Legal News

Bear and Block: Do Client Relationships Persist Post-Merger?

By Dan Slater

Last night, LB colleague Nathan Koppel posted on how the disappearance of Bear Sterns may affect law firms that have reaped rich fees from Bear in the past. Among the firms mentioned was Cadwalader, which is expected to enjoy a short-term boost in work from Bear, since partner Dennis Block is counseling the bank in the J.P. Morgan deal (along with lawyers from Skadden and S&C). But what happens after the deal is consummated, and Bear is no longer?

According to Block, not necessarily much. In an interview today with Koppel, Block played down the risk of losing work. “I’ve known and worked for senior and junior people [at Bear] for decades,” Block said. “If you do good work for corporations and develop good relationships, those people when they land someplace else will look to you to help them.”

Hey, LB’ers, what’s your experience? When corporate clients dissolve, does the legal work go with them?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 18, 2008 (boomark / email).