Rarely does a law firm governance issue make the national news, but that's what has happened at Holland & Knight. And rather than fade away, the stakes just got higher.
According to the St. Petersburg Times and Law.com, the controversy started as an internal sexual harassment matter in the Tampa office of Holland & Knight, but became public when the subject of the investigation was promoted to Chief Operating Office six months after the firm found the harassment complaints against him "credible."
The public stir caused the partner to surrender his position as COO, but not his partnership. Now Managing Partner, Howell Melton, Jr. is under fire to resign despite the fact he has apologized to the firm for making the promotion.
Now word comes that Chicago-based partner, Charles Wright, has written a confidential memo urging Mr. Melton to resign or face the possibility of a recall vote of the partners.
Enter Martha Barnett, chair of the firm's Directors Committee and a former president of the American Bar Association, to reinterate her support of Mr. Melton and convey overall support from partners.
But the most interesting fact revealed by Ms. Barnett, according to her interview with the Tampa Tribune: it takes 20% of the firm's partners to seek Mr. Melton's recall.
As large law firms merge and expand to create a national presence they have to face several natural truths:
- The firm is no longer a small organization where everyone knows your name and shares your values. It becomes harder for partners to reach concensus on many issues, including who leads them.
- Law firm internal activities and public actions will increasingly interest more people in and out of the legal profession. Controversies once ignored are now magnified. If a management misstep can bring down a Boeing executive, why not the managing partner of a large international law firm?
While Barnett claims partner support for Mr. Melton, it seems that tracking the opinions of 700 partners across 27 offices throughout several continents is no easy task--even with e-mail. It will take some time for both sides to marshall their votes.
Given the stakes and status of the players involved, and the desire and ability to leak internal memos, it appears that the final chapter of this public drama has yet to be written.
