Back in 2012 and 2013, one of the most buzzworthy topics in Biglaw was the unprecedented collapse of Dewey & LeBoeuf, following the ill-fated amalgamation of two historic law firms – Dewey Ballentine and LeBoeuf Lamb. This collapse led to widespread job losses, personal bankruptcies and criminal cases that indubitably shook Biglaw to its core. (Read more about the merger here)
An interesting revelation, however, came to light from a recent study reported by Law.com. Despite the damage Dewey & LeBoeuf’s collapse brought to the law profession, it appears not to have marred the careers of its unfortunate associates and partners caught in the whirlwind of the scandal. (Read more about the report here)
“For lawyers, at least, the experience didn’t appear to taint their careers. Associates who worked at Dewey in 2012 had the same odds of becoming a Big Law partner by 2022 compared to associates at peer firms with comparable partner profits, while former Dewey partners had the same odds of remaining partners at Am Law 100 firms as their peers as well,” revealed Andrew Granato, a J.D.-Ph.D. candidate studying law and financial economics, who presented his observations in a paper, “After the ‘Partner Run’: The Dewey & LeBoeuf Diaspora,” as stated at the Conference on Empirical Legal Studies.
Granato identified the parties most distressed during the initial stages as those associates having smaller and localized relational capital, who exited the private practice much more than established partners who could lateral and escort their clients with them. Nonetheless, long-term results illustrated that such impacts do not endure, despite the distinct form of organizational failure known as “the partner run.”
The report also pointed out Granato’s surprise at the relative ease with which these former Dewey attorneys re-established themselves in Biglaw. The majority of these attorneys were hired by firms such as Winston & Strawn, DLA Piper, Proskauer Rose, and Holland & Knight.
In conclusion, association with a dissolved Biglaw firm does not necessarily tarnish a lawyer’s career or professional progression – a reassurance to current Biglaw practitioners if, heavens forbid, history were to repeat itself.