Haynes and Boone partner Purvi Patel of Dallas has been a huge Madonna fan since 1984, when she was 9 years old. So when Patel found out her musical idol would perform during halftime at Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, Patel did what most avid fans only dream of: She volunteered to work on the stage crew for the Super Bowl halftime show. Patel, chairwoman of Haynes and Boone’s trademark practice group, says she was one of about 550 stage crew volunteers who were selected from 3,000 people who applied for the unpaid positions. She went to Indianapolis on Jan. 23, working as a lawyer by day and volunteering at Lucas Oil Stadium each evening to learn her part in the halftime show. Patel says she was able to see Madonna rehearse for a total of 11 hours on Feb. 1, 2 and 3, and Madonna was very gracious to the crew during rehearsals. Patel says she admires Madonna even more after seeing her work ethic and her professionalism during rehearsals. “It was so amazing to be right there,” Patel says, noting that she clapped after Madonna’s first run-through of the show on Feb. 1 and that Madonna gave her “a double thumbs-up.” Patel says she helped pull out heavy fabric tarps that were used for holograms during the halftime show. After her job was complete during the five-minute stage assembly, Patel says she ran to the 40-yard sideline to watch the show. She says she has been on a Madonna high since she returned to Dallas on Feb. 6. Patel, who has seen Madonna in concert 10 or 11 times since 2001, says she is now deciding which shows she will see on Madonna’s 2012 World Tour that was announced on Feb. 6. Patel is definitely in for the Dallas show, but also is considering others, including Houston, New Orleans or Seattle. Patel says she views Madonna as the epitome of “girl power” and feminism and considers her a talented songwriter: “She’s 53 years old. She’s still creating and doing other things. . . . She’s so self-motivated.”
Who’s There?
Klemchuk Kubasta , a 13-lawyer intellectual property firm in Dallas, no longer employs a receptionist to answer the phone or sign for packages. As of Jan. 1, all nonlawyer employees, from the office manager to the docketing clerks, are taking turns staffing the centrally located reception desk, says founding partner Darin Klemchuk . “This has been great for our culture,” Klemchuk says, noting that employees are getting to know clients and each other better. Klemchuk says that since the firm opened in 2009, the firm has hired college graduates for the receptionist position, but each would be promoted after a few months. He says the last receptionist recently was promoted to executive assistant, so Klemchuk decided to have the staff share the job instead of continuing on a path of hiring a new receptionist every few months. Klemchuk says he was a bit apprehensive, because he thought there might be a few people with “bad attitudes” about having to sit at the reception desk for a half day every two weeks. But, he says, it’s gone really well, despite a few dropped telephone calls. To make it work, Klemchuk says the lawyers at the firm had to promise to respect everyone’s time on the reception desk. “You can’t go play the trump card and get somebody off the desk because you failed to do your filing on time,” he says. With the money the firm is saving without a receptionist, Klemchuk says the firm may hire a client services director.
