Wall Street

Debevoise & Plimpton: Doing Well in the Downturn

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Remember the Davis Polk “internal memo” from last week, touting the firm’s success at navigating the perilous waters of Wall Street? Other firms are following DPW’s lead, taking the opportunity to toot their own horns about how well they’re doing despite — or perhaps because of — the financial system meltdown.

From a firm-wide email that was sent around this morning at Debevoise & Plimpton, by corporate department chair Michael Blair:

[W]hile the turmoil in the marketplace has caused dislocation and real pain for many with whom we have worked over the years, it has also given rise to opportunities for us to provide advice and counsel to existing and new clients as they chart their way at this challenging juncture….

In addition to the work of the last two weeks, much of which is ongoing, we are seeing a surge in related work, involving M&A transactions that grow out of likely restructurings of these companies as well as Lehman-related bankruptcy work and financings and restructurings occasioned by the recent changes in the financial institutions landscape.

We have also been engaged in a wide range of litigation work relating to the credit crisis in the past year….

Moral of the story: 2Ls, Debevoise is the place to be. They’ll have more than enough work to keep you busy.

Read the full memo, after the jump.


DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON — MEMORANDUM — CURRENT EVENTS

From: Michael W. Blair

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Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 9:45 AM

To: Associates–Overseas; Associates–Domestic; Counsel–Overseas; Counsel–Domestic

Cc: Partners–Overseas; Partners–Domestic

Subject: Current Events

At the Corporate Department lunch last Thursday, we had a panel discussion of the critical roles our lawyers have played and continue to play in the unprecedented events that have unfolded in the financial services industry in the last two weeks. The panel included Michael Blair, Greg Gooding, Franci Blassberg, Jen Burleigh, Nick Potter and Richard Hahn. At Friday’s Litigation Department lunch, Michael and Greg reprised the discussion of recent corporate assignments and a large group of litigators discussed recent and current projects arising out of the credit market crises. For those who were not able to attend, this memo serves as a recap.

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In short, while the turmoil in the marketplace has caused dislocation and real pain for many with whom we have worked over the years, it has also given rise to opportunities for us to provide advice and counsel to existing and new clients as they chart their way at this challenging juncture.

Selected corporate/tax assignments (in each case undertaken with relevant client consents) that were discussed at last Thursday’s lunch include:

* Advising one of the major private equity firm that sought to make a significant capital infusion into AIG over the weekend of September 12th.

* Advising a major financial institution in a possible purchase of significant AIG assets over the weekend of September 12th.

* Advising private equity funds sponsored by AIG in planning for various contingencies.

* Advising numerous counterparties to AIG as to their exposures and rights.

* Actively advising a bidder for Lehman’s investment management business.

* Advising a key financial player in an attempted bailout of Lehman and several clients in other roles not yet public.

* Advising numerous clients around the globe as they attempt to assess their exposures to and rights against Lehman.

* In the Merrill transaction, in addition to ongoing work for Merrill and Merrill-related entities, including their private equity fund operations, advising the financial advisor to Bank of America (J.C. Flowers) in its acquisition of Merrill.

* Advising the US Treasury in connection with its recently announced $50 billion money market fund guarantee program.

We have also been approached by many potential purchasers of AIG businesses and are actively sorting out conflict issues.

In addition to the work of the last two weeks, much of which is ongoing, we are seeing a surge in related work, involving M&A transactions that grow out of likely restructurings of these companies as well as Lehman-related bankruptcy work and financings and restructurings occasioned by the recent changes in the financial institutions landscape.

We have also been engaged in a wide range of litigation work relating to the credit crisis in the past year. This work has included both plaintiffs’ work and defense work relating to the suitability of investments in mortgage-backed securities by funds, defense of private and regulatory challenges to pricing of securities and to the adequacy of marks-to-market and disclosures of losses; advice to financial guarantee insurers and substantial counseling about rights and obligations in the event of credit meltdowns.

Important aspects of the litigation fallout from the recent weeks’ events will not materialize for weeks or months. Already, though, we have been approached by several very senior affected executives for individual representations and are giving numerous creditors bankruptcy and restructuring-related litigation advice, some of which could ripen into full litigation representations. Other litigation representations relating to the enormous losses sustained in recent days appear likely.

As mentioned at Thursday’s lunch, a few have asked whether these market events will have any impact on this year’s recruiting for 2L’s. As Michael reported then, the answer is no. In the short and intermediate term, these recent events, as many of you know first hand, have increased our workloads. We anticipate continued growth as a firm and are hiring accordingly. While the precise economic landscape in 2010, when members of the upcoming summer class will begin to join us full-time, is hard to foresee, our experience over many years, and through numerous economic cycles, confirms the durability of our client relationships and our role assisting them in addressing the most important challenges of each era.

Michael W. Blair

John S. Kiernan

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