Did Partner Dispute at Beasley Firm Begin Before or After Barroom Brawl?
A barroom brawl between two partners of the Beasley Firm—witnessed by two other partners, including the firm’s managing partner—was the impetus for a recent announcement that one of the partners involved in the altercation and one of the witnesses are leaving the firm, reports the Legal Intelligencer in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
Although the Feb. 7 press release announcing their departure makes makes no mention of the Jan. 28 scuffle and includes positive comments from both the managing partner and the exiting lawyers, a private criminal complaint was filed by one of them, says the legal publication, which obtained a copy of it.
Paul Lauricella, who was not injured in the fray, said in an e-mail that he intends to withdraw the complaint as a courtesy to the firm’s managing partner, “out of my respect for the other attorneys at the firm, and in order to put the entire matter in the past.” It alleges simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment.
Unidentified sources tell the Legal Intelligencer that a dispute was brewing for weeks before the brawl, but differ as to whether compensation for the two departing partners, who are among the firm’s leading lawyers, or an alliance between the managing partner and Lauricella’s opponent was the main cause for the tension. None of the four responded to repeated requests for comment.
James Beasley Sr. was considered one of the best trial lawyers in the city and contributed $20 million to Temple Law School in 1999. However, a number of lawyers have left the firm after his death.
At one point, the firm was known as Beasley Casey Colleran Erbstein Thistle & Kline. Today, none of the referenced lawyers still practice there.
