People in the offices of both Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf Lamb have been gossiping about a possible merger between their firms.

Here’s some circumstantial evidence in support of the rumors. If you go to Whois.Net and enter the domain name DeweyLeBoeuf.com, you get this info:

We have a call and an email in to Michael Groll. We’ll let you know if and when we hear back from him.

Update: Might this be a practical joke, as one commenter suggests? Quite possibly. That’s why we’ve reached out to Mr. Groll for comment.

Further Update (4:45 PM): No, this is the real deal. About an hour after our post went up, the WSJ Law Blog chimed in with this write-up: “LeBoeuf Lamb and Dewey Ballantine are in merger talks, with an announcement of a deal expected as early as Monday, according to people familiar with the situation.”

Further Further Update (8/25/07): The New York Times has an article on the merger talks here.

More discussion, plus links, after the jump.

We’ve now covered over a third of the Vault 100 law firms in open threads. But that means we still have two-thirds to go (assuming we follow through to the end).

The next five firms are colorful. They include one firm that was featured in the Transformers movie, and another that used to employ a high-priced escort.

For your consideration (in Vault 100 order, prestige scores in parentheses):

31. Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker (6.545)
32. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP (6.352)
33. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP (6.343)
34. Winston & Strawn LLP (6.316)
35. Dewey Ballantine LLP (6.313)

Please gossip away in the comments. Thanks.

The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]

Earlier: Vault 1-5; Vault 6-10; Vault 11-15; Vault 16-20; Vault 21-25; Vault 26-30

* Last Tuesday, a civil action captioned Aaron Brett Charney v. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP was filed in New York Supreme Court — and the world of Biglaw has never been the same ever since. Click here to access the complete archives of our Aaron Charney coverage.

* Of course, Sullivan & Cromwell partners aren’t the only bosses who are jerks challenging (allegedly).

* Don’t forget the Divine Miss C, Shanetta Cutlar, whose delicious reign continues over at the Justice Department’s Special Litigation Section.

Compared to Aaron Charney and Shanetta Cutlar, other topics pale by comparison. But here are other highlights from the past week in legal news:

* Charles “Cully” Stimson apologizes for ranking on Gitmo lawyers.

* In New Orleans, trials get rescheduled for football.

* Barry Ostrager of Simpson Thacher, the renowned business litigator, has poor bathroom manners (or aim).

* The justices of the Michigan Supreme Court just can’t stop squabbling.

* Now we know the real reason — or rather, the 25 million reasons — that the Dewey Ballantine / Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe merger was scuttled.

* Third Circuit Judge Marjorie Rendell, who also serves as the First Lady of Pennsylvania, sings a duet with Jon Bon Jovi. We don’t know whether to be delighted or frightened.

After the much ballyhooed merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe fell apart, many theories were bandied about as to why the deal disintegrated. See, e.g., here.

Now, from a British legal publication, The Lawyer, we get this fascinating report:

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe chairman Ralph Baxter demanded a guaranteed $25m (£12.92m) payout over five years, had the proposed merger with Dewey Ballantine gone through, The Lawyer can reveal.

Orrick’s management drafted an employment agreement for Baxter and Dewey chairman Mort Pierce to sign, which would have committed both partners to the newly merged firm for five years.

Pierce is understood to have refused to sign, prompted by the dissatisfaction of a number of Dewey partners with the terms of the agreement.

The significant remuneration for a non-fee-earning chairman is thought to have contributed to Dewey’s decision to walk away from the merger with Orrick.

Pierce is known to be the highest earner at Dewey, earning an extra $3m (£1.54m) in one year in bonuses alone. But he is also the highest biller, averaging more than 3,000 chargeable hours a year.

Balking at Ralph Baxter’s rich demand is understandable. But in hindsight, one can’t help wonder whether Dewey shouldn’t have just bent over and grabbed its proverbial socks. The DB partners who have walked out the door in the past few weeks probably took with them books of business totalling well over Baxter’s concededly greedy demand.

But the $25 million wasn’t the end of it. Check this out:

For Dewey, the combination of Baxter’s personal demands, which also included unlimited first-class air travel for himself and at least one family member, and the perceived imbalance in terms of post-merger management were the final straw in scuppering a deal that could have produced a $1bn (£514.5m)-turnover firm, which could have been in the global top 10.

Quips an amused tipster: “I laughed when I saw Baxter’s personal demand of unlimited first class travel for him + 1.
Seriously, does he think he’s Gnarls Barkley or what?”

Revealed: Baxter killed Dewey-Orrick merger [TheLawyer.com]

Last week was short, thanks to the New Year’s holiday; but it sure was busy. Here are some highlights from a very momentous week:

* No more jokes about Harriet Miers: the ill-fated ex-SCOTUS nominee has resigned as White House counsel. Speculation about her successor abounds.

* No more jokes about the Dewy Orifice: the ill-fated merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has been called off.

* Turns out that Chief Justice Rehnquist was a painkiller junkie. Once, while suffering withdrawal symptoms, he tried to bust out of a hospital in his PJs.

* Chief Judge David Levi, of the Eastern District of California, will be the new Dean of Duke Law School.

* All About Jan? Just as the aging Margo Channing’s reign over Broadway was threatened by the comely Eve Harrington, the aging Linda Greenhouse’s reign over One First Street is being threatened by the comely Jan Crawford Greenburg.

* Who knew? Law professors and legal bloggers sure know how to party! Photos of drunken legal academics available here and here.

* Cravath partner John Beerbower has enjoyed some amazing apartments over the years. Cravath partnership + Wealthy wife = $20 million, Park Avenue pad.

* Who’s your favorite First Circuit judge? Cast your vote here.

* If you’re a right-winger hoping that Justice Stevens will step down soon, don’t hold your breath.

* Today’s D.C. Circuit: Despite the occasional catfight, it’s not as bitchy as it used to be. Sigh.

* Oppressed law clerks, your Devil Wears Prada is on its way. Coming soon to a bookstore near you: Chambermaid, by former Third Circuit clerk Saira Rao.

Why did the merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe die on the vine?

Traditional theory: Dewey’s loss of key partners, such as M&A stars Michael Aiello and Jack Bodner, made it a much less attractive merger partner. Why buy a cow after the milk has dried up? See here.

Revisionist theory: It was that godawful nickname, “Dewy Orifice” — a clear sign that the gods did not look favorably upon this union. See here.

We got our hands on the email that went around at Dewey Ballantine this afternoon, announcing the death of this combination. You can check it out after the jump.

Via the WSJ Law Blog, here’s the text of the two firms’ joint statement:

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP and Dewey Ballantine LLP have jointly decided to end merger discussions. Both firms are successful, global firms that saw great potential in a combination. However, a combination of this size and scope posed significant challenges. While both firms tried their best to work through these challenges, we were unable to bring the merger to completion. No one issue led us to this point, and each firm leaves this process with great respect for the leaders and partners of the other.

This is very bad news for Dewey. Uncertainty in the wake of the merger caused several of their top partners, including leading M&A lawyers, to leave for other firms. So Dewey is now worse off than it was before the announcement of the merger — and now without a merger partner.

At first we thought: Orrick is like a Lothario who seduced Dewey, gave her a loathsome disease, and then dumped her.

But then a Dewey tipster told us:

The word is that Orrick is unhappy with the M&A partners who have left. Mort [Pierce] asked [Ralph] Baxter to come up with a counter proposal, but Baxter [didn’t produce an adequate alternative].

So now we think: Orrick is like a Lothario who seduced Dewey, gave her a loathsome disease, and then dumped her. When Dewey asked Orrick, “Why are you dumping me?”, Orrick responded: “Why would I want you? You’re damaged goods. And you have a loathsome disease!”

Earlier: Prior coverage of the Dewey-Orrick merger (scroll down)

The planned merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has been called off. Last month, the troubled transaction was indefinitely postponed — not a good sign.

Given the unfortunate nickname that was bestowed upon the new entity, the disintegration of this deal may be just as well.

We hear that an internal email just went around at Dewey. If so, can someone please forward it to us — or post its text in the comments?

If you have tips or further details about the scuttling of this deal, please email us.

Update (12:45 PM): Orrick chairman Ralph Baxter Jr. has confirmed the news to the WSJ Law Blog.

P.S. No, we couldn’t bring ourselves to make a joke about “withdrawal from the Dewy Orifice.”

Dewey, Orrick Merger Is Off [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Prior coverage of the Dewey-Orrick merger (scroll down)

The indefinitely delayed, potentially troubled merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe isn’t being well-received by Dewey support staff.

From a Dewey Ballantine tipster:

As far we non-attorney types go, it seems like more of a hostile takeover than a merger. So far, Orrick management is calling the shots on all the administrative areas of the merger. In the meetings I have been in or have heard about, Orrick is having their way with us.

Many in Payroll, Finance and IT [information technology] have already been given hard end dates. Many others are actively looking for other positions. Orrick has their IT department in Wheeling, West Virginia, whereas Dewey’s IT department is in New York. Having met some of the Orrick IT types and, I believe that the merged firm is going to lose out in that area.

In this merger, Dewey is looking like the receptive partner — the one getting f***ed.

Update: In the meantime, Dewey continues to hemorrhage key lawyers. The WSJ Law Blog just reported that Michael Aiello, who had been one of Dewey’s top M&A partners, has left the firm for Weil Gotshal & Manges.

Top Dewey M&A Partner Decamps to Weil [WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Dewy Orifice (scroll down)

We summarized the past week in non-bonus news back in this post. Now, we provide a recap of last week in Biglaw and associate bonus news:

* In merger news, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart and Preston Gates & Ellis are combining to form “K&L Gates.”

* Meanwhile, the Dewey-Orrick merger will be delayed in its consummation.

* As for law firm associate bonuses, it was actually a pretty unexciting week, despite the flurry of announcements. With the obvious exception of Wachtell Lipton, every firm that announced essentially matched the market bonuses (as set during the prior week by Milbank).

* For the archives of our complete bonus coverage, click here, then scroll down. For bonus information about a specific firm, go to our firm-by-firm linkwrap, after the jump.

The merger between Dewey Ballantine and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe will take longer than expected. From the WSJ:

The proposed merger between law firms Dewey Ballantine LLP and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP has encountered a delay. Meanwhile, Dewey Ballantine has lost some leading partners.

The full partnerships of both firms were due to vote this month on the merger, the main terms of which were approved by both firms’ executive committees in October. But the partnership votes have been put off until mid-January, at the earliest, as the two sides work through lingering management and other issues.

So it may take a while for these partners to reach The Big O.

And that may be just as well. When it comes to these kinds of things, the ride can be as important as the destination.

Proposed Law-Firm Merger Encounters Headwinds [Wall Street Journal via WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Best Law Firm Nickname EVER
Dewey Ballantine: “We’ll Have What She’s Having”

It has been a while since our last round-up of notable moves within the legal profession. So there’s a lot to report today:

Law Firm to… Prison?

* Former Milberg Weiss name partner Steven Schulman resigned from the firm to pursue “new ventures.” The most important of these “ventures” will surely be fighting federal charges of making illegal payments to plaintiffs in past cases.

Law Firms to In-House:

* Securities lawyer Stephen Cutler is leaving his partnership at WilmerHale to become general counsel of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the banking giant. From a tipster who works in securities law: “This is a big deal.”

Colleagues of Cutler described the JP Morgan gig to the WSJ Law Blog as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. Translation: Who wouldn’t want to make mid- instead of low-seven-figures?

* Another WilmerHale departure: J. Kevin McCarthy is taking over as top lawyer of the Cowen Group, an investment bank.

Government to Private Sector:

* Former New Jersey Chief Justice Deborah Poritz joins the Princeton office of Drinker Biddle & Reath, as of counsel. She stepped down from the New Jersey Supreme Court in October, after reaching the mandatory retirement age.

Government Promotion:

* David Nocenti, current counsel to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, will become counsel to the governor effective January 1.

Academia-Biglaw Alliance:

* Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe, the renowned constitutional scholar and SCOTUS litigator, is entering into a consulting arrangement with Akin Gump.

Akin Gump is developing a Supreme Court practice. Earlier this year, they added young SCOTUS superstar Tom Goldstein to their line-up.

Lateral Moves:

* Securities-enforcement lawyer Chuck Davidow, to Paul Weiss (DC), from WilmerHale.

Another loss for WilmerHale — on top of the previously reported departure of Paul Eckert for the White House Counsel’s Office.

Why are so many partners leaving WilmerHale? A Hillary Clinton administration is still two years away.

* IP lawyer Joseph Gioconda, to DLA Piper (New York), from Kirkland & Ellis.

* Corporate lawyer Eric Lerner, to Kramer Levin, from Katten Muchin Rosenman.

* Tax lawyer Thomas Giegerich, to McDermott Will & Emery (NY), from Dewey Ballantine (about to merge with Orrick to form Dewy Orifice).

New Partners:

* Bryan Cave: Eleven new partners. Names here.

Due to the sheer number of links today, we’ve placed them after the jump.

Dewey Ballantine partners, have you no sense of decency? If your associates are going to act in completely undignified fashion, can’t you at least give them dignified surroundings in which to do so?

No amount of tinsel and mistletoe can disguise this basic truth: making out with a paralegal in the cafeteria is beyond humiliating.

Lawyers Lament Lousy Christmas-Party Plans [New York Magazine]

Lateral Moves:

* Bankruptcy and restructuring lawyer Adrian Harris, to Chadbourne & Parke (London), from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (where he headed their European insolvency and restructuring practice).

Could his departure be related to the law firm merger that will give rise to Dewy Orifice?

New Partners:

* Paul Hastings (New York): corporate lawyer Richard Denhup, litigator Jodi Kleinick, and corporate lawyer Domenick Pugliese.

In House Counsel:

* Apple Computer’s search for a replacement for Nancy Heinen as general counsel has concluded. The new hire: Donald Rosenberg, former GC of IBM.

Not content to mercilessly mock them in slick TV ads, Apple has to go after IBM’s lawyers, too.

Apple Picks IBM’s Top Lawyer for General Counsel Slot [The Recorder via Law.com]
NY Partners Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]
NY Lawyers On the Move [NYLawyer.com]

After we posted Dewey Ballantine: “We’ll Have What She’s Having,” we received this email from one of you:

Picking up on the sexual overtones of the Dewey Ballantine / Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe merger, and with apologies for how vulgar and puerile this is:

Is anyone calling the new firm Dewy Orifice?

Uh, we are!

(A Google search for “dewy orifice” suggests that it has not yet been used to refer to the post-merger entity. But that’s about to change, as soon as Google picks up this post.)

Earlier: Dewey Ballantine: “We’ll Have What She’s Having”

We often compare law firm mergers to weddings. And other folks do, too.

So if law firm mergers are marriages, how do they get consummated? Enough about the wedding; what about the honeymoon?

One ATL reader had some thoughts on the matter:

Sorry to continue to batter you with sexual innuendo, but Law.com — which told us yesterday that “size does matter” — is at it again.

This time they’re talking about the Dewey Ballantine / Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe merger. Zusha Elinson’s article starts off as follows:

“Maybe you’ve heard about The Big ‘O’ — the green one that’s as dear to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as the swoosh is to Nike.”

“The Big O” — for Orrick. Not to be confused, notes our correspondent, with “that special place between a first date and a shotgun wedding.”

(A double entendre in the lede — how risqué! If you’re still not getting it, click here, third item down.)

Apparently Orrick decided it would let Dewey Ballantine have the right side of the bed — err, firm name — as long as Orrick got to gloat about its big “O.” Voila, Dewey Orrick is born, with Orrick’s big green “O” as the logo of their love.

Here’s where Law.com goes a little overboard — and by overboard, I mean “How can we turn the most innocuous sentence into proclamations of much glorious sexytime”:

“Orrick put a lot of time and energy — and symbolism — into that simple circle.”

“Because the O is analogous to circle, it’s a continuum that has all kinds of evocative power,” said Norm Rubenstein, who was Orrick’s chief marketing officer when the mark was designed. “It also suggests the globe, which signifies the firm’s global reach.”

I may be mistaken about what Norm means by “the firm’s global reach,” but I’m sure that when combined with “a lot of time and energy,” it has “evocative power.”

Well! And finally, for filing under “too much information,” our reader adds:

For the record, if Law.com really wants to know, I have indeed heard of the big “O.” Unfortunately for my wife, she has not. Thank God for iron-clad prenuptial agreements.

We feel badly for the poor wife of this reader. She doesn’t know what she’s missing!

The Power of a Logo [The Recorder via Law.com]
Big O [Wikipedia]
Orgasm [Wikipedia]

Earlier: At Least They’re Not Merging With Cheetham & Howe