Well,
that
escalated
quickly.
Six
weeks
after
announcing
it
would
shut
down
after
more
than
50
years
in
business,
McGlinchey
Stafford
has
filed
for
bankruptcy.
This
isn’t
a
reorganization
play.
It’s
a
Chapter
7
filing,
meaning
the
firm
is
liquidating
its
remaining
assets
to
satisfy
creditors.
Court
documents
show
McGlinchey
has
between
200
and
999
creditors,
with
both
assets
and
liabilities
estimated
somewhere
between
$10
million
and
$50
million.
In
other
words,
this
is
not
a
tidy
wrap-up.
The
Times-Picayune
has
additional
information:
Several
attorneys
familiar
with
the
situation
who
were
not
authorized
to
comment
publicly
on
the
case
said
the
firm
did
not
initially
plan
to
file
for
bankruptcy
when
it
announced
it
was
closing.
As
it
began
winding
down
operations,
however,
it
became
evident
that
there
wasn’t
enough
money
to
satisfy
the
firm’s
more
than
15
long-term
lease
obligations
in
office
buildings
around
the
country.
As
we’ve
previously
reported,
McGlinchey’s
troubles
didn’t
come
out
of
nowhere.
A
mix
of
lagging
collections,
internal
friction,
and
hefty
overhead
weren’t
helping
the
firm.
Rainmakers
left.
By
the
time
the
dissolution
vote
happened,
the
exit
doors
were
already
swinging.
Practice
groups
later
migrated
in
chunks
as
Biglaw
firms
swooped
in
amid
the
firm’s
collapse.
At
its
height,
McGlinchey
had
roughly
160
attorneys
in
18
offices
nationwide
and
was
one
of
Louisiana’s
most
prominent
firms.
Now,
a
court-appointed
trustee
will
liquidate
what
remains.
For
firm
leaders
watching
from
afar,
this
is
a
cautionary
tale:
national
footprint,
expensive
buildouts,
slowing
collections,
key
departures.
When
momentum
turns
negative,
it
turns
fast
—
and
as
we
now
know,
the
difference
between
“strategic
alternatives”
and
Chapter
7
can
be
about
six
weeks.
As
McGlinchey
Stafford
prepares
for
shutdown,
the
Louisiana
firm
files
for
bankruptcy
[Times-Picayune]
Earlier:
Midsize
Firm
Kicks
Off
The
New
Year
By
Announcing
Plans
To
Close
Its
Doors
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