Last May, Lewis Brisbois — a firm that brought in $720,000,000 gross revenue in 2023, putting it at No. 71 in the Am Law 100 — suffered a one-two punch of losses. First, the firm suffered a defection en masse, when more than 100 attorneys left to join a (now defunct) boutique firm. Shortly thereafter, Robert “Bob” Lewis, the firm’s founder and then chair, decided to step down. At the time, Lewis was one of the longest-serving chairs of any Am Law 100 firm.
In the wake of stepping down from his leadership role, Lewis announced that he’d retire from the firm on December 31, 2024. Now, just three months before the end of the year, it seems that things have taken a turn — as we mentioned in Morning Docket, Lewis Brisbois now has “considerably less ‘Lewis,’” as Lewis, and several of his family members, are no longer with the firm. Bloomberg Law has additional details:
Lewis … moved up his scheduled retirement to Oct. 1 from Dec. 31 so he “can spend more time with his family this holiday season,” the firm’s management committee said in an Oct. 2 email viewed by Bloomberg Law.
Bob Lewis’ son, Tommy Lewis, who was the firm’s chief technology officer for more than a decade, is also leaving Lewis Brisbois, according to an Oct. 3 email from the firm’s management committee viewed by Bloomberg Law. Tommy Lewis left the firm Oct. 4, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Bob Lewis’ grandson, Ryan Lewis, the IT administrator in the firm’s Costa Mesa, California office, left the same day as Tommy Lewis, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Three generations of Lewis have officially left the firm that will continue to operate with its founder’s name. Best of luck to the Lewis family.
Lewis Brisbois Founder Bob Lewis, Two Family Members Leave Firm [Bloomberg Law]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.