http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en abajournal@americanbar.org Copyright 2012 2012-05-25T17:18:20-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firms_must_divulge_profits_made_from_coudert_brothers_bankruptcy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/law_firms_must_divulge_profits_made_from_coudert_brothers_bankruptcy/#:2012-05-25T21:23:11+00:00 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 Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Jones Day and Dechert are among the 10 firms sued in 2008 in bankruptcy court by Coudert’s plan administrator who claimed the firms were liable for any profits derived from work done to wind down client matters that the former Coudert partners took with them when they jumped ship, Bloomberg News reports.… Bankruptcy Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners Fri, 25 May 2012 16:23:11 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/around_the_blawgosphere_bryan_garner_us_news_law_school_rankings/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/around_the_blawgosphere_bryan_garner_us_news_law_school_rankings/#:2012-05-25T13:30:12+00:00 While Heretofore You May Have Used These Words—Really, You Should Stop Last year, U.S. Bank attorney Andy Mergendahl meditated on the work of Black’s Law Dictionary editor-in-chief Bryan Garner and took lawyers to task for their foolhardy uses of the word "shall" in contracts. This week, the Lawyerist contributor notes what Garner calls "here-and-there words." Among them: herein, heretofore, hereinafter, hereunder, thereof, thereto, therewith, thereunder, therefor, thereon, therefrom. Mergendahl quotes Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage's take on here-and-there words: "These abound in legal writing (unfortunately, they do not occur just here and there), usually thrown… ABA Journal, @BlawgWhisperer, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Marketing & Consulting, Legal Technology, Contracts, Law Professors, Law Schools Fri, 25 May 2012 08:30:12 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/three_dewey_lenders_have_sold_part_of_the_debt_about_200_employees_remain/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/three_dewey_lenders_have_sold_part_of_the_debt_about_200_employees_remain/#:2012-05-25T11:32:24+00:00 As Dewey & LeBoeuf’s top partners move on to other firms, its debt is also changing hands. Three out of four banks owed a reported $75 million by the crumbling law firm have sold part of the debt, a source tells the Am Law Daily. The lenders are Citi Private Bank, Bank of America and HSBC. The fourth lender, J.P. Morgan Chase, has filed a lien with New York publicizing its security interest, the story says. An official with the firm that had been advising Dewey on finances, William Brandt of Development Specialists Inc., told the Am Law Daily he has never seen a bank sell… Banking Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms Fri, 25 May 2012 06:32:24 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/can_a_return_to_golden_era_values_prevent_your_firm_from_becoming_the_next/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/can_a_return_to_golden_era_values_prevent_your_firm_from_becoming_the_next/#:2012-05-24T22:16:51+00:00 If former New York governor and famed federal prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey were alive today, he might recognize the new normal facing law firms as being a very old normal, said Paul Lippe, founder and CEO of the lawyer collaboration website Legal OnRamp. To succeed today, America's biggest law firms need to "recapture the best values ... from their golden era of the 1950s through 1970s," Lippe told Bloomberg Law’s Lee Pacchia in an interview today. Lippe recently published a 12-item checklist on ABAJournal.com to help big firm lawyers determine if their firm might be the next Dewey & LeBoeuf. The list, which Lippe… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms Thu, 24 May 2012 17:16:51 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_dewey_partners_hire_lawyers_for_possible_clawback_claims/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/former_dewey_partners_hire_lawyers_for_possible_clawback_claims/#:2012-05-23T14:56:41+00:00 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, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey, the New York Law Journal reports. He told the publication he expects to represent the partners along with Blank Rome restructuring partner Andrew Eckstein. Another group of partners has hired bankruptcy lawyer Tracy Klestadt to represent them, the story says. Meanwhile, another large group of lawyers has left… Bankruptcy Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, Trials & Litigation Wed, 23 May 2012 09:56:41 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/meet_andrew_ness_who_lost_his_capital_contributions_at_three_failed_law_fir/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/meet_andrew_ness_who_lost_his_capital_contributions_at_three_failed_law_fir/#:2012-05-21T12:19:14+00:00 Lawyers who work at multiple failed law firms face a big financial hit. These lawyers may lose their capital contributions at the failed firm at the same time they have to pony up capital at their new firm, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req. ) reports. Andrew Ness is all too familiar with the problem. Ness, who currently works at Jones Day, has lost his equity stakes at three failed law firms: a boutique, Thelen and Howrey. "I did not see a dime of capital returned and don't expect to see a dime," Ness told the newspaper. According to the story, capital requirements can range from… ABA Journal Production, Weekly Newsletter Stories, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Law Firms, Partners Mon, 21 May 2012 07:19:14 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/around_the_blawgosphere_legalzoom_ipo_lawyerist_best_law_firm_website/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/around_the_blawgosphere_legalzoom_ipo_lawyerist_best_law_firm_website/#:2012-05-18T13:30:51+00:00 The Other Big IPO Today, Facebook makes its historic market debut. But many lawyer-bloggers are talking about a different initial public offering: Last Friday, Web-based legal services provider LegalZoom filed for an IPO of up to $120 million to expand its services in the United States and around the world. Can LegalZoom documents truly compete on quality with a lawyer-for-hire? The answer to that question doesn't matter as much as what clients perceive. Lawyers "will assert that consumers and small business are exposing themselves to liability by using LegalZoom's limited services which will bring regret later," DirectLaw Inc. founder Richard Granat wrote at eLawyering Blog. "But consumers… ABA Journal, @BlawgWhisperer, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Legal Marketing & Consulting, Legal Technology, Law Firms Fri, 18 May 2012 08:30:51 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/final_member_of_deweys_four-lawyer_management_team_heads_to_a_new_firm/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/final_member_of_deweys_four-lawyer_management_team_heads_to_a_new_firm/#:2012-05-16T14:35:00+00:00 The fourth and final lawyer who was managing Dewey & LeBoeuf has left the law firm. Charles Landgraf joined Arnold & Porter on Wednesday, where he will be a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, the Hill reports. An insurance lobbyist, Landgraf told the publication that Arnold & Porter is “the perfect platform” for his practice. Another Dewey partner leaving today is Christopher Clark, who led Dewey’s white-collar defense practice, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. He is heading to Latham & Watkins. Yesterday, Schulte Roth & Zabel announced it is… Business of Law, Careers, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners Wed, 16 May 2012 09:35:00 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/433_new_york_layoffs_and_three_lawsuits_in_dewey_saga/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/433_new_york_layoffs_and_three_lawsuits_in_dewey_saga/#:2012-05-16T12:36:59+00:00 Tuesday was the last day for associates at the rapidly shrinking law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. Associates learned in a termination letter last week that they would receive health benefits through the end of May and malpractice coverage through the end of the year, New York Law Journal reports. Their dismissal follows secretary and staff layoffs on May 11. According to a notice posted by the New York State Department of Labor, Dewey has laid off 433 employees in the New York area. Nearly two-thirds of its partners are gone, the story says. On Tuesday, Schulte Roth & Zabel announced it was hiring… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Associates, Large Firm, Partners, Trials & Litigation Wed, 16 May 2012 07:36:59 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pa._appeals_court_oks_trustees_500m_suit_says_klgates_could_be_liable_for/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pa._appeals_court_oks_trustees_500m_suit_says_klgates_could_be_liable_for/#:2012-05-15T20:50:12+00:00 A Pennsylvania appeals court has revived a bankruptcy trustee's $500 million lawsuit against K&L Gates, finding that an Allegheny County trial court dismissed the malpractice case in error. The law firm had argued that it could not be sued by the trustee on behalf of Le-Nature's Inc., because K&L Gates represented only a special committee of the now-defunct beverage company's board. A written representation agreement expressly said that K&L Gates did not represent Le-Nature's, the firm pointed out. But in an appellate opinion (PDF) Monday, a three-judge panel of the state superior court found that this representation agreement limitation was void because the board members on… Bankruptcy Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Contracts, Corporate Law, Corporate Compliance, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Pennsylvania Tue, 15 May 2012 15:50:12 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/a_dont_be_dewey_dozen--use_this_checklist_to_make_sure_your_firm_isnt_dewey/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/legalrebels/article/a_dont_be_dewey_dozen--use_this_checklist_to_make_sure_your_firm_isnt_dewey/#:2012-05-15T13:30:57+00:00 In 1984 and again in 1987, I worked hard to get Gary Hart elected president. Suffice to say I wasn’t happy about the way that experience ended, and for a long time thereafter whenever someone saw the Hart reference on my resumé they would give me a sideways glance and an awkward chuckle. I suspect that for the next decade, anyone who has “Dewey & LeBoeuf” on his or her resumé will likewise get a sideways glance and an awkward chuckle. My further guess is that at least 10 Am Law 250 firms will fail between now and the end of 2013, for reasons more or less identical to Dewey’s.… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Large Firm, Legal Rebels, The New Normal Tue, 15 May 2012 08:30:57 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/deweys_demise_is_bad_news_for_job-hunting_lawyers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/deweys_demise_is_bad_news_for_job-hunting_lawyers/#:2012-05-15T11:59:45+00:00 As lawyers from Dewey & LeBoeuf flood the job market, there are fewer positions available for others in the job hunt. The New York Law Journal interviewed recruiters about the impact. One spoke of a “massive disruption” in the lawyer job market in New York. Firms sorting through Dewey lawyers are putting off hiring decisions for other applicants, they said. Meanwhile, some Dewey lawyers will have a harder time finding jobs than others. Service partners without large books of business will encounter difficulties, as will senior associates, according to Joel Berger, president of Meridian Legal Search. Firms are more interested in junior Dewey associates who… Business of Law, Careers, Law Firms, Associates, Partners Tue, 15 May 2012 06:59:45 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/are_biglaw_expansions_unsustainable_lawyer_representing_howrey_creditors_pr/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/are_biglaw_expansions_unsustainable_lawyer_representing_howrey_creditors_pr/#:2012-05-14T14:39:09+00:00 Howrey and Dewey & LeBoeuf are among several law firms that rapidly expanded in the 2000s. The Washington Post sets the scene and asks whether other firms will also crash and burn. “In its final years, Howrey snapped up large practice groups and entire firms at a breakneck pace, going from a one-city Washington firm specializing in litigation to an international player with 18 offices worldwide,” the story says. “Dewey built its legal empire with promises of multimillion dollar pay guarantees to lure star lawyers from other firms. ... The sprawling firms proved unsustainable when the financial crisis struck and clients pulled back.” A Houston lawyer representing… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Law Firms, Large Firm Mon, 14 May 2012 09:39:09 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/payback_by_demoted_duo_at_dewey_partner_comp_ranged_from_300k_to_10m/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/payback_by_demoted_duo_at_dewey_partner_comp_ranged_from_300k_to_10m/#:2012-05-14T12:57:54+00:00 When he led LeBoeuf & Lamb before its 2007 merger with Dewey Ballantine, Steven Davis had to confront a threat to his leadership. The co-chairs of LeBoeuf’s corporate department, Alexander Dye and John Schwolsky, were making a bid to replace Davis after he became convinced the firm needed to merge with another, the New York Times DealBook blog reports. Davis confronted the two lawyers with embarrassing internal emails they had written, the story says, and they were forced out of their management posts. This year the demoted duo led a 12-person team that left Dewey, an early defection that “had a snowball effect… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners Mon, 14 May 2012 07:57:54 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/no_plans_for_dissolution_vote_or_bankruptcy_at_dewey_bienenstock_doesnt_kno/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/no_plans_for_dissolution_vote_or_bankruptcy_at_dewey_bienenstock_doesnt_kno/#:2012-05-14T11:58:11+00:00 Dewey & LeBoeuf is apparently winding down its operations, but it still hasn’t taken a dissolution vote or filed for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy partner Martin Bienenstock, one of four lawyers overseeing Dewey amid the turmoil, doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to take the vote. And he hopes to avoid filing for bankruptcy. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), Bienenstock sparred with a reporter who asked about a dissolution vote. “We haven't taken any votes to dissolve, and I don't know if that would come or not,” he said. “Let me turn this question around: Why would we do that?” The reporter… Bankruptcy Law, Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners Mon, 14 May 2012 06:58:11 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/deweys_bienenstock_is_reportedly_moving_to_proskauer_hes_the_third_departin/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/deweys_bienenstock_is_reportedly_moving_to_proskauer_hes_the_third_departin/#:2012-05-11T13:09:07+00:00 Dewey & LeBoeuf’s four-person management team was decimated this week. A third member of the four-person team—bankruptcy chief Martin Bienenstock—is reportedly leaving, report the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. The stories rely on unnamed sources who say Bienenstock, a top rainmaker, is headed to Proskauer Rose. News reports this week said two other management committee members are also leaving the firm. They are litigation chief Jeffrey Kessler and corporate co-chair Richard Shutran. The final member of the management team is Charles Landgraf. “Who will be there to turn out the lights at… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners Fri, 11 May 2012 08:09:07 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/report_dewey_bond_offering_painted_rosy_picture_didnt_disclose_partner_guar/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/report_dewey_bond_offering_painted_rosy_picture_didnt_disclose_partner_guar/#:2012-05-11T12:05:39+00:00 Dewey & LeBoeuf was able to raise $125 million in a bond offering in March 2010 that touted the firm’s “strong financial condition and conservative debt profile.” The offering didn’t disclose pay guarantees used to lure and keep as many as 100 partners with the firm, according to the New York Times DealBook blog, which obtained a copy. The 58-page document “paints a rosy picture of Dewey, even as cracks in the firm’s finances were starting to show,” the story says. Securities lawyers told DealBook that Dewey could face litigation because it failed to mention the guarantees. Some partners at the firm had pay… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Law Firms, Large Firm, Trials & Litigation Fri, 11 May 2012 07:05:39 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/dewey_employee_sues_over_warn_notice_pension_plans_seized/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/dewey_employee_sues_over_warn_notice_pension_plans_seized/#:2012-05-11T11:35:34+00:00 A Dewey & LeBoeuf employee has filed a would-be class action suit on behalf of an estimated 450 employees that contends they didn’t get the required layoff notice under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act. Vittoria Conn filed the suit on Thursday, according to Bloomberg News, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the Am Law Daily. The suit says about 450 workers will be laid off without the required notice of 60 days under federal law and 90 days under state law. The employees got their notice on or about May 7, according to the complaint. Support staffers have… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Careers, Law Firms, Trials & Litigation Fri, 11 May 2012 06:35:34 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/corporate_finance_team_exits_dewey_leboeuf_offices_in_uk_and_moscow_for_orr/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/corporate_finance_team_exits_dewey_leboeuf_offices_in_uk_and_moscow_for_orr/#:2012-05-10T22:05:17+00:00 A group of corporate finance attorneys from the London and Moscow offices of Dewey & LeBoeuf is headed to Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Led by Moscow partners Leo Batalov and Dmitry Gubarev, the group also includes associates from both offices, Legal Week reports. London associates of Dewey were informed earlier this month that they might not be paid after May. Earlier coverage: ABAJournal.com: "From ‘Drip Torture’ to Closure: Dewey Begins Laying Off Associates, Gives 1 Week Notice, WSJ Reports" Business of Law, International Law, Law Firms, Associates, Large Firm, Partners, International, Europe, United Kingdom Thu, 10 May 2012 17:05:17 -0500 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_dewey_leaders_join_winston_strawn_and_omelveny/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=topics&utm_campaign=business_of_law http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/top_dewey_leaders_join_winston_strawn_and_omelveny/#:2012-05-09T21:27:24+00:00 Two of the four remaining members of the new management committee at Dewey & LeBoeuf are leaving to join other major law firms. Litigation chief Jeffrey Kessler is to start next week at Winston & Strawn, where chairman Dan Webb says the firm has hired about 60 Dewey refugees including 24 litigation partners. Meanwhile, Richard Shutran, who co-chairs the corporate department at Dewey, is joining O'Melveny & Myers with four other partners from his soon-to-be-former law firm, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. At least 27 partners headed for the exits of the struggling law firm on Wednesday, reports the Business of Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners Wed, 09 May 2012 16:27:24 -0500