Dreier LLP, RIP
This should not come as a great surprise, but let’s go ahead and close the loop. From the WSJ Law Blog:
Nearly two weeks ago, mere hours after Marc Dreier was arrested up in Canada for allegedly impersonating an in-house lawyer at a pension fund, lawyers at the eponymous law firm were heralding its doom. “It’s over,” said one litigation partner at the time.
On Tuesday, the predictions came true; Dreier LLP filed for Chapter 11 protection in bankruptcy court in Manhattan. In its petition, filed by Stephen Shimshak and Brian Hermann at Paul Weiss — where the receiver in the case, Mark Pomerantz, also hangs his hat — Dreier claims to have liabilities tallying between $10 million and $50 million.
The best reading in the petition is the list of creditors. Seems Mr. Dreier hadn’t been keeping up with the firm’s bills. Among those allegedly owed: the landlord of 499 Park Ave. ($908k); West Publishing ($441k); American Express ($323k); PR firm Van Prooyen Greenfield ($274k); ABM Janitorial Services ($89k); and AT&T ($81k).
And you thought your Westlaw bill was big….
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A little more, after the jump.
Over the weekend, the New York Times had a sizable article on L’Affaire Dreier. Some nice tidbits:
Mr. Dreier’s lifestyle includes a waterfront home in the Hamptons, a Manhattan triplex and a place on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, Calif. He kept a Mercedes 500 in New York, an Aston Martin in California, and a 121-foot blue and white Heesen motor yacht with a Jacuzzi and a crew of 10 docked in Manhattan or St. Maarten. Associates said the boat, the Seascape, was the site of late-night parties at which Mr. Dreier, who is divorced, was often joined by an attractive young crowd.
An “attractive young crowd” — maybe a few Maxim models?
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Dreier LLP Files For Bankruptcy; Millions in Unpaid Bills [WSJ Law Blog]
Lawyer Seen as Bold Enough to Cheat the Best [New York Times]
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Marc Dreier and Dreier LLP