The Dewey & LeBoeuf saga took on some international flavor this week, as the bankrupt firm asked for permission to shut down its offices in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Dewey opened its Russian office in 1991 and its Kazakh outpost in 1995. Following the firm’s bankruptcy, however, 42 attorneys from those locations jumped ship for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
In a court filing, the firm urged a U.S. bankruptcy court to authorize the proposal, saying that “if [Dewey] does not properly wind down its former Russian/Kazakh offices, the temporary registered representatives of the offices will likely resign, and [Dewey] may face possible criminal and civil liability for failing to comply with applicable Russian and Kazakh law.”
The firm also cited the potential financial gains resulting from the wind-down. It estimates that it will cost $11,480 to close both offices. After those costs and taxes, the firm says it could collect as much as $158,000 from clients and the offices’ bank accounts, which would go toward paying off its estimated $315 million debt. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan will consider Dewey’s proposal at a Sept. 20 hearing.
Read more from the Wall Street Journal.
Find InsideCounsel coverage of Dewey here:
Dewey extends deadline on clawback settlement, signals further revisions
Bankruptcy judge Oks most of Dewey’s $700,000 bonus plan
Dewey & LeBoeuf offers new settlement to ex-partners
Dissecting Dewey’s money management
Dewey paid executive partner $190,000 after bankruptcy filing
Dewey offers former partners a deal
Former Dewey partner sues management, claims they were “running a Ponzi scheme”
