McDermott Denies Slow Payouts to Departing Partners, With Two Exceptions
McDermott Will & Emery, hit with a wave of defections at its London office, is now responding to claims that it has been late in repaying capital contributions to outgoing partners.
McDermott acknowledges a dispute with one former partner over the repayment of capital and says it was late in repaying another departing lawyer, Legal Week reports. The publication did not give the name of the partner involved in the current dispute.
But the firm denies it has been late in paying other former partners, the story says. In two cases, departing partners were overpaid because of a clerical error, but the lawyers returned the overpayment, a spokesman told the legal publication.
The firm’s partnership contract requires capital contributions by partners to be repaid within 90 days after their departure, according to the story.
The firm has lost more than a dozen London partners in the last two years, including the heads of its corporate, intellectual property and employment groups. The head of the London office, David Dalgarno, has recently announced he is stepping down. His replacement will be energy partner Doron Ezickson, The Lawyer reports.
