Ex-Cobbetts partners face £100k penalty to break two-year DWF lock-in
Legacy Cobbetts partners could face a financial penalty of up to £100,000 if they choose to break the two-year lock-in set out in the failed firm's pre-pack purchase agreement with DWF. The former Cobbetts partners, who had their capital contributions protected following the Manchester firm's collapse earlier this year, all joined DWF as fixed-share partners as part of the £3.8m distressed purchase. In order to protect its investment, DWF imposed a two-year lock-in on the transferring partners and it is now understood that this includes a release clause penalty of £100,000 for any partners trying to leave during the first year and £70,000 for any trying to leave in the second.
May 16, 2013 at 07:00 PM
2 minute read
Legacy Cobbetts partners could face a financial penalty of up to £100,000 if they choose to break the two-year lock-in set out in the failed firm's pre-pack purchase agreement with DWF.
The former Cobbetts partners, who had their capital contributions protected following the Manchester firm's collapse earlier this year, all joined DWF as fixed-share partners as part of the £3.8m distressed purchase.
In order to protect its investment, DWF imposed a two-year lock-in on the transferring partners and it is now understood that this includes a release clause penalty of £100,000 for any partners trying to leave during the first year and £70,000 for any trying to leave in the second.
A total of 72 partners joined DWF following the purchase of Cobbetts; however, roughly 15% have left already, including the immediate transfer of a 27-strong finance litigation team led by partners Andrew Bennett and Ciaran Corry to Walker Morris.
Other partners to have moved already include former Manchester head Paul Johnson, who recently joined Linder Myers, and disputes partner Mark Whittell, who is now at Gunnercooke.
Last month, former Cobbetts partner Andrew Wright was appointed to the failed firm's creditors' committee, as questions over money allegedly owed to ex-partners began to emerge in the wake of the firm's demise.
Several former partners are considering legal action, claiming they still had money invested in the firm at the time of its collapse and have been left out of pocket. Only those who were partners at the time of the collapse had their capital contributions protected.
Separately, DWF this week put 12 secretaries and fee-earners at risk of redundancy across its Glasgow and Edinburgh offices. The firm said a number of roles had been duplicated following its merger with Biggart Baillie last July.
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 AllA&O Shearman Luminary, Former US Co-Chair, to Leave Partnership
Ted Olson, Legal 'Titan' and Former US Solicitor General Who Argued Bush v. Gore, Dies
Trending Stories
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