Update on Schelle Simcox

Tomorrow morning – December 21st – Schelle will be undergoing surgery as part of her cancer treatment.

Please take a minute to visit her journal at Caring Bridge – http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/schellesimcox – and send her a note, your good wishes, your prayers, your thoughts.

Thanks

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Heller Highwater Is NOT Shutdown

Thanks for the concern from several who have emailed me today.  Right now, I’m waiting for an update on recent negotiations as to the Plan of Liquidation and settlement with the Class Action group.

This blog is not shut down nor will it be.  Even when all is said and done, there should be some record to preserve what transpired during the Heller Ehrman implosion especially in terms of its former employees.

Look for an update soon.

 

Commenting at Heller Highwater

Well folks, despite my best efforts to create a place where people could comfortably discuss issues about the Plan of Liquidation, Settlement or any other issues related to the demise of Heller Ehrman LLP, I’ve seen a definite up tick in comments that are not only crude, cruel, personal attacks and outright lies as part of a disinformation campaign.

Bloggers hate to stifle speech let alone moderate and edit comments.  But I won’t tolerate the posting of what someone purports to be a fact in the comments when I know from personal knowledge that it is untrue.  This is not a matter of opinion or view on an issue – this is when someone descends into rumor mongering disguised as fact in order to intimidate or sway opinions.

For now, heavy moderation of comments will take place.  I’d hate to turn off comments all together but that’s a consideration.  I highly suggest to those who want to turn this site into one of anarchy rather than one looking for solutions and providing assistance, to set up your own blog.  It is simple, takes less than five minutes and really, anyone can do it.

Over and out.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Open Thread – Proposed Settlement

We haven’t done an Open Thread post here before but I really think that it is needed in light of the recent comments on the Joint Statement, the Class Action Settlement and the proposed Plan of Liquidation.

Please post your comments as you see fit but I think we could all benefit from the following:

• How would you do things differently in this entire process? Meaning, would you have organized a class action group? Would you have taken some alternative route? Would you have handled representation on the Unsecured Creditors Committee differently?

• Please keep the comments civil and away from personal attacks.  We can all agree to disagree and overall I believe most of the comments have been constructive and at least for me, have caused me to look at some issues from different perspectives.

• Be honest.  I know I am and I would expect nothing less from Heller employees.  If you want to state opinions, state them.  If you want to state facts, make sure you can back them up.

Photos from October 9, 2009 Heller SF Reunion

Thanks go out to Nancy Bagwell for the great photos she’s posted over on her Flickr account.  And to everyone who stopped by – we had roughly 100 people during the course of the evening and it was a great get-together!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/megablasto2000/

Updates on Settlement and Plan of Liquidation

Just a quick note to say that I will be working with Blum Collins and the feedback from others to try and develop an FAQ posting or section about the settlement.

There are lots questions which must be answered, both for those who have signed on with Blum Collins and those who are uncertain as to whether or not they should opt out during the class certification process.

I just ask for your patience since I want to make certain that the information is as comprehensive as possible as well as accurate.

My goal is to have this information available by Tuesday or Wednesday this week.

Over and out.

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Former Heller Ehrman Shareholder Craig Johnson Dead At 62

We’ve just received news via The Recorder and other news outlets that former Heller Ehrman shareholder and Venture Law Group founder Craig Johnson has passed away.  See the links to articles below.

Please keep Craig’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time.

Craig Johnson, Prominent Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist, Dies at 62 (via The Wall Street Journal)

Law Blog Obituary: Silicon Valley Heavyweight Lawyer, Craig Johnson (via The Wall Street Journal Law Blog)

Lawyer Craig Johnson Dies, Co-Founded Virtual Law Partners (via ABA Journal)

Lawyer, Entrepreneur Craig Johnson Dies (via San Francisco Business Times)

More on Craig Johnson, the Man Behind Venture Law Group (via The Wall Street Journal Law Blog)

Prominent Silicon Valley Attorney and Venture Capitalist Craig Johnson Dies (via Silicon Valley Mercury News)

Silicon Valley Attorney, VC Craig Johnson Dies (via SFGate)

Silicon Valley’s Top Startup Lawyer Dies (via The Business Insider Law Review)

Valley Veteran Craig Johnson, 62, Dies (via Cal Law)

Venture Law Group Founder Craig Johnson Dies At 62 (via The AmLawDaily)

VLG Founder Craig Johnson Dies At 62 (via LegalPad)

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Reminder – Heller Get-Together Oct 9, 2009

Announcing a get-together for all San Francisco/Silicon Valley ex-Heller employees:

Friday, October 9, 2009
5:00 pm – ?
Chevy’s Embarcadero – 2 Embarcadero
San Francisco

As an added bonus, yours truly- Heller Drone – will be in attendance!

I hope to see you there!

© 2009, copyright Thomas MacEntee

Office Sharing Opportunity

A small consulting company (with small related legal practice) in San Francisco is looking to share its furnished office space with other small businesses or individuals needing shared space.  The office currently has one occupant.  I am looking to share the space with 1-3 other professionals.  I will consider subletting the entire space with or without most of the current furnishings.  (Alternately, the space could be organized so that a number of individuals work from the space.  There is sufficient space to set up a number of cubicles.  Individuals may be able to “space share” a particular work space.  There is flexibility as to how the space is shared.)

Office Features

 The office has 1,124 sq. ft., and contains two very large work spaces (which can be configured in any number of ways).  Additionally, there are two standard-sized, enclosed, and furnished offices, plus an electronics room.  One of the two large spaces was intended as an enclosed conference room, but could be configured in a number of different ways.  The other large space was intended as a very large reception area, but has ample room for additional work stations.  (The two standard offices and the reception area are fully furnished.  The space intended as a conference room is not fully furnished.)

The suite has a high end copier/printer/fax machine, file cabinets, computer storage devices, and wired high speed internet is available.  A secured wireless router can also be set up.  Additional phone lines can be added to the current phone system, or existing lines may be shared, depending on the circumstances.  Other administrative services can also be available or shared as needed.  The firm has Westlaw, which could be expanded to include more users and practice areas.

Building Features

The suite is in a Class A building, located in Sutter Plaza, at 1388 Sutter Street (between Franklin and Van Ness Street).  There is easy access to public transportation; the Civic Center station is the nearest BART station.  If you drive, garage parking in the building is $165 per month with a contract (a limited number of contracted spaces are available) or, without a contract, $17 per day as a worker in the building.  The building has onsite security guards 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.  Contracted parking is accessible 24 hours per day.  Building management is onsite.  Utilities and janitorial services are provided by management; the cost in included in the rent.

A conference room in the building is available for tenant use.

Rent

Rent will be a based on the amount of space occupied, whether the space is furnished, and what services are used. The lease is a 3-year lease, with an option to renew.  The lease has roughly 2½ years remaining; the space could be shared for a shorter timeframe.  Please contact me regarding your particular space needs; I can give you an estimate of costs on that basis.

Contact: secomp@comcast.net

READ THIS FIRST

This post will remain at the top of the blog for the time being – please scroll down for newer updates.

Proof of Claims: if you have not yet filed a Proof of Claim, please wait until we gather all necessary information on filling out the form.  The deadline is April 27, 2009 and filing first does not mean you get paid first. There is no rush in filing if it means having to file an amended claim later on.

If you’ve already files a Proof of Claim, then stay tuned and check here to see if you need to file an amended claim before the deadline.

Getting Your Name on the Verified List of Secured Creditors: we’ve been instructed to email Carol Budinger a carol.budinger@hellerehrman.com requesting that they add our names to a pending update list of creditors. Many have complained that they do not receive a response. Update:  readers who send an email to Carol are getting an auto-response that she is not the person handling updates to the Verified List of Secured Creditors.  So, despite Heller’s reassurances that they will consult the latest employee lists, it is better to send me your contact info (see below) and I’ll monitor progress on any updates filed with the bankruptcy court.

As a backup, if you are not on the Redacted Verified List of Creditors, please email your contact information (name and address) to me at hellerdrone@gmail.com. I will maintain a database and match it up with any updated list filed with the bankruptcy court.