[ by Melanie Gretchen ] Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP partners may walk away from the New York law firm with less than nothing, bankruptcy specialists said. To date, its partners partners may rank below trade and other general unsecured creditors, said Stephen Lubben, a bankruptcy law professor at Seton Hall University in Newark, New Jersey. How Bad It Is. Once the 11th largest U.S. law firm, Dewey continues to see the worst of it, and it's not getting any better:  vendor claims against Dewey, also known as trade paper, are currently quoted at 10¢ to 12¢ on the dollar, according to Joseph Sarachek, managing director of claims trading at CRT Capital Group LLC, which buys and sells distressed debt..  To date, its guaranteed contracts, worth as much as $6 million a year for a few partners, might rank the same as equity does in most corporate bankruptcies: at zero. "It could be argued by other creditors that partners’ pay is a return of equity," said Chip Bowles, a bankruptcy lawyer with Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP in Louisville, Kentucky. That would demote Dewey’s partners below trade creditors, he said. For further details, go to [Bloomberg, 5/12/12].