Lawsuit filed in March of 2011 seeking Class Action status based upon allegations of willful and repeated violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act including failure to pay overtime.

Dumay vs. Robert Half International, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, and John Does #1-10 case number 11CIV2207 before Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

BankruptcyMisconduct has been unable to confirm the status of the lawsuit, if class action status was obtained, or whether John Doe #9 was equivalent to or affiliated with #9 f/d/b/a Eliot Spitzer.  (Sorry for that, but please keep your helpful hints coming.)  No matter what the current status, we think the allegations and factual circumstances described in the lawsuit are certainly germane to the Dewey & LeBoeuf discussion.

Read about our analysis and opinion of the financial troubles at Dewey LeBoeuf here, and on our (coming soon) page focusing on the law firm's own legal troubles.

You can download this lawsuit Dewey_LeBoeuf_v_Dumay-Labor_Violations_Class_Action_Complaint.pdf for free at BankruptcyMisconduct.com

Steven H. Davis, Chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP just announced in March of 2012 a "reduction" of 5% of lawyers and 6% of support staff.  But we'd be remiss if we failed to quote this little tidbit:

Dewey & LeBoeuf has, in the last couple of days, been the subject of press stories on U.S. legal blogs.

Hmmmm...
How about that.  The top dog could have just announced the "right sizing" - but no.  Mr. Davis willfully chose to bestow credibility upon an unnamed collection of internet sites dealing with the legal industry.  BankruptcyMisconduct is neither insulted nor unsurprised.  Shan't we revel in life's simple pleasures?
And interestingly, the press release also reveals:

Some recent partner departures have been consistent with the firm’s strategic planning for 2012, and we expect some additional partners to leave.

How do partner defections fit into "strategic planning"?  That could make sense if they really meant to say "terminations" instead of "departures".  Remember that whenever a firm operates in the zone of insolvency - the corporate doublespeak can flare up to aid the hope for plausible deniability, and such might be the case here.  But the point which really tweaks our bullshit meter is that they expect more partners to leave.  Really?  Why don't you just tell us who, or at least how many and when?  Do you expect any more rainmakers or department heads to leave?

Well, Dewey & LeBoeuf are a private company so they need not tell us the truth.  And we've got a feeling that their remaining employees, and the non-terminated partners 'expected' to abandon ship, don't expect it either.

Download the file Dewey_LeBoeuf-legal-blogs-rumors-confronted.pdf for free from BankruptcyMisconduct.com

How often do you see a BigLaw firm getting sued for contributing to the collapse of an insurance company?  Make that $3 Billion dollars.  Sued by some established and respected law firms whose filing is filled with a scorching characterization of Dewey LeBoeuf's modus operandus:

conflicts, negligence, and self dealing which permeated its representation

John M. Huff vs. Dewey & LeBoeuf et al. Missouri Circuit Court, Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Cole County, Case No: 09AC-CC00278 filed on May 26 2009 by Armstrong Teasdale LLP of St. Louis and Shaffer Lombardo Shurin of Kansas City.

We don't even care how this particular lawsuit gets resolved.  Corruption, or even just the practical realities of advocacy, could force the Liquidator to accept a few dollars from Dewey's malpractice insurance company - when what the Nation really needs is a Federal Special Prosecutor to put the Neo-Mafia Bankruptcy Rings out of business.  

Fact is, the law firms signing this filing would have faced serious repercussions if the filing was based upon falsehoods. There is too much here for the judge hearing the case to ignore his obligation for criminal and ethical referral.

We believe that a special place in heaven exists for those who forgo the easy profits of complacency and collaboration which dissuade many lawyers from representing clients brave enough to battle corrupt law firms.  Kudos to the honorable officers of the court who "Show Us" that among some private practice lawyers: Duty Trumps Comfort.

Read about our prognosis for Dewey LeBoeuf here.   And hey, don't just take the opinion of BankruptcyMisconduct about these alleged Demon Swallowers when you can freely download Dewey_LeBoeuf-Accused_of_Conflict_of_Interest_Negligence_3Billion_Suit.pdf and read it for yourself.

How low can you get?  One of the lawyers at Dewey & LeBoeuf actually was stupid enough to get caught in securities fraud by insider trading with client secrets.  Sure, securities fraud is bad enough of a crime.  Violating the sanctity of the client relationship by using client secrets for profit is "officially" one of the worst things a lawyer can do.  (outside of complaining about client overbilling, sorry couldn't resist)

Maybe this instance of SEC Fraud using Client Secrets was really just another case of Too Bad You Got Caught.

D&L is making themselves pretty famous here on the pages of BankruptcyMisconduct and their future is so bright, we've got to wear nose plugs.  If Dewey LeBoeuf intentionally wants to take on partners with at best questionable ethics track record, maybe this activity wasn't such an aberration? 


Download Dewey_LeBoeuf_lawyer_uses_client_secrets_for_SEC_fraud.pdf for free.