Drinking, Job Searches, Layoffs, Start Dates, Thacher Proffitt & Wood

What's Going On at Thacher Proffitt & Wood?

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That’s what many of you have been wondering, in emails to us and in comments. We’ve investigated the situation at Thacher Proffitt & Wood, and we now bring you this detailed report.
We’ll start off with the big rumors:
1. Thacher Proffitt laid off additional associates earlier this week.
The firm’s response: “As always, we continue to talk to associates in the areas most affected by the market conditions.”
Sounds a tad Orwellian, and suggests that some additional reductions in the associate ranks did in fact take place (since it’s not an outright denial). But we don’t have any details, in terms of numbers of lawyers affected, departments, severance, etc. If you do, we’d love to hear from you.
2. TPW is delaying the start date for the incoming first year class until late October (which may need to be extended until January).
Partly true, partly not. From the firm: “The start date for incoming litigation associates remains the same. The start date for others has been moved to October 20th.”
3. The White Plains office is being closed.
The firm denies this outright: “The rumor related to our White Plains office is not true.”
Update (10/27/08): The White Plains office is now closed.
More detailed discussion about the situation at Thacher Proffitt — which sounds rather grave, according to the former, current, and future TPW lawyers we heard from — after the jump.


1. Thacher Proffitt laid off additional associates earlier this week.
From one source, in structured finance at TPW:

These cuts are in addition to those made in February — yes, there were cuts in February — and those made last year. I suppose this is pointing out the obvious, but the partners have pretty much lost all credibility with the associates. Needless to say, the already depressing and negative atmosphere at the firm is worsening.

“The firm is in bad shape,” reports another source. Recent defections include significant portions of, if not all of, the Latin America practice, the D.C. banking practice, and the mutual fund group.
The big problem, of course, is that securitization work — a mainstay of the firm — hasn’t picked up (and shows no signs of picking up in the near future). One major securitization rainmaker, responsible for roughly $15 million a year in business during the recent boom, has generated only a few hundred thousand dollars in billings in 2008 thus far.
“They’re regretting that they didn’t lay off more people,” says our tipster, who pegs the associate layoffs as affecting somewhere between 30 and 60 lawyers. “The number should have been closer to 90.” In addition, the securitization group is overstaffed with junior partners, who may be “de-equitized” and / or encouraged to leave.
The firm is considering all kinds of strategic options, including merger — but who would the suitor be? — and yes, even dissolution. Executive summary: “Associates are scared s**tless.”
2. TPW is delaying the start date for the incoming first year class until late October (which may need to be extended until January).
Apparently 2007 summer associates at Thacher got calls from partners earlier this week about their start dates. As the firm confirmed, the non-litigation associates now have a start date of October 20 — “but with the reservation that it could be pushed back even further, possibly to January 2009,” according to the recipient of one such call.
Continues our tipster:

There was a lot of talk about “if you find a better opportunity,” which seems a lot like an implication that we should be looking for another job. It’s April, and I graduate in a month, so it seems a little late in the game to be telling us that our jobs are up in the air.

Is this happening at other law firms? And where the hell am I supposed to find another job at this point? I’m at [a top law school], so I easily could have reinterviewed if I had known about this in the fall, but they’ve really been stringing us along and downplaying the problems at the firm.

With respect to the questions raised by our tipster, some incoming Thacher associates are networking in search of opportunities. But this isn’t the best time to be looking. From another source, not at the firm:

I’m an associate who received two separate calls from 3Ls at my old law school, who I know. Both were due to join TPW in the fall, but had received calls from TPW in the last day or two saying that the particular group they were going into…. is very slow, with no pick-up in sight, and so they were encouraged to apply elsewhere. [T]hey still have an offer to go to TPW if they want, it’s just that they are being strongly encouraged to go elsewhere.

They were calling me, in part, to see if my firm was hiring 3L’s. I checked with HR for them, and they are not.

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3. The White Plains office is being closed.
As noted above, the firm has denied this rumor. But here is what we heard from one source:

Rumour has it that TPW is closing their White Plains office and laying everyone off. This is evidenced by the fact that one of their litigation partners in WP, Kevin J. Plunkett, recently left to go across the street (from 50 Main Street to 1 North Lexington) and work for a lesser known New York firm, DelBello, Donnellan, Wiese & Wiederkehr (though they are THE preeminent powerhouse White Plains firm, representing developer Louis Cappelli, [along with] other White Plains power brokers, politicos, and other goobersmoochers).

Already Plunkett’s abrasive style has ruffled more than his fair share of [feathers] during his short tenure…. I guess you’re allowed to piss people off when you walk 2 million bucks in billing right across the street.

A second tipster offers us more color about the White Plains office. This source, who also claims that TPW has slated the office for closing, reports that the defection of Plunkett — a well-connected former law partner of ex-Governor George Pataki, who appointed him to the board of the New York State Thruway Authority — was “a big deal.”
Adds this source: “[Thacher] also put a lot of money into the White Plains office. It’s very fancy, with a kick-ass bar on premises. Not surprising, since it used to be the offices of Heineken.”
Our advice to Thacher lawyers, current and future: Go out and buy yourself a few cases of beer. Drink them. Things will be better that way.
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Thacher Proffitt & Wood (scroll down)

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