I am not willing to bet against Cravath Swaine & Moore, are you?  In fact their strategic decision in creating an insolvency practice may be cause for additional respect rather than cheap shots.

The Wall Street Journal in a post called:  The Horror! The Horror! Cravath Starts a Bankruptcy Practice is quite hard on Cravath by referring to its new practice area as "declasse" and by asking whether " the ultimate white-shoe firm, has decided to scuff up its oxfords a bit".

But before deciding that the recruiting of former Skadden partner Richard Levin,  "one of the authors of the 1978 U.S. Bankruptcy Code" might be in some way negative, think about this. 

Perhaps the brilliant minds at Cravath have peered into their crystal ball and decided that $4.00 per gallon fuel, an expensive war, continuing low interest rates, a sliding dollar and a rapidly deteriorating housing market mean that many significant businesses are on a collision course with insolvency.

PUNCHLINE:  It will be interesting to see what the hindsight analysis on this event is two years from now when my speculation is that  Cravath Swaine & Moore and the word "ultimate" will be used in the same sentence without any reference to scuffing up its oxfords.