An attorney for the bankruptcy estate of defunct law firm Thelen urged a three-judge federal appellate panel in New York on Monday to rule that it and other failed firms be allowed to assert ownership rights to hourly matters their ex-partners take to new professional homes as their former firms collapse.
Like the estates of such other bankrupt firms as Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison; Coudert Brothers, Heller Ehrman; and Howrey, the Thelen estate has sought to claw back money from assignments lawyers took with them when moving from the dissolving entity to their next jobs. Those pushing for the authority to undertake clawbacks base their argument largely on legal precedent established in a California case known as Jewel v. Boxer.
