Biglaw, Job Searches, Layoffs, McKee Nelson, Real Estate, Thacher Proffitt & Wood

Nationwide Layoff Slowdown Watch: Thacher Proffit & Wood

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How quickly times have changed. A little over a month ago, Thacher Proffitt & Wood couldn’t hire people fast enough. At Boston University School of Law, they relaxed their traditional on-campus interview standards, to try and get people through the door. From a BU tipster:

“Thacher Proffitt & Wood’ lowers standards — see below. Maybe Loyola 2L can get an interview with them, if he has a 3.9 at Loyola.”

Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:38:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: [BU recruiting]
Subject: Thacher Proffitt & Wood Resume Collection Still Open

There is still time to submit your resume to Thacher Proffitt & Wood’s resume collection on Symplicity. Hiring criteria: Minimum of a 3.4 and a journal is preferred. Only hiring in Structured Finance and Real Estate. New York Office only. If interested, please submit your resume, transcript and cover letter by NOON on Monday, September 17th through their resume collection in the “2007 Late OCI” session under the OCI tab on Symplicity.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Now, of course, structured finance and real estate ain’t looking so hot, thanks to the mortgage mess and credit crunch. Firms that are big in structured finance are struggling to keep their lawyers busy. See, e.g., McKee Nelson (previously discussed here).
More about Thacher Proffitt, after the jump.


Last last week, the WSJ Law Blog caught up with Paul Tvetenstrand, TPW’s managing partner:

“Overall, there’s a drop in activity, yes. Everyone who practices in this area is experiencing a slowdown.”

Still, Tvetenstrand said no associate layoffs have happened yet, and that none related to a drop in structured finance work were in the firm’s immediate future. “We’ve asked people to take on work in areas where we’re heavier, but we haven’t had the need to make any cuts.”

This is consistent with what we previously reported:

Thacher had a meeting the other day to assure the associates that there would be no layoffs, because many felt like rats aboard a sinking ship. Tvetenstrand admitted that things were bad, but told them that there would be no layoffs or paycuts. He said that the partners would take a hit before they ever did that.

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Additional information about Thacher Proffitt’s predicament, from an ATL source:

Thacher Proffitt raised its hours requirement to 2100 earlier in year. Now, with the credit crunch and subprime mortgage market collapse, some folks are scrambling.

In fairness, hitting the prior target of 2000 didn’t appear to be an issue from what I’ve heard, and most folks [met the earlier requirement]. But now its anybody’s guess, and some very junior folks have jumped ship to megafirms.

It’s a jungle out there. If you have anything to report on this front, either about TPW or another firm, please email us. Thanks.
How Is the Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Affecting BigLaw? [WSJ Law Blog]
Earlier: Nationwide Personnel Reconfiguration Watch: McKee Nelson
More Woe Ahead for Private Equity and Mortgage-Backed Securities Lawyers?
Cadwalader Hit With $70 Million Malpractice Suit

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