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Arrest of Dreier Founder Clouds Firm's Future
The American Lawyer
December 05, 2008
Marc Dreier
Image: Courtesy Photo
Marc Dreier, the founder and managing partner of New York's Dreier LLP, was arrested Tuesday in Toronto on a charge of impersonation.
"Basically what they are is that he impersonated himself as someone else and not himself," is how Constable Tonyo Vella, a Toronto Police Service spokesman, describes the charge.
Dreier, 58, was the former head of litigation at Fulbright & Jaworski and, more recently, a former partner at Rosenman & Colin, according to his firm biography.
The police have created a synopsis of the allegations against Dreier, which was read during a Friday court hearing. Vella declined to elaborate on the charges beyond that.
The Globe and Mail, which sent a reporter to the hearing, says the charges against Dreier stem from a multimillion-dollar deal between the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and Fortress Credit Opportunities. Dreier pretended to be someone else at a pension plan meeting, the paper reports. When the real person arrived, police were called. He is represented by Canadian barrister Edward Greenspan, the paper reports.
Partners at the firm either declined to comment or hung up on a reporter seeking comment Thursday. Partners held an emergency meeting that night to discuss the matter, according to a person familiar with the situation. In addition, the firm canceled a holiday party scheduled to be held at the Waldorf-Astoria last night, according to The New York Times, which first confirmed the arrest.
The legal blog Above the Law first broke the news of Dreier's arrest Thursday night.
The arrest is likely to pose unique problems for Dreier LLP. While the firm has more than 250 attorneys, Marc Dreier is the only equity partner.
Founded in 1996, the New York-based firm operates more like a corporation than a partnership, with Marc Dreier controlling the firm's expenses and liabilities. All other partners get guaranteed base compensation for two- or three-year periods and a bonus based on fees generated.
"This is a system for lawyers who believe democracy is overrated -- or at least that it is in business," Marc Dreier wrote in a 2007 op-ed for the National Law Journal. "Under this alternative model, all policy decisions ultimately reside with the single equity partner."
Ironically, Dreier LLP was one of several firms that hired refugees from Milberg Weiss after that firm was indicted.
This article first appeared on The Am Law Daily blog on AmericanLawyer.com.
