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&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Are we seeing a backlash against perennial alpha-firm Wachtell ?&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;The Lawyer&lt;/i&gt; says maybe, and thinks the firm&amp;#8217;s legendary &amp;#8220;aggressiveness&amp;#8221; has recently begun to backfire.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;The evidence:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8226;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Wachtell was benchslapped by a Delaware judge over advice it gave in relation to an aborted merger between &amp;shy;chemicals companies Hexion and Huntsman.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8226;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Indian software company Satyam Computer Services dropped Wachtell (in favor of Jones Day) as counsel on an investor lawsuit.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8226;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;The SEC had accused Bank of America of lying to its shareholders about billions in bonuses paid out to Merrill execs.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;BoA&amp;#8217;s defense?&amp;nbsp;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;They were simply acting on Wachtell&amp;#8217;s advice.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;Moreover, as firm chairman Marty Lipton approaches retirement, the firm&amp;#8217;s aggressive ethos might possibly be an issue in the looming issue of succession. &lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Ed Herlihy and &lt;font color=&quot;#800080&quot;&gt;Dan Neff&lt;/font&gt; are the usual suspects as Lipton&amp;#8217;s probable heirs.&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;Asks &lt;i&gt;The Lawyer&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;&amp;#8220;[I]n these tough economic times should the firm be looking to soften its stance, particularly if&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8194;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;it&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8194;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;is&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8194;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;being&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8194;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;replaced&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;#8194;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;span&gt;on &amp;shy;mandates?&amp;#8221;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/span&gt;Whether or not it &amp;#8220;should,&amp;#8221; it&amp;#8217;s unlikely the firm will. An anonymous partner at a &quot;rival firm&quot; observes: &lt;em&gt;&amp;#8220;These are the guys&lt;/em&gt; [Herlihy and Neff] &lt;em&gt;that are well known for being hard lawyers. It&amp;#8217;s not surprising that they&amp;#8217;ve been thrown off some deals and I think this could be the start of some difficult times for the firm and whoever the future &amp;shy;leaders turn out to be.&amp;#8221;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; -posted by brian&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;

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