The gloves are off in the dissolution of Altheimer & Gray.
Creditors of the midsize Chicago-based firm, known for its corporate work and the hundreds of lawyers who once worked there, filed a Chapter 7 liquidation petition late last week. It forced Altheimer into involuntary bankruptcy just as the firm was on the verge of closing on the sale of its foreign offices to Salans, a 400-lawyer European law firm based in Paris.
Although a number of law firms have dissolved in recent years, due in part to the difficult economy, it is unusual for a dissolving law firm to go into bankruptcy. But the Altheimer case may be part of a developing trend toward more aggressive enforcement of creditor rights.
The ABA Journal reports the details here.