Message-ID: <21404809.1075845096821.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 16:27:15 -0800 (PST) From: james.derrick@enron.com To: awu@quinnemanuel.com Subject: RE: Teamwork Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Derrick Jr., James X-To: '"A William Urquhart" @ENRON' X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Derrick Jr., James\Derrick Jr., James\Sent Items X-Origin: DERRICK-J X-FileName: Derrick Jr., James.pst Bill, thank you. I should have mentioned in my earlier message that my travel agent did tell me about that flight, but I determined that it was not practicable to rely on it for two reasons: (1) if it were to be cancelled, I would have no way of getting back in time for the Monday meeting, and (2) if it were not cancelled, the most-of-the-night journey back would not leave me in the condition I need to be in to participate effectively in the meeting. I do very much appreciate your efforts. My best to you and Mary. Jim -----Original Message----- From: "A William Urquhart" @ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22A+20William+20Urquhart+22+20+3Cawu+40quinnemanuel+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 5:01 PM To: Derrick Jr., James Cc: cpatman@bracepatt.com; maryurquhart@earthlink.net Subject: RE: Teamwork Jim-- I just called my travel agent. She says that Continental has a non-stop flight that leaves at 1:30 am and gets into Houston at 6:26 am. Bill A. William Urquhart Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP 865 South Figueroa Street, 10th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017 Tel: (213) 624-7707 Fax: (213) 624-0643 E-Mail: awu@quinnemanuel.com Web: http://www.quinnemanuel.com >>> 03/21/01 02:42PM >>> Bill and Mary, unfortunately, it appears that Carrin and I will not be able to attend after all. An Enron Policy Committee (essentially, our executive committee, of which I am a member) meeting has been called for Monday, and I must attend it in person. The flights from LA to Houston on Sunday night depart too early to enable us to attend the LA event, and the earliest flight on Monday morning arrives in Houston too late for me to attend the Policy Committee meeting timely. We are extremely disappointed, as you may imagine. We are very appreciative of your kind invitation and look forward to seeing both of you soon. We will watch the event on television in the hope that we see you being interviewed. I know you will represent us well! Let us know if your plans include a Houston trip--we would welcome the opportunity to entertain you. All the best. Jim -----Original Message----- From: "A William Urquhart" @ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22A+20William+20Urquhart+22+20+3Cawu+40quinnemanuel+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 3:18 PM To: Derrick Jr., James Cc: maryurquhart@earthlink.net Subject: RE: Teamwork Hi Jim-- I just got back from San Francisco. We are delighted you will be joining us. It will be a fun night. We are hiring limos to take us to and from the Shrine Auditorium. Because both John Quinn and I live in Pasadena, the limos will be picking us up and dropping us off there. Also, we are likely to have a dinner following the awards ceremony in Pasadena. So--my recommendation would be for you to stay at the Ritz Carlton in Pasadena. Your voice message said that you have not finalized travel plans yet. If you get out in time for dinner on Saturday, we should get together. As soon as you have your reservations, give me a call or e-mail me. My direct dial at work is 213-533-8667. My cell phone is 818-519-8751. Mary's cell is 818-519-8750. I think it would be productive for you to spend some time with us on Monday morning. know the people working on your matters would like to meet you. Perhaps I could pick you up on the way to work on Monday. >>> 03/20/01 02:54PM >>> Bill, I have just returned from almost two weeks in London and seen your message. Thank you for the feedback and for everything that you and your firm have done for us. I believe our respective organizations make a great team! Please give my and Carrin's best to your wife: we have many fond memories of our time with the two of you and your other guests at the GRAMMY Awards. Also, I mentioned to Jonathon Sumption, Q.C. that we had the honor of being represented by you; he is another of your fans. All the best. Jim -----Original Message----- From: "A William Urquhart" @ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-+22A+20William+20Urquhart+22+20+3Cawu+40quinnemanuel+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com] Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2001 1:06 PM To: Derrick Jr., James Cc: msmith1@enron.com; Sanders, Richard; Williams, Robert C.; Vsharp@enron.com Subject: Teamwork Hi Jim-- The last month or so have been so hectic I have barely had time to breath. We have gone from fire to fire. Over the last 24 hours (since we submitted our last hurry up brief) I have been reflecting on the experience. To say it has been positive is an understatement. Under ordinary circumstances working under such continual pressure--with so much $ on the line--would have been stressful. However, when you work with Enron the opposite is true. There is such a sense of esprit d' corp that permeates your organization. It makes difficult things easy and the impossible, just another day in the office. There are no egos to trip over at Enron. When there is a problem to solve, it is everyone's problem. People are not afraid of asking questions. They keep questioning until they understand. Nobody minds repeating themselves. They are incredibly patient with outside lawyers--spending hours and hours bringing us up to speed. As you well know, yours is not a simple business. It is so refreshing. There are so many benefits to this team approach. 1. You get things right the first time. As you know, in any litigation is critical that the court view your side as the teller of truth. Because you get things right the first time, the company is not exposed to being discredited when the other side responds. 2. I would bet that Enron's outside legal bills are half what they would be otherwise. With most companies the outside (and inside) lawyers get a minimum of support from the business people. The business people view business as business and lawsuits as an annoyance. (I should say that I could never understand that given the direct Perhaps it is the trader mentality at the company. Perhaps it is an unwavering focus on the bottom line. Perhaps it is just that everyone feels they are a part of a team and they realize that by working together the team can achieve things that no one person can do working alone. Whatever the reason, the outside lawyer's job is made so much easier. That results in much, much lower legal bills. 3. You increase your chances of winning. The brainstorming is so valuable. 4. The outside lawyers, like me, feel they are part of the team. Outside lawyers do not feel as if they are on trial. They can ask the dumb questions. I know that all of us here are looking forward to the next opportunity to work with the Enron team. 5. Human nature being what it is--I think that when there are choices to be made as to whose work goes on the top of the pile--the Enron assignment goes to the top more often than not. You have built a great legal team. All of your legal staff should be proud of what they have built. Thanks for letting us come along for the ride. Regards, Bill A. William Urquhart Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP 865 South Figueroa Street, 10th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017 Tel: (213) 624-7707 Fax: (213) 624-0643 E-Mail: awu@quinnemanuel.com Web: http://www.quinnemanuel.com