Cadwalader Loses 7 of 11 Partners in UK Office
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has lost seven partners in its London office after disclosing that partner profits at the firm have dropped by 30 percent.
Legal Week says “it is understood” that the partners are leaping to Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker. The publication calls the move “a massive setback” for Cadwalader. The firm only has four partners remaining in London and may be closing the office, the story says.
Firm chairman Christopher White and former chairman Bob Link flew to London in an attempt to stop the defections, according to the story. Among the departing partners is Michelle Duncan, the head of the London office. Others work in the areas of restructuring, capital markets and real estate finance.
Cadwalader’s U.S. restructuring co-chair, Bruce Zirinsky, also is leaving the firm. He moved last week to Greenberg Traurig. Moving with him is restructuring partner John Bae, the National Law Journal reports.
Average profits per equity partner at Cadwalader fell 30 percent to $1.88 million for 2008, down from $2.725 million the year before. Despite the drop, Link told the Am Law Daily that $1.88 million per partner is “not too shabby.”
More on Cadwalader from ABAJournal.com:
Ex-Cadwalader MP Named to Rebuild Firm’s Troubled London Office
Lawyer Trainees at Cadwalader’s London Office Won’t Get Job Offers
