The four partners of the soon-to-be-defunct Altheimer & Gray's small butprominent public finance group have landed on their feet. Two are headed to anotherChicago-based law firm, Gardner, Carton & Douglas, while the other pair is launching abond practice in Chicago for Seattle-based Perkins Coie.
William Corbin, a veteran bond counsel for major Illinois issuers, including the state,and Robert Stephan have rejoined Gardner, which they left two years ago to joinAltheimer, until recently a political heavyweight among Chicago law firms.
Bruce Bonjour, the former manager of the bond group at Altheimer, and Robert Caprizzi, atax specialist, joined Perkins earlier this month.
As Altheimer's demise unfolded over the last month, the four had initially sought toremain together as a group, but their varying needs and areas of specialty made thatdifficult, according to Bonjour and Corbin. The four veterans were sought by a handfulof firms, according to legal sources.
Though Corbin works on nonprofit deals, his base of business comes from majorgovernmental issuers - Altheimer & Gray was bond counsel on the state's recent $1.5billion note sale - so it was important that he join a firm with a strong localpresence.
In addition to public finance, Bonjour's practice crosses several sectors, includingsecuritizations. His local clients, such as the University of Chicago Hospitals andHealth System, tend not to require a formal competitive selection process.
Sources said Caprizzi and Stephan feel they will have better opportunities with theirrespective choices.
In an interview this week, Bonjour called Perkins a "wonderful" opportunity for Caprizziand him. "It struck us that with Perkins Coie being the largest firm in the Northwest,it was a perfect opportunity to take an established bond practice and build it in theMidwest," he said.
Perkins opened an office here in 2001 when its largest client, the Boeing Co., relocatedits headquarters from Seattle to Chicago. The firm also has an office in Washington,D.C. - an important connection for the practice areas of Bonjour and Caprizzi. Bonjoursaid about 15 lawyers from Altheimer have recently joined Perkins.
Corbin said Gardner was his first choice. "Leaving Gardner in the first place was adifficult decision. We were fond of the firm and the people there," he said. "Gardnerexpressed a great deal of enthusiasm about the prospect of our returning to help expandtheir public finance practice; we're glad to be back."
Corbin left Gardner - after having spent four years at the firm - with Caprizzi andStephan in 2001 to join Altheimer. He previously had worked at Chapman and Cutler for 17years. Sources said he parted ways with Gardner because he saw a better growthopportunity at Altheimer and had been disappointed by friend Thomas Lanctot's departurefrom Gardner to become an investment banker at William Blair & Co.
Part of the allure of Altheimer were the political connections of partners Gery Chicoand Jeremy Margolis. Chico, a former top aid to Democratic Mayor Richard M. Daley and aformer Chicago Board of Education president, was chairman of Altheimer. Margolis, alawyer for former Illinois Republican Gov. George Ryan, was a member of the firm'sexecutive committee.
But the move of Corbin, Caprizzi, and Stephan to Altheimer was ill-timed. The city halland state ties that had helped boost the firm's governmental and bond practicesdissolved last year in the wake of a fallout between Chico and Daley. Chico resignedfrom the board of education, and in the last year has lost governmental lobbyingbusinesses to other city hall insiders. In another blow, Margolis lost much of his cloutlast November after the election of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat.
The firm's public finance business largely came from its role as underwriters' counsel.It ranks 23d so far this year in Illinois, but was the state's top-ranked firm in theunderwriters' counsel sector last year, according to Thomson Financial.
Corbin and Bonjour declined to comment on the situation at Altheimer, but sources havesaid that only in May did they become aware of the true financial state of the firm,which had increased its debt in an effort to expand nationally and in Europe. The firmlaid off employees and continued to borrow to cover operations while it sought a mergerpartner. It carried $24 million in debt and recorded $118 million in revenues last year.
The executive committee voted to dissolve the 88-year-old firm last month, blaming itsproblems on the slowdown in corporate business. Many partners have privately expressedanger with Chico, who they believe focused too much this past year on his upcoming bidfor the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.
Altheimer & Gray is expected to formally cease operations in the fall.
