McWane Inc.
The Great Balch Exodus has gotten so severe that a former partner has been yanked out of retirement to help pull the wagon for Birmingham's troubled Balch & Bingham law firm, according to a report at banbalch.com. It's almost as if nobody wants to be associated with the once-reputable firm these days, writes K.B. Forbes, blog publisher and CEO of its parent organization, the CDLU public charity and advocacy group. And that includes a top lobbyist at the Washington, D.C., office.
Under the headline "Crumbling! Balch Forced to Pull Former Partner Out of Retirement; Top D.C. Lobbyist Leaves Balch," Forbes drops a number of clues as to why attorneys might be distancing themselves from the troubled firm and writes:
None of the hottest stars of the legal profession appear to want to be associated with the embattled law firm Balch & Bingham.
Two former Balch attorneys are sitting in federal prison.
One is serving 5 years for money laundering and bribery and the other is serving more than 8 years for possession of kiddie porn.
Balch was forced to pull former partner Clark Watson out of retirement after Balch’s banking and financial services practice suffered several crippling blows, culminating with the recent exit of 17-year Balch legacy partner W. Brad Neighbors.
Watson was a Balch partner until 2015, when he went to work for Samford University, eventually serving as General Counsel. He retired at the end of February.
Coming out of retirement, Watson was hired as “counsel” and takes a leadership role in Balch’s crumbling banking and financial services practice.
Bringing back Watson might not be the answer to Balch's problems, Forbes notes:
Hiring an old, retired white guy also doesn’t help Balch’s “diversity and inclusion” fluff.
Maybe Balch’s Managing Partner Stan Blanton will pay an advertising publication 💰 to create and help him collect a make-believe award for assisting senior citizens.
But then again, Balch allegedly exploited the elderly for big fees.
From kiddie porn to elderly exploitation, Balch’s alleged womb-to-tomb misconduct appears to have devastated the once prestigious, silk-stocking law firm.
Balch's woes even extend to our nation's seat of power, and the financial ledger doesn't look so great either. Explains Forbes:
In Washington, D.C.. seasoned Balch lobbyist Margaret Caravelli, who worked for the firm for eight years, has left.
Balch continues to struggle compared to its competitors.
According to Open Secrets, Balch made a tad over $700,000 in 2022 in federal lobbying fees while competitors like Bradley pulled in over $2 million and Maynard Nexsen collected almost $1.7 million in D.C. lobbying fees.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Balch has lost numerous federal lobbying clients, including Southern Company.
McWane is Balch’s biggest federal lobbying client and is paying Balch $30,000 a month or $360,000 a year. McWane spends about $800,000 a year on lobbyists. The company should shift the $360,000 to one of its other firms or find another well-qualified firm without the womb-to-tomb baggage.