Bankruptcy Law
‘Fat Cats Keep Getting Fatter,’ Says Lawyer for Workers at Failed Heller Firm
Posted Aug 4, 2009, 11:00 am CST
By Martha Neil
Insufficient efforts are being made to pursue accounts receivable for the dissolving Heller Ehrman, former employees complain in a leaked letter (PDF) to the government lawyer in charge of selecting the unsecured creditors committee in law firm's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.
They are seeking a nonpartner representative on the committee, contending that former partners representing ex-Heller clients at new law firms have a financial disincentive to encourage these clients to pay their earlier Heller bills, reports the Recorder, in a reprint of a Legal Pad blog post.
The letter is signed by Craig Collins, a litigator representing former Heller employees. His law partner, Steve Blum, says he didn't leak the missive and offered one further comment to the legal publication: "Fat cats keep getting fatter."
Attorney Thomas Willoughby, who represents the creditors committee, says the letter is "misinformed." Confidential settlement negotiations with former partners are ongoing, he states.