Biglaw

Founder Of Am Law 200 Biglaw Firm Retired Amid Misconduct Probe

He allegedly retired rather than participate in the misconduct investigation.

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Andy Sandler (Image via LinkedIn)

In February of 2018, Andy Sandler retired from the practice of law, leaving the firm he co-founded, Buckley LLP, which used to be known as Buckley Sandler, to serve as chairman of the financial services industry consulting firm  Treliant Risk Advisors, and be CEO of compliance software provider Asurity, and to run the private investment company, Temerity Capital Partners. But according to a statement by Buckley’s managing partner, Benjamin Klubes, the retirement came amidst an investigation into Sandler’s misconduct.

As reported by Law360, the firm says that allegations against Sandler were made in 2017 and they promptly launched an investigation into his behavior. Klubes also said that Sandler refused to participate in the investigation, and instead, retired:

Klubes said the initial allegation against Sandler came to their attention in late 2017 and, “consistent with firm policy,” management quickly hired Latham & Watkins LLP partner Kathryn Ruemmler “to conduct a fair and confidential investigation into the allegations in a manner that respected the privacy and confidentiality of the individuals who raised concerns.”

“Mr. Sandler refused to cooperate with the investigation, or to answer any questions from Ms. Ruemmler, and instead chose to retire from the firm,” Klubes said. “Buckley acted swiftly to address the allegations while protecting the privacy and confidentiality requested by each of the individuals who had raised concerns about Mr. Sandler’s conduct. While we promised that confidentiality to those individuals, we never sought or required confidentiality from them.”

The sordid background of Sandler’s departure from the firm became public because of an insurance battle. The firm’s insurer is trying to avoid paying the firm a $6 million payment for “loss of a key employee” over Sandler’s retirement. The insurer, Oxford Insurance, said in a court filing that during their investigation, Sandler said his departure was actually involuntary, and that the allegations of misconduct predated the effective date of the policy:

An independent claim adjuster hired by Oxford found that by December 2017 — before the policy went into effect — three Buckley partners were aware of allegations of misconduct against Sandler “from years earlier,” “which could lead to Mr. Sandler being terminated by Buckley,” according to the complaint. Oxford did not detail the nature of the allegations, and Buckley’s managing partner, Benjamin Klubes, declined to elaborate.

According to Oxford, despite having knowledge of the allegations, neither Sandler nor any of his colleagues disclosed them when applying for the insurance policy.

Klubes’s statement also said the firm is “confident that the full factual and legal record will demonstrate that it handled the matter appropriately and that it is entitled to payment under its ‘key person’ insurance claim.”

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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