Legal News

After Layoffs, Sonnenschein Bulks Back Up With 100 Thacher Lawyers

By Dan Slater

UPDATE: According to sources familiar with the matter, Thacher Proffitt could vote to dissolve as early as today.
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King & Spalding out. Sonnenschein in.

It was a busy weekend for the ailing Thacher Proffitt & Wood. Two weeks ago we noted a report that Thacher, whose structured finance practice was one of the first to suffer from the subprime mortgage meltdown, was trying to skirt dissolution by striking a deal with King & Spalding to take about 100 of Thacher’s 195 lawyers.

But those talks failed, reports AmLaw. And in swooped Sonneschein. Yesterday, Sonnenschein announced that, come January 1, it will add approximately 100 Thacher lawyers, including 40 partners, to its ranks, effectively doubling the size of its New York office. The lawyers, according to Sonneschein’s press release, come from structured finance, corporate, banking, real estate, regulatory, tax, ERISA and litigation.

In May Sonnenschein laid off 37 attorneys, and in October it reportedly cut about 25 more.

“Sonnenschein’s collegial, diverse and highly successful practice groups represent the best culture and platform for us and our clients,” said Robert McCarthy, the chair of Thacher’s planning committee, in a statement.

For an analysis of how Thacher’s LLP structure is affected by the lawyer migration and whether the moving lawyers take any of their old firm’s liability with them, go to Larry Ribstein’s Ideoblog.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 22, 2008 (boomark / email).