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Dewey Ballantine is a classic New York law firm - but that doesn't make it plain vanilla. Suer of the tobacco industry and proud counsel to Disney, Dewey Ballantine also has a strong international orientation. History: shifting names, steady firm Dewey Ballantine's history spans more than 90 years and is marked by a startling number of name changes. The firm was founded in 1909 as Root, Clark & Bird, and went through 12 separate name changes before settling on its current name, Dewey Ballantine LLP, in October 1997. (Incidentally, the Dewey in the firm name refers to the very same Thomas Dewey who ran unsuccessful presidential campaigns against Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.) Dewey Ballantine has proven itself to be a forward-looking firm. In 1984 it was the first tenant to agree to buy and occupy 250,000 square feet in one of the four towers of a new Times Square development. At the time, Times Square was a squalid area, a far cry from the Disneyfied tourist attraction that we know today (we'll return to the topic of Disney shortly). In the 1980s and 1990s Dewey Ballantine grew by poaching laterals from other law firms. Conquests included 16 lawyers in 1988 from the leveraged buyout firm Lane & Edson (giving Dewey excellent M&A ability); three corporate insurance specialists from LeBoeuf, Lamb Greene & MacRae in 1989, 10 securities lawyers from Winston & Strawn in 1994, and eight partners from White & Case, including that firm's former head of litigation, in 1995. Six lawyers from the now-defunct Donovan Leisure joined Dewey's M&A practice in 1998 and in June 1999, the firm lured leading tech and Internet attorney John Keitt from Rogers & Wells to its New York partnership. Dewey over yonder Dewey Ballantine hasn't neglected overseas opportunities for growth. In 1996 the firm ended its five-year association with British firm Theodore Goddard. Cutting its losses? No, Dewey Ballantine initiated the breakup, planning to expand its London office and hire both U.S. and U.K. lawyers. In February 2000, the firm sent New York-based partners Doug Getter and Louise Roman Bernstein to London to attempt to strengthen its M&A practice there (and perhaps to offset the loss of several U.K. attorneys poached by other British firms). Dewey aims to lengthen its list of energy clients in the European market, focusing on oil and gas work on the other side of the ocean. The Kodak suit One of Dewey's biggest cases in international trade in recent years was the high-profile 1995 suit against Fuji for non-competitive practices. Dewey's client, Kodak, alleged that its main competitor, Fuji Film, controlled Japan's film market with the cooperation of the Japanese government. Dewey lawyers compiled a massive 250-page document detailing Fuji's infractions. Among other allegations, the document accused Fuji of offering rebates to the four distributors handling close to 70 percent of Japan's film and photographic paper, a disincentive to carry Kodak film. While Dewey Ballantine lawyers convinced the United States government to file a complaint with the World Trade Organization, in December 1997 the World Trade Organization ruled that Kodak, Dewey, and the U.S. government had not proven that the Japanese government had directly impaired Kodak's competitive rights. In July 1998, Dewey Ballantine sent an angry letter to the U.S. Trade Representative's office, charging that the adverse decision was made not by the WTO panel but by the WTO secretariat, who, according to Dewey, "lacked both the competence and the mandate to do so." Loving the mouse No jokes about Mickey Mouse business! Dewey is fortunate that media empire Disney is a major client. In 1995 partner and M&A head Morton Pierce and a team of Dewey lawyers performed an amazing feat, putting together Disney's takeover of Capital Cities/ABC in three and a half days. The gigantic $19 billion deal would have normally taken months. Pierce got a call from Disney on Thursday, July 27. The company wanted a completed agreement by Monday to surprise the stock markets. As soon as the firm got the call, it turned its Midtown New York office into a veritable legal factory. Twenty lawyers took over a floor of the firm, turning out the first draft of the agreement overnight. A support staff of about 30 secretaries, receptionists and paralegals were on duty 24 hours a day, and the kitchen served breakfast, lunch and dinner to the toiling attorneys. "We became a little village unto ourselves," Pierce told The American Bar Association Journal. Dewey attorneys (and Cap Cities/ABC counsel Cravath) avoided the use of their cellular phones to prevent leaks. The deal went smoothly and the 51-page agreement was approved at 2:30 on Monday morning. Milking startups However, in keeping with its forward-looking tradition, Dewey represents its share of emerging growth companies. The firm has stuck its toe into the frothy Internet pool. For example, the firm handled the IPO for online music retailer N2K, Inc., and counseled Sony when it acquired (along with Time Warner Inc.) another music merchant website, CDNow Inc., in August 1999. To catch up to San Francisco firms, Dewey has even considered alternate fee agreements. "A smaller firm might be willing to accept equity in lieu of cash payments," partner Frank Morgan told Crain's New York Business in February 1999, adding, "It's not something historically we have done, but it is something that could be considered."
Personable and smart As with most top firms, grades are "the biggest driving force" behind the hiring of law students, though "Dewey isn't a hard grade place like other firms." Those ranking in the top "20 to 30 percent" of their classes can get a look from Dewey Ballantine. Suggests one litigator: "I think Dewey looks for very smart people who are also personable." One contact describes the background of Dewey attorneys: "The firm would like to hire only from top-tier schools, but due to the hot job market, Dewey must hire law review types from lesser NYC and regional schools while attracting a fair number of students from Columbia, NYU, Duke, and Harvard that are not at the top of their class." Another interviewee sees the diversity of law school origins as a strength, a sign that "Dewey does a great job at recognizing talent. Although it may be a symptom of the current market, Dewey recruits and hires from schools across the country and doesn't appear to operate under the mistaken assumption that great lawyers come only from three or four schools." First rounds with partners First-round interviews on campus are performed solely by Dewey partners and senior associates. In the second round, candidates visit the office of interest to them and interview with Dewey lawyers. An insider suggests that prospective Deweyites take advantage of this second round to "meet with the people you will be working with." That contact opines that "the associates are generally very open and forthcoming with their descriptions of the work environment and what is expected of you. There is little cutthroat competition or backstabbing."
Pay to stay Although Dewey has coughed up the cash to match other New York competitors, now offering associates $125,000 their first year, a number of associates grumble about the inexact nature of the compensation packages. "We have been told that our bonus will be between 5K and 50K. Other than that, we have very little guidance about the amount or what is required of us to earn the bonus," explains a first-year tax attorney. A corporate colleague concurs that "the bonus criteria following the early 2000 salary hikes have not been announced, but it's been intimated that they will be discretionary and will be hours-based, at least in part." "The uncertainty of bonus levels is problematic because associates cannot determine beforehand whether we will be paid competitive salaries," gripes an M&A newcomer. To each his own Dewey prides itself on office space that makes associates want to come to work. A corporate finance first-year enthuses that "Dewey's offices are probably the best I've ever seen. I got my own office after only working five months." Generally, "associates share an office for the first six months (which can be cramped) but are then moved into attractive and (relatively) large private offices." While "the carpet should probably be replaced" and "the art leaves something to be desired," a second-year says "the firm is well-maintained and attractive - it's rare to come across huge piles of documents littering a hallway or a conference room that looks like somebody has been living in there for a few years." A poor soul from the M&A sector begs for "brighter light bulbs in the hallways, please!" Structured socializing In its fight to remain one of New York's power players, has Dewey Ballantine sacrificed its sense of collegiality to focus on bottom-line profits? A second-year litigator suggests that "Dewey used to have a very casual and more sociable atmosphere. In the last year or two, however, the environment has changed to the point where although it is not a stuffy environment, it definitely is not as distinct from all the other top large New York firms like it once was." Women and minorities are 'non-issues' When it comes to questions of diversity, a number of Dewey associates say gender, race, and sexual orientation "seem to be non-issues." The firm "seems like a great place for women," offers a real estate associate. A litigator muses, however, that even though "I haven't really noticed a problem, I do work mostly with men and have never worked with a female partner." The same real estate first-year says, "Dewey makes a great effort" to recruit minorities, but a sixth-year colleague "would have to conclude that the firm could do more." And as for gays and lesbians, "the firm doesn't actively recruit nor discourage," leading several associates to speculate that Dewey's attitude is "neutral to receptive" on the point. At least one attorney finds "people here to bend over backwards to be accommodating," having brought his same-sex partner to all firm events and being "wonderfully received." What's next, Saville Row? Dewey is not the only firm to have instituted a casual dress code for the summer season, but it may be one of the only ones to "negotiate corporate rates with Brooks Brothers." If BB doesn't do it for you, don't worry - "there's a good balance of people dressing conservatively and on the trendier side." But keep in mind this is still a corporate law firm. "Trendier" may mean "typical Banana Republic or J. Crew dress;" attorney tastes "run the gamut from Homer Simpson to Beau Brummell." We're good enough, we're smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like us Dewey has a "very solid corporate practice, with its M&A getting the most attention," says one from that department. And "though not as high-profile as the corporate side, litigation handles many 'big' cases such as the tobacco litigation and Novartis." The firm has an "undeserved reputation for being snobby," notices a litigator, but other than that, "in all of its practice areas, DB is regarded as stellar - and rightly so."
William Davis Legal Personnel and Recruitment Manager (212) 259-7328
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson;Shearman & Sterling;Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom;White & Case;Willkie Farr & Gallagher More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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