Perkins Coie Latest Target of Howrey Trustee

Howrey LLP’s bankruptcy trustee has turned his attention to yet another law firm that hired Howrey partners around the time of the firm’s 2011 dissolution in an attempt to strum up money for creditors.

In a lawsuit filed Friday against Perkins Coie LLP, trustee Allan Diamond seeks a cut of the profits that he says Perkins earned thanks to nine ex-Howrey partners who joined the firm in California and Washington, D.C. both before and after Howrey disbanded.

Mr. Diamond says Howrey’s creditors are entitled to a share of the profits from the so-called unfinished business that lawyers took with them as Howrey faltered.

Of the nine partners mentioned in the suit, court papers show five have filed proofs of claim in Howrey’s bankruptcy seeking payment of between $117,000 and $625,000 each.

Neither a Perkins Coie spokesman nor the firm’s managing partner, Robert Giles, could be reached for comment Monday.

Mr. Diamond has sued at least 20 of the 70 firms that hired Howrey partners and has entered into settlement discussions with many others. So far, Mr. Diamond has struck deals to collect millions of dollars under unfinished business settlements with other firms.

The latest settlement came last week with Crowell & Moring LLP, which hired one D.C. litigation partner from Howrey. Pending court approval, the firm will pay $65,500 to Howrey’s estate, an amount that represents 17% of the gross revenue Crowell earned on matters the partner brought from Howrey.

Shearman & Sterling LLP, Venable LLP and Ropes & Gray LLP are among the other firms that have settled unfinished business claims. A handful of others, including Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Hogan & Lovells, continue to fight the claims.

Howrey officially closed its doors March 15, 2011, and creditors pushed the firm into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy the next month. The firm converted its case to Chapter 11 in June 2011.

Write to Sara Randazzo at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @sara_randazzo.