UK Lawyers Assess Impact Of Brobeck's Collapse

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

14 February 2003

Questioned by the Legal Week news service following the recent dramatic collapse of West Coast technology-focused law firm, Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, around a third of the UK lawyers polled believe that a top 50 UK firm will break up over the coming year.

The collapse of Brobeck arguably represents the final nail in the coffin of the tech boom, and assessing the unorthodox practices of the West Coast law firm - which reportedly included taking shares in lieu of fees - 67% of respondents in the Legal Week survey suggested that the company, and others like it had done more harm than good to the practise and image of business law.

However, just 2% of UK professionals thought that organisations such as Brobeck have had a major impact on the way that business law is practised in the United Kingdom.

According to Legal Week, 38% of the lawyers polled cited over-reliance on a single market as the reason for the company's collapse, whilst 33% suggested that over-expansion was the problem.

Looking back earlier this month on the business in its heyday, the San Francisco Business Times revealed that:

'During the tech boom, Brobeck's fortunes had soared in dazzling fashion. Partners in 2000 averaged more than $1 million each - and the firm's atmosphere reflected it. Brobeck co-signed home loans for attorneys, flew partners and their families to Hawaii for retreats and handed out $1,000 checks to staff on Valentine's Day.'

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