Lawyers

Heller Ehrman LLP Loses Battle to Recoup Profits from Unfinished Work
Download PDF
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Heller Ehrman LLP

A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that defunct law firm Heller Ehrman LLP does not have the right to profits from any unfinished legal work that its ex-partners brought with them to new firms, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Judge Charles Breyer issued his ruling on Wednesday and dismissed the lawsuits filed by the Heller trustee against the firms of Profile” href=”https://www.lawcrossing.com/article/7312/Davis-Wright-Tremaine-LLP/” target=”_blank”>Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Jones Day, Foley & Lardner LLP and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

  
What
Where


Judge Breyer wrote the following in his ruling: “Heller ceased to be able to represent its clients, leaving them with no choice but to seek representation elsewhere. Defendants came to the rescue of these clients and provided them with legal services on ongoing matters. . . Defendants did the work that generated the fees at issue here. With the Defendants those fees should stay.â€

This ruling could help arguments made by law firms that hire partners from defunct firms who are sued for profits stemming from unfinished work. Firms claim that this practice restricts the ability of clients to choose which lawyer they wish to hire and restricts the mobility of lawyers.

A Jones Day partner from the case, Shay Dvoretzky, said, “A firm that dissolves simply has no right to profits that somebody else earns on a client matter that the old firm abandoned. This is a very well-reasoned opinion by a respected district judge, and I hope it will be persuasive to other judges considering similar issues on other law firm bankruptcies.â€

Get JD Journal in Your Mail

Subscribe to our FREE daily news alerts and get the latest updates on the most happening events in the legal, business, and celebrity world. You also get your daily dose of humor and entertainment!!




Earlier this year, the bankruptcy judge presiding over the Heller case rejected the claims by the firms mentioned in this post, ruling in favor of Heller.

Christopher Sullivan, who represents Heller’s estate, said, “We continue to believe the bankruptcy court was correct, and we expect there will be an appeal.â€



Looking for bankruptcy attorney jobs? If so, browse here to find all the available positions.



 

RELEVANT JOBS

Associate Attorney

USA-PA-Exton

ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY McKenna Snyder LLC, a law firm in Exton, PA has an immediate opening for an ex...

Apply now

Attorney

USA-MI-Sturgis

Qualifications: HaasCaywood is seeking associate attorneys for our Coldwater and Sturgis, Michiga...

Apply now

Attorney

USA-MI-Coldwater

Qualifications: HaasCaywood is seeking associate attorneys for our Coldwater and Sturgis, Michiga...

Apply now

Deputy General Counsel / Senior Deputy General Counsel

USA-CA-Sacramento

Cal Cities Culture and Mission Cal Cities is dedicated to creating a collaborative and inclusive ...

Apply now

BCG FEATURED JOB

Locations:

Keyword:



Search Now

Education Law Attorney

USA-CA-El Segundo

El Segundo office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law attorney with ...

Apply Now

Education Law Attorney

USA-CA-Carlsbad

Carlsbad office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law attorney with 4-...

Apply Now

Education Law and Public Entity Attorney

USA-CA-El Segundo

El Segundo office of a BCG Attorney Search Top Ranked Law Firm seeks an education law and public ent...

Apply Now

Most Popular

SEARCH IN ARCHIVE

To Top