Law Practice
May 30, 2001
Rule Violation Costs Law Firm Title
LOS ANGELES - There's a reason why they call it the Landau "Lawyers" League. The team from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips discovered that last Thursday when it was denied a rather easy title in the Landau League's A Division for not having the requisite three attorneys suit up in its championship game against Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.
The team from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips discovered that last Thursday when it was denied a rather easy title in the Landau League's A Division for not having the requisite three attorneys suit up in its championship game against Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.
Though irrelevant to the final outcome, the two teams completed their scrimmage, with Manatt Phelps cruising to a 30-point win over its familiar rivals by a score of 74-44.
The two teams are no strangers to each other, having squared off three previous times for the Landau championship, with Manatt Phelps capturing each of the prior championship meetings.
No. 4 officially goes down in Paul Hastings' favor, but it obviously left something to be desired.
"It was a very hollow victory," said Tae Lee, Paul Hastings' leading scorer in its semifinal win over Silver Haden & Silver. "It is an attorney's league, and you have to have attorneys [on the team]. But still, I would have much rather beaten them on the court."
Manatt Phelps' Dean Mosones was the leading scorer, with 28 points, and Terrence Mann would've been named most valuable player if the game had counted.
In spite of the official outcome, Lee presented the first-place trophy to Manatt Phelps' captain, Same Puathasnanon.
"It was very nice of them. They didn't have to do that," Puathasnanon said. "It was definitely a very classy thing to do."
The B Division and C Division trophies also were contested Thursday, with each officially counting and each producing thrilling finishes.
Bergman, Wedner & Dacey survived a late charge from Sullivan & Cromwell to claim the B Division crown, 52-49.
Providing a dominant inside presence, Douglas Meekins carried the bulk of the load for Bergman Wedner with a game-high 23 points. Sullivan & Cromwell had no answer for Meekins in the first half as he scored 16 to lead Bergman Wedner to the early lead.
But with Meekins contained somewhat in the second half, it was time for point guard Jorge Luna to take over the Bergman Wedner attack with some timely outside shooting and some well-timed drives to the basket. Luna finished with 13 points and shared most valuable player honors with Sullivan & Cromwell's Mark Forrester.
"The team was just really good in the second half at disrupting our offensive game plan," Meekins said of Sullivan & Cromwell. "They made it a close game."
Sullivan & Cromwell trailed 47-37 with less than four minutes to play when Forrester sparked a rally by hitting three successive field goals, including a three-pointer at the 1:30 mark that cut the Bergman Wedner lead to five points.
Another three-pointer by Sullivan & Cromwell's Hans Keeling cut the lead to 51-47, but Bergman Wedner's Mark Kitabayashi managed to hit three of five free throws down the stretch to ensure victory.
The C Division title similarly ended with a bang. A pair of free throws by Price & Associates' Greg Shanfield with less than 10 seconds to play sent the game against the Western Center into overtime.
But Western prevailed in the extra frame to capture the game, 50-48, and garner the team's first championship after nearly two decades of competing in the league. Western's Alan Filer earned the most valuable player honors in the C Division title game.
Contributing Writer
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