Once-storied law firm, now dissolved, files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Once a storied Nevada law firm known for its gaming expertise, Lionel Sawyer & Collins dissolved last month as 18 of its lawyers moved to Fennemore Craig.
Now the firm, which was formed in 1947 and had more than 80 attorneys on its roster at one time, has made a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. The petition lists $931,626 in assets and some $3.37 million in debt. Top on the list is $2.82 million owed to the firm’s only secured creditor, Western Alliance Bank, reports the Am Law Daily (sub. req.). An earlier Am Law Daily story provides additional details.
Former Lionel Sawyer partner and former U.S. senator Richard Bryan started at Fennemore Craig last month. He noted, at that time, his former firm’s role in training dozens of prominent lawyers, but said corporate legal shops tend to be bigger and geographically more diverse these days.
“The clients are increasingly in multiple jurisdictions,” Bryan told the Am Law Daily. “It becomes far more attractive to say, ‘Yes, we have an office in Phoenix or Denver, we can take care of that for you.’”
