The administrator for the now-defunct Coudert Brothers LLP can’t seek fees earned from former partners who now work at other firms, a federal appeals court in New York held, Bloomberg News reported today. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit yesterday reversed a ruling by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon, who had found that “the uncompleted client matters were assets of Coudert, and as such recoverable by the bankruptcy estate.” The circuit court relied on a July 1 opinion from the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, which held that the profit on unfinished business can’t be considered the property of a firm that has filed for bankruptcy. That court made the ruling because it had surfaced in the bankruptcy of Thelen LLP as well as Coudert. The administrator, Development Specialists Inc., was seeking fees from firms including Dechert LLP, Morrison & Foerster LLP and K&L Gates LLP. The group of firms is represented by Miller & Wrubel PC.
