More Top Lawyers Leave Dewey & LeBoeuf When the partner exodus at Dewey & LeBoeuf began in earnest about six weeks ago, legal industry observers said there were a handful of the firm's top producers to keep a close eye on. Among the names most frequently mentioned were Richard E. Climan, a leading mergers and acquisitions lawyer in Silicon Valley, and Berge Setrakian, a corporate lawyer in New York with a large international practice. If those two left, the thinking went, Dewey was in trouble. Dewey, of course, is already in trouble, as more than 120 of its 300 partners have defected. But both Mr. Climan and Mr. Setrakian are wrapping up the final details on their moves to rival firms, delivering a major blow to Dewey's chances for survival. Mr. Climan is joining Weil, Gotshal & Manges, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Joining him is Keith Flaum, along with three other partners and four associates. This is the second lateral move in less than three years for the Climan group; Dewey had poached them from Cooley in 2009. In Mr. Climan and his partners, Weil gets a pre-eminent West Coast mergers and acquisition practice. Mr. Climan and his team have recently advised Dell on two acquisitions, and they also handled the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers out of bankruptcy. Mr. Setrakian is heading to DLA Piper and bringing a number of Dewey partners with him. DLA Piper, with more than 4,000 lawyers, is the world's largest law firm. It has aggressively grown by hiring star lawyers from other firms with the promise of lucrative pay guarantees. The moves by Mr. Climan and Mr. Setrakian were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. Also this week, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has finalized the hiring of Dewey's 31-lawyer Moscow office. All told, Morgan Lewis has brought on about 65 lawyers from Dewey, including 18 in London. And Akin Gump announced on Tuesday morning that it had added three Dewey energy industry lawyers to its partnership ranks, including John C. LaMaster, who was chairman of Dewey's global oil and natural gas group and is based in London. Dewey's employees have been warned that the firm could shut down. On Monday, secretaries were told that Friday would be their last day. As of last week, the firm's leadership said there were no plans to file for bankruptcy.