Dentons tells ex-Luce Forward partners of $1.9M clawback years after they joined predecessor firm
Ex-partners at now-shuttered Dickstein Shapiro aren’t the only former law firm owners who recently learned they may have lost big bucks.
In a letter this month to ex-partners of a law firm acquired in 2012 by a predecessor of Dentons, the megafirm told them partners of Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps had received an overdistribution because of an accounting error. The payment occurred just before their 2012 merger with McKenna Long & Aldridge.
So Dentons, which merged with McKenna Long last year, is now taking measures to recoup the $1.9 million it says it is owed by nearly 50 former equity partners of Luce Forward, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports.
Some ex-partners of the bygone California firm who are not currently connected with Dentons are being offered a chance to repay the claimed debt via two-year interest-free loans. Those who still have capital balances, either because they are with Dentons or because they left McKenna Long less than two years ago, can expect to see the money debited from those accounts, the article explains.
Many former Luce Forward partners who declined to comment to the National Law Journal were not happy, the publication says.
The Feb. 12 letter from Dentons attaches an accountant’s summary about the claimed $1.9 million overdistribution.
In reponse to a NLJ request for more details, Dentons said in a written statement: “We recently contacted lawyers who were partners at Luce Forward regarding reconciliation of a payroll matter relating to that firm’s 2012 merger with McKenna Long. These are highly confidential communications, specific to each individual, and we will not disclose or discuss their contents.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Dickstein Shapiro partners are informed their capital is gone; some could lose more than $1M”
Legal Rebels: “Sorry, partner, your capital cash is gone–but where?”
See also:
ABA Journal: “The Rise of the Megafirm”
ABAJournal.com: “Dentons to continue its megafirm rise by merging with firms in Australia and Singapore”
Updated at 2:50 p.m. to remove the word “announces” from headline and “announced” from text of post.
