Before Dewey & LeBoeuf entered its death spiral last fall, one of its partners met with the head of an Am Law 20 firm to talk about a lateral move. These talks had been going on for a while, but all of a sudden the Dewey fellow had turned ardent. The chairman, as he recounts the story, asked what had changed. The partner was uncomfortable and a little embarrassed. He mumbled some answers about how the firm owed him money and, with one thing or another, he was beginning to lose faith in his firm’s leadership.
After a little polite clucking, the chairman asked whether the partner had sought a look at Dewey’s books.
