Dechert LLP (/ˈdɛkərt/; DECK-ərt) is a multinational American law firm of more than 900 lawyers[6] with practices in corporate and securities, complex litigation, finance and real estate, financial services, asset management, and private equity.
[5] MacVeagh previously served as ambassadors of the United States to Turkey, and Bispham authored the treatise "Principles of Equity", which was considered the definitive work on the subject at the time.
[17] In the same year, Dechert reached a settlement with two former payroll staffers over claims that it discriminated against certain staff members because of their sex and age.
[26] Previously, on the eve of trial, the firm and former associate Ariel Ayanna reached an eleventh-hour deal in a "Macho culture" retaliation case.
[27][28][29] The attorney had claimed the firm fired him to get back at him for taking time off to care for his mentally ill wife and their newborn, The National Law Journal reported.
In 2020, an employment tribunal filing document stated that the proceedings leveled against "Dechert LLP & Others" were "dismissed following a withdrawal of the claim by the claimant".
[33] Dechert and an administrative services provider for the firm agreed in 2021 to settle claims by a former site manager in Washington, D.C. that he was subjected to discrimination and retaliation because he had a stroke, federal court records show.
[35][36][37] The agreement came after a decade-long proceeding that resulted in the High Court finding in May 2022 that Dechert, its former white-collar crime head Gerrard, and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had committed acts of wrongdoing[38][39][40] in their dealings with the law firm's then-client Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC).
London's High Court found that Dechert and Gerrard – who was "obsessed with making money"[41] and "lost any real sense of objectivity, proportion or indeed loyalty to his client"[42][43][44][45] had acted deliberately, or at least recklessly.
One lawsuit involves a claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, for its alleged role in an international "hack and dump scheme", which it denies.