Law Firms' Appeal of Coudert Bros. Clawback Ruling Could Benefit Former Dewey Partners, Too
A federal judge in Manhattan gave the green light on Thursday to an interlocutory appeal by several BigLaw firms concerning her ruling that the Coudert Brothers estate could seek to claw back profits from legal matters its former attorneys took to other law firms.
U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon said that further guidance was needed not only from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but from the New York Court of Appeals concerning what she described as an unsettled question of law. It is whether and to what extent a bankrupt law firm has a right to make a clawback claim, Reuters reports.
The 2nd Circuit is expected to take the matter up within 10 days, Among the law firms appealing McMahon’s earlier ruling are DLA Piper and Dechert.
Any appellate ruling on the clawback issue is also likely to affect former partners of Dewey & LeBoeuf, the Reuters article notes.
