When Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison failed in 2003, few firm leaders saw lessons for themselves. Brobeck was unique, they decided: It grew too fast and depended too much on technology clients. Then came more failures (Coudert Brothers, Thelen, and Heller Ehrman), which firm leaders blamed on low profits, bad practice-area choices, or the economy. It wasn’t until a pair of more recent failures, of Howrey and Dewey & LeBoeuf, that we’ve seen the industry begin to hold a firm’s own leadership accountable for its failure.
Over the years, a series of high-flying, confident, talented, and ambitious star leaders have caused their firms to flame out. Why were their errors, so obvious in hindsight, not spotted and challenged sooner by executive committees and others who were responsible for their oversight? What went wrong, and what are the lessons to be learned?
