L'Affaire LeBoeuf: The Latest Links and News

Dewey & LeBoeuf is preparing itself for the afterlife: it's shedding overseas offices, sending partners packing, and finding new takers for its real estate (and its pension obligations).

By the way, these are just selected moves (for comprehensive Dewey partner trackers, check out Am Law Daily, the Wall Street Journal, and Thomson Reuters):

  • The last member of the Office of the Chairman, Charles Landgraf, is going to Arnold & Porter (as reported by The Hill, and noted in Morning Docket).
  • Christopher J. Clark, former head of Dewey’s white-collar defense practice, is on his way to Latham & Watkins. As pointed out by the WSJ Law Blog, “[a]t Latham, Mr. Clark (Berkeley, Columbia Law) will reunite with Richard Owens, the head of the litigation department in New York. Messrs. Owens and Clark worked closely together as assistant U.S. attorneys in the early 2000s.”
  • According to Bloomberg, patent litigator Joseph Lavelle is going to DLA Piper (refuge of numerous Dewey partners, most famously John Altorelli, the alleged ex-lover of sexy Russian spy Anna Chapman).

4. Closing down. Although Dewey appears to be sticking with its plan of shutting down without a formal dissolution vote or bankruptcy filing, it’s no longer trying to conceal or deny that its doors are closing. The New York office made its closing official by filing a WARN Act notice with the New York State Department of Labor, according to Am Law Daily.

The notice, dated May 8, lists 433 employees as being affected by a “conditional plant closing.” When people refer to Biglaw as a factory, they’re not joking.

5. Real estate. Last but not least, Dewey is taking steps to unload its real estate, including its flagship office at 1301 Avenue of the Americas. From Am Law:

Dewey still has sizable real estate obligations in New York, including the roughly 500,000 square feet of space that it occupies at 1301 Avenue of the Americas in midtown Manhattan. That lease, which was initially entered into by predecessor firm Dewey Ballantine, extends until 2020. The firm’s landlord, Paramount Group, is already showing Dewey floors to potential tenants, according to a source who works in New York real estate. The firm currently leases 16 floors in the building….

Nationwide, Dewey has 10 other active leases totaling more than 252,000 square feet. Those include a second New York lease at 125 West 55th Street, which expires this year, covering space once occupied by predecessor firm LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. The next largest office is in Washington, D.C., where Dewey has more than 62,000 square feet. The other offices being vacated by the firm are in East Palo Alto; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Hartford; Chicago; Boston; Albany; and Houston. (In East Palo Alto, Dewey is already owed more than $571,000 by now-defunct Howrey, which sublet space from Dewey before the firm’s dissolution.)

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Will Dewey be able to find a taker for its East Palo Alto space? As you may recall, some say the offices are haunted.

The fall of Dewey has surely sent chills up the spines of managing partners around the country. If you have Dewey ghost stories to share with us, please email us or text us (646-820-8477; texts only, not a voice line). Thanks.

Pension corp sues Dewey & LeBoeuf [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
Regulators Sue Dewey Over Underfunded Pensions [WSJ Law Blog]
As More Lawyers Head for Exit, Dewey Faces Several Lawsuits [New York Law Journal (reg. req.)]
Top Dewey & LeBoeuf lobbyist moves on [The Hill]
And Then There Were None: Dewey’s Landgraf Exits [WSJ Law Blog]
Final Member of Dewey’s Four-Lawyer Management Team Heads to a New Firm [ABA Journal]
Chris Clark, Dewey’s White-Collar Head, Leaves for Latham [WSJ Law Blog]
Patent Litigator Lavelle Joins DLA Piper from Dewey LeBoeuf [Bloomberg News]
Dewey Makes New York Headquarters Closing Official With Notice to State [Am Law Daily (reg. req.)]
433 New York Layoffs and Three Lawsuits in Dewey Saga [ABA Journal]

Earlier: Dewey Have Cause for Rejoicing? Some Strange and Humorous Reactions to a Law Firm’s Fall
Lawyerly Lairs: Dewey Have An Exorcist In The House? (Plus more potential partner departures.)

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