Bankruptcy, Biglaw, Harvey Miller, Money, Musical Chairs, Wall Street

Musical Chairs: Weil Gotshal -- In With the Old, Out With the New?

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This morning brings some big news in the world of bankruptcy law. From the WSJ Law Blog:

You can go home again, especially if you’re Harvey Miller (at right). The legendary bankruptcy lawyer is expected to rejoin to Weil Gotshal, whose partners are scheduled to vote on his return tomorrow.

“I would be delighted to have Harvey back, but it’s premature at this stage to comment on his rejoining the firm until the partnership votes on the issue,” says Stephen Dannhauser, firm chair.

Before decamping to investment bank Greenhill & Co. in 2002, Miller had spent the previous 33 years at Weil, building its bankruptcy department into one of the most prominent debtor-side practices in the country.

And from a little bird (so consider this to be nothing more than rumor at this point):

It appears four bankruptcy partners are leaving Weil and moving to Cadwalader (apparently to swim in Bob Link’s shark tank and make the big $$$). Partners include Deryck Palmer, John Rapisardi, and George A. Davis.

Could the return of Harvey Miller to Weil be related to the (rumored) departures of these younger partners?

We are following up on this rumor and will let you know what we find out.

UPDATE: Harvey Miller’s return to Weil is official. The WGM press release is available here. A longer version of the release, which was circulated by email at Weil, appears after the jump.

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Bankruptcy King Harvey Miller Expected to Rejoin Weil [WSJ Law Blog]

WEIL GOTSHAL & MANGES: HARVEY MILLER ANNOUNCEMENT

Stephen Dannhauser/NY/WGM/US
03/07/2007 01:39 PM
To US All, EU All, AS All
Subject Harvey Miller Announcement

I am pleased to announce that Harvey Miller will be rejoining the Firm as a senior partner in the Business Finance & Restructuring Department. Attached is the press release the Firm is issuing today.

Sponsored

Harvey’s return date is March 12th – please join me in welcoming him back to our Firm.

Stephen J. Dannhauser
Chairman

Harvey R. Miller to re-join Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP; 32 year veteran helped craft firm’s standard-setting Bankruptcy practice

New York, March 7, 2007 — International law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP today announced that Harvey R. Miller, formerly head of the firm’s Business Finance & Restructuring (BFR) department, would be rejoining the firm. Mr. Miller returns to Weil Gotshal after more than four years at the merchant banking firm Greenhill & Co. LLP, where he was a Managing Director and also served as Vice-Chairman.

During his 32-year tenure at Weil Gotshal, Mr. Miller was an integral figure in the firm’s rise to prominence in the bankruptcy and restructuring area, building a department whose size and roster of clients are still unrivaled among major law firms. Mr. Miller will return to the department he helped to build, effective March 12, 2007.

Concerning Mr. Miller’s return to the law firm, Chairman Stephen J. Dannhauser remarked, “I am delighted that Harvey has decided to return to our firm. As the country’s leading bankruptcy lawyer, his efforts and talents were the backbone of our BFR practice for many years. Many of the leading practitioners in the Bankruptcy and Restructuring field are at Weil Gotshal, and he was responsible for mentoring most of them. Now yet another generation of young Weil Gotshal BFR attorneys will have the benefit of Harvey’s experience.” Added Dannhauser in further explanation, “Based on my conversations with Harvey, it’s clear that he missed the practice of law and is looking forward to returning to his role as an active bankruptcy practitioner.”
Commenting on the prospect of rejoining the firm to which he has so many ties, Miller stated, “I selected Weil Gotshal for a couple of important reasons. First, I have a high comfort level with the institution and its leaders. Second, Weil is where I grew up, and it’s always felt like home to me.”

Commenting on Mr. Miller’s return to Weil Gotshal, BFR Co-heads Martin J. Bienenstock and Marcia L. Goldstein said, “We welcome Harvey’s return, not only because of his standing for excellence in our practice, but also because of his ability to teach and mentor young lawyers. Harvey has a true passion for the law and the bankruptcy practice.”

In addition to his law firm and investment banking work, Mr. Miller is an Adjunct Professor of law at New York University Law School and a Lecturer in Law at Columbia University School of Law, from which he graduated. He also has served as a Visiting Lecturer at Yale Law School. He has authored and co-authored many highly regarded texts and publications on significant legal and business issues concerning restructurings, including substantive contributions to the bankruptcy treatise, Collier on Bankruptcy, and has been awarded virtually every major accolade offered by the industry, including the Columbia University School of Law Association Medal for Excellence in 2001 and the 2005 Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Bankruptcy.

Comprised of over 100 attorneys, Weil Gotshal’s Business Finance and Restructuring Department ranks with the largest among U.S. law firms, and has been involved in virtually every major bankruptcy case over the last decade, including ENRON, Parmalat, WorldCom, Global Crossing, and many others. Lawyers in the group have been recognized by Chambers Global and other leading authorities as the gold standard in the Bankruptcy field year after year, as has the practice itself.

About Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is an international law firm of over 1,100 lawyers, including approximately 300 partners. Weil Gotshal is headquartered in New York, with offices in Austin, Boston, Brussels, Budapest, Dallas, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Miami, Munich, Paris, Prague, Providence, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Warsaw, Washington DC and Wilmington.

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