In the second of a two-part special (click here for part one), Friederike Heine and Alex Novarese chart the last days of ailing US giant Dewey & LeBoeuf as the firm hurtles towards its collapse
Dewey & LeBoeuf was never the most transparent of law firms. Management justified the lack of detailed information provided to partners on the basis that it would be leaked to head-hunters or the media. While there was some internal unease at the firm’s growing tendency to quietly defer or reset compensation, as far as the wider industry was concerned in early 2011, there was no basis to question Dewey’s prospects as it increased its programme of lateral recruitment.
