As the Dewey & LeBoeuf bankruptcy winds its way through the courts, the firm’s trustee is expected to follow a playbook used by other bankrupt firms: pursuing unfinished business claims against the firms that took Dewey partners (and, presumably, ongoing Dewey work). A look at the most prominent law firm bankruptcies over the last decade shows that many firms chose to settle, rather than contest, these claims.
“In these cases the writing’s kind of on the wall, and if the number is small enough, it’s not worth fighting about,” says one partner who handles risk management issues at a firm that has reached a settlement with a bankrupt firm from whom it picked up partners.
