I'm so sorry, ChiKat. Hope the dog is extra cuddly for you today.

I don't know if anyone here can help with this question, but here goes. I have a friend from uni, just starting out in her career, who's been offered a job in the Hong Kong office of a US law firm, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe (based in SF). I was wondering if any legalistas knew anything about this firm, especially as an employer. Does it look after its staff? How is it on work/life balance? Any help would be much appreciated.

That's my old firm, billytea. The first firm I worked for back in the late nineties and early oughts.

It's a well-run firm, very tech friendly. They have a strong background in finance, so even though they've branched out over the years they've done so at a measured, secure pace. Salary and benefits will be industry standard. They never go out and set that standard but they follow along with what the market dictates.

Their firmwide functions are run out of a 24 call center in Wheeling, W.Va so even though they'll be in a small, satellite office they'll be able to have somebody talk to them about benefits or paycheck whenever.

Since it's a small, local office a lot of its culture will come from the people in that office rather than the home office. So, it really will depend on what Partner in Charge in HK is like.

They do have fairly high billables - but again, industry standard. They've always included pro bono work in meeting minimum hourly benchmarks. Depending on the year they might also include business development and firm admin hours in the totals. They tweaked their bonus structure almost annually depending on the market.

Good benefits, and culturally pretty accepting of people taking time off for kids or childbirth.

I haven't worked there in a while but I expect the culture is still pretty much the same.

That's fantastic, thanks Hec. I'll pass that on.

Collectively, I think we are 1 degree from separation from everything.

It was California news, and the baby was a newborn (or the bit with the still-attached umbilical cord is extra gross), and I know the ER I go to is safe haven. I wonder if it's a lack of knowledge that makes you abandon the child at a gas station, or a lack of concern, or what?

I mean, who wants the option with a search? Which is coincidentally the option less safe for the baby, but I'm guessing they don't really care about that.

There was a situation here a year or two ago when someone left a newborn at a church, which is not considered a safe haven. And I can see why - the others are pretty much all 24/7 and populated with first responders, so it's a degree of magnitude less risky to the infant.

But I can also see why someone might assume a church would count. I think they did find the mother, but I don't recall what happened from there. Hopefully not treated the same as a freaking gas station.

I wonder if it's a lack of knowledge that makes you abandon the child at a gas station, or a lack of concern, or what?

You're freaking the fuck out and the gas station is closer than a hospital and you aren't thinking clearly?

yeah, better than a garbage can or something. despite the fact that the mother could have gone to a hospital or fire station or police station, I feel really sorry for her.

Every year, when the subject of Paczki comes up, I Google for a place in Atlanta that sells them. Every year, all I find is people googling the same thing.

I think the thing is, too, even in this town, which is pretty walkable, if I had given birth right here in my house, any of the local safe havens would have been really far to walk to. Especially after, you know, giving birth, when walking down the hall can really take everything you've got.