Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, the No. 3 law firm adviser to banks handling merger deals, is nearing an April 30 deadline to show bank lenders it has a survival plan, possibly including absorption by another firm or cost-cutting.
Dewey, based in New York, has lost about 72 partners in recent months amid complaints about pay and a plan to restructure the firm. It has drawn about $75 million of a $100 million credit line from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. (C) (C), according to a person familiar with the firm’s finances. The banks extended an initial April 16 deadline to come up with a plan, according to another person familiar with a merger proposal Dewey has presented to other law firms.
Last month, as defections mounted, Dewey restructured its chairman’s office to include the heads of four practice groups in addition to Chairman Steven Davis. The group includes Martin Bienenstock, who runs the firm’s restructuring group; Rich Shutran, head of the corporate department; Jeffrey Kessler, head of litigation; and Charles Landgraf, who runs the Washington office and the legislative and public policy group.
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