Karolina Stefanski
* Anna Nicole Smith is still screwing old white men from beyond the grave. Biglaw firms want Heller Ehrman’s claims to be decided in federal court, not bankruptcy court. [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
* Kirkland & Ellis is pledging $2.75M to Stanford Law over the next five years in an effort to convince more students to take douchey pictures in front of their office signage. [Stanford Daily]
* Slow and steady wins the race, especially when it comes to reporting the news. A few news sites were eager to let readers know that Amanda Knox lost her appeal… except she didn’t. [Atlantic Wire]
* The Supreme Court has rejected yet another Obama birther lawsuit. Legal reasoning? “STFU, we’ll probably only have to deal with this dude for another year.” [CBS News]
* TWU to NYPD: Please don’t force us to listen to these Occupy Wall Street fools. We’d rather have our regular crazies on board. Of course, their lawsuit says it a bit more eloquently. [Wall Street Journal]
* Karolina Stefanski is being sued by an ex over some blank checks to the tune of $80K. Seriously, who cheats on a Playboy model? I mean, come on, boobs. [New York Post]
Judge Peggy Ableman
Ed. note: Due to the Labor Day holiday, we’ll be on a reduced publication schedule today. We’ll be back to normal tomorrow. A restful and happy Labor Day to all!
* More about the Delaware benchslap that we covered last week (including the news that Judge Peggy Ableman’s pajama party did not go forward as proposed). [Delaware News-Journal]
* The federal government is suing 17 banks for almost $200 billion, blaming the banks for mortgage-backed securities that went bad. [Bloomberg]
* An interesting dissection of the legal fees that Dewey & LeBoeuf is running up as counsel on the Los Angeles Dodgers bankruptcy. [New York Times]
Roger Clemens
* Roger Clemens will face a second trial next year. Lester Munson, the esteemed legal analyst, explains why. [ESPN]
* “From One Bankrupt Firm to Another: Brobeck Asks Heller For $471,000.” [Am Law Daily]
* AT&T faces a tricky balancing act in dealing with the Justice Department’s challenge of the T-Mobile deal. [New York Times]
* If you’re confused about the current role of lawyer-turned-entrepreneur Michael Arrington over at AOL, in the wake of AOL’s acquiring his TechCrunch site, you’re not alone. [Digits / Wall Street Journal]
Heller Ehrman announced its dissolution in September of 2008. The firm was required to give employees 60 days paid notice under the WARN act, but they couldn’t even get that right. Many associates and staff had their pay terminated before their 60 days were up. And many more employees were not compensated for their unused vacation time and other expenses.
These people have had to wait in a long line to get their piece of the steaming Heller carcass.
But the wait is almost over, though the payout will be underwhelming. Take heed, Howrey folks. We could be looking at your future….
Continue reading “Former Heller Ehrman Employees Will Finally Get Paid. Kind Of.”
When we last wrote about goings-on at Howrey, the once-strong law firm that’s now experiencing troubled times, we mentioned the possibility of partner losses in the Chicago office. The firm pushed back on this, denying knowledge of any imminent defections in the Windy City.
It now seems, however, that additional partner departures may be on the horizon — in Chicago, and elsewhere too. As reported in Crain’s Chicago Business (via WSJ Law Blog), the Chi-town powerhouse of Winston & Strawn recently discussed a possible merger with Howrey — but then decided against that approach, opting instead to pick off specific groups and partners from Howrey.
The Howrey situation is starting to look a lot like what happened to Heller Ehrman. A well-respected firm with a widely admired culture encounters business difficulties. Key partners and groups (especially IP) start leaving for greener pastures or more stable platforms. A potential white knight emerges — Mayer Brown in Heller’s case, and Winston & Strawn in Howrey’s — but then decides to order a la carte from the menu of partners, practices and offices, instead of going for the chef’s tasting menu.
A distressed employee of the firm sets up a blog to serve as a clearinghouse for updates. Heller had Heller Highwater, and Howrey had Howrey Doin’.
But now it looks like Howrey Doin’ is… done. If you surf over to http://howreydoin.wordpress.com/, the blog’s former address, you learn that “[t]he authors have deleted this blog.”
What the heck happened? We have a statement from the author of the blog, as well as a response from the firm.
Continue reading “Howrey Going to Get Out of This Pickle?”
Way back in 2008, back when people were wondering just how bad the recession was going to be for Biglaw, Heller Ehrman collapsed. When the firm dissolved, there was a lot of fear that it would be the first of many to fold.
While a few other firms also dissolved during the recession, we didn’t have an epidemic of dissolution across Biglaw. At the end of the day, it looks like only the firms under horrendous management paid the ultimate price.
Of course, many of the people who managed these firms into the ground landed on their feet and found new, high-paying legal jobs. Many of the associates and staff didn’t fare as well. Try getting a job in this economy when you are an associate with no experience who has already been laid off. In the immortal words of Akin Gump partner Steven Pesner, “the job market is not so good right now, in case you did not know.”
Given all that these people have been through, it’s nice to be able to report on a victory for two would-be Heller associates. Heller pushed back their start date and offered them a deferral stipend. Then the firm folded, and Heller never paid out that stipend.
Now, two years later, a California court has ruled that these two members of the Lost Generation should have been given priority when Heller came apart…
Continue reading “Deferral Stipend Judgment Is a Moral Victory for Two Former Heller Ehrman Associates”
As we previously reported, a sizable portion of the art collection of defunct law firm Heller Ehrman was sold at auction yesterday. The auction took place at Bonhams in San Francisco, before a standing-room-only crowd.
We submitted absentee bids on the following:
- lot 1, Pale Orange Begonia (we bid $500; it sold for $1,159);
- lot 2, Glass of Water (we bid $500; it sold for $671);
- lot 99, Lover of Time (we bid $800; it sold for $1,830);
- lot 210, Bonsai and Bicycle (we bid $1,000; it sold for $4,575); and
- lot 290, Return of the Rice Cooker (we bid $2,000; it sold for $5,185).
All of the items we bid on went for well above their high estimates — bad news for us, but good news for Heller creditors.
So, how much dinero did the auction generate in total?
Continue reading “Update: Heller Ehrman Art Auction Exceeds Expectations”
If you’ve always wanted to own a piece of defunct law firm Heller Ehrman, today is your lucky day. A sizable portion of the firm’s art collection is hitting the auction block in about an hour, at Bonhams & Butterfields in San Francisco.
We previously covered a prior Heller art auction, here in New York, but that sale involved just a handful of pieces. The auction taking place today — and starting very soon, at 10 a.m. Pacific time (or 1 p.m. Eastern time) — is much larger in scope.
So what’s up for sale? And how can you get a piece of the action?
Continue reading “Heller Ehrman Art To Be Auctioned Off Today”
Last month, we reported that bankrupt law firm Heller Ehrman would be selling some of its art to raise money for its creditors. Heller hopes to raise $1 million (or more) through a series of sales, in New York and California.
The first of several Heller art auctions took place yesterday at Bonhams & Butterfields, at 580 Madison Avenue in New York. We attended, both to cover the proceedings and in the hope of making a purchase or two. (The most important works from the Heller collection will be sold next year, but those pieces — by artists like Diebenkorn, Lichtenstein, and Serra — are a bit beyond our price range.)
Upon arrival at Bonhams, we checked in with a receptionist. We were asked to provide our driver’s license and credit card for photocopying, which we did. Buyers can pay for purchases with either a credit card or a check, but the auction house still copies your credit card for its records.
(There is a slight discount for using a check or cash over a credit card. The buyer’s premium, a commission paid by the winning bidder to the auction house, is 22 percent of the purchase price for credit cards, but 20 percent for cash or check.)
After supplying the requested documentation and filling out a short form, we were given a paddle for bidding. We were hoping for something wooden; the word “paddle” conjures up images of spanking — fun! Instead, we received a laminated card of gray and white plastic, printed with the number “238″ (our bidder number).
Did we make any purchases? How well did the Heller Ehrman art sell? Find out, plus check out pictures of the art, after the jump.
Continue reading “ATL Field Trip: The Heller Ehrman Art Auction”
It’s been a long time since we checked in on the ruins of Heller Ehrman. It seems strange that it’s been over a year since Heller Ehrman announced that it was closing its doors.
Everybody that was going to land on their feet after Heller collapsed has presumably landed. Those who never did get a job back in Biglaw post-Heller have hopefully moved on to other lucrative and rewarding careers.
While most of Heller’s employees have moved on, it looks like some of Heller’s things are still looking for new owners. One tipster reports that you can purchase your own little piece of Heller if you want to:
FYI the art from the Heller Ehrman art collection is up for sale at Bonhams New York:
Sale 17421 – Contemporary and Modern Art
Let’s take a look at what fine pieces of art you can score from the demise of Heller Ehrman.
Continue reading “Anatomy of a Dissolution: The Heller Art Auction”
* At the Supreme Court, much ado about a cross. [Washington Post (Robert Barnes); Washington Post (Dana Milbank)]
* Former Heller Ehrman partners deny that the firm was insolvent in 2007. [Am Law Daily]
* The new Honduran government, which came to power through a coup, has hired lawyers and law firms — including Lanny Davis, who recently moved from Orrick to McDermott — to defend its legitimacy. [New York Times]
* And there may be more work for antitrust lawyers, thanks to a new Justice Department invesitgation of IBM. [Reuters]
* Key Democratic lawyers agree to allow Guantanamo detainees to be transferred to the U.S. for trial. [Washington Post]
* Prosecutors drop one victim from the case, but Judge Herman “Who Needs A Spanking?” Thomas still faces charges dozens of counts related to 14 other victims. [CNN]
* No, it’s not your imagination: Gov. Jon Corzine’s campaign commercials are making fun of former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie (pictured) for being fat. (Disclosure: We worked as an AUSA under Christie from 2003 until 2006.) [New York Times]
* There was serious shadiness at dissolved firm Heller Ehrman. Information coming to light during bankruptcy proceedings suggests that, in 2008, the firm distributed $9 million in profits that it did not have and then covered it up. [The Recorder]
* Paul Hastings nabs Central District of California U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien. [Associated Press]
* Canadian inmate wants cruel and unusual punishment. [Courthouse News Service]
* Kudos to Preet Bharara, the new U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Ashby Jones wonders whether he’ll “be able to play it straight as a prosecutor, and extricate himself from the muddy world of politics.” [New York Times via WSJ Law Blog]
* The system of justice in Myanmar lacks some justness. [CNN]
* Not so fast. Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York refuses to sign off on the Bank of America – SEC settlement. [Washington Post]
* Some tips on using a coffeehouse as your office. [My Shingle via ABA Journal]
Since it has been so long since Heller Ehrman collapsed, it’s easy to forget that the firm’s dissolution continues to affect so many. Today, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the owners of the building that housed Heller will now have to forfeit that property:
The owners of a premier San Francisco office tower plan to forfeit the property to their lenders, the city’s second distressed transaction involving a major commercial building in recent weeks and another sign of the growing pressures in the sector.
Hines and Sterling American Property decided to transfer their interest in 333 Bush St. to the original financers, following the surprise dissolution of law firm Heller Ehrman in September, according to a letter Hines sent to local real estate brokers and obtained by The Chronicle. The 118-year-old law firm defaulted on its 250,000-square-foot lease, leaving the nearly 550,000-square-foot property 65 percent vacant.
That’s one hell of a jingle mail.
How are former Heller associates and partners doing these days? Have people put the Heller experience behind them? Or is the pain still too near to talk about it?
S.F. tower’s owners will forfeit it to lender [San Francisco Chronicle]
Earlier: WilmerHale Hires Operational Wisdom, From Heller Ehrman
If you read Above the Law last week, you’ll know that it’s an interesting time at WilmerHale. The firm is transitioning associates onto the street to other opportunities. It’s also dealing with former associates who left to clerk and now want back in.
But the firm isn’t unconcerned about the terror snaking through its associate ranks. In fact, they’ve hired a “Chief Legal Talent Officer.” According to the firm wide announcement:
I am pleased to announce that Brad Scott, our new Chief Legal Talent Officer, has started with the Firm. We are fortunate to have attracted an individual with Brad’s qualifications. The Chief Legal Talent Officer role will be responsible for all aspects of the attorney lifecycle including associate recruiting and onboarding, promotion and compensation processes, professional development, mentoring and career development and diversity programs throughout the Firm.
Associate onboarding? What about associate offloading? We know that at some firms the person that fills this position doubles as the physical manifestation of the Grim Reaper. But maybe that won’t be Mr. Scott’s fate. A tipster quips:
Clearly WH is doing well if it can hire even more layers of management.
More details after the jump.
Continue reading “WilmerHale Hires Operational Wisdom, From Heller Ehrman”
* AIG turned in the list of bonus recipients to New York’s Attorney General Andrew Cuomo yesterday–let the games begin. Just kidding, I too fear for the safety of heavily compensated AIG executives–there is nothing scarier than an angry progressive. [The Los Angeles Times]
* Dispensers of medical marijuana have room to breathe after Attorney General Eric Holder announced that federal authorities would cease raiding their operations. [The New York Times]
* Attorney General Eric Holder issued guidelines to federal agencies after The White House advised them to release their records to the public. [The Washington Post]
* A 3-judge federal appeals panel is considering whether or not to re-instate Madoff’s bail–springing him from jail until sentencing in June. [Newsday]
* Albert Hu, a Silicon Valley hedge fund manager conned clients by saying he was represented by prominent law firms like Heller Ehrman and Shaw Pittman; he was arrested in Hong Kong, and charged with defrauding millions from investors. [The National Law Journal]
* Another sad tale of an associate whose offer has been put on hold–his employer Latham & Watkins is asking incoming attorney’s to defer their start dates. [The National Law Journal]
This morning The Recorder is reporting that Bank of America and Citibank could lose $57 million because of a clerical error that could void the preferred status of BoA and Citibank:
A secured creditor must “perfect” its security interests with uniform commercial code filings and file updates every five years. The bank last submitted such a “continuation” in 2005, so another filing wasn’t needed until 2010. On Oct. 1, a week after Heller said it would dissolve, the bank filed a “correction statement” saying the 2007 filing was a “clerical error.” On Monday, the bank declined to discuss how or why the error occurred, or who made it — the 2007 filing required no signature.
The error would nullify BoA’s and Citibank’s secured creditor status:
The firm had paid the banks $51 million since announcing its dissolution and would owe them almost $6 million more if they remain secured creditors.
Closing the loop on Heller’s bankruptcy after the jump.
Continue reading “The $57 Million Dollar Typo
(Or: Reason Number 57 Why I Shouldn’t Be a Practicing Attorney)”
Heller Ehrman’s bankruptcy has been a long time coming. The firm made the news official on Sunday:
Today the Dissolution Committee of Heller Ehrman LLP, in Dissolution (the “Firm”) authorized the Firm’s counsel to file a Petition for Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. We took this step only after very careful and extensive analysis.
But the firm’s Dissolution Committee also notes:
The Dissolution Committee’s decision to conduct the continued wind down of the Firm under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court was not prompted by the Firm running out of money. On the contrary, thanks to the dedication and tireless efforts of the Firm’s remaining employees who comprise the Liquidation Team, the cooperation of the Firm’s former shareholders, and the positive responses received from hundreds of the Firm’s former clients, collection of accounts receivable over the past three months has been strong. And going forward, we continue to expect collection of tens of millions of additional dollars.
After the jump, we post the full Heller memo and check in with Thacher Proffitt.
Continue reading “Anatomy of a Dissolution: Heller Files for Bankruptcy, Thacher Proffitt WARNS People to Come to Work”
It has been a while since we last checked in with the firm formerly known as Heller Ehrman. While many Heller partners have landed safely at firms like Orrick, Covington & Burling, and Winston & Strawn, some ex-Heller junior associates and staff are still twisting in the wind. The fact that markets everywhere are awash in legal resumes does not help.
Right now, former Heller people continue to fight with the firm and the firm’s banks over money they claim is owed to them. As Thomas MacEntee explains:
We’ve been hearing the same tired line of nonsense from Heller’s Dissolution Committee, Bank of America, and Citibank now since October. The Dissolution Committee passes the buck to the banks continuously and says “they won’t let us” when it comes to paying employees. The banks remain silent and play with not only the monies coming in but the day-to-day survival of ex-Hellerites.
When a bank is refusing to release the money you need for rent, things can get pretty heated. But you’d think that Citigroup at least would be a bit more willing to meet its obligations to regular people, since regular people just bailed them out:
How is it that these banks can be handed billions of dollars and yet be allowed to assist Heller in violating federal and state laws? My thinking is that authorizing the payment of what is due ex-Heller employees would put money back in the economy, allow people to make purchases, etc. Am I the only one seeing this? Or do I look “through a glass, darkly” as the saying goes, and my perception of reality is somewhat imperfect?
More bad news for Heller, and discussion of a “give us our money” email campaign, after the jump.
Continue reading “Anatomy Of A Dissolution: Heller Ehrman v. Citi and B of A”
* Mukasey is going to be okay. He’s telling jokes and talking to the President. A GW doctor said “”The attorney general is conscious, conversant and alert.” [CNN]
* Do you feel sorry for sex offenders? The California 4th district court does. They ruled that Jessica’s law, a law that prohibits sex offenders from living within 2,000 feel of a school or park constitutes “banishment under another name.” [San Francisco Chronicle]
* “A U.S.-triggered spate of global carmaker-bailout proposals may spark trade disputes over whether the Americans are unfairly trying to subsidize their industry or just making up for state aid foreign rivals already enjoy.”[Bloomberg]
* Meanwhile, the EU’s antittrust chief says the EU should resist an auto-industry bailout. [Bloomberg]
* On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the release of five Algerian prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. [Los Angeles Times]
* If you’ve been following Proposition 8, you may want to watch an upcoming gay marriage case that will be coming before the Iowa Supreme Court. [Iowa City Press Citizen]
AIG, the American taxpayers’ very own insurance company, has taken a lot of heat for their company retreat full of facials and frivolity.
But in our own world of dissolving law firms, Heller Ehrman’s actions before the end have gotten far too little scrutiny. Yesterday, American Lawyer ran a story (subscription) about Heller’s 2007 partner retreat:
When Heller Ehrman partners gathered at Santa Barbara’s Bacara Resort & Spa in March 2007, there was already reason to be concerned about the firm’s future. Several practice areas were slow. The firm’s national and global ambitions were in disarray. And partners were increasingly skeptical about management’s ability to address the problems. But that weekend they were determined to laugh at this somewhat worrisome predicament.
The final night of the retreat featured a $300,000 skit. Performers from the Los Angeles Opera, accompanied by a professional orchestra, portrayed Chairman Matthew Larrabee and other firm leaders frantically searching for a merger partner. “Some people were laughing, but I thought it was surreal,” says one former shareholder (Heller’s term for partner).
Heller people, here’s some free legal advice: if you can get from this post to Matt Larrabee’s house without thinking, it might be a crime of passion. But if you read through to the end of the post, you’ll have entered the cooling down period and you’re looking at murder 2.
Please, it’s not worth it. San Quentin is a bad place. Just click on the jump.
Continue reading “Anatomy Of A Dissolution: Heller Ehrman’s ‘AIG Moment’”
Winston & Strawn is expanding with the help of Heller refugees. A tipster reports on the latest internal Winston communication:
[We] are extremely pleased to announce that the firm has added a number of former Heller Ehrman attorneys who will greatly enhance Winston’s practices and international presence. Winston has acquired three partners in Hong Kong from Heller and Heller’s international trade group in D.C. In addition, we welcome Joe Armao, a well-known environmental litigator, as a partner in our San Francisco office.
In Hong Kong, we are joined by capital markets and M&A partners Simon Luk and Michael Phillips and commercial litigation partner David Hall-Jones. Subject to local regulations*, these partners will be supported by additional associates and other professionals. Winston is also pursuing and fully expects to expand its presence in Asia with one or more offices in mainland China, likely to be in Shanghai and Beijing. We have begun the application process for this expansion. More details will follow as they become available.
In Washington, we have added four high-profile international trade partners: William Barringer, Daniel Porter, Christopher Dunn and James Durling, as well as associates Valerie Ellis, Matthew McCullough, Yu Li, and Ross Bidlingmaier. The international trade group will be supported by a number of non-lawyer trade professionals on the ground in Beijing.
Core practices primarily affected include complex commercial litigation, international arbitration and cross border deal-making capabilities. The firm has expanded materially in 2008 with the opening of the Charlotte office in January, the addition of prominent lateral attorneys to our existing offices and practices throughout the year, and this most recent expansion to Asia.
A press release will be available tomorrow morning on winston.com. An office page for our new Hong Kong location will be posted as well and will include address information and profiles of our new group.
We expect to take over existing Heller office space only as necessary. A full integration effort is underway; please take a moment to welcome our new team.
Regular readers of ATL will not be surprised by Winston capturing some top Heller talent.
Recent history after the jump.
Continue reading “Winston & Strawn Reaps Heller Rewards”
