Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Dewey files for Chapter 11 - biggest US law firm collapses
Telegraph ^

Posted on 05/29/2012 4:38:59 AM PDT by sunmars

The crippled law firm Dewey & Leboeuf filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday night and will seek approval to liquidate its business after failing to find a merger partner, marking the biggest collapse of a law firm in US history.

"During the first quarter of 2012, the firm was confronted with liquidity constraints that led to the precipitous resignation of over 160 of the firm's 300 partners by May 11," the New-York based firm said.

Dewey listed liabilities in the range of $100m to $500m, according to the filing. It had already terminated 433 of its 533 New York employees earlier this month, according to the state's labor department.

The firm's collapse is expected to be the subject of years of court proceedings, and a number of former partners have already retained lawyers to represent them.

Monday's filing follows months of turbulence, as wave after wave of partner defections shattered the high-profile firm from within. In April, the Manhattan District Attorney's office launched a criminal probe of former firm chairman Steven Davis. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The result of a 2007 merger between Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Green & MacRae, Dewey & LeBoeuf had about 1,450 attorneys at its peak, according to The National Law Journal.

But the firm was eventually undone by a combination of the economic downturn, excessive compensation and governance problems, according to former partners and others in the industry. In particular, Dewey's management promised millions in packages to about 100 partners, according to the court filing, leaving it strapped for cash when revenues fell during the recession.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: 2012; bankruptcy; bhoeconomy; dewey; deweyleboeuf; economy; lawyers; layoffs; leboeuf
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061 next last
Even the lawyers are going bust. Had not seen this reported anywhere. Did any of you?
1 posted on 05/29/2012 4:39:03 AM PDT by sunmars
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: sunmars

Yes, the laws of economics apply to you, too.


2 posted on 05/29/2012 4:43:41 AM PDT by Izzy Dunne (Hello, I'm a TAGLINE virus. Please help me spread by copying me into YOUR tag line.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars
CNBC has mentioned it several times, but not an in depth segment.
3 posted on 05/29/2012 4:44:04 AM PDT by Truth29
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

Someone better get in there and put their arms around the client escrow and trust accounts...or what is left of them.

I can see those clowns scurrying about now like roaches leaving a room when the lights go on.

Our educational system mints attorneys, other countries mint engineers. The term “run it by legal” has become the new go code in business now.


4 posted on 05/29/2012 4:46:11 AM PDT by Mouton (Voting is an opiate of the electorate. Nothing changes no matter who wins..)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars
Soon to emerge from re-organization as -->"Dewey, Cheatem & Howe"
5 posted on 05/29/2012 4:46:57 AM PDT by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus sum)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Truth29

apparently the knock on effect is huge.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/05/29/249057.htm

This is gonna be a mess for years to come.


6 posted on 05/29/2012 4:47:25 AM PDT by sunmars
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe?


7 posted on 05/29/2012 4:47:25 AM PDT by Yo-Yo
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

Silky Pony may soon be free to work cheap. Couldn’t they have waited one more week at least before going bust?


8 posted on 05/29/2012 4:48:40 AM PDT by tflabo (Truth or tyranny)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars
So we even have a terrorism knock on effect. The defendants can probably use this for much more than a 60 day delay. Delay is often an effective weapon as witness memories fade and key people die.
9 posted on 05/29/2012 4:57:16 AM PDT by Truth29
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Mouton

-—The term “run it by legal” has become the new go code in business now.——

Just don’t put it in an e-mail. ;-)

Do law firms even have email?


10 posted on 05/29/2012 4:57:42 AM PDT by St_Thomas_Aquinas (Viva Christo Rey!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

“...precipitous resignation of over 160 of the firm’s 300 partners...”

Gives me the image of slime oozing out.


11 posted on 05/29/2012 4:58:08 AM PDT by USMCPOP (Father of LCpl. Karl Linn, KIA 1/26/2005 Al Haqlaniyah, Iraq)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

That’s going to be the most pedantic bankruptcy ever.


12 posted on 05/29/2012 4:58:48 AM PDT by Psycho_Bunny (Burning the Quran is a waste of perfectly good fire.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Psycho_Bunny

can you imagine the crap that is gonna come out about this place. Holding it together, things stay but once it falls apart, the amount of dodgy dealings are going to appear and questions asked.


13 posted on 05/29/2012 5:00:58 AM PDT by sunmars
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: sunmars
If only those slimey lawyers who advertise on TV “were you injured by Wrigley chewing gum?” would go broke.Filthy bunch of John Edwardses.
14 posted on 05/29/2012 5:04:31 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Julia: another casualty of the "War on Poverty")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

Wonder how many Millions they gave to Hope and Change in 2008. They got change thats for sure.


15 posted on 05/29/2012 5:06:46 AM PDT by scooby321 (h tones)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: sunmars
But the firm was eventually undone by a combination of the economic downturn, excessive compensation and governance problems, according to former partners and others in the industry. In particular, Dewey's management promised millions in packages to about 100 partners, according to the court filing, leaving it strapped for cash

Sounds like the Government and its Union friends.

16 posted on 05/29/2012 5:07:15 AM PDT by liberalh8ter (If Barack has a memory like a steel trap, why can't he remember what the Constitution says?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: sunmars
In particular, Dewey's management promised millions in packages to about 100 partners, according to the court filing, leaving it strapped for cash when revenues fell during the recession.

Simply the 1% version of the union pension & benefits overloading.

17 posted on 05/29/2012 5:10:46 AM PDT by NonValueAdded (Elizabeth Warren, 1st Cherokee on the Mayflower?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NonValueAdded

Watch the lawsuits and DA investigations coming thick and fast soon.

Apparently the Manhattan DA has already begun.


18 posted on 05/29/2012 5:17:27 AM PDT by sunmars
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: sunmars

Its gonna be like the law firm version of Lehman.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/assigning-blame-in-deweys-collapse/

With the finger-pointing well under way at Dewey & LeBoeuf, the once-proud law firm on the brink of dissolution, its partners agree the former chairman, Steven H. Davis, shoulders a large chunk of the blame for its stunning fall.

Yet amid the recriminations, two sharply divergent views of Mr. Davis have emerged.

Some Dewey partners suspect him of being a crook. Last month, several of them presented the Manhattan district attorney’s office with evidence of possible financial improprieties by Mr. Davis. The office has opened a criminal inquiry.


19 posted on 05/29/2012 5:19:07 AM PDT by sunmars
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Tainan

Only took five posts...


20 posted on 05/29/2012 5:20:54 AM PDT by pieceofthepuzzle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson