Dechert LLP litigation partner Chris Scott Graham recently released his first full-length novel.  It’s not easy as a partner to find time for hobbies, but Chris has evidently not only found the time, but found a real natural talent as well.

The story surrounds Winery Peak, a fictitious winery in Napa that unfortunately finds several of its migrant workers taking sick from toxins found in a nearby creek.  What happens from there is a story of intrigue, as the corporate parent of Winery Peak tries to pin the blame on a fall guy, Peter Dickinson who is a world-renown wine maker and head of winery.  Junior associate Richard Magnus takes the case of Peter to protect both his honor and his liberties without his client really understanding that he’s never taken a case to trial before.  And behind all of this is a shadowy corporate parent organization that pulls at the strings of all the different characters.

I really liked the novel and found the courtroom aspects really interesting.  I learned some things about litigation that I’ve never known, but you don’t need to be a lawyer to appreciate it.  It’s just a good ole fashioned mystery.

Frankly, I was somewhat surprised of the quality of the novel, not anything against Chris, but I know that he is an extremely busy attorney.  This isn’t a case of a guy having a slow practice and having a lot of time on his hands.  On the contrary, one of my  favorite litigation experiences of all time (if there can be such a thing) was a case where not only did Chris get us out of the case under summary judgment, but got the court to award 100% of our legal fees.  It was a really complicated case, too. 

Congratulations Chris on a fine first outing.  I’d encourage folks to buy the novel and support this burgeoning artist.

I have been in Boston this weekend hanging out with friends following a few days of board meetings, Techstars demo night (which rocked) and a day visiting with our investors.  I figured that I’d tack on a long weekend and explore a town that I visit often, but rarely go out and “play” in. 

Yesterday we took in the Conan O’Brien Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on TV Tour.  We’d seen the show in Boulder and it was fabulous.  We were fortunate enough to have a hookup in Boston that allowed us special access and we got to watch the band practice and hang a bit with the man himself, who was an incredibly gracious host.  I think my favorite part of the show was watching his parent’s faces as they watched the show, especially during the part where Conan riffs and sings about his “rough upbringing.”  (hint: they laughed a lot). 

Conan’s opening act is Reggie Watts and his opening show was about 50% different from the Boulder show which was really impressive and showed how large his repertoire really is.

Reggie does everything from classic standup, to music, to hip hop and has a burgeoning “hit” in a song that has more profanity than anything I’ve ever heard, but it’s really hilarious and smartly done.  In fact, I think Reggie is one of the most original talents that I’ve seen in a long time. 

After the show, Reggie (who speaks in about a half dozen different voices and dialects during his show) was one of the nicest, more grounded and normal performers you’d ever want to meet.  He also said look out for his Comedy Central pilot show, which I’ll definitely check out.

Reggie also has a very unique hair stylist.  See to the right.

Good night by all.  Some pics:

Alright, I know I’m going to get flamed on this one, but as a Michigan Wolverine, I can’t resist. 

Today, a friend of mine sent me the video below entitled “We are Notre Dame.”  It’s the worst song that I’ve heard.  Period.  The video isn’t any better and the fact the school endorsed it by allowing them to shoot on campus and utilize the cheerleading squad makes it all the better.  If I looked this dumb playing bass, I’d never play music again. 

My friend Mark Johnson must be rolling over right now.  And just so you know, I have plenty of ND friends, so this is all in good fun.  But I stand by this being the worst song ever.

In case you are curious what the second worst song ever is, it’s the Nixon Peabody theme song.  And the story of the law firm trying to shut off their embarrassment is even funnier.

I wouldn’t consider myself a movie expert, but I’m excited about a new movie company – The American Film Company.  They have a really unique philosophy:  to create engaging, commercial, historically accurate feature films culled from America’s storied past.

When I first heard the idea, I thought “neat” but can Hollywood make a movie that is both exciting and historically accurate?  Then I thought of Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon (some historical liberties).  I think there is a market here. 

The American Film Company will take this further using prominent historians, to assure that each production remains true to the history from which it is drawn.

Their first movie, The Conspirator, is directed by Robert Redford and stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright Penn and Kevin Kline.  The film tells the story of Mary Surratt (Penn), the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Against the ominous backdrop of post-Civil War Washington, inexperienced lawyer Frederick Aiken (McAvoy) reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal hastily arranged by War Secretary Edwin Stanton (Kline).

Sounds great and I’m really excited to see this and their upcoming films.  They also just launched a site based on the theme of “Hollywood-History Showdown,” where experts and members debate the “10 Best American History Movies” and the “The Best American History Movies NEVER Made”, as well as the accuracy of films like “Seabiscuit” and “Black Hawk Down”. 

HHS 3-1-2010 from The American Film Company on Vimeo.

I don’t post a lot of “this is so funny you must see it” stuff, but this ranks right up there.  I was a huge fan of The Landlord, also from Funny or Die.  This is a satirical and hilarious adaptation of the star hocking movie interview show, hosted by Zach Galifianakis who recently killed it on Saturday Night Live.  Enjoy.  Ben Stiller also is sporting a nice wanna-be Robert De Niro look.

Some enterprising lawyer in San Francisco has decided to sell his law degree on Craigslist. 

Awesome stuff. 

From the sale description:

“After several years of practicing law I have come to the conclusion that my law degree is useless and I don’t want to be a lawyer anymore. Though I spent over $100,000 on it I am willing to sell it for the bargain basement price of $59,250, which is the current value of my remaining student loan balance.

This priceless collectible will permit you to be surrounded by hobby-less assholes whose entire life is dictated by billing by the hour and being anal dickheads. Additionally, this piece of paper has the amazing ability to keep you from doing what you really want to do in life, all in the name of purported prestige and financial success. Finally, girls in the Marina will swoon with retarded thoughts of sugar daddy when they hear you went to XXX prestigious law school and are a lawyer.”

I love bitter lawyers.  Nicely done. 

I mentioned to some friends today that I’m going to see Avatar this weekend, but was worried if I could make it through the show without taking a bathroom break.

No worry, they said, just get the iPhone app RunPee.  Here’s how it works: you’re watching a movie and need to take a break, but you don’t want to miss anything important. The RunPee iPhone app has a timer letting you know when it’s safe to take a break, and gives you a summary of what you missed upon your return.

Brilliance.  They also have a web version.  I now know that I can break at 56 minutes into the movie or I have to wait until 1:57, 2:13 or 2:25.

I’m all set now.  I love technology. 

SRS released their annual video holiday greeting.  If you are trying to figure out what the Queen of England, George Washington and Kanye West all have in common, you have to check it out.  Nice job guys!

I am not sure if I have to issue a silly FTC disclaimer along with complimenting one of our portfolio companies, but I do have to say that I love Lijit. 

This isn’t something new, mind you.  We made the investment quite some time ago, but today I was reminded of another reason why it’s such a powerful platform.

I was reading my weekly stats report that shows how many people are reading my blog, where the traffic is coming from and what my most searched terms are.  I find the information illuminating and highly entertaining. 

Last week:

1. The top search that brought readers to my blog was “drummer jokes.” In fact, my drummer joke post is now 8 in the Google ranking.  Interestingly, my post was done back in April and it’s a total “one off” post.

2. As expected, there is always healthy traffic surrounding my Law Firm 2.0 thesis.  Last week the search term “lawyer layoffs” was a big director of traffic to my blog. 

3. As far as what people are searching for while on my site, I was surprised to find that the name of my high school band director and the name of a fellow high school percussionist were searched for.  If you were that person, email me.  I’ll set you up. 

Also, searches included FAS 157, How to get a Job in VC and other topics that I’ll have to take up (again) in the near future given the popularity of the subjects.

So thanks Lijit for showing me what my audience is interested in, instead of what I assume they are.  If you are a publisher and not using this FREE platform, what are you waiting for?  Let me know if you want a hookup.   

And for the guy who searched “AT&T sucks” on my blog, all I can say is “I agree.”

Definitely one of the funniest things that I’ve seen in a long while – Twitter “responds” to criticisms about its service.