Former Dewey & LeBoeuf partner Jane Boisseau testified that the firm used her $621,000 in equity capital in 2010 to offset firm expenses in violation of the now-defunct firm’s partnership agreement, and also broke a written promise to repay a capital loan that the firm encouraged her to take, the American Lawyer reported on Friday. Boisseau also testified that neither she nor Dewey & LeBoeuf’s executive committee — a board composed of the firm’s most senior partners and a few rainmakers — were ever informed about the multimillion-dollar contracts guaranteeing future compensation for former executive director Stephen DiCarmine and ex-chief financial officer Joel Sanders. The six-year financial incentive agreements signed by Dewey & LeBoeuf chair Steven Davis in 2007, projected on a screen by assistant district attorney Peirce Moser, secured millions of dollars in income to DiCarmine and Sanders over the years and guaranteed them money even if the firm collapsed. Those contracts guaranteed DiCarmine $950,000 in base salary and Sanders $900,000 in base salary up to Dec. 31, 2013. The contracts also guaranteed an additional $200,000 to each defendant, plus bonuses depending on Dewey & LeBoeuf’s performance.
