"It's been an eventful year for Willkie Farr & Gallagher. The firm bent the knee to Donald Trump, pledging $100 million in pro bono payola to avoid having to stand up to the administration's attack on Biglaw. That decision didn't sit well with the firm's own attorneys, triggering a mass exodus of West Coast partners who fled to Cooley rather than work for a firm they saw as compromising the rule of law."
"Willkie's relationship with Kahn has been star-crossed for a while. Last February, a Delaware bankruptcy judge removed Willkie from serving as bankruptcy counsel for Franchise Group after amidst concerns about the firm's conflicts of interest. As the judge noted at the time, Willkie failed to create any ethical walls until after the conclusion of the take-private deal, meaning all the knowledge gained by the firm from that transaction was properly "imputed to the firm as a whole.""
Willkie Farr & Gallagher pledged $100 million in pro bono work tied to the Trump administration, prompting disagreement among firm attorneys. Many West Coast partners left for Cooley, citing objections to the firm's conduct. BRC Group Holdings filed a $735 million lawsuit alleging Willkie aided and abetted fraud in a 2023 take-private transaction involving Franchise Group, operator of Pet Supplies Plus. The complaint alleges founder Brian Kahn ran a sophisticated fraud to secure funds used to pay prior legal debts; Kahn's wife is named. BRC seeks disgorgement of Willkie's fees. A Delaware judge removed Willkie as bankruptcy counsel over conflicts, noting the firm failed to institute ethical walls until after the deal.
Read at Above the Law
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