The liquidating trustee of defunct law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf is arguing his clawback suit against two former firm leaders should not be stayed while they face criminal charges because there is little overlap between the criminal and bankruptcy cases — and because every delay diminishes recovery for creditors, the New York Law Journal reported today. "The trustee's urgency in pursuing these claims is heightened by the real risk that [Joel Sanders and Stephen DiCarmine's] assets will dry up while they scramble to defend themselves against the criminal charges and other potential lawsuits," trustee Alan Jacobs said in papers filed July 4 in Southern District Bankruptcy Court. Jacobs is seeking more than $21.8 million from Sanders, the firm's former CFO, and DiCarmine, former executive director, in Jacobs v. DiCarmine, 13-01765. Jacobs claims that the former executives' employment contracts awarded them exorbitant compensation that required nothing in return.
