LeClairRyan’s Early Plans for Outside Investment Came Too Soon

LeClairRyan’s decision to cease operations this week came as little surprise to industry observers, but what’s less understood are the firm’s ambitions in recent years to rework the way it raises capital from partners and perhaps ultimately open itself up to outside investors.

LeClairRyan’s partnership voted to wind down the 30-year-old firm’s operations on Aug. 7 after months of partner departures and years of falling revenue.

According to several former attorneys at the firm who spoke to Bloomberg Law but requested anonymity to preserve relationships at LeClairRyan, the firm made attempts under its old leadership to break the traditional firm ...