Prof. Hillman Comments on Partnership Agreements for American Lawyer
Professor Robert Hillman commented for American Lawyer on law firms' withholding of retirement benefits for partners who retire from one firm and then join another. The article, prompted by a lawsuit filed by a securities litigator who left a partnership at Stroock Stroock & Lavan to join Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, was also picked up by the ABA Journal.
Hillman said that partnership agreements increasingly include provisions allowing firms to withhold benefits in these situations. "It's the only thing they can hang over you," said Hillman, adding that some firms are broadening the definition of "retirement benefits" as a way of preventing partners from leaving.
Professor Hillman holds the Fair Business Practices and Investor Advocacy Chair at UC Davis School of Law and is a scholar in the fields of international transactions, securities regulation, and corporate and partnership law.