How to handle Dewey (or similar firms) Forum

[Anonymous User]

If the e-mails the firm sends out are any indication, roughly 12 people out of 34 are still trying to find a job. The director of recruiting usually e-mails all of us job opportunities, but her last e-mail only went to about 12 people, so unless there were separate e-mails, I think things are looking up. The real question is how many of the people that found jobs have market-paying jobs, or whether they're banking on 3L OCI to pull through.

Thankfully I've got a couple offers to consider right now, but I am shocked that as a former Dewey SA I was not included on these emails. What absolute fuckheads they have been.

[Anonymous User]

i have a job - hallelujah

[sunynp]

Congrats on getting jobs! You will look back at this as avoiding complete disaster. This firm was terribly managed .

Reading the lastest on Dewey - it really does just get worse and worse. Now the NY Times is reporting there were omissions in the offering of the notes - no mentions of the amounts owed to partners under the guarantees. And it seems like even the partners with a lot of business didn't know how many guarantees there were. The defections started in earnest once the partners were all told how many guarantees were floating around.

Also note how Dewey was floundering before the merger, some people have said that it all started with the failed merger with Orrick which meant that M&A people left. I guess when you do due diligence on a firm, you really have to go back in time. But even so, partners have been surprised by the financials so I don't know how students can figure it out.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/ ... uarantees/

[Anonymous User]

Once again, if you got an offer but passed up interviews/other offers, please e-mail me the leftover firms!

[IAFG]

Congratulations to the folks who landed other firms! Good luck to the people still looking.

[Anonymous User]

any former dewey SAs still looking?

[sunynp]

wow i'm pretty impressed that people have found jobs that quickly this late in the game, especially all the NYU dewey SAs (who wanted them...did anyone not?) getting private sector jobs

It's not that surprising.

There are probably plenty of BigLaw firms in NYC who realize in the spring that they needmore 3Ls, but the kind of people they're looking for (decent credentials, summered at a big firms, set to take the NY bar, and able to get out of their firm commitment) are usually in short supply.

I disagree with this, most firms completed their summer classes a long time ago. I think that firms are giving Dewey associates the benefit of the doubt because of the are high quality people and because they are trying to help out Dewey and the schools with recruiting.

[chasgoose]

wow i'm pretty impressed that people have found jobs that quickly this late in the game, especially all the NYU dewey SAs (who wanted them...did anyone not?) getting private sector jobs

It's not that surprising.

There are probably plenty of BigLaw firms in NYC who realize in the spring that they needmore 3Ls, but the kind of people they're looking for (decent credentials, summered at a big firms, set to take the NY bar, and able to get out of their firm commitment) are usually in short supply.

I disagree with this, most firms completed their summer classes a long time ago. I think that firms are giving Dewey associates the benefit of the doubt because of the are high quality people and because they are trying to help out Dewey and the schools with recruiting.

I actually agree with the first post. SA hiring is not an exact science, and its done so far before a firm will actually know how many people it needs that there are always bound to be a couple firms that could or need to take on more people.

[stratocophic]

wow i'm pretty impressed that people have found jobs that quickly this late in the game, especially all the NYU dewey SAs (who wanted them...did anyone not?) getting private sector jobs

It's not that surprising.

There are probably plenty of BigLaw firms in NYC who realize in the spring that they needmore 3Ls, but the kind of people they're looking for (decent credentials, summered at a big firms, set to take the NY bar, and able to get out of their firm commitment) are usually in short supply.

I disagree with this, most firms completed their summer classes a long time ago. I think that firms are giving Dewey associates the benefit of the doubt because of the are high quality people and because they are trying to help out Dewey and the schools with recruiting.

I actually agree with the first post. SA hiring is not an exact science, and its done so far before a firm will actually know how many people it needs that there are always bound to be a couple firms that could or need to take on more people.

Naw dog, firms are frequently motivated by things like pity and solidarity with their failing compatriots rather than hings like maintaining and/or increasing profits in light of information they didn't have 8 months before

[dixiecupdrinking]

It's not that surprising.

There are probably plenty of BigLaw firms in NYC who realize in the spring that they needmore 3Ls, but the kind of people they're looking for (decent credentials, summered at a big firms, set to take the NY bar, and able to get out of their firm commitment) are usually in short supply.

I disagree with this, most firms completed their summer classes a long time ago. I think that firms are giving Dewey associates the benefit of the doubt because of the are high quality people and because they are trying to help out Dewey and the schools with recruiting.

I actually agree with the first post. SA hiring is not an exact science, and its done so far before a firm will actually know how many people it needs that there are always bound to be a couple firms that could or need to take on more people.

Naw dog, firms are frequently motivated by things like pity and solidarity with their failing compatriots rather than hings like maintaining and/or increasing profits in light of information they didn't have 8 months before

It can be both. I'm sure no firm is taking on more summers than they would otherwise want out of pure altruism, but it certainly increases goodwill among law students and law schools that they're doing it.

[stratocophic]

I disagree with this, most firms completed their summer classes a long time ago. I think that firms are giving Dewey associates the benefit of the doubt because of the are high quality people and because they are trying to help out Dewey and the schools with recruiting.

I actually agree with the first post. SA hiring is not an exact science, and its done so far before a firm will actually know how many people it needs that there are always bound to be a couple firms that could or need to take on more people.

Naw dog, firms are frequently motivated by things like pity and solidarity with their failing compatriots rather than hings like maintaining and/or increasing profits in light of information they didn't have 8 months before

It can be both. I'm sure no firm is taking on more summers than they would otherwise want out of pure altruism, but it certainly increases goodwill among law students and law schools that they're doing it.

Not saying that doesn't play into these decisions at all, just making light of the idea that these firms are doing it for no reason other than "won't somebody please think of the children?"

[keg411]

My summer firm picked up a former Dewey SA . Don't really care about the reasons, but it's nice to see/hear Dewey summers getting BigLaw jobs.

[dixiecupdrinking]

It can be both. I'm sure no firm is taking on more summers than they would otherwise want out of pure altruism, but it certainly increases goodwill among law students and law schools that they're doing it.

Not saying that doesn't play into these decisions at all, just making light of the idea that these firms are doing it for no reason other than "won't somebody please think of the children?"

Yeah, I just think that sunynp was suggesting more that the firms think there will be a long-term payoff to helping these folks out now. That's not charity, that's an investment in reputation.

[Anonymous User]

Have any Dewey 3Ls found placements and where?

[Anonymous User]

Have any Dewey 3Ls found placements and where?

I know of one who did several callbacks and ended up at a comparable V50.

[Anonymous User]

http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.co ... K_L_Gates/

A $500 million lawsuit accusing K&L Gates of botching an internal investigation into a top executive at defunct beverage maker Le-Nature Inc. can go forward, a state appeals court ruled Monday.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania revived the 2009 lawsuit, which claims the firm negligently handled the investigation into the company's former chief executive, Gregory Podlucky. The suit was brought by the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Le-Nature, which filed for bankruptcy in 2006.

How much should the folks at K&L be worried about something like this?

[Old Gregg]

http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.co ... K_L_Gates/

A $500 million lawsuit accusing K&L Gates of botching an internal investigation into a top executive at defunct beverage maker Le-Nature Inc. can go forward, a state appeals court ruled Monday.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania revived the 2009 lawsuit, which claims the firm negligently handled the investigation into the company's former chief executive, Gregory Podlucky. The suit was brought by the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Le-Nature, which filed for bankruptcy in 2006.

How much should the folks at K&L be worried about something like this?

It's called malpractice insurance.

I really, really hope people don't post shit they don't know about and really just fear-monster instead.

[LawIdiot86]

http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.co ... K_L_Gates/

A $500 million lawsuit accusing K&L Gates of botching an internal investigation into a top executive at defunct beverage maker Le-Nature Inc. can go forward, a state appeals court ruled Monday.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania revived the 2009 lawsuit, which claims the firm negligently handled the investigation into the company's former chief executive, Gregory Podlucky. The suit was brought by the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Le-Nature, which filed for bankruptcy in 2006.

How much should the folks at K&L be worried about something like this?

Besides the insurance issue, this was a pre-trial action to revive the suit. They haven't even gotten to a trial on the merits or, presumably, a jury verdict. Firms, like all large employers, do get sued all the time.

[Anonymous User]

http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.co ... K_L_Gates/

A $500 million lawsuit accusing K&L Gates of botching an internal investigation into a top executive at defunct beverage maker Le-Nature Inc. can go forward, a state appeals court ruled Monday.

A three-judge panel of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania revived the 2009 lawsuit, which claims the firm negligently handled the investigation into the company's former chief executive, Gregory Podlucky. The suit was brought by the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Le-Nature, which filed for bankruptcy in 2006.

How much should the folks at K&L be worried about something like this?

It's called malpractice insurance.

I really, really hope people don't post shit they don't know about and really just fear-monster instead.

Woops, I feel stupid. Didn't even think about malpractice insurance, thanks. I just saw the $500 million number and thought, "This sounds bad, right?" I can assure you there was zero intention to fear monger, which is why I simply posed the question rather than adding "ZOMG THEY FUCKED."

LawIdiot: The thought that this probably happens all the time did cross my mind, but I honestly wasn't sure.

[Old Gregg]

No problem. Just keep on the look out for firms with unusual shit like bond issuances or for financials where revenue is trending downwards or stagnant year over year.

[LawIdiot86]

No problem. Just keep on the look out for firms with unusual shit like bond issuances or for financials where revenue is trending downwards or stagnant year over year.

What measure of revenue should we be looking at? RPL, total revenue, PPP, etc?

[Old Gregg]

I look at PPP. If it's up or stays the same, I look at revenue to see whether that PPP is based on growth and not cost-cutting.

RPL is, of course, a good indicator of health, but if you plotted all those points on a graph, you don't see much. Yes, you see outliers and both ends, and they tend to be the most elite and most poorly off, respectively. But most firms are clustered near each other. Instead, look for major RPL increases and decreases.

Anyways, this is how I see things. I wouldn't take Dewey as a lesson of how quickly things can go bad. I take it as a lesson in how resilient law firms are. It took a confluence of factors to cause its downfall. It's frankly surprising they lasted as long as they did. It really goes to show that, barring some massive economic calamity, Biglaw is still one of the few professions that offers a very high degree of job security.

If there's people to worry about at Dewey, it's not so much the SAs or junior or midlevel associates. My sources, for example, tell me that the SAs have been fully placed at other firms. The people to worried about are junior and service partners. No firm will take them unless they're package deals with rainmakers. Junior partners at Dewey were making less than senior associates, and that's before capital contributions. Also, I'm really hope senior associates find a landing spot.

[sunynp]

I'm assuming the junior partners have at least repaid their law school loans if they had any. The junior associates have barely even started to repay their loans and I think it is a fair assumption that they have more debt than the junior partners did when they graduated. I hope they all find something else, but it seems unlikely that everyone will find a comparable job.

[sunynp]

Now this sad story has ended up in bankruptcy court: they filed tonight in Federal court in Manhattan.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 51978.html

the wsj requires subscription so here is the NYTimes deal blog:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/ ... ankruptcy/

edit to add: the first post in this thread was March 1st - so it was about 12 weeks from the first post about ATL defections to the chapter 11 filing on May 28th.

[PolySuyGuy]

Now this sad story has ended up in bankruptcy court: they filed tonight in Federal court in Manhattan.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 51978.html

the wsj requires subscription so here is the NYTimes deal blog:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/ ... ankruptcy/

edit to add: the first post in this thread was March 1st - so it was about 12 weeks from the first post about ATL defections to the chapter 11 filing on May 28th.

Does this shake things up? If so, how so?