21.   Lord, Day, said some partners, began discounting bills to encourage collection.

22.   Law firm partners say that usually partners are demoted only after their performance has been reviewed and found wanting.

23.   Meanwhile, one Sprint partner said it still prefers to deal with Sprint.

24.   Nor have they scheduled a vote on whether to amend the partnership agreement, partners said.

25.   On cross-examination, however, the Andersen partner said she understood the policy to mean employees ought to retain relevant documents.

26.   One mate had to guess what his or her partner said from between two choices.

27.   One Lazard partner said Rattner has been given an opportunity, that could lead to his succession when David-Weill eventually steps down.

28.   Partners said offices in Germany and South Korea, for example, have continued to be busy.

29.   Partners say the two firms will meld nicely.

30.   Partners said, however, that they had little choice but to try and stem the Internet brain drain and to keep rivals firms from gaining a recruiting edge.