[ by Howard Haykin ] Dewey & LeBoeuf bankruptcy proceedings began on Tuesday, and with any luck, the bankruptcy process will move quickly through Chapter 11 and into Chapter 7 (we believe) for dissolution. Top on the Dewey advisers' list is to reach agreement on money recovery.  The advisers will seek to collect funds from some of the firm’s former partners, many of whom departed earlier this year amid fear about their employer’s financial health. That exodus drained Dewey of revenue and the confidence that the firm would survive. Attorney Albert Togut, who's representing the Dewey estate, said in a hearing on Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan that the firm was working on a settlement, which could resolve a legal matter that could otherwise take years to figure out.  He declined to give details after the hearing. Regardless of bona fide efforts to speed the process along, any settlement is likely to take time.  Attorney Mark Zauderer represents some 50 to 60 former Dewey partners, and he said in court that he and his clients had not heard what the basis of such claims would be. A Significant but Regrettable Moment in American Legal History. Given that Dewey is the largest law firm in the United States to seek bankruptcy protection, superseding the bankruptcy of Finley & Kumble, which dissolved in 1987, it was apparent to all who attended the hearing that they were participating in an historic moment.  Albert Togut, who's representing the Dewey estate, also was involved in Finley & Kumble bankruptcy, which he said was marred by infighting among partners. He then added that he hoped to avert a similar fight. “That case is the poster child for what not to do if you can avoid it,” he said in court. Mr. Togut said that the firm had not filed bankruptcy papers until late Monday night because it had already begun steps in its dissolution. It has been closing all of its offices in the United States, except for its Midtown Manhattan headquarters, and has reduced its staff to a skeleton crew that is charged with liquidating the firm. In its filing for Chapter 11 protection, Dewey reported that it had about $315 million in liabilities - among the largest unsecured creditors is the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which has filed a lawsuit against Dewey for $80 million to cover the obligations of the firm’s underfunded pension plans. A committee of Dewey’s unsecured creditors has yet to be formed. Another large creditor is the Paramount Group, the landlord of the office tower housing Dewey’s elegant, wood-paneled headquarters at 1301 Avenue of the Americas.  Paramount is owed nearly $4 million in unpaid rent on Dewey’s 10 floors in the luxury building.  Dewey’s departure from the space could work to the landlord’s benefit because the firm had a long-term below-market lease, according to people briefed on the matter but were not authorized to discuss the matter. A most interesting name on the creditor’s list is Emily L. Saffitz, who is owed $417K for a "severance arrangement," according to the filing. Ms. Saffitz, who left the firm in April to join Thompson & Knight, had complained over how she was treated by a former Dewey partner and told the firm’s management, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke anonymously because the details of the agreement were private. Years and Years to Go. Legal industry experts expect Dewey and its former partners to be mired in bankruptcy-related litigation for years. One potential question is whether the fees generated by former Dewey partners at their new firms on cases that originated at Dewey belong to the new firms or to Dewey. Coudert Brothers as Precedent? Last week, a federal judge in Manhattan, in a case involving the defunct law firm , ruled that proceeds from cases that had started at Coudert belonged to the Coudert bankruptcy estate, not to the firms where Coudert’s former partners had landed.   [Dealbook, 5/29/12]