Blog Chronicles ‘BigLaw Dead Pool’
Remember Finley Kumble? It collapsed in 1987, long before the more recent dissolutions of firms such as Heller Ehrman, Thelen and now Howrey.
The blog Law Shucks hasn’t forgotten. It has put together a list of failed firms and linked to articles on their demise.
The articles contain some interesting history, including these tidbits:
• When Pettit & Martin confirmed layoffs in 1991, it may have been the first law firm to do so, according to a Recorder story.
• Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine was so traditional that it had served tea and cookies every afternoon, the New York Times reported. About 40 of its 60 lawyers went to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
• An exodus of eight partners and eight associates was “the fatal blow” for Bogle & Gates in 1999, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
