#jeff thacher

[cheesecake-crisis]

Rockapella promotional video, 1997.

[ladykailitha]

Staking My Claim Part 1

Hello! Because of my flu, I've been working on low stakes stuff to help with my foggy head. I promise this week to be back on to the WIPs I have going to be build up my backlog again.

This started off as a silly "let the boys be goofy" and turned into a "found family with ONE goofy moment in it". Sorry about that. I blame the cough medicine honestly.

***

Eddie and his friends were enjoying a rare night where they didn’t have to play at Cora’s Den in Indy when it happened.

Now, Cora’s Den wasn’t gay bar per se, but as it was one of the most inclusive places in Indy, the normies considered it one.

So when he came back from going to the bathroom he leaned into the center of their table so he could whisper. “Tell me that’s not Steve Harrington at the bar in a crop top and cutoffs.”

All three of his friends turned to the bar as one.

Gareth smacked his lips. “As much as I would love to, man, no can do.”

“And is he really flirting with that dude?” Eddie asked with a wince.

Jeff raised an eyebrow. “I’m seriously doubting that. Looks like Stevie could use a rescue.”

Eddie turned and looked over. Sure enough the guy that had been flirting with Steve had been replaced by a new guy. And one that didn’t look like he was getting the hint to fuck off.

“Go on,” Brian said. “You know you want to. He’s clearly got a thing for the guys and you might even get laid for the first time in months.”

Eddie nodded curtly and slapped the table. “Right.”

*

Steve was having a good time until this guy came along. He just wouldn’t take no for answer. He wasn’t looking to go home with anyone. His parents had just blown out of town again and Steve was looking for a way to blow off some steam. Relax after the last week of sheer exhaustion of dealing with them and their judgments. He usually went with Robin so that people would leave them alone. Only she had the late shift tonight and the early shift in the morning.

He was going to wait until the weekend when they could both go and have fun, but Robin insisted that he go, otherwise he’d be moping around Family Video all week. So he came out tonight, not really out to get drunk, or laid, just to have a good time.

This was not that.

Suddenly an unopened bottle of his favorite beer was being pressed into his hand as a warm arm wrapped around his waist.

“There you are, baby,” a soft voice cooed. “Sorry I’m late, work was a nightmare.”

Steve let himself relax into the man’s side. “I’m just glad you made it, Eds.”

Eddie grinned at him. “I swear old man Thacher is getting worse in his old age.”

Steve laughed. “I know, right? I went in for an oil change and he berated me for twenty minutes on why couldn’t I just do it myself.”

Eddie frowned. “Don’t you have a BMW that requires a special oil?”

Steve pursed his lips and nodded. “Yup!”

Eddie turned to look at the guy who was standing there with his mouth open. “Are you still here?”

The guy bristled. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but I was here first.”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Steve said, straightening up, but still remained plastered to Eddie’s side. “Eddie Munson. Lead singer and guitarist for Corroded Coffin. You know, the band that plays here every weekend?”

“Yup,” Eddie lied easily. “So where’s Birdie tonight? Working the late shift?”

“Ha!” the man snapped. “That’s not his friend’s name. His friend’s name is Robin! I knew you were a fake.”

Eddie blinked at him as if the man had grown three heads. “Robin Buckley. Robin is a bird. Bird plus Buckley, ergo Birdie. I have nicknames like that for all my friends. And any friend of Stevie’s is a friend of mine.”

Steve rubbed his nose along Eddie’s jaw affectionately. “And how did you know what her name was?” he asked, not even looking at the guy. “I don’t think I recall seeing you around before.”

The man’s face paled and he turned on his heel, storming off in a huff.

“Thanks for that,” he murmured into Eddie’s ear. “I’m usually pretty good at getting assholes to lay off, but he wouldn’t take no for answer.”

“Your inner mean girl couldn’t make him go away?” Eddie whistled. “That is persistent.”

Steve giggled. Then he blushed and looked down. That was when he remembered the drink in his hand. “So what’s with the unopened beer?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was another creep by bringing you an open bottle.”

Steve looked up at him and blinked a couple of times. “Wow, you really are my knight in leather armor tonight.”

Eddie took the bottle and popped it open with his bulky ring on his middle finger. “There you go.”

“That was so hot,” Steve said stupidly.

Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “Duly noted.”

*

Steve was invited back to their table and had an absolute blast.

He was coming back from the bar with a couple of drinks in his hands when someone bumped into him, almost making him spill the drinks.

“Hey, watch it!” he hissed.

Immediately Eddie was at his side in an instant.

“You okay?” he asked taking a couple of the drinks from him.

“Yeah,” Steve groused. “Just some asshole not watching where he was going. I didn’t even get a drop on my shoes.”

Eddie snickered. “Yeah, okay. You and your jock reflexes.”

Steve leaned over and whispered, “I’m also very flexible in bed.”

“As in top or bottom or are we talking positions?” Eddie asked, running his tongue over his bottom lip slowly.

“Both.”

Eddie threw back his head and laughed. “No need to go so hard, baby. I was already wanting to take you home with me tonight.”

“What about your friends?” Steve asked grinning back. “It sounded like you all share the apartment.”

“We have a signal for if we bring anyone back,” Eddie assured him. “Also we know to keep it down because the apartment walls are thin and not just inside the apartment.”

Steve’s mouth formed an O. “I got you.”

He knew there were pros and cons to living in an apartment. Having your neighbors that close were definitely a con.

“You still living at home?” Eddie asked as they made their way through the crowd.

Steve nodded. “Yeah. It’s not like my parents are ever there. Though it would just be my luck that they’d come home while I’m out the queerest bar in Indy.”

“Not a fan of queers?” he asked once they reached the table.

“They’re fans of Reagan,” Steve said with a grimace. “I’m pretty sure that automatically puts them on the opposing team.”

The entire table recoiled in sympathy.

“Fuck, that’s harsh!” Jeff said. “Thankfully my parents aren’t Reagan supporters, though they have raised many an eyebrow at Eddie here.”

Eddie face turned into a feral grin.

Brian shrugged. “My parents don’t care as long Eddie doesn’t shove it down their throats.”

Steve rolled his eyes. That old nugget. Walking down the street holding hands with someone of the same gender was shoving it down their throats as far as they were concerned.

Gareth looked at his friends wide eyed. “Um...sucks to be you guys I guess, but my parents adore Eddie, don’t mind him or I being gay and threatened to sue the school over the devil worshiping allegations about our D&D club. So...”

“Three cheers for the Hughes family!” Eddie said.

They all cheered and clanked their glasses together. They downed their drinks and roared with unrestrained joy.

Steve could feel a rush of blood around his ears. The room faded in and out and it sounded like Eddie and his friends were under water. He staggered off his stool and nearly stumbled to the floor.

Then the world went black.

***

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

Also I'm not sure if this post canon or no monster AU. I can't decide, but it's ambiguous either way.

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[bean-ender]

Jason’s Hellfire Club List

I really don’t know how to like properly communicate at all but especially on tumblr because I don’t rlly post much but I am thinking thoughts (a rare occurrence) therefore you need to hear them

so in s4 episode 5 there’s a scene where Jason shows the basketball team (minus Lucas) a list of places to search and I think it’s really interesting so

Here is the list I was talking about, hopefully you can read it but if not the attempted image id is underneath keep reading

There are lots of interesting things about this I think

wheelers is crossed out, suggesting that Jason/ the basketball team already talked to any or all of the Wheelers (I know he speaks to Nancy but that's in episode 8 and I'm not entirely sure what was said because to be perfectly honest I'm a bad person who hasn't watched all of season four yet and has just spoiled it tremendously for themself) edit: a more likely explanation is that Mike just wasn’t there so they couldn’t talk to him, but interesting they put wheelers rather than his whole name like they did Dustin’s, and it’s plural

Big buy is not referring so some European brand I just found out existed by googling it, but actually is the name of a supermartket that I think El stole the Eggos from in S1, the full name is Bradley's Big Buy, just a cool easter eggo

Drama class being on this list most likely means that Hellfire itself is hosted in the theater room, which is what the wiki says. We know this because of "the stage lights, curtains and props seen around them during game night" which I never noticed because I don't pay very close attention. However, in order to gain access to the theater room, one or more of the Hellfire kids must also know the drama teacher and probably really like drama well, which is awesome. Theater kids who also play dnd unite (even though I haven't actually done anything yet because I never finished my character sheet, that doesn't matter)

I have no idea what thacher tike is. None at all. Google was completely unhelpful, I genuinely have no clue. Perhaps a smart person will see this and connect dots I didn't think of but I know nothing

I think it's interesting that (Jason thinks at least) Hellfire is hosted at the elementary school, when we've seen Hellfire meetings hosted in the theater room, and it makes no sense to have high schoolers in the elementary school. It's also odd that Jason writes the av closet specifically, when the av room is tied to the party but especially Mike and Will (although that may be my byler brain slanting it that way). Especially saying closet instead of room hmmm closet imagery...

There have been many posts from far more intelligent people about how the library is tied to everything (Will being found at he lirary, Nancy saying Barb was at the library, Nancy + Robin finding information on the Creels in the library, Hopper finding information on the experiments in the library plus his relationship (used not romantically but as two people that are connected) with the librarian and I think it's interesting (drinking game take a shot everytime I say interesting) how Hellfire is also tied to the library.

Weird that Jeff and Gareth are lumped together as Hellfire members but Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Paul Cook (whoever he may be) are listed seperately. Perhaps because those other people are more important

Paul Cook is as it turns out a very common name, but one of the more famous ones is Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. There appear to be no links from Sex Pistols to Stranger Things, no Sex Pistols played on the show, although they may be on a charavter playlist, I'm not sure. I don't think any other Paul Cooks are relevant to the show but who knows.

I have no idea what most of these actually mean or how they affect anything, it probably doesn't matter at all, but this post was fun to make and hey, first proper tumblr post with my own writing, more than like a sentence! hooray

I hope at least some of this made sense and maybe someone talented will see it and expand on it but for now this is all I have

Here's what the list says if you can't read the image (it's all in capitals in the original if that matters) (green is my commentary/confusion)

Lucas Sinclair

wheelers

big buy

drama class

Dustin Henderson

Thacher tire?? Edited because it’s very likely that it does say thatcher tire, googling it gets headcanons and things about Eddie working there, but that must have come from either this list or some other detail that also supports it.

Hawkins Elementary › * hellfire meetings!!?

--> av closet

Library? -> downtown

Jeff/Gareth (Hellfire)

Paul Cook

Park behind community pool edited because you guys are probably right, community pool makes sense especially because it was heavily featured in s3.

*> is used to encapsulate both "Hawkins elementary" and "av closet", as in "I think Hellfire meetings are held in Hawkins elementary, specifically the av closet" | just can't format that while typing, sorry

[rose-of-pollux]

Greg Lee and the Carmen Sandiego-era Rockapella did a Zoom reunion that’s airing next week and I am emotional.

[marta-bee]

I was texting with my sister today about generational differences today and how specifically neither of us fit neatly in the group we’re “supposed” to belong to, and I was reminded of how once upon a time these idiots were Peak Entertainment.

Jeff Thacher, you still are.

[wonderlanephoto]

Hobbit Song 

subscribe This is the video version of my sheltering-in-place picture book that you can find at: https://www.sheltering.life You can learn about my other writing, art, and music at: https://www.AuthorFreeman.com  I'm releasing this video under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. I modeled the poem on the classic English rhyme, "This Is The House That Jack Built." I created the illustrations for the video using an A.I. assisted digital process that starts with a photo of the scene you want to produce. I obtained almost all my source photos from Flickr.com, all of them licensed with the Creative Commons BY, BY-NC, BY-SA, or BY-NC-SA licenses that allow reuse and modification.  You can see more of my digital art at: https://www.DeepWall.art  My source images for this video came from the following photographers, videographers, and painters, in order of appearance, all of them Flickr.com users unless otherwise noted: Rebecca, Ann Lusch, Paul-Henri S, phoenix!!, Gil Garcia, Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine, Ruby inreich, UGA CAES/Extension, Freeman Ng (me!), Jeff Carson, U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan, sashamd, Peter Wong, Cindy Huggins, Jodi Crisp, ancogardenshome, Dan Boger, fauxels Pexels.com), andres chaparro (Pexels.com), Liene Verzemnieks, Poek, Andrea Piacquadio Pexels.com), Alec Couros, Sheila Sund, Alec Couros, Thompson Rivers University, Elaine Smith, Anita Gould, Erik, nappy (Pexels.com), Alec Couros, Sheree Kozel-La Ha, cottonbro (Pexels.com), Magnus Franklin, Zane Selvans, John Harvey, Vincent Van Gogh (19th century Dutch painter), Scott andehey, Marian Thacher, Nathan Tremmel, Antonio D'souza, Bart, Lab Science Career, Kim iever, DennisM2, Wonderlane, Henri Rousseau (19th century French painter), Marian Thacher, Global ives azakhstan, Adam Melancon, cobalt123, chunghow33, Burst (Pexels.com), Gil Garcia, Brian O'Connell The background music, Pachabelly by Huma-Huma, came from the YouTube Audio LIbrary.

[fycarmensandiego]

An updated studio recording of the Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? theme from Rockapella’s 1995 album Primer. Compared to the original recording from the Carmen soundtrack, it has the updated “Czech and Slovakia” lyric, an extended bridge featuring them singing “the warrant!” and “the chase!” (or maybe “The Chief!”), and the existence of Jeff Thacher, who had joined the group earlier that year and appeared on season 5 of the show.

Download MP3

[vile-vxllains]

//my niece and nephew are over and i’m probably going to have a headache by the end of the evening LOL

my nephew is channeling his inner Jeff Thacher and beatboxing. Kid’s got skill tho. We should form an acapella group lmao

[orbemnews]

The Mogul in Search of a Kinder, Gentler Capitalism A self-made multimillionaire who married into a revered European banking dynasty, Lynn Forester de Rothschild now spends her time calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, stricter regulation of big business and a wholesale reordering of the capitalist system that has delivered her such privilege. It is an unlikely reformation for a woman who came from modest origins, made a fortune in the 1980s and could have spent her later years enjoying a sumptuous life of aristocracy. Born to a middle-class family in the New Jersey suburbs, Ms. Rothschild began her career at the white shoe law firm Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett, then started working with John Kluge, a telecommunications mogul, in the 1980s. Ms. Rothschild eventually struck out on her own, working for, running and founding a series of successful media companies. In 2000, she married Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, a British financier. (Henry Kissinger introduced them at the Bilderberg conference; the Clintons invited them to honeymoon at the White House.) Despite her pedigree, Ms. Rothschild has in recent years come to understand that while she and her associates have enjoyed the fruits of capitalism, not all have fared so well. Many workers are struggling to get by. The environment is in serious trouble. Government often cleans up the private sector’s messes. Sociable and well-connected, Ms. Rothschild has tapped her expansive network to launch a multipronged assault on the status quo. In 2014, she founded the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, an effort to get business leaders more engaged in environmental and social issues. And she has parlayed that into a related group, the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, that is working with Pope Francis, and a new fund focused on socially responsible investing she founded with Jeff Ubben, a successful hedge fund manager. This interview was condensed and edited for clarity. Back when you were starting out in your career, were you concerned about some of the negative impacts of capitalism in the same way you are today? It was really different. I don’t think we realized how bad it was. Graduating from law school in 1980, I believed I was living the American dream. I was a skinny girl from nowhere who knew no one, who had aspirations for an interesting life that would make a difference. And I believed that was available to me if I worked hard and played by the rules. The mantra at that time, that was not said disparagingly, was “Greed is good.” There was an Ayn Rand view that if you pursue your interests, all of society is lifted. So I really did believe that all I needed to do was to pursue my career in a legal, ethical, exciting way, and I didn’t have to worry about society. When did it click for you that something wasn’t working? We didn’t anticipate the kind of disparity that developed over those 20 years when we started in 1980. And I don’t think people practicing shareholder primacy were evil. There was just too much greed. But by 2008 it was impossible to ignore. The concentration of wealth in America at that time already was back to levels we had during the Gilded Age. In the 1960s the ratio of C.E.O. pay to average worker pay was 25 to one. Today it is 320 to one. That has very conveniently created enormous personal wealth, which became the objective, as opposed to: What wealth have you left behind in society? How have you made the world better for your children, for your community? “Greed is good” was never a concept for Adam Smith. What do you see as the most problematic symptoms of our economic system today? Inequality of opportunity. We have to be honest that in each of our two recent crises — the great financial crisis and the Covid crisis — the government came to the aid of the wealthiest. Some have called it “socialism for the rich and capitalism for everyone else.” There’s something to that. The elites turn to government when the financial system is blown up or we have a health crisis. Government got us out of both of those problems, and it got us out with too much of the benefit going to the richest. So how do we equalize that? I personally am fine with higher taxes, if higher taxes lead to better distribution of opportunity, particularly for people of color and people in the lower part of the socioeconomic environment. I also believe that it is time that we listen more to our employees. It’s time that we create a more level playing field with respect to worker voice and worker involvement. This is hard stuff, because it can impact profit. A year ago you said Covid was going to change capitalism forever. In what way did you think it was going to change capitalism, and how do you think that all has actually played out? I’m probably always guilty of being overly optimistic. I believed that our moral compass would tell us that we need to take better care of the people who take care of us. But we saw starkly how we treated the people we called essential, how we were exposing them to this deadly disease. I personally find it difficult to understand why that is so hard for us as a society, and that’s why I founded the Council for Inclusive Capitalism. I had the disease. I was really sick. I thought I was going to die. I had a really bad case and I’m scared to death of it. What were the origins of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism? In June of 2015, Laudato Si was written by Pope Francis. By September, the Sustainable Development Goals were agreed to by the United Nations. By December, the Paris climate accord had been signed. You had every reason to believe that there was a sense of the common good. And if you go back and read Laudato Si, Pope Francis writes: “The lessons of the global financial crisis have not been assimilated, and we are learning all too slowly the lessons of environmental deterioration.” He goes on to say that “by itself the market cannot guarantee integral human development and social inclusion.” What are some of the reforms you’d like to see? The Business Roundtable can put out as many press releases as it wants about stakeholder capitalism, but we still have companies losing billions of dollars, laying off tens of thousands of workers and still rewarding their C.E.O.s with tens of millions of dollars. Something is really broken. I do believe that C.E.O.s and boards are willing to share the wealth and do more. But the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable are going to go for tax policy and trade policy as their primary objective. I remember a person who was very senior in a previous administration told me that in his four years in office, only one C.E.O. asked to go and see him about an issue of the common good. Everyone was coming in to push what they needed for their own book. We need to profitably solve the problems of people and planet. That’s why business exists. Who’s to say that there shouldn’t be a government policy that prices the negative externalities that companies cost the taxpayer when full-time workers have to be on public assistance to lead a decent life? Why can’t there be a tax and a penalty on that? Why is Jeff Bezos the richest man in the world? He’s a nice guy, and at the same time he has tens of thousands of employees on public assistance. Why is that OK? Why do we have a government that lets that happen? Which do you think is more broken, American politics or capitalism? I think their problems feed upon each other. They’re creating a death spiral together and it’s got to be stopped. Politics and capitalism needs to return to a basic sense of decency. And that is actually why I reached out to the Holy Father, because I think that a lot of what it will take to change behavior is a moral and ethical reawakening. It’s not just one policy, it’s not just taxes, it’s not just reforming labor laws — all of which are important, and we need competent ethical people to do it. But at the core of it, it has to come from common decency. God did not invent the corporation. Society allows a corporation to exist, gives shareholders limited liability, and expects something in return. But we don’t just expect cheap widgets. How do you reconcile your critique of shareholder capitalism with the fact that you’re now working with a hedge fund manager? If there is going to be a system change, the capital markets need to reward shareholders. That is only going to happen if there are really talented investors who find the new levers of value creation, and are engaging actively with companies that are transforming at scale to become cleaner and more inclusive, and those companies become the ones that are the most valuable. Then we’ve created a race to the top. That’s why I’m in partnership with Jeff, who’s such a legend in shareholder value creation and transforming companies. I have 1,000 percent confidence in the integrity of Jeff, even though he’s been on the opposite side for many years. I trust many billionaires. Source link Orbem News #Capitalism #Gentler #Kinder #Mogul #Search

[cheesecake-crisis]

Rockapella's music video for Land of a Thousand Dances, 1996.

[ladykailitha]

Regarding that screen shot I just reblogged Find it here!

What we see when we look at it:

Lucas Sinclair Wheeler’s Big Buy Drama Club? Dustin Henderson Thacher Tires Hawkins Elementary        AV Closet (then a note pointing to Hellfire Meeting? Underlined twice) Library? Downtown Jeff/Gareth (Hellfire) Paul Cook Park Behind Community Pool Reefer Ricks

Breakdown:

They went to Lucas first and the Mike’s. I wonder why they thought those two would know more than Dustin, but he doesn’t even make the top three. Ouch!

Are Thacher Tires and Big Buy current or even past places of employment? Big is further up the list is that Eddie’s current job, while Thacher Tire’s a former job that he still hangs out with (or is the van in the shop a lot)

Is Hellfire in the elementary storage closet and that’s why Erica was able to sub in for Lucas because it was there and not the high school?

Eddie loves the library but specifically downtown (suggests more than one in town).

Jeff and Gareth are mentioned as is a Paul Cook. The rest of Hellfire is on the list is this Unnamed Freak?

Park behind the community pool (eyeing hot lifeguards in the tiny red swimsuits are we, Eddie? Perhaps a certain former King of Hawkins High, hmmm...;) )

What does everyone else think? These are more like seeping stew then actual thoughts. But I do like the idea that we do have a name for the other Freak.

ETA: I just found out who Paul Cook is and my new headcanon is Jason is a moron! He saw the name or heard Eddie talk about him and think he’s someone Eddie knows. Nope. Just the hot drummer of the Sex Pistols. *face palm*

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season Eight Rewatch:  "Hot Water" The basics:  With Callen, Sam, Deeks and Granger all arrested, what's left of NCIS realizes the mole hunt is rearing its ugly head just as Undersecretary Duggan arrives to oversee Hetty’s resignation. Written by:  Anastasia Kousakis, daughter of executive producer John Peter Kousakis.  She wrote and directed the series "We Don’t Hate It Here." Directed by:  Dennis Smith who directed “Fame”, “Standoff”, “Rocket Man”, “Cyberthreat”, “Exit Strategy”, “Patriot Acts”, “Out of the Past” part one, “The Livelong Day”, Between the Lines”, “Deep Trouble” part two, “Black Budget”, “Black Wind”, “Blame it On Rio”, “Defectors”, “Matryoshka” part one, “Granger, O” and “The Queen's Gambit”.

Guest stars of note: Jackson Hurst returns as Undersecretary of Defense Corbin Duggan from "The Queen's Gambit" earlier this season.  Karina Logue is back from "Internal Affairs" as LAPD Detective Ellen Whiting, Gretchen Palmer returns from either the season premiere (in person) or "Sirens" in photos as Heather Wilson/Rae, Carlos Sanz returns from "The Grey Man" as DEA Agent Mario Sanchez, Corey Reynolds as ATF Agent Duke Morgan, Elaine Loh as LAPD Officer Lisa Chan, Andrew Thacher as FBI Swat Commander, Tony Elias returns from "Seal Hunter" as FBI Swat Officer, Karibel Rodriquez as LAPD Officer Turner, Joe Thornton Jr. returns from "Internal Affairs" as LAPD Officer Northam (he was the cop in lock-up), Matthew Grant Godbey is back from “Parallel Resistors” as LAPD Detective Dan Evans, Jeff De Serrano is back from "Active Measures" as LAPD Officer Rojas, Vivis Colombetti returns from "Sirens" as Mrs. Ramirez, Todd James Jackson as Hospital Guard and  Troy Cephers who was last seen trying to arrest Callen and Sam in "Command and Control" as LAPD Officer.  

This is an excellent episode for call back law enforcement characters. Our heroes:  Are in hot water.   What important things did we learn about: Callen:  Arrested. Sam:   Arrested. Kensi:   Back undercover as a hospital worker. Deeks:  Arrested. Eric:  Stunned by Duggan's death. Nell:  Keeps breaking bad news to a dwindling group of people. Granger: Stabbed. Hetty:  Packing up her things. What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen:  Last staffer arrested. Sam:   Third to be arrested. Kensi:  Only regular field agent not to be arrested. Deeks: Second to be arrested. Eric:  Making 'too soon' coma jokes to Kensi. Nell:  Plays multi-ball pinball. Granger: First to be arrested. Hetty:  Wearing a new suit through the boat shed trap door.   Who's down with OTP:  Deeks is interested in how everyone proposes and Kensi is interested in being proposed to but jail time is involved.  Good news for Deeks – wives can't be compelled to testify about their spouses so Deeks may want to get on this. Who's down with BrOTP:  Not much of that today.

Any Hanna family mentions:  No.

Fashion review:  Dark blue button down shirt for Callen.  Black henley for Sam.  Burgundy long-sleeve top for Kensi with a few hours midday dress in well-tailored hospital scrubs (dark blue).  Concrete grey long-sleeve tee for Deeks.  Grey plaid button down shirt over a dark blue tee for Eric.   Purple dress with a dark pink sweater for Nell.  Dark blue suit for Granger with a royal blue dress shirt for Granger before he's in a hospital gown.  New dark grey suit for Hetty that likely was ruined by sea water at the end. Music:  None. Any notable cut scene:  No.   Quote: Hetty:  "I haven't been entirely honest with you." Duggan:  "Why am I not surprised?" Hetty:  "Owen Granger has been in police custody since this morning.  We just got word that he was stabbed." Duggan:  "Is he alive?" Hetty:  "For now.  Meanwhile, three of my agents are being held by different agencies across the city.  Now, if none of this is news to you, then, bravo, you win." Duggan:  "You think I'm behind this?" Hetty:  "Are you?" Duggan:  "No.  Henrietta, why didn't you tell me about any of this sooner?" Hetty:  "Because I didn't realize what you have to gain until now.  I thought my career depended on finding the mole.  Now I realize yours does." Duggan:  "I don't follow." Hetty:  "Taking me down would be big for your career.  But not as big as finding the mole."

We couldn't have done this in the season premiere?  Duggan's death would have meant something if he was this guy from day one.  

Oh, and "You think I'm behind this" from Duggan is hilarious when you learn that Hetty is.

Honorable mention:

Kensi:  "Where's Hetty?" Eric:  "God, if I had a dollar for every time I've been asked that question, I'd have $2,389.  Oh, uh, downstairs."

Anything else:  Lots and lots of previouslys – Deeks's mug shot scene and telling Whiting he didn't kill Francis Boyle.  Deeks confessing to Kensi in "Cancel Christmas" about killing Boyle.  Hetty resigning again in "The Queen's Gambit".  Nell with the photo of Natalie Grant and Carl Brown.  Natalie Grant being shot and giving up Rae.  Granger with Rae as Heather.  

Granger is slowly coming to in a bathroom.  The scene goes back and forth from a general shot to his point of view.  He is acting and reacting as if he was drugged.  There is blood on his dress shirt.  He remembers seeing Heather/Rae in the bar.  Not steady on his feet, he makes his way to the living room where he finds a scotch glass and an open door to a back yard.  There is a fancy's woman's high heel in the middle of the living room.  Heather/Rae is badly beaten and tied to a chair that is now tipped on its side.

As Granger bends down to tend to Heather/Rae, the police arrive.  LAPD orders Granger away from Heather/Rae.  A female officer checks Heather/Rae for a pulse.  She's alive.  Granger is in big trouble.

In the firing range, Kensi is shooting left-handed and doing it easily.  Callen is impressed.  So impressed, Kensi hopes, that he will go back and report that to Hetty.  Kensi knows Hetty sent him to check on how she was doing.  Callen thinks Kensi is a conspiracy theorist.  He also wants her back in the field more than anyone.  "Not more than me," Kensi corrects him.  Callen thinks she "seems" ready but it is not his decision.   Hetty will decide when Kensi is ready.  Kensi know she's ready – "I feel like myself again, I do."  Callen says it can't hurt to put in a good word.  Kensi tells him what will hurt is when she smokes him in the firing range.

Sam and Deeks walk in together.  Deeks is looking for Sam's top five tourist attractions in Los Angeles.  Sam doesn’t do tourist attractions.  Deeks tries again – where would Sam take an out of towner in for a visit.  What is Sam Hanna's LA?  Sam doesn't do listicle, either.  Deeks is stunned – listicles are both fun and easily digestible, like gummy vitamins.  Sam isn't big on gummy vitamins either.  He gets his daily dose from the source.  Deeks questions him getting his proper vitamins just from food.  Pounding his chest, Sam explains "this house wasn't built on gummy bears."  Pounding his chest, Deeks hurts himself.  Sam taps Deeks’s chest which Deeks thinks he probably should have checked out by a doctor.

Sam wants to know why Deeks is asking.  Not looking at Sam, Deeks says he's taking Sam's advice.  Maybe he and Kensi aren't doing the things they usually do so maybe it is time to try something new.  Sam says Deeks is trying to find a place to propose.  Deeks denies that for a second but then confesses.  Sam goes with the classics – propose at the beach with its ocean breezes, sunsets and maximum romance.  That was Deeks's original plan but Kensi is expecting that.  He's hoping to do the unexpected.  Eric, with no quips, soliloquies, nerd trivia, show tunes or flugelhorn calls the men to Ops.  When asked about that, Eric answers "not today," Sam and Deeks are concerned.  Callen and Kensi join Sam and Deeks in Ops.

Nell has a big picture of Heather/Rae on the big screen with other photos of her meeting with Natalie Grant.  Nell tells the others that Granger was going to the bar without the team to find Heather/Rae.  Last night he found her and was with her this morning.  Deeks jokes about "G-Dawg" but there is no joking here.  LAPD got a call about gunshots in Heather/Rae's house.  When LAPD found her badly beaten and bound, Granger was arrested on the spot.  Everyone knows Granger wouldn't do this – even if it got them closer to the mole.   LAPD is keeping Granger from NCIS.  Deeks volunteers to get what he can at the precinct.  Heather/Rae is still unconscious.  Callen and Sam are off to the crime scene.  Left behind, Kensi asks for Hetty, who is in her office.

Hetty has company in her office.  Undersecretary Duggan is in her office.  He is there to oversee Hetty's departure from NCIS.  Kensi calls that ridiculous but Duggan reminds both women of the deal Hetty made.  Kensi asks if Duggan is just there to see heads roll even if they are the wrong heads.  Hetty tells Kensi she is a woman of her word.  Duggan needs to speak to Granger, who will be taking over until Duggan can find a suitable replacement.   Looking to brief Granger, Hetty isn't sure where he is.  Kensi hasn't seen him either.  

Arriving at the crime scene, Sam says that Granger had a plan to set up surveillance once Heather/Rae made contact but Callen believes Heather/Rae had her own plans.  Callen and Sam approach Dan Evans – the detective they usually deal with at crime scenes.  He's not letting them near any assault case where an NCIS official is the chief suspect but maybe he didn't see them loitering around for a while.

At the precinct, Granger is printed and handcuffed out a bar in a waiting area.  Deeks is getting the run-around from a very stoic desk officer named Chan.  She sent him on one wild goose chase already.  Deeks reminds Chan that they're both LAPD, could he get a little help here?  Chan told him Granger was being processed but Deeks wants to see where Granger is in the "being processed" process.  Chan wants Deeks to sit.

Noticing a ring on Chan's hand, Deeks congratulates Chan on her marriage. She's been married eight years (and as a Miss Manner's tip – you don't congratulate the bride.  I know it is old fashion but I'm on board with this relic of an idea).  Deeks asks about the proposal.  He has some ideas but Chan tells Deeks she proposed.  Deeks says Chan has one lucky guy.  Chan's married to a woman.  Deeks is not having a good conversation.  Ellen Whiting returns and that makes things worse.  Granger is the least of Deeks's problems – there is new evidence in the Francis Boyle murder case.  With a uniformed officer on her side, she wants Deeks cuffed.  Deeks has his phone out.  He is able to get out a quick text just before Whiting notices.  

Kensi gets the text from Deeks.  She signals she needs to talk to Hetty, who is busy with Duggan.  Kensi goes to the coffee area and Hetty is already there.  Kensi is surprised – she forgot how good Hetty was at just appearing.   Kensi thinks two team members being arrested on the same day is not a coincidence.  Hetty thinks it is an offensive against NCIS – they spent the last three months hunting the mole and now the mole is hunting them.  Kensi asks about Duggan.  Hetty wants him kept in the dark.

Looking around the neighborhood, Callen notes it is trash day and everyone's pails are out but Heather/Rae's.  Most people put their trash out the night before.  Except Callen.  He really doesn’t produce any trash.  He has a very small carbon footprint (do you see the cars you drive?).  Sam calls this the "Inconvenient Lie".  He has seen inside Callen's fridge.  The beer bottles don't empty themselves.  Callen argues they're recyclable.  Looking into Heather/Rae's recyclables – the trash pails, all of them, are empty. Sam wonders if this is even Heather/Rae's home.

As Kensi calls Callen, Sam spies a trash pail situated between Heather/Rae's home and the neighbors.  Opening it, Sam finds roofies in the trash – that explains why Granger was out of it.  Callen has the bad news about Deeks and his cold case.  The DEA makes things worse – they're looking at Sam's car.  

Agent Sanchez asks an arriving Sam – Callen is hanging back near the trash – to open his trunk.  Sam tells Sanchez that it is a government car but Sanchez would like the courtesy.  Sam pops his trunk.  The dead guy in there surprises Sam.  So does the brick of cocaine that Sanchez finds just a little too fast.  Sam is outraged – "do you think I'd come to a crime scene with a corpse and cocaine in my car?"  Sanchez is working to keep everyone calm.  Sam turns over his weapon and is arrested.  Callen hits the road.

Kensi is now dealing with desk officer Chan.  She's as interested in Kensi as she was with Deeks.  Kensi explains that Deeks is her fiancé, she actually is waiting for her proposal after being proposed to in a coma.  Chan isn't on board for any of this.  Kensi sees Whiting who won't talk to Kensi until Kensi literally stands in front of the woman.  Kensi tells Whiting the Boyle case is ice cold.  Whiting disagrees – it warmed up.  Kensi wants to know what Whiting has and figures Whiting has nothing.  Kensi tries to tell Whiting that this is all a set-up.  Whiting says Kensi has too much invested in Deeks being released.  Looking at Kensi, Whiting is also pretty sure that Kensi knows more now than she did 2015.  Whiting is thinking about subpoenaing Kensi.  Kensi thanks Whiting for nothing as she leaves.

Callen is sharing cookies and milk with Mrs. Ramirez, his sweet but slightly dotty near-sighted neighbor.  As she gets him more milk to go with his cookies, Kensi calls with her lack of luck at LAPD.  Callen tells Kensi about Sam's arrest and how they must be stopped even as they are coming after all of them.  Whoever they are.  As Callen is speaking, ATF pulls up outside of his house.  Callen tells Kensi.  They think Duggan or someone with his level of pull is behind this (oh, if you only knew).  By the way – why is Callen on his phone.  In "Burned", the first thing Callen did was lose his phone.  Seven plus seasons later and he's suddenly dumb.  Callen runs off while Kensi drops her phone in a stranger's bag.  Callen is taken down by a canine member of the ATF.  

Duggan asks Hetty if she knows where Granger is.  She does not – she's not his keeper.  Duggan thinks this is unusual but Hetty doesn't – in their business, nothing is unusual.  Duggan looks at the photos on Hetty's wall.  He admires the career she's had – admired her.  He regrets that this is the end.  "No one is sorrier than I, Undersecretary," Hetty tells him.  As her last act, Duggan wants Hetty to find Granger.

In the burn room, Kensi finds Eric and Nell.  They tell her about Callen.  Kensi wants everyone offline.  The mole knows what they're doing.  Eric and Nell start talking about multi-ball pinball and Kensi is surprised people who still play that.  Eric makes a completely inappropriate coma joke.  With Heather/Rae unconscious, Kensi wants to get into the house to see what happened there.  LAPD has the place locked down.  Nell thinks it is a safe house – not a real house.  Eric's tablet beeps.  Heather/Rae is awake.  She ID'd Granger as her attacker.  Granger is taken from his seated and handcuffed location to the hall outside of the lockup cells.  As the door to lock-up is buzzed opened, so is a side door behind Granger.  Granger is stabbed several times and left to die on the floor.  The guard and the man with the knife walk away.

At the DEA interrogation room, Sanchez asks Sam if he's ready to talk.  Sam is but not to Sanchez.  He wants to speak to Talia del Campo.  Sanchez isn't taking requests.  "Tali is away on assignment," according to Sanchez.  When Sam wants to know how far away, too far away is Sanchez's answer. Sam better get comfortable.  He isn't going anywhere Sanchez explains before leaving the room.

Deeks isn't going anywhere either.  Deeks is not alone, however.  He's with Whiting and LAPD's awful coffee.  He as an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.  Deeks wants his captain but his captain is not available.  In fact, Whiting tells Deeks she is the closest thing he has to an ally at LAPD.  Deeks laughs.  He also thinks LAPD had a whole year to improve the coffee from the level of the vending machine of his car wash and failed.  Deeks tells Whiting that intuition is the biggest tool he uses.  He asks what her intuition is tells her.  Whiting's intuition knows Tiffany Williams/Julie Sanders.  Deeks is suddenly bothered.  Whiting knows about the money.  Deeks says he was helping her out.  He's a Boy Scout with a patch to prove it.

While the coffee is still awful, Deeks points out the truth.  Whiting gets all this news the same day Owen Granger is arrested.  Whiting brings up Kensi which Deeks thinks is a bad thing for Whiting.  Whiting corrects herself – Kensi says she's Deeks fiancé and Deeks hopes this doesn’t sadden Whiting since he doesn't do polygamy.  No, but Whiting does subpoenas.  And when she mentioned one, Kensi ran.  With controlled anger, Deeks lets Whiting know that Kensi is to be left out of his troubles.  Whiting doesn't think she needs Kensi to prove he killed Boyle.

Callen wants to know why he was arrested.  ATF Agent Morgan tells Callen he found 500-pounds of stolen explosives on his property and a dead body in his garage.  Callen thinks Morgan is a reasonable man so Callen explains that as a federal agent, he doesn't leave explosives around his house and a dead body in his garage.  Morgan asks how all that got on his property.  Probably the same way a dead body and cocaine wound up in Sam's trunk.  Both dead bodies were likely dead for more than 12-hours.  They were killed someone else and left for the ATF and DEA to find.  This is a set-up.  Morgan isn't on board for this.   Callen asks him to look into Sam Hanna, Martin Deeks, Owen Granger.  "This is an attack on NCIS."  Callen warns Morgan that there is blood on his hands for every minute that the four men are locked up.  Morgan looks a little comfortable.

In the coffee area, Kensi tells Hetty that Heather/Rae is awake.  "About damn time," according to Hetty, she is having a hard time keeping Duggan occupied.  It was her job to find the mole and now everyone on the team is paying the price.  She's lying to Kensi's face.  This is amazing.  Nell arrives with news about Granger.  He is alive but it is not looking good.  Duggan arrives – he wants Granger and Hetty's time to talk her way out of trouble is over.

With Kensi and Nell behind her, Hetty says she has no plans to talk her way out of anything.  She needs to speak with him alone.  As Duggan goes to Hetty's office, she tells Kensi and Nell "an early friend and mentor always used to say that a woman is like a tea bag.  You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water."  Hetty walks away with Kensi and Nell wondering if Hetty really knew Eleonore Roosevelt.  

Granger is in rough shape in an ambulance.

Hetty admits to a not surprised Duggan that she hasn’t been 100% honest with him.  She updates Duggan on Granger's arrest and stabbing.  She also tells Duggan about the arrests of Callen, Sam and Deeks.  She congratulates him if he's behind these attacks and he's stunned she actually believed he'd do such a thing.  He asks why she didn't share with him first.  Hetty comes to a realization – she thought her career depended on finding the mole.  She now knows it is Duggan's career that depends on finding the mole.  Take down Hetty – good career move.  Catch the mole – great career mole.  Duggan wants an update on everything.

Kensi is walking through the hospital with a wheel chair.  She tells Nell she does not miss hospitals.  Wheeling into Heather/Rae's room, she passes a uniformed security officer at the nurses' station.  Kensi tells Heather she's there to take Heather/Rae for an MRI.  This is news to the patient but she's starting to move toward Kensi.  Kensi and Heather/Rae share their dislike for hospital food as Kensi helps Heather/Rae into the wheelchair..

The security officer walks into the room and needs to see Kensi's ID before Heather can leave.  Kensi explains that her last patient got some "unsanitary fluids" on her ID and she's waiting for a new one.  He won't allow Kensi to leave the room with Heather/Rae without ID.  Warning him he'll need mask, gloves and probably a shower, she'll get the ID from the trash.  He's still not letting her leave with Heather/Rae.  Kensi kicks him in the nom de plumes before knocking him out.

She takes Heather/Rae from her room against Heather/Rae's will.  Kensi tells the woman it is for her safety but she's suspicious.  As Kensi starts to put Heather/Rae into her SUV, a van driven by a man in a ski mask passes by and opens fire on Kensi's vehicle.  Kensi returns fire as Heather/Rae hides.  When the van leaves, Kensi helps Heather/Rae into the SUV and tears out of there.  Nell congratulates Eric – who takes off the ski mask – for his shooting with blanks at Kensi's SUV.  Eric blows into his gun and nearly chokes on the dust and smoke.

At night, Deeks is making a pest of himself in the interrogation room.  Banging on the door.  Doing reverse push-ups.  Yelling.  Deeks is finally told to be quiet by one of the uniformed officers.  Whiting has left for the day.  Sanchez arrives with dinner for Sam.  Sam doesn’t want a sandwich, he wants his phone call.  Callen says if Morgan lets him go, he'll do his job and he'll do Morgan's.  Granger is in desperate shape, handcuffed to his hospital bed rail and on a respirator.  A nice montage/review of our fellas in trouble.

In interrogation, Heather/Rae asks Kensi to remove her handcuffs.  She's not going anywhere in her current condition.  Kensi is willing to help if Heather/Rae is.  Showing her photos of her meeting with Natalie Grant and Natalie Grant dating Carl Brown, Kensi wants to know who is running this.  Heather/Rae asks Kensi how she's so sure.  Kensi knows someone told her to take down Granger.

Watching from the main room, Duggan tells Hetty if Heather/Rae took that sort of beating for her cause, she may not be easy to break.  Back in interrogation, Kensi shows Heather/Rae the drugs Granger was given.  Heather/Rae gives the camera near the far wall a long look.  Kensi tells Heather/Rae that her bosses probably don't need her anymore but NCIS could help.  "Like you protected Granger," Heather/Rae mocks.  Kensi reminds Heather/Rae who got her safely out of the hospital, she's fine with put Heather/Rae back on the street.  Kensi just wants to know who is behind this because she knows it is not the LAPD, DEA or ATF.  Kensi tells Heather/Rae she needs to cooperate.  High security prison like Carl Brown or dead like Natalie Grant.  Heather/Rae keeps looking at the camera.  Then she starts tapping on the table.  Kensi stops the questioning.  

Kensi goes into the main room – Heather is working with the CIA.  Duggan asks her how she knows that.  Heather was tapping that on her the table – Duggan needs to work on his Morse code.  

In Ops, Eric and Nell see the FBI tactical team making their way to boat shed.  As Nell tries to tell Hetty, Kensi and Duggan they've been SWAT'd, the video feed from Ops is cut.  Hetty wants to handle things but Duggan insists on talking to the FBI.  Walking outside the boat shed and toward the FBI, Duggan introduces himself while the FBI demands he puts his hands up.  Duggan does as he's told only to be standing still so it is easy to be assassinated by a sniper.  The FBI tactical team moves toward the boat shed with one member remaining behind to see about Duggan.

Eric and Nell realized Duggan was the one person who could help them and now he's dead.  

Kensi says there is only one way out.  She kills the main power to the boat shed as Hetty grouse about her new suit.  They take the interrogation room trap door to freedom just as the FBI gets in.  Heather/Rae is in the corner of the interrogation room.  The trap door is wide opened.  "Commander, you need to see this," one of the officers calls out.  

To be continued.  

What head canon can be formed from here:   Not head canon but questions.  We'll learn that Hetty set up both Callen and Sam as this three-parter continues.  That took time.  Did she plan for them to be in jail the day Duggan shows up?  Callen and Sam were obviously innocent of their crimes.  Deeks, not so much.  Now Tiffany Williams/Julie Sanders may be playing Whiting at Hetty's request but that certainly hasn't been made clear as we go into season nine.  Plus Deeks is guilty.  Add in that all this happens on the same day Granger is not only arrested but nearly killed and Hetty’s timing moves pass legendary status and into God-like territory.

I like this episode – it is good.  These three episodes are really good but it lacks that Frank Military level of plotting – where everything is planned and has meanings that show up later (In "Out of the Past", CIA's Megan Hendley fell in love with co-worker Frank Turner because you don't plan to fall in love the way in "Rude Awakenings" Callen tells Kensi and Deeks that Sam fell in love with Quinn/Michelle working together the way by "Descent", Deeks and Kensi are figuring some things out).  

One head canon – who was Heather/Rae and what happened to her?

Episode number:   Unlucky 13 for the non-Eric Beale male members of OSP and Undersecretary Duggan.  181 overall.

[marymosley]

Pierce Bainbridge: $1,000,000,000 “LIE”, California Bar Investigation, Partners Running for the Exits

The Sky Seems to Be Falling at Pierce Bainbridge and Don Lewis’ Former Partners Appear to Believe They Have No Responsibility

Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP has had tough several months. E-mails, texts and slack exchanges have surfaced portraying the firm in a negative light.  Former partner Don Lewis says the firm’s Managing Partner John Pierce uses “human pawns” to do his bidding.  The list appears to include Michael Yim of Putney Twombly — facing claims of legal malpractice, S. Jeanine Conley of Littler Mendelson — facing claims of “attorney deceit”, as well as Christopher N. LaVigne and Denver G. Edwards – facing potential felony exposure for allegedly lying in sworn affidavits.  Dishonesty at Pierce Bainbridge has also been a Lewis theme, a review of the “The Over the Top Rhetoric” below is remarkably illuminating.

An Ugly Two Weeks

 It has been a very rough two weeks for Pierce Bainbridge:

The $1,000,000,000 Misrepresentation.  Lewis said that Pierce and firm General Counsel Carolynn Beck told a litigation funder – Pravati Capital LLC in May 2018 – that a case had a prospective value of $1,000,000,000, which he says Pierce and Beck knew was not true.  United States District Court Judge Anita B. Brody just dismissed the case — threw it out completely — before it even went to trial.  The Pierce Bainbridge so-called $1 Billion Case resulted in zero dollars of recovery.  (The successful defense was led by Ambika Doran, Elizabeth A. McNamara and Alison Brooke Schary of Davis Tremaine LLP, and William T. Hangly and Bonnie M. Hoffman of Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller.)

Lewis said: “No one should be surprised by this, not even Pierce Bainbridge.  The prior lawyer advised his client after 16 months of working on the case to settle for $400,000.  Yet Pierce and Beck were concurrently telling a lender (Pravati) it was worth a mind-boggling $1 BILLION.”

The California State Bar Investigation.  The President of a former Pierce Bainbridge client advised that, after months of the preliminary investigation, the California State Bar has opened a “full-blown investigation” into Pierce and Pierce Bainbridge.  Pierce and Jonathan Sorkowitz handled the case; severe discipline up to, and including, disbarment has been requested.

Partner Exodus.  Six partners hired at the firm within the last year apparently abandoned the Pierce Bainbridge ship.  Michael Winograd, Robert Allen, Jeffrey Alexander, Deborah Renner, Joan Meyer and Susan Winkler (the “Departed Six”).  It is rare for partners to come and go so quickly, for six of them to do so is alarming.

The Over the top Rhetoric

The Departed Six appear to have been duped by Pierce’s over the top embellishment.  In light of recent events, it is fascinating to revisit media coverage concerning their hiring.

Deborah Renner; article December 3, 2018

(Renner has prior law firm experience at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal; and Baker & Hostetler LLP; Renner was widely known as the “lead attorney” for Trustee Irving Picard in unwinding the fraudulent activity of Bernie Madoff).

Pierce:  “Pierce Bainbridge already has the best general commercial, intellectual property, and white-collar practices in the world by a wide margin. . .The most talented lawyers from the top Am Law 200 firms are seeing very clearly that we are the future. This is still just the beginning of the talent the market will see flood to our cutting-edge, mission-oriented, happy-warrior litigation platform in the months to come.”

Jeff Alexander; press release on February 4, 2019

(Alexander has prior law firm experience  at Latham & Watkins; Labaton Sucharow LLP; Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP and Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP)

“Our level of talent is simply unmatched at this point. We have built a better mousetrap, pure and simple.” – John Pierce, a former K&L Gates, Latham & Watkins and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner.

Pierce: “The traditional Am Law 100 firms simply cannot compete with us in the digital age. We litigate 10 times better, 10 times faster, and at a fraction of the cost. It is not a linear difference—it is exponential.”

Robert Allen; press release on February 13, 2019

Allen has prior law firm experience at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, Gradstein & Marzano, P.C., McKool Smith Hennigan PC

Allen: “I am excited and privileged to be part of such an energetic team of talented lawyers, unafraid of tackling cutting edge issues in pursuit of effective and efficient justice for its clients.”

Pierce:  “We could not be more thrilled that Tom (Warren) and Rob (Allen) have chosen Pierce Bainbridge as their new home,” said the firm’s Managing Partner John Pierce.  “Both are luminaries in their respective fields and deepen our white-collar and IP benches.  February 2019 has proven to be another huge month for the firm as we continue rocketing toward market domination.”

Michael Winograd and Joan Meyer; press release on March 4, 2019.

(Winograd has prior law firm experience at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati LLP and Ropes & Gray)

Winograd: “This was an opportunity that I just could not pass up. . . elite litigators cherry-picked from top firms and government offices. . . It’s an exciting time to join Pierce Bainbridge. As our current trajectory shows, the sky is the limit.”

Meyer: “It’s a privilege to join Pierce Bainbridge.  It is a dynamic, top-quality firm that has a new vision about how lawyers serve their clients.  It is growing so fast because clients want the drive and initiative this firm brings to the table.  I am proud to be a part of it.”

Pierce: “Mike (Winograd) and Joan (Meyer) take our white-collar and complex litigation capabilities to a whole new level . . . [it is] the best proof that our new way of doing things in the digital age works.”

Susan Winkler hiring; press release on March 12, 2019 

(Winkler previously worked for 25 years in the United States Attorneys Office in Boston, Massachusetts)

Winkler: “It is an honor to join Pierce Bainbridge as it opens the Boston office. . . the opportunity to join these elite trial practitioners with their vision for effective and efficient top-flight litigation was too exciting to pass up.  I am happy to be part of the team.”

Pierce: “With the addition of Susan (Winkler), Frank (Velie) and Jonathan (Kortmansky), our white-collar capabilities have become truly unparalleled.”

“Unmatched,” “Phenomenon,” “Elite,” “Top-Flight,” “Unparalleled,” “Best in the World,” “Most Talent,” “Wide Margin,” and “Sky is the Limit.”

Lewis says: “These words are better suited to John Pierce’s propensity to lie.  That is exactly what Pierce Bainbridge did about false allegations against me, they lied.”

Interestingly, Five of the Departed Six have experience in white-collar crime and/or fraud.

The lawyer for Lewis’ former partners (all of whom remain at the firm, with the exception of one) recently argued in Court that they bear no responsibility for the wrongs done to their former partner.   Lewis says: “They want the title, they definitely want the money, but they don’t want the responsibility.  That’s just not right.”

*** The Pierce Bainbridge Defendants – Lewis’ Former Partners — include: Amman Khan, Andrew Lorin, Caroline Polisi, Carolynn K. Beck, Christopher N. LaVigne, Conor McDonough, Craig Bolton, David L. Hecht, Doug Curran, Eric M. Creizman, James D. Bainbridge, John Mark Pierce, Jonathan Sorkowitz, Maxim Price, Melissa Madrigal, Mike Pomerantz  and Patrick Bradford ***

Links to Legal Desire’s prior coverage of the Lewis -v- Pierce Bainbridge dispute, including a Forbes article which linked to Legal Desire.

Forbes Links to Legal Desire

Accusation of Corruption and Cover-Up

Lewis Maintains Innocence

Alleged Lies in Sworn Affidavits by Pierce Bainbridge Partners

Potential Felony Exposure for Pierce Bainbridge Partners 

The post Pierce Bainbridge: $1,000,000,000 “LIE”, California Bar Investigation, Partners Running for the Exits appeared first on Legal Desire.

Pierce Bainbridge: $1,000,000,000 “LIE”, California Bar Investigation, Partners Running for the Exits published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.tumblr.com/

[its-ashley-95baybe]

To answer a couple of anon’s questions. Yes Robert is gay. He is currently in a relationship with Jeff Thacher from SYTYCD. I don’t know any of the other answers.

[cynthiajayusa]

‘Rockapella Christmas’ Comes to Parker Playhouse

Rockapella Christmas creates a light-hearted and unforgettable holiday experience filled with musical cheer at Parker Playhouse (707 N.E. Eighth Street in Fort Lauderdale) on Saturday, December 22 at 8 p.m.

One of the pioneers of the full-band sound of contemporary a cappella, this five-man powerhouse of vocal talent performs Rockapella-fied versions of favorites including “Silver Bells,” “Winter Wonderland,” “The Chipmunk Song,” “Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer,” “Wonderful Christmastime,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Matunda Ya Kwanzaa”, as well as takes on “Little Drummer Boy,” “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” and the original “Christmas Altogether.”

Since the early ’90s when Rockapella first achieved national television fame on PBS’s Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, it has toured the globe and provided a funky powerful soundtrack to several generations of vocal music fans, while keeping it all fresh along the way.

The current Rockapella line-up marks a new generation of Rockapella who remain keenly focused on musical excellence. It addition to high tenor Scott Leonard, the group’s chief songwriter, arranger and architect of their ever-evolving dynamic sound since 1991, the group features Jeff Thacher (1993, vocal percussionist), Calvin Jones (2013, tenor), Mitchell Rains (2016, tenor), and Bryant Vance (2016, bass).

Of a performance at Manhattan’s Feinstein’s/54 Below cabaret, The New York Times reported, “…the show became the musical equivalent of watching the members of a basketball team happily toss a ball around. Camaraderie and comedy go together; there’s something essentially lighthearted about human voices imitating instruments.”

Tickets are $37–$47 and can be purchased at: ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at the Parker Playhouse box office Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/12/20/rockapella-christmas-comes-to-parker-playhouse/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/12/rockapella-christmas-comes-to-parker.html

[demitgibbs]

‘Rockapella Christmas’ Comes to Parker Playhouse

Rockapella Christmas creates a light-hearted and unforgettable holiday experience filled with musical cheer at Parker Playhouse (707 N.E. Eighth Street in Fort Lauderdale) on Saturday, December 22 at 8 p.m.

One of the pioneers of the full-band sound of contemporary a cappella, this five-man powerhouse of vocal talent performs Rockapella-fied versions of favorites including “Silver Bells,” “Winter Wonderland,” “The Chipmunk Song,” “Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer,” “Wonderful Christmastime,” “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Matunda Ya Kwanzaa”, as well as takes on “Little Drummer Boy,” “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” and the original “Christmas Altogether.”

Since the early ’90s when Rockapella first achieved national television fame on PBS’s Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, it has toured the globe and provided a funky powerful soundtrack to several generations of vocal music fans, while keeping it all fresh along the way.

The current Rockapella line-up marks a new generation of Rockapella who remain keenly focused on musical excellence. It addition to high tenor Scott Leonard, the group’s chief songwriter, arranger and architect of their ever-evolving dynamic sound since 1991, the group features Jeff Thacher (1993, vocal percussionist), Calvin Jones (2013, tenor), Mitchell Rains (2016, tenor), and Bryant Vance (2016, bass).

Of a performance at Manhattan’s Feinstein’s/54 Below cabaret, The New York Times reported, “…the show became the musical equivalent of watching the members of a basketball team happily toss a ball around. Camaraderie and comedy go together; there’s something essentially lighthearted about human voices imitating instruments.”

Tickets are $37–$47 and can be purchased at: ParkerPlayhouse.com and Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222; in person at the Parker Playhouse box office Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/12/20/rockapella-christmas-comes-to-parker-playhouse/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/181271257990