting out of the car, shoving your middle finger at the relevant person's face, and challenging that someone to a fist fight.
5. Leaving take guts. The Six collectively put in about 50 man years into the Perm. After you stay that long anywhere, packing up to start something from scratch takes moxie.
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