LawyerWatch

What became of a law firm’s clients?

Law firms and lawyers named in SEC filings since 1995, ranked by what later happened to the companies linked to them, against what comparable companies went through. Updated Nov 7, 2026.

These figures describe clients, not conduct. A lawyer or firm can serve many companies that later had trouble for reasons that have nothing to do with their work, and nothing here says any lawyer or firm did anything wrong.

Rank by

Reading the first row: John W. White is linked to 32 companies. 12 of them later showed signs of SEC or DOJ scrutiny and had another red flag. Comparable companies would show 3.7, so that is 3.26× what you would expect.

What this measures, and each column

SEC or DOJ scrutiny and another red flag. The SEC or DOJ took an interest, and the company also fell 95%, restated its accounts, restructured or went bankrupt.

Companies: Those linked to this firm or lawyer by a filing or a text search, so not all are clients. A corporate family counts once.
Named: The share of those companies a filing names them for. The rest come from a text search, which also finds a firm on the other side of a deal.
Later: Companies where the outcome began after the link. What happened before it does not count.
Expected: What comparable companies would show: the same era, type and size.
× expected: Later divided by expected. The tick on each bar marks 1×, no more than expected.
q: How far chance could explain the row, allowing for how many rows were tested: those with at least one such company, each on that condition. Below 0.05 is the usual bar, shown in bold, and a row near it can move with the method.

No row here clears q below 0.05 on this measure. These are the rows least like chance, which is not the same as different from it.

Lawyers ranked by SEC or DOJ scrutiny and another red flag. Click a column to sort.
#
1	John W. WhiteCravath Swaine & Moore	32	63%	12	3.7	3.26	0.056	2.50	0.00	0.66
2	Gavin B. GroverMorrison & Foerster	16	94%	7	1.4	5.01	0.127	3.08	2.77	0.99
3	Eric L. SchieleCravath Swaine & Moore	27	67%	8	2.1	3.87	0.228	2.18	0.00	1.24
4	ALLEN FINKELSONCravath Swaine & Moore	12	83%	7	2.0	3.56	0.271	2.65	0.00	0.99
5	Steve WoloskyOlshan Frome Wolosky LLP	95	64%	15	5.9	2.55	0.290	1.71	0.37	0.90
6	Johnny G. SkumpijaCravath Swaine & Moore	15	47%	5	0.7	7.04	0.290	3.73	0.00	1.77
7	Spencer G. FeldmanOlshan Frome Wolosky LLP	70	100%	11	3.6	3.02	0.341	2.25	1.65	1.59
8	John A. ForeWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati	56	82%	15	6.6	2.27	0.341	1.86	1.00	1.20
9	Christopher S. AugusteKramer Levin Naftalis	90	37%	15	6.6	2.28	0.379	1.83	1.24	1.42
10	James J. MoloneyGibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP	40	100%	9	3.0	2.95	0.379	2.20	0.00	0.30
11	Brandon Van DykeSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP	21	76%	6	1.3	4.61	0.379	2.25	0.00	1.45
12	C. Kevin KelsoFenwick & West LLP	10	100%	5	1.1	4.68	0.379	3.18	1.66	1.61
13	Gregory P. Patti Jr.Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft	28	86%	5	0.9	5.69	0.400	3.45	0.00	0.62
14	GRAY CARY WARE FREIDENRICHDLA Piper	24	13%	8	2.8	2.86	0.480	1.90	0.00	1.47
15	Donald C. WalkovikSullivan & Cromwell	10	90%	6	1.9	3.22	0.480	2.17	0.00	0.00
16	Robert A. ProfusekJones Day	47	62%	10	3.9	2.54	0.512	1.41	0.00	0.93
17	Scott D. MillerSullivan & Cromwell	47	89%	8	2.6	3.06	0.512	2.40	0.00	1.30
18	David J. WagnerDavid Wagner & Associates, P.C.	45	82%	9	3.1	2.88	0.512	2.31	1.92	1.40
19	Robert L. KimballVinson & Elkins L.L.P.	25	76%	6	1.6	3.71	0.512	2.50	0.00	0.63
20	Bruce C. BennettCovington & Burling	11	73%	5	1.3	3.87	0.512	2.92	0.00	2.01
21	David S. AllinsonLatham & Watkins LLP	21	52%	5	1.1	4.47	0.589	3.40	0.00	1.69
22	George A. StephanakisCravath Swaine & Moore	19	47%	5	1.2	4.31	0.589	2.57	0.00	1.89
23	Paul T. Shultz	136	97%	32	20.8	1.54	0.593	1.34	0.18	1.49
24	Kenneth R. KochMintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.	63	100%	10	4.1	2.43	0.593	1.72	0.67	1.86
25	Paul KinsellaRopes & Gray	54	89%	11	4.8	2.30	0.593	1.70	0.39	0.66
26	Stephen E. OlderMcGuireWoods LLP	35	94%	6	1.6	3.63	0.593	2.92	0.66	1.79
27	Howard ChatzinoffWeil, Gotshal & Manges LLP	25	68%	8	3.0	2.63	0.593	1.84	0.00	2.11
28	David A. FineRopes & Gray	17	77%	5	1.2	4.22	0.593	2.95	1.71	0.00
29	Raymond B. CheckCleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton	17	65%	6	1.4	4.35	0.593	3.10	0.00	0.76
30	Jonathan I. LessnerMorris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell	12	100%	6	2.0	2.99	0.593	2.67	0.00	0.80
31	Jack I. KantrowitzDLA Piper	11	100%	4	0.8	5.28	0.593	3.68	0.00	1.09
32	Philip J. NiehoffMayer Brown	38	95%	10	4.5	2.23	0.603	1.68	0.66	0.57
33	ERIC S. ROBINSONWachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz	34	38%	8	3.0	2.69	0.603	1.87	0.00	1.23
34	Richard E. FarleyCahill Gordon & Reindel	11	27%	4	0.8	5.36	0.603	3.12	0.00	0.90
35	William B. MastersJones Walker	10	90%	4	0.7	5.80	0.603	3.59	0.71	2.78
36	Joseph M. YaffeSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP	13	69%	4	0.7	5.49	0.621	2.75	0.00	0.92
37	Gregg A. NoelSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP	206	83%	19	10.6	1.79	0.664	1.74	0.21	0.99
38	Harold H. MartinMartin & Pritchett, P.A.	30	93%	6	1.8	3.41	0.664	2.54	1.74	1.31
39	DENNIS C. SULLIVANDLA Piper	17	100%	5	1.4	3.63	0.680	2.06	0.00	1.71
40	Michelle A. HodgesGibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP	10	90%	4	0.9	4.47	0.680	2.78	0.00	0.57
41	Lawrence S. MakowWachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz	45	36%	12	6.1	1.97	0.689	1.74	0.00	0.92
42	Michael A. HedgeK&L Gates	32	100%	6	1.9	3.22	0.689	1.98	0.77	1.98
43	Daniel A. BagliebterMintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.	25	96%	5	1.3	3.77	0.701	2.69	0.00	1.49
44	Trevor S. NorwitzWachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz	15	100%	5	1.5	3.32	0.727	1.85	0.00	1.44
45	Frank R. AdamsWeil, Gotshal & Manges LLP	19	79%	5	1.5	3.39	0.734	1.75	1.41	1.00
46	Arif SotoVenable LLP	12	100%	3	0.4	8.16	0.734	8.18	0.00	1.28
47	David J. SegreWilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati	55	96%	10	4.7	2.14	0.735	1.33	0.00	1.60
48	Steven A. RosenblumWachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz	55	31%	10	4.8	2.11	0.753	1.65	0.00	0.39
49	Jeffrey P. SchultzMintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.	46	100%	7	2.6	2.67	0.753	2.10	0.66	1.53
50	Norman T. ReynoldsNorman T. Reynolds Law Firm	41	85%	7	2.6	2.71	0.753	2.23	1.29	0.88

Updated Nov 7, 2026, from 7,672 days of EDGAR’s daily filings through Nov 6, 2026: 219,793 links to 33,019 companies.

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