Once dubbed a phenomenon in its arena, the law defector firm that splintered from Lewis Brisbois is now shutting down. In May, 140 attorneys exited Lewis Brisbois to join forces with Barber Ranen, an employment boutique firm piloted by John Barber and Jeffrey Ranen. The firm leaders promised to bring about novel perspectives and fresh methodologies to the firm.
However, what came to light were the racist, sexist, and antisemitic emails that the duo had been exchanging over the years at Lewis Brisbois. Following their exposure, the leaders opted to resign from their own firm. Consequently, the firm was rebranded as Daugherty Lordan by its new leaders.
Nevertheless, the firm has been rapidly losing attorneys, including one of its newly christened name partners. As reported by Bloomberg Law, Daugherty Lordan recently lost its final 25 lawyers and is slated to close down soon.
It is noteworthy that in the wake of the firm’s rebranding, dozens of attorneys have departed to join other law firms including O’Hagan Meyer, Ogletree Deakins, Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, and Dinsmore & Shohl.
The actions of Barber and Ranen serve as a stark reminder about the potential repercussions of unprofessional conduct. The vast collection of offensive emails was enough to topple the entire firm. As Zach Olsen, president of PR firm Infinite Global, highlighted, the misuse of written communication can indeed inflict considerable damage.
After the departure of the final group of attorneys, Daugherty Lordan is currently in the process of finalizing collections and will soon cease operations, marking the end of a firm that attracted significant attention during its inception.
More information on this can be found in the article ‘Lewis Brisbois Defector Firm Loses 25 Attorneys, Marking Its End‘. Earlier reports on the firm and its series of events can be found here, here, and here.