Law Firm Unfinished Business Doctrine ‘Finished’

The D.C. Court of Appeals put to rest the question of who owns the unfinished business from Howrey’s meltdown, and it’s not the estate.

It’s the third appellate ruling that bankrupt or dissolved law firms don’t have a property interest in hourly billed client matters former partners brought with them to their new firms.

New York, California, and Washington, D.C., where the vast majority of AmLaw 200 law firms operate, agree it’s the client who owns the business, not the firm.

The ruling also ends a 35-year-old doctrine that influenced law firm bankruptcies and lawyer mobility across the country until ...