When you hear something like spinal stenosis taking out someone like Jim Calhoun, it sounds like something pretty well defined by medicine.

It isn’t.  We don’t really have a consensus on what findings define spinal stenosis over low back pain that isn’t spinal stenosis.  the diagnosis is descriptive, stating that the hole the nerves in your spine go through has gotten narrower.  Narrower than what is the question, because few of us have that yearly spinal hole check to get a baseline of normal.  I had a patient brag to me recently that his spinal hole is bigger than normal.  But again, we don’t know what normal is.

The biggest problem is that a diagnosis like spinal stenosis makes you think we have a treatment.  what we have are the same treatments that we have for chronic low back pain, and none of them really work that well.  when you have to define success as a 15% decrease in pain, that’s not a big wow in terms of patient satisfaction.

So what should Jim Calhoun do?  Well, I suspect he’s not the kind of guy who gets a lot of massages.  he could do worse.  Seriously, have a look at the massage info and then browse through his alternatives below.  he could also go for some heated acupuncture before he has his back surgery.

Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2012 Jan;32(1):17-20.

[Clinical observation on the long-term effect of warming-promotion acupuncture on lumbar spinal stenosis].

[Article in Chinese]

Lu WF, Kou ST, Ni JL.

Tianshan Road Community Health Service Center in Changning District, Shanghai 200051, China.

To observe the difference effects between warming-promotion acupuncture and normal acupuncture on lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

Sixty cases of LSS were randomly divided into a normal acupuncture group (30 cases) and a warming-promotion acupuncture group (30 cases). the two groups both chose Dazhui (GV 14), Mingmen (GV 4), Jiaji (EX-B 2),etc. Normal method without special manipulation was used in normal acupuncture group, while the warming-promotion manipulation was used in warming-promotion acupuncture group, all once daily, 10 treatments made one session. Compare the symptoms and spinal cord function of LSS, quality of life (QOL)and clinical effect in the two groups.

The comprehensive score of symptoms of LSS in warming-promotion group 3 months after treatment was 6.30 +/- 1.92, while that in normal acupuncture group was 4.67 +/- 13.70. the score of spinal cord function in warming-promotion group after treatment was 7.03 +/- 1.03, while that in normal acupuncture group was 6.33 +/- 1.12. the score of QOL in warming-promotion group after treatment was 53.67 +/- 8.91, while that in normal acupuncture group was 64.50 +/- 16.69. All the differences between these scores in two groups were statistically significant (all P < 0.05). the total effective rate was 90.0% (27/30)in warming-promotion group, and 80.0% (24/30) in normal acupuncture group. the effect of warming-promotion group was better than that in normal acupuncture group (P < 0.05).

In the field of treating LSS, the effect of warming-promotion acupuncture is better than normal acupuncture.

J Med Assoc Thai. 2011 Dec;94(12):1487-94.

Functional outcome after decompression and instrumented arthrodesis in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis: factors influencing unsuccessful outcome change.

Keorochana G, Laohacharoensombat W, Wajanavisit W, Chanplakorn P, Woratanarat P, Chatchaipun P.

Department of Orthopaedics, Ramathibodi Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Bangkok, Thailand. gun_keo@yahoo.com

To determine functional outcome after decompressive laminectomy and instrumented arthrodesis in patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis and identify predictors of failed clinical outcome in these patients.

MATERIAL AND METHOD:

A retrospective cohort data were collected from January 1999 to February 2004. Degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis patients who had decompressive laminectomy and instrumented fusion with pedicular screw system and completed at least 2 years follow-up were enrolled in the present study. Outcomes included Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Roland Morris score and patient satisfaction. Factors evaluated as outcome variables were age, gender onset, patient income, associated diseases, smoking, diagnosis of spondylolisthesis or scoliosis, number of levels of instrumentation and presence of S1 fusion. Univariate analysis for factors influencing failed clinical outcome used Chi-square and Fisher exact test and multivariate analysis used the logistic regression.

One-hundred and fifty-eight patients were included in the present study. Mean follow-up was 2.64 years (range, 2-5 years). the mean age of the patients at the time of surgery was 60.3 years (range, 34-87 years) and 129 cases (81.7%) were female. According to the US FDA, the criteria of significant successful clinical outcome change is reduction of ODI at least 15%, the proportion of patients reporting significant successful clinical outcome change was 63.9%. Multivariate analysis identified age > 65 years, onset > 24 months and number of levels of instrumentation > 4 as the factors of failed clinical outcome change (p < 0.05).

Decompression and instrumented arthrodesis in degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis gained satisfactory functional outcome. Older age, prolonged onset and long level of instrumentation were the factors of failed clinical outcome change.

BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011 Jul 28;12:175.

Quantitative radiologic criteria for the diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis: a systematic literature review.

Steurer J, Roner S, Gnannt R, Hodler J; LumbSten Research Collaboration.

Horten Centre for patient oriented research and knowledge transfer, University Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, CH 8091 Zurich, Switzerland. johann.steurer@usz.ch

Beside symptoms and clinical signs radiological findings are crucial in the diagnosis of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). We investigate which quantitative radiological signs are described in the literature and which radilogical criteria are used to establish inclusion criteria in clincical studies evaluating different treatments in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis.

A literature search was performed in Medline, Embase and the Cochrane library to identify papers reporting on radiological criteria to describe LSS and systematic reviews investigating the effects of different treatment modalities.

25 studies reporting on radiological signs of LSS and four systematic reviews related to the evaluation of different treatments were found. ten different parameters were identified to quantify lumbar spinal stenosis. Most often reported measures for central stenosis were antero-posterior diameter (< 10 mm) and cross-sectional area (< 70 mm(2)) of spinal canal. For lateral stenosis height and depth of the lateral recess, and for foraminal stenosis the foraminal diameter were typically used. only four of 63 primary studies included in the systematic reviews reported on quantitative measures for defining inclusion criteria of patients in prognostic studies.

There is a need for consensus on well-defined, unambiguous radiological criteria to define lumbar spinal stenosis in order to improve diagnostic accuracy and to formulate reliable inclusion criteria for clinical studies.

Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011 Sep 15;36(20):E1335-51.

Surgery versus conservative treatment for symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Kovacs FM, Urrútia G, Alarcón JD.

Departamento Científico, Fundación Kovacs, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. kovacs@kovacs.org

To compare the effectiveness of surgery versus conservative treatment on pain, disability, and loss of quality of life caused by symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA:

LSS is the most common reason for spine surgery in persons older than 65 years in the United States.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing any form of conservative and surgical treatment were searched in CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and TripDatabase databases until July 2009, with no language restrictions. Additional data were requested from the authors of the original studies. the methodological quality of each study was assessed independently by two reviewers, following the criteria recommended by the Cochrane back Review Group. only data from randomized cohorts were extracted.

A total of 739 citations were reviewed. Eleven publications corresponding to five RCTs were included. All five scored as high quality despite concerns deriving from heterogeneity of treatment, lack of blinding, and potential differences in the size of the placebo effect across groups. they included a total of 918 patients in whom conservative treatments had failed for 3 to 6 months, and included orthosis, rehabilitation, physical therapy, exercise, heat and cold, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, ultrasounds, analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and epidural steroids. Surgical treatments included the implantation of a specific type of interspinous device and decompressive surgery (with and without fusion, instrumented or not). in all the studies, surgery showed better results for pain, disability, and quality of life, although not for walking ability. Results of surgery were similar among patients with and without spondylolisthesis, and slightly better among those with neurogenic claudication than among those without it. the advantage of surgery was noticeable at 3 to 6 months and remained for up to 2 to 4 years, although at the end of that period differences tended to be smaller.

In patients with symptomatic LSS, the implantation of a specific type of device or decompressive surgery, with or without fusion, is more effective than continued conservative treatment when the latter has failed for 3 to 6 months.

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Jim Calhoun and Spinal Stenosis: What Is It and What Could He Do To Come Back? « Alternative Holistic Health Answers

Lance Armstrong says Its not About the Bike, it is an autobiographical book in which cyclist Lance Armstrong told the world about his adventures as a cyclist and as a cancer survivor. He wrote the memoir in the year 2000 right after he won the 1999 Tour de France. interestingly, in spite of his being a cancer survivor, he won the Tour de France six more years in succession

Armstrong’s sickness with testicular cancer was only detected in 1996. the cancer cells spread to his abdomen, brain and lungs. His doctor felt that he was a goner and gave him only 40 percent chance of living. Naturally, this incident halted his cycling career for a time. He must have been depressed about it. But he fought for his life and his passion and went on to compete again in the Tour de France.

Because of his phenomenal success in the Tour de France, and who would dispute his great success in that sport?, so many cycling fans around the world accused him of doping or using performance enhancing drugs just to help him endure the pain of endurance cycling and become a better cyclist. His success was just totally unbelievable

Lance Armstrong’s Its not About the Bike covers his story from childhood up to the 1999 cycling contest. He had to co-author the book though with Sally Jenkins. He might have been a cancer survivor but his story inspired a lot of people all over the world.

His book received a lot of praise and accolades, not only from cycling fans, but also from authors, artists and ordinary folks. this man had the guts, the nerve and the determination to just fight testicular cancer. He could have croaked and died without a fight. But Lance was too determined to die. It was the time of his life to shine

Good thing, he enjoyed the support of his family and friends during our sessions. Armstrong said that We have unrealized capacities that sometime only emerge in crisis. so, if there is a purpose to the suffering that is cancer, I think it must be this: it’s meant to improve us.

Facing cancer is not easy It takes discipline, healthy lifestyle and determination to do it. otherwise, you will simply fall by the roadside, unable to proceed with the race Armstrong’s story is an excellent one-it challenges people to overcome their obstacles and help the world become a better place.

Lance Armstrong – Not About the Bike

Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

At age 8, back in Louisiana, Brandon Jacobs was known as a big kid with a bad temper. His uncle Joe Jacobs figured amateur boxing might be a good outlet.

“But that only made it worse,” the New York Giants running back said this week with a laugh. “They taught a person with a bad temper how to fight.”

Jacobs went 35-2 as an amateur heavyweight, twice winning the state AAU championship. He loved boxing but eventually turned to football due it to its college scholarship possibilities.

Sunday he’ll try to win his second Super Bowl against the New England Patriots.

Still, Jacobs has never lost his passion for boxing. Rather than try some professional fights, Jacobs began moonlighting in an unusual and potentially powerful career for an NFL player: boxing manager.

And he has his eyes on something even bigger upon his eventual retirement: fight promoter.

Could Brandon Jacobs become the next, say, Bob Arum, super promoter to everyone from Manny Pacquiao to Evander Holyfield to Marvin Hagler?

“Absolutely he could be the next Bob Arum,” said Bob Arum, 80. “He’s a smart guy; he’s not a dumb jock.”

Jacobs first decided to moonlight into boxing when he saw his friend Kendall Holt, a top 10-ranked 140-pounder, in need of a new manager in 2009. Jacobs teamed up with fight game veteran Pat Lynch out of new Jersey to form “Lynch and Jacobs Management.”

“I kind of didn’t want to do it because it’s a big role to take on with someone’s career because [I could mess up his chance of] being on top,” Jacobs said. “I did it, ended up liking it and getting some great connections.”

Jacobs said the job of a manager is endless. you have to organize camp, deal with all sorts of logistical issues, select fights, negotiate contracts and deal with the forever-unseemly side of the sport.

“The most stressful part about being a manager is dealing with promoters,” he explained. “You never know what [their angle is]. I’ve learned never make a deal too early. That’s what I did in my first fight with Kendall [a 2010 bout with Kaizer Mabuza in Atlantic City].

“[There was] just more I could have gotten out of it.”

Jacobs, 29, said he still has plenty to learn. however, he already knows that if he has a future in the sport it’s as a promoter not a manager. His football fame and comfort in front of the media make him a natural. besides, “that’s where the money is.”

“I could definitely do it as a career,” he said. “I know the ropes. I know who to deal with and who not to deal with.”

Arum calls Jacobs “his buddy” and is bullish on his future in boxing.

“He’s a very gregarious guy, people know who Brandon Jacobs is, he commands respect and he gets along great with the fighters,” Arum said. “We would be happy to have him come work for us [at Top Rank Boxing], break him in, have him help us on the promotions.

“Then he can look forward to doing it on his own. obviously he can’t play football forever.”

If boxing was run differently, Jacobs may have never played football. He was a physical amateur fighter in Louisiana but had a desire to attend college and saw no scholarship options available. the NCAA doesn’t sanction boxing. There are only a couple schools (such as Notre Dame) that even have it at the club level.

“So I got into football,” he said.

He rushed for 3,032 yards and 35 touchdowns his senior season at Napoleonville (La.) Assumption High School and a career was born. the Giants selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft out of Southern Illinois. at 6-foot-4, 265 pounds, he’s developed into one of the NFL’s most physical backs.

At one point he thought about taking some professional fights in the offseason.

“I wasn’t absolutely sure if I wanted to do it, and if you have second guesses about doing something so dangerous you probably shouldn’t do it,” Jacobs said.

So now he’s a businessman. He also manages Stephen Martinez (11-1), a 21-year-old light middleweight. Jacobs said he doesn’t charge Holt for his work and Martinez is still up-and-coming and hasn’t made much money.

Thus far, this isn’t about getting richer. It’s about staying in the sport he’s always loved and gaining some grassroots experience.

First, however, come the new England Patriots on Sunday. There’s plenty of time for the daunting challenge of tackling boxing.

“I wanted to get into boxing to clean it up,” he said. “And that’s going to be a tough job.”

WRITTEN BY By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports & FULL STORY HERE

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In Flex We Trust » NFL: Giants’ Brandon Jacobs Prepping For Second Career, Guess What He Wants To Do?

By Bang Showbiz Feb 03, 2012

The gossip is Kim Kardashian is dating Mark Sanchez.

The 31-year-old socialite — who was famously married to basketball star Kris Humphries for just 72 days last year — has reportedly been hooking up with the New York Jets quarterback, but has been careful to avoid being seen with him in public.

Entertainment “views and opinions” site Starberryicecream claims a source said, “Kim and Mark like to meet in hotels for dinner dates and flings.

“Whenever Kim is in new York, they hang out. They are very careful with not being seen together, Mark is seeing someone! She has her hopes set on a bigger star than Sanchez. but for now, he will do.”

Meanwhile, Kim’s D-A-S-H clothing store in Miami has become so popular she is having to scout for a new store to move it to.

According to TMZ.com, Kim — who runs the fashion outlets with her sisters Kourtney and Khloe — is looking to double the size of the store in Florida.

Life has not been easy for Kim since her break-up with Kris in October. “It’s been a hard couple of months,” she said, “I really didn’t think that following my heart would create this much backlash.”

She has been spending time with her family to reflect upon that marriage. “I really did some soul-searching, and I needed that. I needed to just be with the family.”

He’s a retail Giant.

While Big Blue quarterback Eli Manning is sure to top the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game today for a return trip to the Super Bowl, he already passes his peers on the sales rack, experts told The Post.

“Eli has emerged as the best collectible right now,” declared Brandon Steiner, CEO of Steiner Sports, a leading memorabilia dealer. Signed Manning jerseys sell for a lofty $800, the most of any current or past Giants player, and game-worn Manning jerseys go for a whopping $4,500, the most of any player the company hawks.On eBay, a game-worn helmet autographed by Eli can be had for $7,000 — $99 more than a game-used helmet by Giants Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.

Manning merchandise has seen a 10 percent jump across the board in the last few years, Steiner noted.

“What makes Eli special is his insatiable appetite to be the best,” Steiner said.

One of the most popular Manning items right now is a photo of the QB evading tacklers to make a 32-yard throw in Super Bowl XLII to receiver David Tyree that became known as “the helmet catch”

“His play this year has brought that item back to life,” said Howie Schwartz, CEO of Grandstand Sports & Memorabilia, who sells a Manning-signed print of the “great escape” for $399.

Nationwide, factory-fresh Manning jerseys were the eighth-most popular sold in 2011, according to NFL spokeswoman Joanna Hunter.

Before the start of the season, the only Manning on the top-selling list was Eli’s brother, Colts QB Peyton, who ranked no. 9 as of Aug. 30, but tumbled to 17th while out for the year with injury.

In brick-and-mortar stores like Modell’s Sporting Goods, Manning is consistently the top seller, according to spokesman Rich Lampmann.

There’s also been a recent surge in youth and women’s jersey’s being sold.

“They’ve mostly been Eli’s,” said Dick’s Sporting Goods spokesman Jerry Copsinis.

But since mid-December, Manning has seen stiff competition from teammate Victor Cruz, who’s been selling about 10 percent more jerseys at Modell’s than Eli. “Manning is the mainstay, but this was Cruz’s coming-out year, and being a local guy from Paterson, NJ, also helps him out,” Lampmann noted.

For a memorabilia investment, experts said the smart money is still on Eli.

“Victor is a sudden sensation, but you are better off collecting a player whose longevity will increase their chances of making the Hall of Fame,” Schwartz said.

Manning has a ways to go before he becomes king of new York — that honor belongs to Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, whose merchandise outsells all the rest.

“Jeter is just in a league of his own,” Schwartz said.

Eli Manning Memorabilia on the Rise!

STORRS, Conn. – (AP) — UConn’s Jim Calhoun doesn’t mince words when it comes to his health.

So, when the Hall of Fame coach of the defending national champions, who turns 70 in May, had just about had it with his back problems, he let people know.

“The bottom line is I’m going to need some work done,” Calhoun told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday. “In January the shooting pains were getting worse and after one plane ride I couldn’t even get up. I tried to hide it. I’m taking medicine right now for the pain. they are waiting for things to quiet down, and I’ll meet with the doctor next week.”

As a result, Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, as he has been suffering for several months from spinal stenosis, a spinal condition that causes him severe pain and hampers mobility.

Calhoun said he told university President Susan Herbst about it but had hoped to gut out the final weeks of the season.

“But it’s just so bad, even getting through practice,” Calhoun said. “Now I’m going to see what the next step is. The bottom line is I’m hurting.”

George Blaney, the team’s associate head coach, will lead the team in Calhoun’s absence.

He said Calhoun missed practice Thursday and could not get out of bed Friday morning. Blaney said Calhoun began feeling pain in his legs and buttocks during this week’s road trip to Georgetown.

“When we got off the plane, he really had trouble getting in the car and going home,” he said.

The Huskies (14-7, 4-5 big East) have lost four games in a row and fell out of the top 25 for the first time in 28 weeks. they host Seton Hall on Saturday before traveling to Louisville on Monday.

Calhoun has had a history of health problems. he is a three-time cancer survivor, overcoming prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer twice, most recently in 2008.

“I had back pain like never before last summer, thought it was back spasms,” he said in the phone interview. “I saw a neurologist and he told me about scoliosis, stenosis and other things and that there could be things like a bone spur and that I could probably need something done at some point. I went for the physical therapy and it worked, but it started to lock up sometimes recently and it was worse.”

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spine, normally associated with aging and sometimes with arthritis. If physical therapy and medicines aren’t effective, surgery may be considered, although some people’s symptoms may not improve after an operation.

Calhoun has missed 21 games during his career at UConn, 17 for medical reasons. he has had to leave another 11 games with health problems. His last extended medical leave came in 2010, when he missed seven games with stress-related issues.

He missed three games earlier this season because of NCAA sanctions.

“I don’t know anybody tougher,” Blaney said. “He doesn’t use Novocain when he goes to the dentist. He’s a tough guy and usually ‘No’ spurs him on.”

Blaney informed the team of Calhoun’s illness just before Friday afternoon’s practice.

“We wish we could be there to help him, and he wishes he could be there to help us,” said guard Shabazz Napier, a team captain. “Sometimes you have to go on a journey without your captain, and we’re going to do whatever we got to do to fulfill his dreams and fulfill ours at the same time.”

Napier and forward Alex Oriakhi called a players-only meeting to discuss the team’s recent slump.

“It’s tough,” said freshman center Andre Drummond. “We’ve had a couple of downfalls, a couple of roadblocks throughout the way, but that’s life. That’s one of the things you’ve got to get through. That’s what we’re doing right now. We’re fighting through it and we’re not going down without a fight.”

Calhoun is No. 6 on the all-time wins list with 867. he has won three national championships at Connecticut and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005. he coached the team to its fourth Final four and third national title last April.

The subject of Calhoun’s tenure is not new. he said last month he decided to not retire after last year’s national championship in large part because he wanted to see through the NCAA sanctions leveled on him and his program for recruiting violations. The NCAA required Calhoun to sit out wins over South Florida and St. John’s and a loss to Seton Hall for violations that included a finding that the coach had failed to maintain “an atmosphere of compliance” in the program.

He told reporters that the idea of bringing closure to that issue was a “major, major factor” in his decision to come back this season.

Connecticut has gone 9-9 in games that Blaney has coached, including 2-1 during Calhoun’s recent suspension.

Guard Ryan Boatright, who has missed nine games this season while the NCAA investigated his eligibility, said he thinks the team will rally under Blaney. he said both coaches are able to motivate the team, but their styles are much different.

“There’s not as much yelling,” he said. “Obviously the cuss words are down to a (lower) level. It’s a difference.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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UConn’s Calhoun taking indefinite medical leave

Ed. note: This post is authored by Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney of Kinney Recruiting, sponsor of the Asia Chronicles. Kinney has made more placements of U.S. associates and partners in Asia than any other firm in the past five years. you can reach them by email: asia@kinneyrecruiting.com

Happy Chinese new Year! We were extremely busy the past few months, including most of our US based team working from our Hong Kong offices during November and December.

As a follow up from our recent post, which listed our 62 US associate and counsel placements in Asia last year (vast majority in HK / China), please note that thus far in January ’12, we have already made seven US associate and counsel placements in Asia. This is an especially impressive number, considering the biglaw lateral hiring market in Asia is down right now (see state of the market brief overview below). These new placements are of new hires in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, who were interviewing with their new firm for a month or more and they are spread out among different practice areas, including project finance, litigation, fund formation, M&A and cap markets. We are close on four additional new associate placements, in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai, that we expect to close soon. We do not discuss partner placements in these articles, but the pace of partner recruitment in Asia (a large part of our business) has continued.

Hedge Fund In-House Openings in Hong Kong

We are seeing a small run of new in-house openings in Hong Kong at hedge funds. We are currently filling three different in-house positions at three different hedge funds in Hong Kong, two of these searches we are handling on an exclusive basis. all three will most likely be filled by a US associate, with about 4 to 6 years of experience. Mandarin not required. Candidates from NYC and London will be considered, but at one of these funds the new hire will likely come from Hong Kong / China or Singapore (with HK being the strong preference).

Please feel free to reach out to us at asia@kinneyrecruiting.com if you are interested in these hedge fund openings. As you probably would expect, the competition for these spots will be fierce and the funds will be very selective when choosing which candidates to interview.

Basic Overview of the Lateral Hiring Market in Asia

We are fortunate to meet regularly in-person with senior US corporate and cap markets partners in HK / China, especially when Evan Jowers and Robert Kinney are visiting our Hong Kong office. Evan and Robert are friends with many key US partners in HK / China and the region and have at least close business relations with most key US partners in HK / China and Singapore. It is, in large part, through such in-person meetings during their many trips to HK (usually 6 such trips a year for Evan and 4-5 for Robert) and also other Asia markets, that we get a great read on the market and what US partners are thinking about the near-term and long-term prospects for their deal flow. We are very fortunate that such senior partners go out of their way to make time to meet Robert and Evan when they are in town. Further, we have Alexis Lamb permanently on the ground in HK having such meetings and Asia based partners also meet in the US with Evan and Robert when they are visiting there. Yuliya Vinokurova, our Russia-based recruiter, also works out of our Hong Kong office from time to time.

During Evan and Robert’s last three recent trips to HK, occurring from August to December ’11, the outlook of most of the US corporate partners they regularly meet with in HK improved substantially. while lateral US corporate associate hiring has not picked up yet in HK / China, the outlook for future deal flow has improved over the situation only a few months ago.

The general feeling in the market from most US corporate associates that we are speaking to these days is that hiring is very slow in Asia and will be for a long while, but the reality is not nearly as dire as this common view. while US associate lateral hiring has indeed slowed down significantly in the Asia markets, the slow-down has mainly been in US cap markets, but not necessarily in other practice areas. Cap markets hiring, especially at the top US firms, has always been the key driver for US associate hiring in Asia. thus, when hiring in US cap markets is down, the entire lateral hiring market for US associates in Asia is significantly down.

US Cap Markets hiring in HK / China has not stopped entirely though. For example, in the past three weeks, we have made two US cap markets associate placements in HK, at a top US firm and a Magic Circle firm. We predict that US cap markets hiring in HK / China will not pick up that much until spring though and we don’t expect a repeat of the early ’11 US cap markets hiring boom in HK / China for years to come.

Keep in mind that in the first half of ’11, we were in the tail end of a two year IPO boom in HK / China and for most of that boom period, many top US firms’ HK / China offices were either on hiring freeze or only allowed limited hiring by their global firm management. By the end of ’10, most US practices in HK / China were finally given the full green light to hire as many associates as the partners’ on the ground felt they needed, but by that time most US cap markets practices in HK / China were woefully understaffed. thus, the unprecedented hiring boom commenced.

As you know, late summer ’11 onwards brought on a slow down in IPO activity in HK / China. the slow down was caused mainly by volatility in the global markets, due in large part to the Europe crisis. many clients of top US cap markets practices in Asia decided to put scheduled IPOs on hold. at the height of the Europe crisis and the volatility in the markets last fall, there was a realistic fear that many IPOs could be put on hold for a year or more. despite the gloomy outlook at the time, it was a much more healthy market than in late ’08, when pencils were basically put down at cap markets practices in Asia. Late last year, cap markets practices in HK / China were still working on deals scheduled for closing in 4th quarter, but the expectation was that most of those deals would ultimately be put on hold, perhaps long-term. Things picked up in the markets late last year and some law firms’ clients pushed through their IPO 4th quarter closings after all. Most importantly, the feeling in the market is now that IPOs put on hold late last year and 1st quarter this year could come back in first half ’12, instead of in late ’12 or ’13.

Of course, there are many variables at play in the global markets that will determine things (our brief overview here is overly simplistic due to this being a blog post, rather than a dissertation), and there are surely economic challenges that China must overcome in ’12, but the outlook has improved substantially in the past 3 months. the Europe crisis has been put on hold, at least for a while, and the threat of a significant slow down in China’s economy has not materialized. Economists are now predicting China’s sizzling growth will slow some in ’12,and will still be at boom levels of around 8.5%. the predictions were far more dire several months ago by some economists, who were predicting a “hard landing” for China’s economy in ‘12.

China’s growth rate in ’11 was 9.2%, down from the 10.4% in ’10. the outlook for the first three months of ’12 is expected to be around 8.3%, but then pick up afterwards for the remainder of ’12. China’s growth in the 4th quarter ’11 slowed to 8.9%, a much smaller decline than what was expected.

We believe that starting after the extended holiday season of late December through an earlier than usual Chinese new Year presently upon us, a few more US cap markets practices in Asia will consider hiring again. It will likely be no earlier than spring though before we see a real increase in cap markets lateral associate hiring though.

We expect to continue to make placements in other practice areas though during 1st and 2nd quarters, especially as many US law firms in Asia continue to diversify and add new practices. while cap markets placements have been down, we have had higher than usual numbers of placements in Asia in fund formation, project finance and in new US litigation practices (mostly FCPA work). our partner friends in fundformation are flat-out busy for the most part. M&A placement numbers have been down a bit, but in better shape than cap markets.

IPO activity still is the driver for a lot of the US associate hiring though in Asia and when cap markets work slows, it can be difficult for partners busy in other practices in Asia to get clearance to make the hires they need. Firm management back in US or UK can be heavily influenced by the overall numbers of an Asia office, numbers driven by cap markets deal flow at many of those offices, when deciding whether to give the green light on hires in general.

Also, keep in mind that during slow hiring periods like this one, there is an abundance of very high quality cap markets and corporate US associate candidates on the market in Asia. When a hiring partner is unsure he should pull the trigger on new hires just yet and he has seven great resumes on his desk, it is much easier to hold off. Hiring decisions are rushed, on the other hand, when Asian background candidates from top 10 firms become scarce and that can happen very quickly in an obviously improving market. It could happen in spring or summer this year, if the markets continue to improve.

Jim Calhoun, the legendary head coach of the Connecticut Huskies men’s basketball team, has been diagnosed with spinal stenosis and will take an indefinite leave of absence, as he is physically unable to coach the team at this point.

University of Connecticut men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun will take an indefinite medical leave of absence, effective immediately, to deal with worsening spinal stenosis, a lower back condition that causes him severe pain and hampers mobility.

Calhoun will not coach Saturday’s game against Seton Hall nor Monday’s game at Louisville and his condition will be evaluated on a daily basis as options for treatment are explored. Associate head coach George Blaney will be in charge of the team in Calhoun’s absence. (via UConn Athletics on Facebook)

Calhoun, Braintree, Massachusetts native, has coached at Northeastern University in Boston from 1972 through 1986 and has coached at UConn ever since leaving Northeastern. Calhoun has guided the Huskies to three NCAA Tournament Championships — first in 1999, again in 2004 and a third time in 2011.

For more UConn Basketball coverage, visit our team page and blog, The UConn Blog.

Service firms grow at fastest pace in 11 months

U.S. service companies grew at the fastest pace in 11 months in January as companies started hiring to keep up with rising demand.

The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its index of nonmanufacturing activity jumped to 56.8 percent in January from 53 percent in December. The survey’s employment index soared to 57.4 percent, its highest level since February 2006. any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The trade group of purchasing managers surveys businesses including restaurants, hotels, retailers, financial services firms and construction companies. The service sector employs nine out of 10 U.S. workers.

American Airlines CEO: no US Airways merger

As American Airlines winds its way through bankruptcy court, CEO Tom Horton is pouring cold water on the idea of a merger with US Airways.

Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways, recently confirmed that his airline has hired advisers to examine the possibility of bringing the carriers together.

But Horton, in comments made to the Dallas Morning News editorial board Thursday, seemed to dismiss any suggestion of a merger. “This is not US Airways’ first attempt at this. this is a small company very strategically limited, I would argue — not any international flying, hubs of less strategic importance,” Horton said.

On Thursday, Horton pointed to US Airways’ checkered past in the merger arena.

“This will be their fourth try at this: Twice for United, once for Delta while they were restructuring, now American. I would argue that this will be every bit as successful as their prior tries,” Horton said.

Former CFO testifies against Texas financier

Texas financier R. Allen Stanford helped fake profits for his Caribbean bank and funnel millions of depositors’ dollars to a secret Swiss bank account used for personal expenses, bribes to regulators and employee bonuses, the man who was in charge of the tycoon’s books told jurors Friday.

James M. Davis, the former chief financial officer for Stanford’s companies, testified the financier’s bank never reported an unprofitable year because he and Stanford fabricated figures for annual reports and other documents.

Prosecutors claim Stanford bilked investors out of more than $7 billion in a massive Ponzi scheme centered on the sales of certificates of deposit from the bank on the island of Antigua.

Davis said the false numbers were meant to hide the fraud and show CDs purchased by investors were doing well and the bank itself was on solid financial footing.

“Was Stanford uncomfortable with reporting too high a (profit) number?” prosecutor William Stellmach asked Davis, the prosecution’s star witness. “No,” Davis said before a packed courtroom.

Stanford’s attorneys contend the financier was a savvy businessman whose financial empire, headquartered in Houston, was legitimate. They have suggested Davis, who worked 21 years for Stanford, is behind the fraud.

Stanford is on trial for 14 counts, including mail and wire fraud, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Elsewhere

• The board of directors for Micron Technology inc. has named President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Durcan as the company’s interim chief executive officer. The move came hours after CEO and Chairman Steve Appleton died in a plane crash at the airport in Boise, Idaho. Appleton was flying an experimental plane Friday morning and crashed moments after takeoff. Micron officials say the board of directors will meet this weekend to name a permanent CEO. Durcan announced last week his intention to step down in August from his executive position at the memory-chip maker.

• Hewlett-Packard co. ushered in Meg Whitman as its CEO with a $16.5 million compensation package that hinges on the one-time politician’s ability to lift the stumbling technology company’s stock price during the next two years. last year’s pay consists almost entirely of 1.9 million stock options valued at $16.1 million, according to documents filed Friday. Whether Whitman ever gets an opportunity to cash in most the options will depend on whether HP’s market value rises substantially from its depressed level when HP fired her predecessor, Leo Apotheker, as CEO in September. HP disclosed Whitman would be getting the stock options shortly after her hiring but didn’t specify their value then.

• The European Union‘s data protection authorities have asked Google to delay the rollout of its new privacy policy until they have verified that it doesn’t break the bloc’s data protection laws. Google publicized its new privacy rules — which regulate how the Web giant uses the enormous amounts of personal data it collects through its search engine, email and other services — with much fanfare last week. Since then, it has launched a huge publicity campaign informing its users around the globe of the policy, which is set to come into force on March 1.

• Retail sales in the 17 countries that use the euro unexpectedly fell during the crucial month of December, official figures showed Friday, raising fears of a looming recession in the single-currency bloc. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics office, said retail sales dropped 0.4 percent during the month, in contrast to expectations for an increase of the same amount.

National business briefs for Feb. 4

The Girl Scout cookie drive is in full swing and, as in the past, the 100-year-old organization expects to profit handsomely from truckloads of thin mints, caramel delights, shortbread, and other favorites sold by a nationwide army of green-clad girls to family, friends, neighbors, teachers, and complete strangers. but a few pro-life and pro-family groups are recommending a boycott of the cookies this year because of the Girl Scout (GSUSA) organization’s partnership with Planned Parenthood, its practice of allowing sexually confused boys to join its ranks, and its reported promotion of pre-marital sex among the girls it mentors.

In a Washington Times column published in mid-January, Cathy Cleaver Ruse of the Family Research Council helped get the boycott ball rolling as she recalled having to say no to a “sweet little neighbor” girl who came to her door to sell cookies. “I told her mother that I didn’t want to hurt Katie’s feelings,” wrote Ruse, “but I couldn’t support the Girl Scout cookie sale anymore because I’d learned too much about the organizers’ agenda, primarily their support for abortion and partnership with Planned Parenthood.”

Not surprisingly, the organization has denied any official connection to the abortion giant. “Misinformation is passing as fact,” Washington Post columnist Robert McCartney quoted Girl Scouts D.C.-area president Diane Tipton as saying. “The Girl Scout organization does not take a position on abortion or birth control, and these topics are not part of the Girl Scout program or our materials. We believe these matters are best discussed by girls with their families.”

Nonetheless, in 2008 nearly 25 percent of GSUSA councils across the U.S. said that they had a relationship with Planned Parenthood, and that same year, on NBC’s Today show, then-GSUSA CEO Kathy Cloninger confirmed her organization’s partnership with the abortion/contraception provider. even as the Girl Scouts organization was denying the connection, none other than Planned Parenthood’s congressional aide, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), called the relationship between the two groups “very valuable.”

Twelve years ago, residents in Crawford, Texas, home of former President George W. Bush, boycotted the Girl Scout cookie drive when they found out that the local Girl Scout council had given its coveted “Woman of Distinction” award to Pam Smallwood, then-executive director for Planned Parenthood of Central Texas. USA Today reported that parents in Crawford were also “disturbed to find out that the Girl Scout organization has been giving its endorsement for years to a Planned Parenthood sex-ed program in which girls and boys are given literature on homosexuality, masturbation, and condoms.”

That Planned Parenthood/GSUSA connection to raunchy sex manuals apparently continues. according to Austin Ruse, president of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, a March 2010 United Nations women’s conference included a closed-door session sponsored by GSUSA, during which a teen-focused Planned Parenthood brochure, entitled Healthy, Happy and Hot, was discussed and distributed. To say the least, the content of the brochure leans toward the pornographic, is geared toward both hetero- and homosexual relationships, and counsels kids (in one of the milder examples), “There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore, and be yourself!”

A recent Catholic News Agency (CNA) report demonstrated that the connection to Planned Parenthood, as well as to other abortion/contraception causes, appears to go straight to the top of the GSUSA bureacracy. The CNA report cited these and other examples:

• “GSUSA CEO Anna Maria Chavez partnered with Planned Parenthood as head of Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas.”

• “GSUSA National President Connie Lindsey donates to the pro-abortion, pro-LGBT Chicago Foundation for Women.”

• “GSUSA Board Member Monica Gil is a volunteer and former board member (through 2011) of the Saban Free Clinic in L.a., which provides “free and easy” birth control, emergency contraception, and abortion referrals to teens over 12, without parental notice or consent.”

• “GSUSA Board Member and Executive Secretary Debra Nakatomi is International Commissioner to the pro-abortion World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts and promoted contraceptives to Asian teens through California’s Get Real program.”

• “Laurie Westley, GSUSA Senior Vice President of Public Policy, Advocacy & the Research Institute, previously worked for the National Women’s Political Caucus, a group dedicated to electing pro-choice women.”

• “Joan Wagnon, the GSUSA Treasurer, Board of Directors, accepted large campaign contributions from late-term abortionist George Tiller while she was Secretary of Kansas’ Department of Revenue and praised Tiller’s ‘social conscience and … big heart.’” She qualified that endorsement, however, adding: “If you didn’t know that George did abortions, you’d think he was the world’s nicest guy.”

Additionally, the Catholic News Agency report noted that GSUSA is staffed by individuals with some fairly solid connections to homosexual activism. For example, the GSUSA’s bio for its Chief of External Affairs, Timothy Higdon, highlights his service in the U.S. Army and his work with Amnesty International, as well as the fact that he is an Eagle Scout, a significant honor. What the glowing bio doesn’t mention, however, notes the CNA report, is that, “spurred by his decision to come out as a gay man, he’s a ‘seasoned gay rights activist.’ (For example, in 2002 he headed a Florida gay rights organization working closely with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.)

Another GSUSA staffer, Deborah Taft, who serves as a Senior VP of Fund Development, also “sits on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Board of Governors,” the CNA notes, adding that the HRC is well-known for pushing homosexual marriage, “and is an adoption bully, pummeling religious adoption agencies that prefer married heterosexuals to homosexual pairs.

Somewhat lower down in the GSUSA hierarchy sits one of the group’s media spokespersons, Joshua Ackley, whom the CNA report identifies as “the former lead singer of the Dead Betties, a queer band whose music videos feature masturbation, prostitution, and sexualized violence against women. Ackley’s past activism suggests he’s not likely to flinch over a sexually inappropriate book or lesbian role models.

Such a strange conglomeration of leadership may help explain why the Girl Scouts have no trouble welcoming boys who are confused about their gender into their ranks (see The new American for this story), or why, as reported by LifeNews.com, they react with such negative intensity to the pro-life inclinations of one of their employees.

It also helps to explain why so many individuals and families who embrace traditional values are compelled to say “no, thank you” to the innocent little girls knocking on their doors with an armful of Girl Scout cookies. And why many of those same families are pulling their own girls out of the secular scouting group in favor of a more godly and wholesome alternative.

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