Meet Regina Mullen, who describes herself as a lawyer, mediator, doc reviewer, Japanese legal translator, inhaler of books, music lover and martial artist.  She’s been captivated by Yolanda Young’s  complaint against Covington & Burling LLP and has taken to the blogosphere.

She’s got the complaint parties’ Avvo Page ratings, links to articles about the case, and her very own analysis.  Here’s an excerpt OBABL found particularly interesting.  From ReginaMullen:

For those who want to complain about the money question, let’s just put it out there: there’s going to be a “check” written no matter what happens in this case. It’s NOT frivolous and the questions are 1) how much pain does the firm want to endure and 2) to whom do they want to write the “check”?

Of course, “uncomfortable,” is not a straight path to the “sackcloth and ashes” drill. Nobody buys that anymore, anyway.

What they have right now is the ability to control where that check gets spent. Once the case moves forward, they lose that control. It’s simply amazing what can be done with $10 million. So, pain management is certainly something to think about. Here’s a short list:

• The pain of billable time taken away from their clients.
• The pain of at least one client that is sure to look at them differently.
• The pain of having to pay a sibling firm to examine their dirty laundry.
• The pain of having to explain their diversity program’s success yet again at a time when they should be basking in the glory of having supplied the Obama ADministration with a stellar AG.

Covington will definitely want, in terms of crisis management, a few ideas about how to turn this thing to their advantage.

So, what I’d want to do is help the firm consider to what extent there might be truth to the allegations,–not just from a jury’s perspective, but from the perspective of the firm’s mission and goals in a post-Bush legal marketplace. Is there room in their thinking to consider this less “shakedown” and more “opportunity”?

One Response to “Regina Mullen, Young v. Cov Stalker”

1. R. Mullen on March 3rd, 2009 6:07 pm

   STALKER???

   When I take up a lawsuit, I look at both the Complaint AND the Answer. I try to find the positive arguments for BOTH sides. A little humor, with a healthy dose of skepticism.

   I’ve litigated these kinds of cases as plaintiff’s counsel, so I know the ins and outs of bringing a hard case against a powerful firm. I’ve worked with lawyers from top firms and I have some idea of how the corporate mentality works in a law firm and the pressures facing attorneys in top firms.

   I’ve also mediated long enough to know that a lawsuit like this is often better off resolved quickly. All in all, this leads to the absolute conviction that I ought to be fair.

   Of course, depending upon my mood, I may be snarkier to one side on any given day, but that depends on a lot of factors. My opinions are nearly always accompanied by links to resources that will better inform the perspectives of my readers.

   Would it be better to approach issues and matters in a simplistic, black & white fashion –like the comments over at Above The Law?

   Sorry, I can’t do that.

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