Phone calls to lawyers at Lord Day, which was founded in 1848, were not returned.

As a general-interest firm, Lord, Day was losing clout and clients, it said.

As the 1980's loomed, Lord, Day was not in position at the starting gate.

Lord, Day was never able to rebuild its antitrust work.

Even though business was drying up, Lord, Day could not bring itself to market its services aggressively.

Lord, Day, said some partners, began discounting bills to encourage collection.

His departure lost more than business and prestige for Lord, Day; 22 very expensive offices stood empty.

But no firm wanted all of Lord, Day.

Lord, Day is one of the nation's oldest firms but has suffered from recent defections of top partners.

Lord, Day itself could not make the transition and closed its doors in 1994.