Kira Jenkins // September 30, 2019//
LeClairRyan, once Virginia’s fifth-largest law firm, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September.
On Sept. 3, LeClairRyan filed its petition in federal bankruptcy court in Richmond, just five weeks after the 31-year-old firm announced that it would shut down. In its filing, the law firm estimates its assets and liabilities range from $10 million to $50 million. It owes money to between 200 and 999 creditors.
On Sept. 12, LeClairRyan’s trustee filed a new motion to reorganize the case as a Chapter 7 liquidation, further acknowledging that the firm intends to shut down.
Founded in 1988 in Richmond as a boutique law firm serving startups, LeClairRyan at its peak employed about 385 attorneys working in 25 offices throughout the United States. Facing declining revenue, LeClairRyan this year saw many of its lawyers leave for other firms. These included co-founder Gary LeClair, who joined Williams Mullen in August.
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