Featured Job Survey: The Bear Stearns Effect
While last week’s ATL / Lateral Link survey on hindsight is still open, today’s survey ponders the uncertain future. And Bear Stearns’s effect thereon.
Nathan Koppel has an interesting post on the WSJ Law Blog about which firms might miss Bear Stearns business. Verdict: it’s murky, but probably not that great for Latham, Skadden, Cadwalader, or Weil Gotshal, and a mixed bag for WilmerHale. (Wachtell and Cravath weren’t mentioned in the post, but since Wachtell advised J.P. Morgan in the deal, and Cravath represented Lazard as financial advisor to Bear, they might experience some short-term upside.)
John Carney has an interesting post on Dealbreaker about how the Bear Stearns collapse affected the chairman’s bridge game. Verdict: the guy was playing bridge??
And the litigation’s already afoot (PDF), suggesting that somebody out there is going to get to bill some heavy hours for the defense.
But how will it affect you? Will work slow down as investors circle the wagons, or will there be a regulatory response that actually increases the need for lawyers? Will shareholders’ fear of fire sales increase bankruptcy and litigation work?
Let’s find out, in today’s ATL / Lateral Link survey:
Update: This survey is now closed. Click here for the results.
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Justin Bernold is a Director at Lateral Link, the sponsor of this survey.
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Comments
We will remember these days as the beginning of the Great Depression of 2008.
Enjoy the food while it lasts!
Cadwalader will also experience a temporary gain, since Dennis Block maintains a role advising Bear. The question remains whether enough new clients will materialize to cushion the long-term loss.
doesn't DPW do a lot of work for JPM? If so, they should be rather pleased right about now.
[Lerach]CoughlinStoia to 190!
CWT is screwed. The one-off deal of selling one of their biggest clients won't come close to making up the loss of all the structured product business they've gotten from them over the years. This on-top of the fledgling market for their cash cow means more layoffs, people jumping ship (if anyone will take someone with a book of securitization "business"), or a total realignment of the firm focus, with new people doing the work.
This information that will be provided in absolute numbers is much useless than information provided in reference to specific firms.
Umm, what?
Simpson Thacher is JPM's primary firm...
"Just how big a loss of business the Bear Stearns sale represents for these firms is tough to calculate given that several of them, including Cadwalader, Sidley Austin, Dechert, and Orrick, also count JPMorgan as a client. Morgan likely will be looking to bring on more lawyers for the various issues stemming from the deal: The bank expects roughly $6 billion in related expenses from the transaction, including litigation. " - AmericanLawyer.com
Screwed, huh?
Yea, I do think so, sure you'll get an initial bump in transaction costs, but we all know that CWT is advising Bear in the sale (along with 5 or 6 other firms) and not JP in the purchase. Yea, CWT has JP as a Securitization client, but, wait, that's dead, too. Do you even know what your own firm does for us?
From your own article:
"The outside lawyer most closely associated with the investment bank is Dennis Block, who brought Bear Stearns with him as a client when he moved to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft from Weil, Gotshal & Manges in 1998."
Remember what a conflict is, and then tell me how much JP will be paying them to represent them, thanks.
I never pretended CWT was 'my firm' - between us, you certainly are the one claiming the more extensive knowledge of CWT's inner-workings and dealings. I simply find it curious that you, for some reason, are bitter/dislike CWT enough to pick that particular firm, out of a list of potential 'losers' following Bear Stearns' collapse, and designate them 'screwed,' without operational definition.
I'll let you get back to work.