Heller Associate to Law Blog: “People Are Generally Pretty Sad”

[WSJ_law_blog]

We just got off the phone with a junior associate who works in one of Heller’s satellite offices. According to an e-mail sent out today to Heller Ehrman employees, the firm plans to wind up its affairs and stop doing business by November 28.

So what’s the mood like? “People are generally pretty sad,” said the associate, “particularly the ones that have been here for a big part of their career. The chairman, Matt Larrabee, when he spoke yesterday, you could tell he was a little shaken up.” He continued: “There’s definitely been a pattern of attrition among the partnership ranks, and we’ve had the sense that things were unstable. Later, I realized through various blogs and information presented by various partners that the firm needed a merger to stay afloat. As far as the dissolution, I didn’t think it would come to that until the Mayer Brown merger failed.”

What comes next? As for the impending job hunt, the associate said there’s been no organized effort to place lawyers. “I guess it’s a bit of a waiting game,” he said, “because shareholders of the firm are still shopping themselves and their practice groups.” At yesterday’s meeting, the associate said, Larrabee indicated Baker & McKenzie was interested in “taking some lawyers from all of the domestic offices.” But the associate was not optimistic that he’d be included in a practice-group move. “Being so junior, I’m not holding out much hope,” he said. “I haven’t worked so closely with any one partner that I’d be viewed as indispensable.”

[When we ran this by Matt Larrabee, he declined to mention specific firms but said that a “significant number of firms are actively pursuing groups of lawyers in several of our offices.” He added: “I believe the vast majority of our lawyers are going to land on their feet.”]

And what about the paychecks? The associate told us that the 60-day severance comes with no “qualified assurances that the checks will clear,” though the expectation is that they should be able to pay everyone. He added: “I definitely think people are really worried. This is not really a great job market for anyone, and we don’t even have an assurance that we’ll get paid for the next 60 days. Many of my law school colleagues have debt, and don’t necessarily have a huge reserve of savings that can carry them through several months.”

[To this, Larrabee responded that the “cash is in hand and the checks are good.” He said: “The plan of dissolution, which we’re voting on right now, is built on the premise that we’ll pay them. We held a shareholder meeting today, and presented a formal plan of dissolution for the firm. It was unanimously approved by our policy committee last night, and is now being voted upon by the shareholders.”]

For the next two months, does he need to come in? “I think at this point I just need to go clear out my office,” he said. “I don’t need to show up anymore.” [He later clarified: “My expectation is that there won’t be much for me to do over the next couple of months. This doesn’t mean that I will approach my responsibility with a careless attitude.”]

[But according to Larrabee, “Dissolution doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a firm. We’re winding down the business, but we’re doing it in a way where we’re going to continue to serve our clients as our lawyers find new homes.” As for his own future, he said, “I’m still absolutely focused on finding jobs for our people across the firm. That’s my number one priority right now.”]