At the outset of the lawsuit the government froze all the assets of Kay Scholer. This freeze rapidly put the firm close to collapse. It made it virtually impossible to contest the government's action as the firm would likely not survive in the interim as clients and employees would depart. At this point Nussbaum was retained to represent Kaye Scholer. In less than a week a settlement was reached which did not require an admission of wrongdoing by the firm and provided for a monetary payment over time which was covered by insurance. This enabled the firm to continue as a respected and successful law firm.