Dewey Have More Partner Departures To Report? Sadly, Yes

Who are the latest partners to leave Dewey & LeBoeuf, and where are they going?

Over the weekend, we passed along some good news about Dewey & LeBoeuf. It appears that the firm has been given a new (even if temporary) lease on life by its lenders. Initial reports suggested that the firm was getting one week or maybe two in order to reach a new debt deal with its banks. It now appears, however, that the firm could be getting a more long-term extension, in the range of 90 to 120 days. The deal still needs to be finalized; keep your fingers crossed.

That’s the good news. Now, back to the bad news: more partner defections from Dewey….

Multiple UPDATES, after the jump.

First, we can now report that tax partners Gordon Warnke and Joseph Pari, whose departures we predicted earlier this month, have left Dewey (where Warnke previously chaired the tax department). Their bios have been removed from the D&L website, and if you email them, you’ll receive bounceback messages stating that they’re no longer with the firm.

Multiple sources have informed us that Warnke and Pari will be joining Linklaters. We understand that several associates will be joining them at the Magic Circle firm. (Linklaters and Dewey spokespersons did not respond to our requests for comment.)

Second, the Daily Journal (sub. req.) reports on two additional partner departures:

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Two Philadelphia-based firms, Pepper Hamilton LLP and Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, are the most recent outfits to have reaped the benefits of an ailing Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, snagging a total of six lawyers from the firm that’s lost more than 75 partners since the beginning of the year.

Marshall Stoddard, the U.S. head of Dewey’s bank and institutional finance practice group, who splits his time between Los Angeles and New York, will join Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP as co-chair of the firm’s finance practice.

Joining Stoddard at Morgan is Dewey counsel Christopher L. Exberger in Los Angeles; counsel Gayle A. Berne; and associates Maria Emanuelli and Wendy A. Prager in New York. Stoddard did not immediately return a call requesting comment on Sunday….

In addition to Stoddard’s departure, Gary Apfel, co-chairman of Dewey’s consumer and financial services group, has left Dewey to open a Los Angeles office for Pepper Hamilton.

Third, here’s info on another defecting duo, from the WSJ Law Blog:

Two partners are joining the international law firm Clifford Chance, the firm confirmed Monday. Gary Boss signed on Friday afternoon. Boss had been with Dewey & LeBoeuf since 2003, and has experience in domestic and cross-border M&A transactions. His focus is insurance M&A….

Also joining Clifford Chance, according to a person familiar with the matter: Howard Adler, the former co-chair of Dewey’s compensation, benefits and employment department.

In an earlier story, Am Law Daily identified six partners whose bios have recently vanished from the D&L website: Adler, Apfel, Pari, and Stoddard, whose new firms are known (as discussed above), and two partners whose forwarding addresses remain unavailable, Charles Moore (Houston / energy) and Linda Ransom (New York / corporate). If you know where they’re going, or if you have info about any other imminent Dewey defections, please feel free to email us or text us (646-820-8277).

UPDATE (3:20 PM): According to Reuters (via CNBC), Peter Gray, a Dubai-based Dewey partner who focuses on international arbitration, is joining Gibson Dunn.

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UPDATE (6:15 PM): Charles Moore is joining Morgan Lewis, along with Marshall Stoddard. And two more Dewey partners are off to Covington & Burling, according to an update added to this WSJ Law Blog post.

UPDATE (10:00 PM): The partners heading to Covington are Donald Murray, former co-chairman of Dewey’s corporate finance practice, and Eric Blanchard (per DealBook).

UPDATE (5/1/2012): We missed this one yesterday: noted real estate lawyer Stuart Saft, who chaired Dewey’s global real estate practice, is joining Holland & Knight, where he will serve as co-head of the firm’s New York real estate practice.

In other Dewey news, over the weekend we mentioned that Steven H. Davis — the former chairman of Dewey, who is reportedly under possible investigation by the New York District Attorney’s office — has been removed from all leadership posts at the firm. If you’d like to see what Davis has to say for himself, you can check out his “Global Partners” memo on the next page.