McGlinchey Stafford, the New Orleans–based law firm that spent more than five decades building a regional footprint, has hit the end of the line. The firm has filed for bankruptcy and is carrying out an orderly wind-down that has staff, clients and vendors scrambling to figure out what comes next, following a vote by equity members to dissolve after years of shrinking headcount and mounting collection problems, as reported by Law360.
Chapter 7 filing and docket basics
The firm filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on Feb. 19. The case is docketed as 2:26-bk-10357. A trustee has been appointed, a meeting of creditors was scheduled and the court set deadlines for claims and other motions, according to Law360.
What the firm's schedules show
Documents summarized in local reporting say the firm's schedules list about $15.5 million in assets against roughly $13 million in liabilities, and report gross revenue in the low-–$80 million range for both 2024 and 2025. The filings also flag multiple individual wage claims and indicate the firm paid more than $1 million to outside advisors during the wind-down, figures reported by Nashville Post.
Leadership: "No single triggering event"
Firm leaders have stressed that this was a slow-motion problem, not a one-day collapse. The decision to shut down, they said, came from a mix of market forces and internal issues that built up over time. "There was no single triggering event or one definitive action that brought us to this point," Managing Member Michael Ferachi said in a statement, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
Local fallout in Nashville
McGlinchey’s small Nashville office, in the city’s iconic AT&T "Batman" building, housed roughly 10 lawyers and has already seen several departures. Kansas City–based Spencer Fane announced it added multiple attorneys from the Nashville team, including former local managing member Will Wojcik, according to Nashville Post, highlighting how lateral hiring helped speed up the firm’s staffing losses.
Trustee actions and next steps for clients
The trustee has moved quickly to lock down records and has asked the court for authority to retain former employees on a temporary basis and to use cash collateral while the estate is inventoried. Those motions and the hearing schedule are reflected on the docket, according to BKAlerts. Chapter 7 is a liquidation process in which a trustee sells nonexempt assets and distributes the proceeds to creditors under federal rules, so creditors and clients are being told to keep a close eye on the claims deadline and upcoming hearings, per U.S. Courts.
What this means for the market
Industry observers say McGlinchey Stafford’s collapse fits into a broader squeeze on mid-sized firms that have been wrestling with partner departures, lagging collections and rising operating costs. The liquidation is expected to further fuel lateral hiring, complicate client transitions and trigger claims from former employees and vendors as the estate is administered, analysts told Above the Law.
