Dewey & LeBoeuf, Partner Profits

Dewey & LeBoeuf: Partners, It's Your Turn

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The American Lawyer reports that Dewey & LeBoeuf is taking money out of the pockets of under performing partners:

Dewey & LeBoeuf has confirmed that 66 partners — about one in five of the firm’s 350 partners — have seen their compensation reduced by as much as 80 percent over the past 15 months. The reductions are meant to weed out less-productive partners, firm Chairman Steven Davis tells The Am Law Daily.

According to the report, some Dewey partners are now taking draws as little as $10,000 a month. That’s good money for a lot of people, but for a partner in a major American law firm? There are Dewey partners that are making less money than first year associates.

Both Davis and executive director Stephen DiCarmine characterize the recent actions as an intensification of the firm’s long-term strategy of replacing poor performers with higher-producing laterals.

AmLaw has more bad news for D&L partners, after the jump.


AmLaw has sources reporting that 60% of Dewey & LeBoeuf partners are taking some kind of pay cut:

The bad news doesn’t end with the draconian hair cuts, according to three current and three former partners, who spoke only on condition that they not be identified by name. These lawyers say that some Dewey partners have received only 60 percent of the total annual compensation (monthly draw plus profit share) that they were told to expect last March. These sources assert that a third and smaller group of star rainmakers and executive committee members have special compensation “guarantees,” and, as such, have not been affected by the reductions.

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We’ve reported on Dewey’s round of performance review layoffs of associates. But if the law firm is taking that performance review logic directly to partners’ paychecks, can associates still complain when the pain is spread around?

Obviously, taking a pay cut is a lot different from being laid off. Dewey management admits that it is letting under performing partners take their time finding someplace else to go:

As for the 66 partners, Davis says the firm has decided not to enforce any departure dates, recognizing the challenges presented by the current job market. A majority of the partners affected have stayed on at the firm, some for as long as 15 months, since being informed of their compensation changes. Despite the move, DiCarmine says, “we haven’t lost that many partners.”

Will Dewey start a trend? There are only so many associates you can fire. At some point, won’t firms have to look at partners that are not “pulling their weight” and take it out of their paychecks?

Dewey & LeBoeuf Cuts Compensation of 66 Partners [American Lawyer]

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Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Dewey & LeBoeuf Starts Making Cuts

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