More than 30 Thacher Lawyers Quit in Last 6 Months
Ten U.S. partners and about 24 associates of Thacher Proffitt & Wood have voluntarily left the New York-based firm during the past six months, in advance of an expected drop in 2008 profits.
Meanwhile, 60 associates have been laid off by the 220-attorney financial services boutique, whose structured finance practice has suffered in the struggling economy, according to the National Law Journal. Its article is reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
“Last fall, Thacher Proffitt let go 24 associates, the first major layoff among law firms in the recent economic downturn,” the legal publication recounts. “Since then, the firm has conducted two more rounds of cuts, offering buyouts to associates, said Paul Tvetenstrand, chairman and managing partner of Thacher Proffitt.”
Tvetenstrand says he expects firm finances to rebound in 2009, but admits that “a lot” of partners have left in a relatively short time. Most of the 10 who departed, he says, were not in structured finance.
Additional coverage:
Wall Street Journal Law Blog: “A Lawyer Hemorrhage at Thacher Proffitt: Ten Partners Walk”
Legal Intelligencer: “Law Firms See More Layoffs, Departures of Staff and Associates”
ABAJournal.com: “Law Firm Layoffs Alternative: ‘Cut, Redeploy’”
ABAJournal.com: “Thacher Proffitt Warns of Associate Layoffs”
