Blessed Are The Lawyers
Bank Lawyer’s Blog:
We've previously yapped about all the litigation generated by the subprime mortgage meltdown, and how trial lawyers are in a feeding frenzy as a result. Now it appears that law firms, especially the large ones, are gearing up for yet a new sub-specialty: work thrown off by the recently passed federal bailout bill.
Designed to help struggling financial institutions, the legislation
came at an opportune time for law firms, which have been mired in their
own downturn.
Now, firms in New York, Washington, D.C., and pockets around the
country are digging into the bill and gearing up for what they hope
will be a nice bump by advising clients on the bill's nitty-gritty or
preparing documents to gain U.S. Treasury assistance.
"People are hoping this becomes the Full Employment Act for
lawyers," says law-firm marketing and organizational consultant Peter
Zeughauser.
Exactly who are these "people," Peter? Of the species Homo sapien? For most of the "people" I know, the prospect of lawyers using the generally loathed bailout bill as an opportunity to keep up the payments on their second Jaguar is a cause not for hope but for despair. If by "people" you mean "lawyers," then many human beings would argue that you're stretching the definition of the term to its outermost limits.
Assuming that people and lawyers can be lumped into the same category for discussion purposes, it's true that a lot of traditional mergers and acquisitions and asset securitization work is taking it in the nether regions, which has resulted in layoffs at even the most staid of blue-blooded Wall Street firms, and that the bailout bill offers a lifeline to barristers and solicitors alike.
"Any time you get a large-scale transfer of capital, lawyers get involved," says Mr. Zeughauser.
And their fingers get awfully sticky when so much cash is passing…