Regulators sue Dewey, Warsaw office transfers to Greenberg Traurig
So far this week, theres been good news and bad news for failing New York law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. First the bad news: The Public Benefit Guaranty Corp., which oversees U.S. private-sector pension plans and interjects to cover plans when employers cannot pay promised benefits, sued Dewey on Monday.
May 16, 2012 at 07:59 AM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
So far this week, there's been good news and bad news for failing New York law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf. First the bad news: The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), which oversees U.S. private-sector pension plans and interjects to cover plans when employers cannot pay promised benefits, sued Dewey on Monday.
PBGC spread word last week that it intended to take over three of the firm's pension plans, which it claims are underfunded by $80 million. The agency is worried that the sale of Dewey affiliates, which are partly responsible for funding the pensions, could make it more difficult for PBGC to recoup money to make up for the shortfall.
According to the Wall Street Journal, PBGC's play to take over Dewey's pensions, which cover 1,776 people, was partially prompted by a phone call with the firm last week, during which regulators learned that the firm plans to sell off two or three affiliates—likely to overseas offices—for an estimated $7.2 to $9.7 million. Those affiliates are not bound to Dewey's lenders, but are still legally responsible for funding the pensions, the lawsuit states.
PBGC's suit set May 11 as the official termination date of Dewey's pension plans, and appoints PBGC as the plans' trustee. Dewey has 21 days to respond from the time it received the complaint.
Now the good news: Dewey's Warsaw, Poland, office has transferred to Greenberg Traurig, giving a soft landing to more than 50 Dewey lawyers. The Warsaw office will be Greenberg Traurig's 35th office and will operate as Greenberg Traurig Grzesiak in Poland, with Jaroslaw Grzesiak, the former managing partner of Dewey's Warsaw office, continuing on as managing partner, and Lejb Fogelman as the senior partner.
“This team has been successful in Poland for two decades, is integral to the Warsaw business and legal communities, and is exactly such an opportunity in one of the most important and successful European markets, where entrepreneurship in the private sector is highly valued and supported with policies that focus on growth,” Greenberg Traurig Chief Executive Officer Richard Rosenbaum said in a statement.
Dewey had desired a merger with Greenberg Traurig at the end of April before negotiations fell apart. However, Rosenbaum said at the time that he would leave the door open for Dewey attorneys to change addresses.
“Our office was approached by many of the highest quality firms in Europe and the U.S.,” Grzesiak said in the statement. “We chose Greenberg Traurig because we share many of the same values – quality, strength, spirit and clarity of vision. We feel that we have a recipe for success and are excited about what this venture will bring to our collective clients worldwide.”
While not as significant in numbers, Latham & Watkins announced yesterday that it will provide a new home for the now former head of Dewey's white-collar defense practice.
Christopher Clark, whose practice focuses on securities law and foreign and domestic anti-corruption law, will head to Latham's New York office. Prior to joining Dewey, Clark served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the securities fraud unit of the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York from 1999 to 2005.
For more on the PBGC's lawsuit, read the Wall Street Journal.
And for more from InsideCounsel on Dewey's downfall, read:
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllWhy ACLU's New Legal Director Says It's a 'Good Time to Take the Reins'
'Utterly Bewildering': GCs Struggle to Grasp Scattershot Nature of Law Firm Rate Hikes
GCs Jettisoning Zero-Based Budgeting in Quest to Be Nimble, More Efficient
3 minute readFoley & Lardner Litigator Joins Brewers Roster as Legal Chief
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 3Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 4Meet the Lawyers on Kamala Harris' Transition Team
- 5Trump Files $10B Suit Against CBS in Amarillo Federal Court
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250