Sep. 13, 2012
Christopher D. Sullivan
See more on Christopher D. SullivanTrepel, Greenfield, Sullivan & Draa LLP San Francisco Litigation Specialty: complex commercial, business, bankruptcy
It's been 21 months since the Heller Ehrman LLP estate sued 49 law firms, alleging they improperly collected proceeds from business Heller originated. The effects of the suits and subsequent decisions are still being felt today.
Sullivan helped the estate settle with 45 of the firms. Four suits - against Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Foley & Lardner LLP, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and Jones Day - remain.
"They definitely relate to one another. They aren't independent," he said. "You have to juggle a variety of considerations when you're handling a series of litigations with similar facts, similar parties and similar witnesses."
What made the case even more interesting was that the Heller estate was simultaneously defending itself against Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP for the same reasons it was suing other firms. That is, Brobeck was suing Heller for fees generated by six attorneys who took their unfinished work from Brobeck to Heller. As a result, Heller found itself in somewhat of a catch-22.
The potential quandary didn't faze Sullivan though, even though the situation was one of the first in history in which an estate found itself simultaneously on both sides of litigation involving alleged improperly collected proceeds. Heller eventually settled with Brobeck in October 2011 for $470,988.
While the Heller litigation wasn't the first instance of a bankrupt firm using the 1984 appellate case of Jewel v. Boxer, 156 Cal.App.3d 171 to reap profits from former partners, Sullivan said it's unique because it was such a large firm and long-standing institution in Northern California.
Additionally, the Heller estate was quick to act.
"It was unusual in the sense that [the estate] brought litigation right away," Sullivan said. "We took an approach to get the litigation going very quickly, and it has helped in the long run."
The legal industry remains grim, with major firms such as Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP closing within the past year. Because of this, Sullivan believes his work with Heller may be useful in the future to other estates.
"I think a lot of the circumstances in which Heller ended up dissolving implicated a lot of the economics and challenges that the legal industry is facing. I'm sure people will look back and use this as a guide."
Sullivan was also responsible for helping broker a $20 million settlement between the Heller estate and its lenders, Bank of America Corp. and Citibank N.A. He has helped recover more than $30 million for the Heller estate since the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2008.
- RYNE HODKOWSKI
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