Surprise Resignation of Recently Appointed Boies Schiller Deputy Chair

Surprise Resignation of Recently Appointed Boies Schiller Deputy Chair

Boies Schiller’s Deputy Chair Natasha Harrison is to leave the firm following disclosure of a memo sent around the troubled firm recently with more than one third of the partners having left in the past year.

Harrison was appointed to the role

Her departure follows the departure at the end of last year of then co-managing partner Nick Gravante after less than a year in the role. He went to Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft..

The firm’s memo issued by the managing partners said the resignation by Harrison was due to pandemic issues. Harrison is based n London and had difficulties travelling to the United States as a result of travel restrictions.

“The significant and persistent challenges posed by the pandemic weighed heavily in her ultimate decision. Most notably as it relates to the pandemic, international travel restrictions have prevented Natasha from spending the kind of time in the U.S., actively engaging with the leadership team,” the memo read.

Harrison and Gravante had been appointed in high profile announcements last year, to replace the even more high profile firm founders, Jonathan Schiller and David Boies.

But trouble arose with a tsunami of departures, which lead to the firm losing revenues of 38 per cent from over $400 million to $250 million and a drop of net income over over half, to $80 million. The profits per equity partner fell from $3.37 million to $2.29 million according to Law.com.

Reports indicate that Harrison and others were battling firm founder Jonathan Schiller in respect to his son and a firm partner, Joshua Schiller being arrested in a domestic violence incident. Charges were subsequently dropped against him.

Despite Harrison’s decision to step down, the firm remains strong in its commitment to its future prospects.

“You may understandably be asking how much this decision will impact the day-to-day operations of the Firm. The immediate answer is: very little. Natasha, Matt, Sigrid, and Alan are a proven and very effective management team,” the memo read.

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