After an early summer slowdown, the Dewey & LeBoeuf bankruptcy docket is beginning to hum again, with the defunct firm's liquidation trustee filing a slew of suits on Friday seeking the return of $5.7 million paid to Bank of America, several law firms, and various other vendors in the 90 days before Dewey sought chapter 11 protection, Am Law Daily reported on Friday. The dozen preference actions represent just the first wave of such litigation, says Minnesota lawyer Joseph Steinfeld, whose firm, ASK LLP, filed the Friday suits on behalf of Dewey liquidation trustee Alan Jacobs. Steinfeld says that his firm is handling 25 preference cases that Jacobs' counsel at New York firm Hahn & Hessen couldn't bring because of conflicts, and that the ultimate number of cases to be filed will be much higher. Some similar claims are being resolved outside of court, he says.
