Boies Schiller loses lawyers over controversies involving Theranos,

One of America’s most prominent law firms is struggling to hold onto talent.

Legal powerhouse Boies Schiller Flexner has experienced a rapid exodus of several top attorneys, many of whom were bothered by purported decisions by the firm’s founders.

This article is based on interviews with more than a half-dozen people with direct knowledge of various issues at the firm, from alleged nepotism to the unsavory reputation of some high-profile clients. These people declined to named in order to avoid possible retribution from the firm.

The firm’s founders are David Boies and Jonathan Schiller, who have been key players in major political and corporate cases for decades.

Boies is known for representing the U.S. government in its landmark 2001 antitrust case against Microsoft and for helping win a decision that overturned California’s ban on gay marriage. Schiller has represented Goldman Sachs and the New York Yankees, among other major corporations and entities.

But attorneys who left have described their dissatisfaction with Boies for working with Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced Hollywood mogul who has been convicted of rape, and accused fraudster Elizabeth Holmes and her discredited blood-testing firm Theranos.

And they have also alleged that Schiller’s own family members received preferential treatment, both inside the firm and out. Employees, for instance, took issue with the way the founders dealt with one of Jonathan Schiller’s sons after he purportedly used racist and homophobic terms at a party thrown by a lawyer at the firm.

Many people argued that Boies and Schiller sometimes overruled the firm’s management committee, which had been trying to formulate a succession plan for when the founders eventually leave their roles. Former leaders at the firm would privately claim that they were not always presented specific details about the firm’s finances, people familiar with the matter said.

“They keep naming new people as a managing partners, but the reason people are leaving is it [the firm] is just a name,” a former Boies Schiller partner told CNBC. “There’s no transition going on and David and Jon are deciding everything.”

After reaching out to the firm’s public relations team, CNBC spoke with Matt Schwartz, one of the new co-managing partners at the firm. He is one of at least three new co-managing partners, along with other new additions including Sigrid McCawley and Alan Vickery.

During the nearly hour-long conversation, Schwartz denied that Boies and Schiller are making all the decisions. He said the leaders of the firm are always given specifics about the firm’s financial deals, including with outside vendors. He also insisted that he and other co-managing partners oversee day-to-day operations.

“David and Jonathan are on the executive committee. Of…