Thursday, December 5, 2013

Did Dewey Ruin It for the Remaining Top-Dollar Firms?

In light of a recent report apparently revealing just how much Dewey & LeBoeuf’s executive director and CFO were making  before the firm went bust (Sara Randazzo, Suit Details Ex-Dewey Leaders’ Lucrative Pay Pacts, Am Law Daily, Dec. 1, 2013), I can’t imagine the conversations that former Dewey clients are having with their supervisors.  

We paid how much? How much of that actually went to firm overhead? What was our return on investment? Actually, what I really can’t imagine are the answers. Absolutely, I can understand the need and desire to pay high-end. All sorts of clients need big-name lawyers and their accompanying big-time prices for all types of legal assistance. But where’s the line between paying for the gold standard and just opening the vault and letting your lawyers take whatever’s in it?

Are six-year contracts worth $15.9 million apiece for an executive director and a CFO too much? All I know is that if I were a corporate client, I’d be asking my own lawyers a few questions about firm finances. If I were Dewey’s competitors, I’d be ready for some answers and be more than willing to explain why we are not them.

—Lori Tripoli

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