Dewey & LeBoeuf seeks $13 million for LA Dodgers bankruptcy case
Former Dewey & LeBoeuf bankruptcy attorney Bruce Bennett is looking to be compensated for his work with another bankrupt organization: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
November 15, 2012 at 07:11 AM
5 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Former Dewey & LeBoeuf bankruptcy attorney Bruce Bennett is looking to be compensated for his work with another bankrupt organization: the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bennett, who led the legal team that represented the Major League Baseball franchise during its Chapter 11 restucturing, billed the Dodgers for almost $13 million, which includes a “modest” $500,000 bonus, according to court papers filed Tuesday.
In those papers, Bennett noted that his legal team was never compensated for staying at Dewey to handle the case even as many other partners jumped ship, saying that “the restructuring attorneys from Dewey who represented the Dodgers remained with the firm until the very end–even after it became clear that they would not be paid for the exhaustive (and exhausting) services they were rendering.”
In March, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt agreed to sell the team to Guggenheim Baseball Management, a consortium that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson. The record-breaking $2 billion sale came after a contentious year, in which baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball would seize control of the cash-strapped team, and subsequently nixed a multibillion-dollar television deal that would have helped to keep the Dodgers solvent.
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports that Dewey collected most of the Dodgers' legal bill before the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. Bennett reportedly will have some say over the distribution of the bonus money; however, the Dodgers' legal team did sign on to a Dewey clawback settlement that shields former partners from lawsuits connected with the firm's demise in exchange for a portion of their 2011 and 2012 compensation.
For more InsideCounsel coverage of Dewey & LeBoeuf, see:
Dewey's $71 million clawback settlement wins court approval
Dewey trustee objects to proposed $165,000 bonus
Former Dewey partners attack proposed clawback settlement in court
Citibank denies charges that it concealed Dewey's financial troubles from partners
Former Dewey partner accuses Citibank of concealing firm's financial troubles
Analyzing Dewey's latest operating report
Infographic: The timeline of Dewey's downfall
Bankruptcy judge OKs most of Dewey's $700,000 bonus plan
Former Dewey partner sues management, claims they were “running a Ponzi scheme”
Former
Bennett, who led the legal team that represented the Major League Baseball franchise during its Chapter 11 restucturing, billed the Dodgers for almost $13 million, which includes a “modest” $500,000 bonus, according to court papers filed Tuesday.
In those papers, Bennett noted that his legal team was never compensated for staying at Dewey to handle the case even as many other partners jumped ship, saying that “the restructuring attorneys from Dewey who represented the Dodgers remained with the firm until the very end–even after it became clear that they would not be paid for the exhaustive (and exhausting) services they were rendering.”
In March, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt agreed to sell the team to Guggenheim Baseball Management, a consortium that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson. The record-breaking $2 billion sale came after a contentious year, in which baseball commissioner Bud Selig announced that Major League Baseball would seize control of the cash-strapped team, and subsequently nixed a multibillion-dollar television deal that would have helped to keep the Dodgers solvent.
The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports that Dewey collected most of the Dodgers' legal bill before the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. Bennett reportedly will have some say over the distribution of the bonus money; however, the Dodgers' legal team did sign on to a Dewey clawback settlement that shields former partners from lawsuits connected with the firm's demise in exchange for a portion of their 2011 and 2012 compensation.
For more InsideCounsel coverage of
Dewey's $71 million clawback settlement wins court approval
Dewey trustee objects to proposed $165,000 bonus
Former Dewey partners attack proposed clawback settlement in court
Citibank denies charges that it concealed Dewey's financial troubles from partners
Former Dewey partner accuses Citibank of concealing firm's financial troubles
Analyzing Dewey's latest operating report
Infographic: The timeline of Dewey's downfall
Bankruptcy judge OKs most of Dewey's $700,000 bonus plan
Former Dewey partner sues management, claims they were “running a Ponzi scheme”
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
© 2025 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 AllFrom Reluctant Lawyer to Legal Trailblazer: Agiloft's GC on Redefining In-House Counsel With Innovation and Tech
7 minute readLegal Tech's Predictions for Legal Ops & In-House in 2025
Lawyers Drowning in Cases Are Embracing AI Fastest—and Say It's Yielding Better Outcomes for Clients
Trending Stories
- 1Uber Files RICO Suit Against Plaintiff-Side Firms Alleging Fraudulent Injury Claims
- 2The Law Firm Disrupted: Scrutinizing the Elephant More Than the Mouse
- 3Inherent Diminished Value Damages Unavailable to 3rd-Party Claimants, Court Says
- 4Pa. Defense Firm Sued by Client Over Ex-Eagles Player's $43.5M Med Mal Win
- 5Losses Mount at Morris Manning, but Departing Ex-Chair Stays Bullish About His Old Firm's Future
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
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