Friday, January 29, 2010

Layoffs at SDW

Those in the comments were right. I just got an email confirming that SDW laid off three attorneys over the past couple of weeks. One was definitely transactional and I believe the other two were litigation.

Please correct me if I am wrong (as I know you will).

Does anyone else know more about the story? Is SDW slow? Shouldn't amazing things have happened when they brought over the legendary litigation rainmaker Dennis Haney?

24 comments:

  1. Not to mention the 6 that left for Lewis Brisbois a couple weeks back.

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  2. What about Ogletree Deakins raiding Lewis & Roca and Fisher Phillips.

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  3. On Wednesday, Zmaila's assistant sent out an email that Zmaila was leaving SDW effective today (1/29).

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  4. Heard recently that a partner at SDW is taking his entire work comp defense practice over to Lewis Brisbois

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  5. I am sure it has nothing to do with their horrific customer service. Their clients hate them and they are losing business faster than they can land it.

    Theyre in real trouble.

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  6. hmmm, I have some friends at SDW and it seems like there is some misinformation out there. I heard the workers comp group left a few weeks ago, Zmaila has been gone for months. I think any associates leaving were in conjunction with those two moves.

    I've never been a client of SDW but I think there are some good attorneys there.

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  7. SDW? What's the full name?

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  8. Santorro, Driggs and somebody.

    I heard that the Work Comp. Division left because they were creating to many conflict scenarios for their general liability defense.

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  9. Customer service? LOL, it's a law firm not Applebees. They have clients, not customers. And I'm sure they don't ignore the good ones. Next you'll be disappointed if the attorneys at SDW don't wear 37 pieces of flair.

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  10. To 2:45 P.M. -- If that's true, it doesn't say much for Lewis Brisbois. Santoro, Driggs had work comp ethical conflicts with general liability defense clients, but Lewis Brisbois wouldn't? Isn't like 99.5% of Lewis Brisbois' work, insurance defense related?

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  11. Forgive my ignorance, but how could a worker's comp defense practice create a bunch of conflicts for the CGL practice? Are the plaintiff's in worker's comp generally hurt individuals, and not the type who would carry CGL insurance?

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  12. I'm just telling what I heard but alot of times the work comp carrier also sells general liability insurance. At the risk of an incomplete hypothetical... What if i'm injured on the job by a third party who I could make a tort claim against. If that third party has the same insurance company that handles my employers work comp then my firm loses the tort claim that would've paid better

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  13. it makes sense. How often does somebobdy take a book of business and not get sued? We are talkin about lawyers

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  14. 250, 1108 here.

    My guess is you'll never run your own practice or make substantial rain, with that attitude. Clients need a little "Welcome to Appleby's" on occasion.

    Anytime you service clients or customers. When I started my own firm 8 years ago, my biggest source of new clients were from the firm I left, because I "serviced" them far better than my former bosses. Not results-wise necessarily
    But with the little things, listening anf returning phone calls, even when there is no news or bad news.

    From personal knowledge, the partners (management, especially) are not taking care of several good long time clients.

    I also have good information that they are having huge problems collecting fees. As I said, they are in trouble.

    That's a problem.

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  15. I have always thought Santoro, Driggs had several very good partners, many of whom I wouldn't mind having at my shop. I also thought, however, that they grew awfully fast over the past few years. I must admit, a few years back I was somewhat envious of such growth, but I guess in hindsight growth--at least on such a scale--may not have been healthy. It reminds me of what occurred at the old KKBRF--unsustainable and very specific to a practice area that has all but dried up, and will remain as such for the near future. Just my $.02.

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  16. 9:02,

    When you started your own firm, did you skimp on things to devote more time to client services - like say spell check?

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  17. Ferst rulo uf flight cub: Whn uve gut nothin importent tu sey, attatck splling.

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  18. 10:28,

    When you first started acting like a douchebag, did your parents skimp on things you needed--to devote more time to themselves-- like say a personality?

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  19. I am Jack's distain for poor grammar. ;)

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  20. SDW is defending a PI case I have against a hotel client. They are playing "full-court D" filing motion after motion, demands for sanctions on everything, etc. Having done some defense work I can respect putting on a heavy defense, from a client perspective there's a lot of money being burned:
    with the stack of motions they've already filed, they have likely billed to the hotel 2-3x my client's medical costs and we're only a few months into the case.

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  21. Sounds like any insurance defense playbook about papering the file. A client really can't dispute paying for a legal brief. The kings of that strategy is LBB&S, except they do it on cases with burning limits to erode the policy as quickly as possible. Ethical? Not likely.

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  22. Their biggest mistake was bringing in the "rainmaker."

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  23. Three lay-offs? I heard that only one was laid off. A second person leaving was a member of the workers comp group who chose not to go to LBBS. The third person who left the firm did so on their own, joining another smaller firm several weeks back.

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  24. 1028

    Come on. Obe typo while typing a mile long blog post from my crackberry and you're gonna douche bag me in public ?

    I am talking from personal knowledge here.

    Get a grip.

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