Switzerland - It's a bit hilly, no?

I never really thought of QE as rugged outdoorsy attorneys....

The no-spouse rule is tough. Can't think that many SOs, who rarely get to see their partners thanks to QE's hours, are super thrilled that the firm now expects them to vacation alone.

I thk you shd mastr grammar and type skills b4 writing messgs.

Uh... you know that The Sound of Music was set in Austria, right? Totally different country.

EINS, John Quinn is just trying to learn to write like a Lolcat.

The hotel is great - one of the best wellness places in Europe ...

2:10 - The von Trapp family escaped by hiking over the Alps into Switzerland.

QE = TTT. Swiss junket doesn't chaneg that.

Judging by the type who work at Quinn, they'll be a lot of backwoods buggery going on during that trip!

Did someone really refer to the hotel as a great "wellness" place? Please tell me that this is tongue-in-cheek or I may throw up.

Also, forced marches in the woods as part of the path to partnership seems a little nuts to me.

QE: Disabled and pregnant need not apply.

One of the named partners in the LA office gives the Valentine's Day sexual harassment speeh each year. He says you can F*ck anyone you want, but don't expect it to help your career. Well, this named partner started having an affair with an associate. It definitely helped her career. He divorced his wife and married this associate. The firm no longer lets this named partner give the Valentine's Day speech. Instead, he brought all of the associates to lunch and tried to ease his guilt by rationalizing his choices. He is a douche.

Additionally, the Quinn LA office, although the headquarters, is getting reamed by the NYC office because NYC is significantly overbilling LA. Although Quinn LA sold itself as a "lifestyle-esque" big firm, it is now cracking down on associates. Bill 160 hours one month and someone comes to talk to you.

ATL is very pro-Quinn. Quinn has big problems.

This makes me want to vomit. I can't imagine their clients understand this conspicuous consumption.

agreed, this is ridiculous. short-change the associates come bonus-time, and expect this to change sentiment? come on.

a) LEDERHOSEN have nothing to do with Switzerland, dammit! When will you stupid Americans learn that Germany and Switzerland is not the same country?? Douche bags!
b) The Faulhornweg hike is not a hike - it's boring walking. Nothing about mountaineering, nothing about hight. Though, the scenery will be nice. And you will see a lot of old folks walking the same way...
c) The Victoria Jungfrau? You're kidding me? One of the most prestige and most luxurious hotels in Switzerland. And all they will do is walking a little bit around and play with themselves. Douche bags.

*BANG!*

That's the sound of 2:21 hitting the proverbial nail on the head.

After Quinn got yalepwned during this year's recruiting season, I wonder how the Deer Valley trip will shake down next year.

Why does any partner think this is fun? Another submission for "stuffwhitepeoplelike.com."

2:36 is right. It sounds like an okay trip, but it's not some hard-core outdoor adventure. Pansies.

Lat, ever think that the reason for the capitalization is that he was sending it from his BB (which has auto caps after periods)?? Might also explain the shorthand.

2:51, ever think you're too stupid to live? It's well known that JQ takes an anti-capitalization stance. He thinks it's cool, and the public gives him attention because of it.

All else aside, going hiking with a bunch of lawyers you work with sounds excruciating.

"I chose Quinn because of the work hard-play hard mentality and outdoors-y vibe..."

This is awesome. And by awesome, I mean horrible.

Mike Favs at 2:17 said "Judging by the type who work at Quinn, they'll be a lot of backwoods buggery going on during that trip!"

You say that like it's a bad thing. ??

2:27 - ATL is "very pro-Quinn"?

Don't you remember all the posts from a few weeks ago? TONS of criticism, about everything from bonus calculation for laterals to inadequate office furniture.

At the end of the movie, though, they flee to neutral Switzerland.

I've been to Interlaken before...it's okay if you're into that kind of secluded-spa type thing.
I thought the cities were better, personally. But I'm salivating over the spa packages at that hotel.

I feel like this is another example of the strange cultishness of West Coast firms and their particular brand of Kool-Aid. People really semm to think that their firms are these special little places that are oh so unique.

Obviously NYC has Cravath but even they don't have the weird sort of new-age vibe that Cali firms give off, they're just hardcore.

Sound of Music was in Austria

2:56 ... aka Lat

Stop being a whiny little bitch. No wonder you're such a Hillary fan, neither of you can take any criticism at all.

Look at his message again.

The attorneys were notified late Monday night, and have to decide whether to go by tomorrow. For a week-long trip in July. They have until 3/21 to back out. After that, they get charged.

2:56,

Ever think you should do your own f'ing homework before calling other people stupid? From John Quinn's email to Lat, posted on ATL on January 23, 2008:

"it has been suggested that i do not use capital letters in my typing in an effort to be "cool." i am not cool; wish i was, but after 56 years i don't think it is going to happen. the fact is i am not coordinated enough to hit the shift button with one hand and a letter with the other."
http://www.abovethelaw.com/2008/01/wherein_we_hear_from_john_quin_1.php

Moron. 2:51's speculation sounds pretty plausible to me.

where do i submit my resume?

Obviously, if he says he's not using capitalization to be cool, then it must be true.

don't they play a lot of rugby in Austria?That would be fun to check out while over there.

3:25, you have to use the shift button to get the quotation marks in "cool". jq was obviously lying. dumbass.

3:33,

Let's take a closer look at what JQ said: " the fact is i am not coordinated enough to hit the shift button with one hand and a letter with the other."

Do you have to hold Shift with one hand and press a key with the other to generate a quotation mark? No, the quotation mark key is right above the Shift key, so you can press both with the same hand. Moreover, writing without capital letters doesn't interfere with clarity to the same extent that writing without quotation marks, parentheses, exclamation points, or question marks would, so it's not entirely surprising that Quinn would choose to omit capital letters while making the extra effort to get the punctuation right. I see no reason not to take his word on this.

CAPITALS lower case--no one cares except for the anal ass holes(pun intended) on ATL or should that be atl?

You guys are complaining about a trip to the Swiss Alps? You're nuts.

no spouses?....

is that like an excuse to leave the wives at home?

I wonder how many of the female lawyers at Quinn have wives?

3:20 is right. Short notice.

3:25, you are such clueless tool. Of course he's coordinated enough. He hasn't suffered brain damage or stroke, he doesn't have Alien Hand Syndrome, and he's not 5.

4:20,

How many people over 45 do you know who can't use a computer properly? Yes, I'm sure that Quinn is physically capable of typing capital letters when he needs to, but I also find it perfectly plausible that he prefers not to do so because he finds it awkward and is important enough to get away with not doing it. More to the point, in the absence of any specific reason to think that he's lying, I see no reason to reject Quinn's personal explanation on the matter. I don't see why this is such a difficult concept for you.

I've been to Interlaken in the summer and it is gourgeous. When one arrives by train, the scene is out of a movie: tranquil lake sorrounded by snowcapped mountains and beautiful swiss houses perched along the countryside. The small downtown (can be walked end to end in less than 30 mins) is great too.

I'm jealous.

You are, in all probability, envious.

338 - didn't you ever take a typing class. The proper technique is to hit the shift key with the pinky of one hand and the letter key of your choice with the opposite hand

5:08,

No, in fact, I never took a typing class, and I tend to scoff at those who needed one. My point remains valid: Quinn's purported lack of coordination, which, according to him, makes typing capital letters awkward, would not prevent him from using a single hand to hold Shift and the quotation mark key. You also failed to respond to my second point, which is that he might be inclined to put the necessary effort into typing punctuation marks even when he is unwilling to do so with capitals.

more pathetic than the honcho who can't be bothered to capitalize words is the lap dog who needs to defend his master.

I went paragliding and hiking in Interlaken in September. Beautiful scenery, terrible food (the big restaurant next to the Victoria-Jungfrau is a Hooters), though there is a decent doner kabob place a few hundred yards from one of the train stations. The casino was lame.

3:38,

Before there were computers, there were typewriters. Do you think JQ went to college? Do you think his professors allowed him to hand in papers without capital letters? Obviously, JQ is coordinated enough to hit two keys simulataneously. It is frankly silly to imagine that someone without a mental or physical handicap is unable to do so.

You base your first point on the assumption that JQ hits the puncutation key and the Shift key with a single hand. It takes more coordination to hit two keys with one hand than it does to hit two keys with two hands. Also, this wouldn't explain how JQ was able to type papers during school.

Your second point betrays the fact that you probably agree that JQ is, in fact, capable of capitalizing his letters, but merely prefers not to. This is irrelevant to the argument that he is capable of capitalizing. Obviously JQ prefers to not capitalize his letters because he DOESN'T capitalize his letters.

You probably shouldn't be an idiot unless you know JQ. I do. I work with him. He gets plenty of attention for himself and for QE thanks to his little quirk. Look, no dress code! No capital letters! Hikes! It's a new kind of attorney!

You're so gullable.

3:55 - you'd be surprised. There's only one straight female partner in the New York office.

oh, and 3:38, you're not only gullable, but you're a dick. What kind of judgmental loser scoffs at someone for taking ANY kind of class. Self-improvement is a good thing.

Well. Hmmm. Actually, I didn't mean to be referring to the afffectional orientation of QE's female attorneys. Most lesbians of my acquaintance do not refer to their spouses as a "wife". What I actually meant to be pointing out, and forgive me if the point was obscure, was the gender-centricity of the commenter who made that little (no doubt, stunningly clever) quip about the hiking trip being an excuse to leave the wives at home. His comment appeared, at least to me, to assume that his audience was entirely male (and heterosexually male, at that).

Well. Hmmm. Actually, I didn't mean to be referring to the afffectional orientation of QE's female attorneys. Most lesbians of my acquaintance do not refer to their spouses as a "wife". What I actually meant to be pointing out, and forgive me if the point was obscure, the gender-centricity of the commenter who made that little (no doubt, stunningly clever) quip about the hiking trip being an excuse to leave the wives at home. His comment appeared, at least to me, to assume that his audience was entirely male (and heterosexually male, at that).

5:38,

I'll spell it out for you simply since you seem to have a problem with big words (see, e.g., "gullable [sic]." Yes, I think Quinn is physically capable of typing capital letters, but I don't think that his email statement suggests otherwise. I also think that his explanation is perfectly plausible. I don't know Quinn; I live on the other side of the country from him, and frankly I never gave a damn about his typing habits until three hours ago. Let's remember how this started: I was replying to 2:56's inane response to 2:51's highly plausible speculation that the Quinn email quoted in the post above contains uncharacteristic capitals because it was written on his Blackberry, which would add them automatically. If Quinn simply avoids typing capital letters because he finds it uncomfortable to do so, rather than in an attempt to be "cool," as 2:56 assumes, then it makes perfect sense that his Blackberry messages would include them; if it were really an image thing, one would think that the great and powerful John Quinn would have had some tech person set his Blackberry to stop auto-capitalizing. I don't really care about it either way, except to the extent that I am usually irritated by cavalier assumptions unsupported by any identifiable evidence.

Do associates get to attend as well?

"oh, and 3:38, you're not only gullable [sic], but you're a dick. What kind of judgmental loser scoffs at someone for taking ANY kind of class. Self-improvement is a good thing."

Lol-- ok, 5:38. I might suggest a remedial spelling class too, then.

Let's go back to 227's "Quinn LA sold itself as a 'lifestyle-esque' big firm."

Wha? When and to whom has QE ever sold itself this way?

I also like the criticism that there isn't enough "mountineering" on this hike. Because other firms offer so much more.

Quinn Emannuel sounds like a great 1L firm. Tons of fun activities and I bet the workload is minor. You get a great summer, earn a bunch of money, and then go to a better firm 2L.

i have no dog in this fight, but "gullable" is an acceptable variant of "gullible" check yourself before you wreck yourself.

let the raging debate as to why JQ capitalizes continue!!

6:45 - very astute. i agree.

3:38, the point you've proven is that you're a dick who I can comfortably ignore. Both "gullable" and "gullible" are correct. Perhaps it's you who needs the remedial spelling class...right after you see your therapist about how you're a dick.

mama, if you're gullible about being gullable, are you gullable-ible, or gullible-able?

You seem to have an unhealthy fixation with dicks, 5:38. Don't worry; whatever shortcomings you may have in that regard are no doubt compensated for by your job carrying John Quinn's briefcase.

P.S. "Acceptable variance" = "common error."

A *hiking* trip? Oh ew.

Do the people who go have to hike? I would love to spend a long weekend relaxing at a spa in the Swiss Alps, but I would never hike them. If I were at Quinn, I'd volunteer to supervise the summers who wanted to laze around the luxurious hotel.

Hey, I'm an associate at QE and I have to say its a little perplexing to read people complaining about either a free or highly subsidized (depending on whether you're a summer or associate) trip to Switzerland, obviously you can't please everyone. I do have to take exception to the claim that we don't do hardcore hikes and that we are pansies. Now I will admit that this year hike is bit of an exception on the hardcore scale, but we have been doing firm hikes for long time. We have hiked in many of the best areas in the west including the Wind River Range, Escalante Utah, and the Bear tooth wilderness in Montana, just to name a few. Personally, I think we are about as hardcore as lawyers come and calling us pansies is comical. A good example is last year's hike. I challenge anyone to name another firm that would take over 60 people on 2 1/2 day hike that covered 32 miles with over 8000 feet of elevation gain (topping out at 14,000 feet). Don't forget that everyone carried roughly 40 pounds of gear (tent, sleeping bag, food, clothes etc.). It may not be as hardcore as summit of Denali or Annapurna, but anyone who has done any trekking or backpacking knows that the hikes we've done are not the stuff of pansies. In addition, I would also mention that in our free time some of us are pretty hardcore mountaineers, tri-athletes, marathoners etc. That being said, I think that we are a pretty diverse place where we allow people have lots of different interests. Nobody has to fit a mold and anyone who works here knows that you don't become a partner by going on the hike, it simply has no effect on your status.

"I chose Quinn because of the work hard-play hard mentality and outdoors-y vibe"

I bet they can hear the douche alarm ringing all the way in Switzerland. Either Quinn summers are @ss-kissing tools, or this particular "summer" just so happens to also be a partner.

The tipper and quite a few of the commenters strike me as a little too gung ho to be summers and associates. QE partners are pathetically transparent.

very macho of you all. Got many brilliant fatties or gimps? How about those pansies that would never think of leaving their families for a week of vacation with co-workers? Bet their partnership prospects are looking up. And I always thought the no-spouse Christmas parties were meant for extra-marital hookups, but nothing like the no-spouse week-long vacay in the romantic alps.

I don't know why this bothers me so much but I guess it does. Sounds like fun as a summer, but as an associate, it feels off.

Is a list available for the top PPPs of 2007?

This is why people hate lawyers. There's so much bitterness/envy in this thread.

I think QE is doing a nice job of trying to break the stuffy mold of a successful big lawfirm. It's fine if this trip is not something you would be interested in, but I certainly don't think they should be criticized over this.

I'm a quinn associate. Can I deduct the $1K from my taxes? I don't hit AMT, so I think the true cost to me is closer to $600. thoughts?

Julie from Cincinnati, no, they don't play much rugby in Austria. England and most Commonwealth countries, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Argentina, Georgia and various Pacific Islands are pretty much the only places where it is played.

Was there a joke somewhere in there that I missed?

yeah, like i'm really going to chip in $1000 for quinn's marketing ploy after getting screwed on my bonus. gee - a week long trip in close quarters with the biggest kool-aid drinkers at the firm! giddy-up. on second thought, i'm going to get to 2101 as soon as possible so i can be "sick" for the remainder of the year.

jon steiger is a partner at QE's LA office. a total abusive racist douchebag who has affairs with mentees, summer associates, and associates, marries them and then divorces them...

QE sucks...

8:13: I feel you. This trip actually seems a lot easier than the one I went on, which involved two nights of backpacking. The deal is that John Quinn is an outdoors/exercise enthusiast, and I guess he thinks this helps everyone bond. I think a bigger issue at Quinn is getting associates to feel appreciated and happy.

In any case, I think it's cool the firm does it. They do try hard to make this work. I don't understand why anyone would bash a firm for having something voluntary and subsidized like this. The hike can only be a good thing for summers and associates.

I've said several times that there are lots of things to dislike about Quinn, but there are also lots of things to like. It's a shame that people are most likely to post on a message board when they are frustrated and unhappy. Try to be objective 1:32--if you want to be somewhere else, why aren't you there?

How cruel -- associates have to pitch in $1,000, which they can't afford on a $160,000-$250,000 salary -- for a few days in Switzerland, including airfare, food, and a stay at a resort. Oh the humanity!

Re: the named partner/associate affair, the named partner was "allowed" to give the speech, but as he said, he would not give CLE credit for it. Whether you agree with what he does in his personal life, it really is only his business. He made it explicit that the associate's career was not given special treatment. In fact, the associate is now gone from the firm (voluntarily). I give him credit for facing the rumor mill head on and stating his own case. But so long as there is not favoritism, then I have no business labeling the partner a good or bad person. The associate who left the firm obviously did not become partner, so the issue of whether her career was unfairly advanced as a result of the affair never came up. You are a douche for passing judgment so harshly.

9:19: that's the way i see it. but i guess i don't understand why he was "stating his case" at a quasi-mandatory valentine's day luncheon. this is a law firm, not the sally jessy raphael show.