Biglaw Firm is Punishing 5 Departing Partners in Bonus Clawback Dispute, Petition Says
“Five former Nixon Peabody partners allege that their former law firm tried to punish them for jumping to DLA Piper by trying to claw back bonuses and withholding money in support of the effort,” summarizes Debra Cassens Weiss in ABA Journal’s Law Firms.
“Their mediation petition, filed Tuesday in New York state court, claims that Nixon Peabody’s bonus clawback provision restricts partners from practicing law where they choose. As a result, the provision is unenforceable under New York law, the petition says.”
“The partners resigned from Nixon Peabody in June 2019, the same month their bonuses for fiscal year 2018 were paid in full, the petition says. The partners each were awarded a bonus of $100,000 or more for fiscal year 2018, which ended Jan. 31, 2019. Nixon Peabody did not allow the partners to begin work at their new firm until July 16, 2019, according to the petition.”
