Megafirm’s demise started with a series of FU emails — not shocking to the Biglaw escapees in Law Firm Suites’ shared law office space.
This week’s New Yorker features an article about the collapse of megafirm Dewey & LeBouf. But perhaps more fun is the summary of the article posted yesterday on Gawker. According to the article, the demise of Dewey all started with one attorney calling his partners “fuckwad” and “little prick” in a litany of FU emails.
This, of course, prompted me to ask my law partner, “why is this news?”
A lifetime ago we were both associates at the same mid-sized firm that faced a similar demise. To us, this was a typical day on the job.
Naughty behavior is exactly what you get when a few hundred egomaniacal, super-type A personalities who either: (a) didn’t have the social skills to make in in finance, or (b) chose law as a profession because they were good at arguing, try to run a business together.
My favorite quote from the Gawker article: the description of LeBoeuf (pre-Dewey merger) as “a ‘pleasant’ mid-size firm” that had “internal strife between partners.” An oxymoron to the uninitiated, but the reality in many cases.
Either you thrive on the Biglaw drama, learn to live with it, or you do what the 100+ lawyers sharing law office space and running successful boutique practices at Law Firm Suites did: you opt out.
P.S. Be sure to check out the comment section on Gawker. It will make your day.
Stephen Furnari left the safety of a law firm job and began practicing as a self-employed attorney in 2002. He is now a partner in the law firm Furnari Scher LLP. In 2006, Furnari founded Law Firm Suites to help other solo attorneys and small law firms retain a competitive edge in today’s increasingly crowded legal market. Stephen is a recognized expert in legal entrepreneurship and has been featured in ABA Journal, New York Daily News, Crain’s New York and Entrepreneur.
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