Over at Legal Blog Watch, a rundown of what “blawgers” are saying about the arrest of Marc Dreier and the meltdown of Dreier LLP:
At Legal Watercooler, Heather Milligan, who interviewed for a position with the firm years ago and knew several folks who worked there, says she watched the firm’s growth over the years and started to believe that its alternative business model (no billable requirements and partners who could bill what they wanted) could work. Until this incident, that is, which destroyed not just a law firm, but possibly the belief that an alternative practice could work:
I think, “How many of these partners will be willing to take a risk again on an alternative business plan?” How many will simply return to the safety of mind & grind or “eat what you kill”?
Meanwhile, Scott Greenfield, whose friend works at a company represented by Dreier, remarks on the trickle-down effect of the firm’s demise:
The ramifications of this raiding of the escrow account will send shockwaves throughout the legal world. The Lawyers Fund for Client Protection only covers up to $300,000 in losses, so Lion Button, with $1.6 million missing, is screwed but good, and stands to collapse for loss of its working capital. Worse still, the faith the businesses repose in lawyer escrow accounts, particularly with Biglaw and Big Deals, may be fatally undermined as a result of this fiasco.
Via Legal Blog Watch.