The messy collapse of the mega-firm Dewey & LeBoeuf has claimed another casualty, and this time it’s one of the defunct law firm’s leading rainmakers, according to a New York Times analysis on Saturday. John J. Altorelli, now co-head of the U.S. finance practice at DLA Piper, the world’s largest firm measured by revenue, was among Dewey & LeBoeuf’s most important rainmakers, the term used to denote partners who land clients. At his peak, he was credited with generating more than $33 million in annual revenue for the firm. In 2011 alone, his compensation was $6 million. That same year, the firm was so eager to keep him as a partner that it offered a contract guaranteeing him $5 million a year for three years. His departure from Dewey & LeBoeuf in April 2012 was a precipitating factor in the firm’s collapse, which came soon after, in May 2012. Despite all these trappings of success, Altorelli, who is 57, filed for personal bankruptcy protection on Nov. 25 in Connecticut, where he owns a sprawling home currently on the market for $3.9 million. In a cautionary tale for any firm that may be contemplating a bankruptcy filing, the trustee overseeing Dewey & LeBoeuf’s bankruptcy is suing him for $12.9 million. He’s surrounded by lawyers and is personally responsible for his legal fees. He’s been grilled by prosecutors and cited as a potential witness in the pending criminal trial against Dewey & LeBoeuf’s former leaders. The Internal Revenue Service is also investigating him.
