Large Firm

Dewey’s Downfall Creates Opportunity for Smaller Regional Firm as Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Unfolds

As the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Dewey & LeBoeuf rolls ahead, the downfall of the onetime 1,300-attorney New York-based law firm continues to create opportunities for others. At what used to be the Albany, N.Y., office of Dewey, a longtime Brooklyn-based law firm, Cullen and Dykman, opened its doors on…

Jun 7, 2012 10:41 PM CDT

Brown Rudnick to Represent Creditors in Dewey Bankruptcy; Partners Tap Kasowitz and Flemming Firms

After a May 28 bankruptcy filing by Dewey & LeBoeuf, lawyers are signing on to represent those with a stake in what is expected to be a hotly contested and long-running case. Brown Rudnick will be counsel to the committee of unsecured creditors, Reuters reports, and two law firms are…

Jun 5, 2012 4:29 PM CDT

Judge OKs New Trial for Ex-Jenkens Tax Leader, Cites ‘Breathtaking’ Lies of Suspended Lawyer on Jury

A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown out guilty verdicts against a former head of the Chicago tax practice at now-shuttered Jenkens & Gilchrist and another ex-partner there, due to “breathtaking” lies by a suspended lawyer on the jury. Paul Daugerdas and Donna Guerin will now get new trials under…

Jun 5, 2012 3:04 PM CDT

Hughes Hubbard Seeks Court OK of Bill for First 4 Months of MF Global Bankruptcy: $17 Million

With trustee James Giddens at the helm, Hughes Hubbard & Reed has submitted its bill for the first four months of its work on the MF Global Inc. bankruptcy—$17 million. It must be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan before it is paid, Reutersreports. The bill covers the…

Jun 5, 2012 1:42 PM CDT

Dewey Bankruptcy Judge Releases Collateral for Wind-down

The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of Dewey & LeBoeuf has agreed to release cash held by secured creditor JP Morgan Chase a day after he balked at the request. On Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn had refused to release the collateral because he disliked lenders’ demand for a lien…

May 31, 2012 3:06 PM CDT

Small Associate Classes Partly Account for Smaller Growth in Partner Profits at Second Hundred Firms

The nation’s “second hundred” law firms weren’t as successful as their top 100 counterparts at translating revenue growth into partner profits last year. Second hundred law firms had a 5.3 percent growth in revenue per lawyer, compared to just 1.9 percent for top 100 firms, according to the American Lawyer…

May 31, 2012 1:47 PM CDT

Top Greenberg Traurig Lawyer Apologizes to Fed’l Judge, Calls Doc Errors in $67M Case Unintentional

A top partner of Greenberg Traurig has apologized to a federal judge concerning his law firm’s handling of the discovery in a civil case brought by investors in a Ponzi scheme orchestrated by the then-leader of another well-known Florida law firm, Scott Rothstein. But although “very saddened” by the situation,…

May 30, 2012 5:22 PM CDT

Partner in $2M Hogan Lovells Expense Fraud ‘Lost All Reason,’ Spent $1M on Mistress, His Lawyer Says

A then-partner of Hogan Lovells “lost all reason” after falling for a Lebanese woman living in New York, spending well over $1 million on her during the course of an 18-month affair, his counsel told a British court before Christopher Grierson was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison The…

May 30, 2012 4:40 PM CDT

British Fixed-Fee Legal Services Business to Open New York Office; DLA Piper Is Part Owner

A legal services business in the United Kingdom that offers fixed-price litigation packages is set to open in New York this week. The business, Riverview Law, is partly owned by DLA Piper, the Am Law Daily reports. The New York office will target American clients seeking representation in the United…

May 30, 2012 1:24 PM CDT

Dewey Lawyer Says Firm Is Negotiating Deal with Ex-Partners; Judge Rejects Funding Motion

A lawyer representing Dewey & LeBoeuf told a bankruptcy judge on Tuesday that the firm is negotiating a settlement to recover money from former partners. Speaking in a packed Manhattan courtroom, lawyer Albert Togut didn’t reveal details, report Reuters, the Am Law Daily and the New York Times DealBook blog.…

May 30, 2012 11:46 AM CDT

Dewey Partners in Name Only Led to Breakup, Looming Battles, Likely Clawback Fight, Columnist Says

Once upon a time, law partners routinely stayed together for their entire professional careers. But in today’s world partnership is a label rather than a bond, contributing to the unequal compensation, resentment and rapid exit of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s top lawyers as trouble loomed, writes Reynolds Holding in a Reuters…

May 29, 2012 9:45 PM CDT

Are Dewey’s Problems Unique? ‘Leverage Is Dangerous,’ Ex-Partner Bienenstock Says

Before its collapse, Dewey & LeBoeuf embraced a business strategy of growth through mergers and lateral hires, using pay guarantees to lure and keep star partners. The result was a widening spread between superstars and partners working in the trenches, the New York Times DealBook blog reports. According to the…

May 29, 2012 12:20 PM CDT

Dewey Files for Bankruptcy, Lists More than $300M in Debt

Dewey & LeBoeuf filed for bankruptcy on Monday, marking a formal end to the law firm formed in a 2007 merger between Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. The Chapter 11 petition anticipates a managed wind-down of affairs, followed by liquidation, according to a press release. The petition…

May 29, 2012 11:39 AM CDT

Law Firms Must Divulge Profits Made From Coudert Brothers Bankruptcy

In a ruling that could also affect similar claims related to the wind-down of Dewey & LeBoeuf, 10 law firms must account for profits they made for completing client matters that former partners of the now-defunct Coudert Brothers law firm brought with them when they joined their new firms. Akin…

May 25, 2012 9:23 PM CDT

Former Dewey Partners Hire Lawyers for Possible Clawback Claims

A lawyer experienced in defending clawback claims is expected to be tapped to represent a group of more than 50 former partners at Dewey & LeBoeuf, according to a published report. The lawyer, Mark Zauderer, previously represented a senior partner fighting clawback claims in the 1988 bankruptcy of Finley, Kumble,…

May 23, 2012 2:56 PM CDT