Oedipus . . . Meh.

News that Microsoft dropped K&L Gates from its list of preferred law firms generated a lot of buzz today.  See, just by way of example, coverage here, here, and here.

The prevailing story line---that Bill Gates fired his father's firm---may be juicy, but it is a work of fiction.  It certainly does not, as has been claimed, sound the death knell for the importance of personal relationships between clients and their counsel.

Yes, the Gates in K&L Gates (the product of a 2007 merger between Kirkpatrick & Lockhart and Preston Gates & Ellis) is Bill Gates, Sr.  Yes, dad's firm took Microsoft public.  Twenty-three years ago.  And, yes, Microsoft dropped K&L Gates from its list of ten preferred law firms.

But this is a hardly a case of "son fires his dad."  First, Sr. retired from the firm in 1998. Second, we suspect (although we could be wrong) that someone other than Jr. decided which firms made the list of preferred providers.  Third, K&L Gates self-identifies as a firm of "1,900 lawyers on three continents" and is dwarfed by Microsoft, which has approximately 90,000 employees---not exactly a cozy family relationship.  And, fourth, Microsoft issued a statement emphasizing that it was not cutting ties with the firm.

Hey, don't let the facts get in the way of a good Greek tragedy narrative, though.

UPDATE:  An interesting contrast from cnn.com, which has a current story about those new Microsoft ads asking WWBGD? and recognizing that Gates isn't making the decisions at Microsoft these days.