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Hewlett-Packard Co. has signed a definitive agreement to purchase EDS at a price of $25.00 per share, or an enterprise value of approximately $13.9 billion. The terms of the transaction have been unanimously approved by the HP and EDS boards of directors. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar year 2008.

The cost to replace an employee can be as high as 2.41% of annual salary, but the long-term cost to the organization's Service-Profit Chain is even higher. Employee Engagement and the Service-Profit Chain addresses the effects of turnover on the bottom line and offers insights on how companies can keep their employees engaged to tremendously improve productivity and the overall customer experience and highlights the best practices in identifying and improving drivers that are proving most effective in engaging employees in their jobs. From Best Practices, LLC.

AIRS, a recruitment training, technology and outsourcing firm , and ZoomInfo, have partnered to deliver joint customers an integrated environment for sourcing candidates. Through the agreement, customers who use AIRS SourcePoint as their primary recruiting platform can now seamlessly search and access ZoomInfo profiles on more than 40 million professionals and 4 million companies directly through SourcePoint. The partnership also offers AIRS' training to ZoomInfo users, designed specifically to help ZoomInfo PowerSearch users maximize their sourcing results.

Journal Communications, Inc., publisher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, announced that Paul M. Bonaiuto, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, plans to retire from the Company later this year. The Company has retained Spencer Stuart to conduct a national search for a replacement, who will also lead the Company's strategy and business development activities as Executive Vice President, Finance and Strategy.

TempWorks Software, a provider of staffing software and business service solutions for the staffing and human resource industries, reports that more than 40 staffing companies have migrated to its on-demand Select Edition staffing software.

On June 1, Polly Tasker will officially take over the responsibilities of Carrie Baggs, who is retiring. Join us as we welcome Polly by adding her to your contact list AND be sure to send Polly your company news for inclusion in the Bugler.

But a healthy sense of caution is appropriate, even at the most junior levels in the profession. It is possible to commit errors that can get you fired, or worse. Here's a quick guide to some of the worst mistakes, and some suggestions for how to avoid these potential pitfalls of practice.

Cover up mistakes
Just as in Watergate, and Monicagate, and all the other scandals of memory, one of the worst parts of any wrong-doing is often the cover-up that occurs after the event. So too in a law firm.

You can (and probably will) send correspondence to the wrong address; or mis-bill an item of service or cost; or fail to complete all the forms required for some filing; or commit any one of dozens of other rookie mistakes. These are human errors (not to be encouraged, of course; and not to be repeated). But they are not venal sins. What is a venal sin (once you recognize that the error has occurred) is to keep the matter to yourself (perhaps hoping desperately that the mistake will somehow not be caught).

In this way, you greatly magnify the error. You may prevent, through inattention, any effective solution to the problem. Privileged or proprietary information may remain in the wrong hands, due to waiver from delay. A client may burn with resentment at perceived over-billing. A filing deadline may pass, harming the client's interests and potentially exposing the firm to liability.

Delay in admitting mistakes also gives your supervisors serious reason to question your character and judgment. In effect, if it is clear that you knew about an error, and chose to do nothing about it, you suggest that you are "either a fool or a liar." Belated excuses that the error was really someone else's blame (the inattentive secretary or clerk, for example) also may compound the problem. You have responsibility for supervising these people. And your deliberate failure to report the error so that it can be rectified is the problem at that point, not the underlying error (no matter who's "fault" it was in the first place).

Abuse the staff
Most lawyers work hard, long hours in a large law firm. Most are under some degree of pressure (time constraints, uncertainty as to how to proceed, constant juggling of tasks). None of these conditions are acceptable excuses for abusing the staff. Deliberately hurtful words (or worse, racist or sexist commentary), screaming tantrums, and any form of inappropriate physical contact or intimidation have absolutely no place in a law firm. Offenders, no matter how green, risk much from engaging in such behavior.

A law firm is a community. Support staff talk among themselves. And they talk to the lawyers with whom they work. Do not whistle past the graveyard hoping that some outrageous incident will go unnoticed by your supervisors and firm management.

You may face a formal complaint (or worse, a lawsuit). But even if there is no formal manifestation of complaint, your reputation within the institution will be wounded, perhaps mortally. When support staff do not like you, they can make your work much harder (or simply refuse to work with you). And senior lawyers will inquire why it is that you, among all the other junior lawyers, somehow cannot get along with the staff. Again, assessments of your character and judgment are on the line.

Badmouth clients and firm administration
A law firm is not a gulag. A diversity of opinions about many aspects of life, and the practice of law, is generally tolerated and encouraged. Indeed, many lawyers find the collegial debate of views among peers in a law firm very stimulating.

But there is a difference between expressing differences of opinion and doing harm to professional relationships. Behind-the-back (and especially exaggerated or unfair) criticism of clients and firm leaders is dangerous. The impression that can be conveyed is that you do not have the courage to confront someone directly with your concerns. Your negative approach, moreover, detracts from any claim to be a "team player" looking for solutions that will help everyone perform better.

Again, do not delude yourself into thinking that your commentary will never get back to the objects of your derision. The grapevine is quite strong in most law firms. Often, the "telephone effect" of the re-telling of your comments may actually make them worse than you intended. Even if the object of your criticism never learns what you said, you damage your reputation by instilling doubt in the recipient of the criticism. All who hear your diatribes may think: "Goodness, if that's what John [or Jane] says about someone else, I wonder what they say about me?"

A few simple rules
Most of what you need to know about getting along in the social setting of a law firm you probably (should have) learned in kindergarten. Consider just these few simple rules:
o If you're not sure how to behave, ask for help. Most of the time, a colleague, a supervisor (and surprisingly perhaps, often a staff member) can steer you toward what will be considered acceptable in a given situation.

o If you make a mistake (and especially if you think you've hurt someone's feelings), apologize and ask what you can do to rectify the situation.

o Learn to play nice. You don't have to become a Stepford associate, but you should be able to muster basic civility every day, in every encounter in a law firm. If you're just too grumpy to be nice, shut your door until the mood passes, or go home and give it another try tomorrow. And if you blow your top at some point, re-read the prior rule (apologize).

Finally, a few words about the dangers of e-mail and alcohol (not generally used in combination, but each potentially dangerous in its own way). E-mail, for example, offers quick, efficient communication, often permitting junior lawyers to "check in" with their supervisors, reporting progress and problems, and asking questions where necessary.

But e-mail is an imperfect communication tool. It is subject to misinterpretation. Jokes and sarcasm do not translate well in print. And the tone of a message often can appear much harsher than the sender intended. When forwarded, moreover, e-mail often loses context, such that the reviewer (say, a senior administrative leader at the firm) may not have any sense of the intended good faith behind a note.

So, with e-mail, consider:
o Any angry or negative commentary (no matter how high or low the addressee) should, in most instances, be delivered personally (by an office visit, if possible, or by telephone at least).

o Assume that everything you write by email can (and probably will) be forwarded to others besides your intended recipient. Make sure that your message is clear, including the context. Consider how someone with no background in the matter might read your message.

o Resist the temptation to respond to "flaming" e-mail from a colleague or a client with your own nasty-gram. In many instances, what you received may have been sent in jest, or in a temporary fit of pique (indeed, if you wait long enough, you might even receive an apology). By modeling professionalism in your own response, in most cases, you will return the dialogue to a higher plane.

Regarding alcohol, the rules are even simpler:
o Social occasions with colleagues and clients are business meetings, no matter how apparently casual the setting. Treat them accordingly.

o Do not drink to excess. If you do, excuse yourself, and catch a cab home.

Everyone makes mistakes. Lawyers are no exception. What distinguishes a learning experience from a career-ender is whether you can focus on the words "professional responsibility." Act like a professional. Take responsibility for your actions.

From the National Law Journal.