Breaking: Thelen’s All Partner Meeting
After yesterday’s news that Thelen Chairman Stephen O’Neal was in talks to move to Howrey, the Thelen partnership met today.
That meeting is still ongoing, but early reports are that a partnership committee recommended dissolution to the full partnership.
The firm has been maintaining that they had a plan that would avoid dissolution ever since their proposed merger with Nixon Peabody fell through.
Update (5:05): As we understand it, Thelen has two different options from this point.
Option 1 is the plan they have arguably been pursuing: breaking up the firm practice group by practice group to interested parties. As we reported yesterday, this is the best option to save associate jobs. However, that plan is dependent on Thelen’s banks signing-off on the plan and maintaining their line of credit. Did Stephen O’Neal’s aggressive and ultimately public pursuit of his own lifeboat at Howrey scuttle that option? Once everybody is told that the managing partner could be leaving in ten days, why would other potential suitors compete for full Thelen practice groups? Instead, it’s easier to wait for an official dissolution and cherry-pick the rainmakers. This is what happened to Heller.
Option 2 is essentially what happened to Heller. If the full partnership accepts the recommendation and dissolves, this would likely trigger the WARN Act. As we know from the Heller situation, employees are entitled to 60 days notice. Many people predicted that Thelen would move to dissolve this week, last week one tipster told us that Thelen wanted to wrap up their operations before the end of the year. If true, that all but necessitates an official dissolution announcement this week. But, as Heller teaches us, just because you get 60-days warning doesn’t mean you get 60-days pay. We know that various Thelen associates were told that this type of dissolution was not going to happen. But … it appears to be happening.
Click here for Thelen’s official press release.
Thelen Launches Dissolution Vote [LegalPad]
Earlier: Weebles Wobble, But Does Thelen Fall Down?
(109) 
Comments
pretzels?
About fu#&ing time!!!
Thelen R.I.P.
holy shit
FIRST (to say "first")
I just don't get how they can close down on Dec. 1 when WARN act requires 60 days notice. Someone care to explain? keep in mind the Federal and CA WARN acts apply here.
thelen, heller...more?
maybe regional firms are in better shape than nationwide weak firms...who knows...everyone is in trouble.
Wow. Website says Thelen has 153 associates. Between them and all the former Heller associates, it can't be easy to find work in Northern California.
Yay! More country club schlubs out on the street.
9: STFU
TTThelen....
Will the last Thelen associate turn off the lights before leaving the firm offices?
While I can express my condolences, I don't think that you would rightfully judge it as sincere given that I think many of the Thelen associates could see the writing on the wall months ago and failed to exercise any standard of prudence and due care in rapidly seeking an exit on your own terms.
~In House Counsel
8: You do realize Thelen has offices in SF, SV, LA, NYC, DC, and Conn, right? Not all associates are in SF/SV.
6- I believe that as long as they pay 60 days pay from the announcement of the closing they can "shut down" on Dec 1 though they'll still be paying people until the end of the year.
*economy recommends that my 1L sa summer hopes should dissolve...i cry*
-nervous T-10 1L
Considering that there can only be so much legal work out there, how many +400 lawyer firms can be sustained in a down economy? any guesses?
10. I giggle everytime I hear of an associate out on the street. Biglaw passed me by, not once, not twice, but thrice. Now, after a year of undeserved unemployment, the schlubs they passed me over for are out of luck and I'm employed full time in an unshrinkable industry.
Enjoy your last week. I'll step over you on the way to work next month.
Is it my imagination or has an inordinately large number of SF law firms failed over the past 15 years? Props to anyone who can list them (I can think of about 9 firms that fit in this category).
Good luck to all of you Thelen associates out there. It will be tough, but you'll pull through.
suggestions on a witty 'support' website for ex-thelenites in the vein of 'heller highwater'?
6- I believe that as long as they pay 60 days pay from the announcement of the closing they can "shut down" on Dec 1 though they'll still be paying people until the end of the year.
If you have a job -- better keep it.
If you don't have a job -- hope you are religious.
Thelen, RIP.
Considering that there can only be so much legal work out there, how many +400 lawyer firms can be sustained in a down economy? any guesses?
This is amazing but I would be interested to find out why SF firms have tended to do this (Brobeck, Heller, Thelen). Perhaps the attempts to have a good "quality of life" while still competing with the more prestigious firms isn't possible.
19 - The En"d"
TTThelen = TTT
Meeting is over. Rumours flying everywhere. Staff meetings soon to come, undoubtedly followed by yet more rumour-mongering.
Hopefully the dust settles quickly.
HIT POST COMMENT JUST ONCE!!!!!
TTTTThelen
Is there any area of the country that isn't getting hit as hard? I'm in MN and it doesn't seem as bad out here. But I'm a 1L so I have to admit that I don't really know what the hell is going on. I'm more or less wandering through this like a bewildered jackass.
"6- I believe that as long as they pay 60 days pay from the announcement of the closing they can "shut down" on Dec 1 though they'll still be paying people until the end of the year."
So Thelen associates can expect to get paid (Even if doors are closed) through December 31?? Can anyone confirm. Thx.
18 - here are a few....perhaps you or others could add if there are more:
Thelen
Heller
Brobeck
Hancock Rothert
Jackson Tufts
Landels Ripley
Pettit & Martin
Utterly incompetent management.
19 - I'd start with "Thelen depressed" but could take suggestions. the possibilities are endless
HIT POST COMMENT JUST ONCE!!!!!
TTTTThelen
18 - here are a few....perhaps you or others could add if there are more:
Thelen
Heller
Brobeck
Hancock Rothert
Jackson Tufts
Landels Ripley
Pettit & Martin
HIT POST COMMENT JUST ONCE!!!!!
TTTTThelen
18 - here are a few....perhaps you or others could add if there are more:
Thelen
Heller
Brobeck
Hancock Rothert
Jackson Tufts
Landels Ripley
Pettit & Martin
19 - how about
"theHELLandbackagain"
12, Do you actually think anyone at Thelen simply chose not to pursue other options or are you just looking for an excuse to be an asshole?
13 - Sorry just 57 associates in Northern California. Still sucks. Nationwide, all 153 may be competing for jobs with ex-associates from Heller, CWT, Jenner Block, OMM. . .
-8
time to start drinking...yes, even at 2pm out on the west coast.
19: "thelen your pain"?
Thelen is my shepherd, I shall not want. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of dissolution,
I fear no evil. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of Thelen forever.
6, 14 -
They are legally obligated to pay, even if the doors are closed. As the Heller episode is showing, though, it may just get you a place in line when the banruptcy dust settles. Close to half of Heller was terminated with fewer than 60 days notice and many have not even received paychecks due to them for time worked prior to termination.
13 - Sorry just 57 associates in Northern California. Still sucks. Nationwide, all 153 may be competing for jobs with ex-associates from Heller, CWT, Jenner Block, OMM. . .
-8
Everyone gets what they deserve...Even Peelen.
Just remember - if you don't have direct deposit, make sure to deposit the check as soon as you get it.
17 - where would that be?
Are they legally obligated to pay new associates who were supposed to start in September, were pushed back to January, and are now royally screwed?? Nobody gave ME any WARNing! This is awful.
HIT POST COMMENT JUST ONCE!!!!!
TTTTThelen
Who saw this coming!!??
... 48, an offer letter isn't employment.
the real question is, who's next?
This would be devastating news to the associates and staff with hiring freezes all over the country. The partners with any book of business will be fine, but the market is saturated with qualified candidates.
To those who celebrate the demise of anyone's job, there's a special place in hell for those who take delight in the suffering of others. Simply because you were passed over doesn't mean you should be happy about someone losing his/her job.
9, 17: Schadenfreude leads to bad karma.
I'm not at Thelen, but know many people there.
You're still not in their class.
-- 10
The federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN” Act) (29 USC § 2101 et seq.) requires covered employers planning a “plant closing” or a “mass layoff” to provide affected employees and specified state and local government officials at least 60 days' written notice. [See 29 USC § 2102(a); 20 CFR § 639.2]
Civil Liability for Failure to Provide Notice: An employer who fails to give the requisite notice before ordering a mass layoff, relocation or termination is liable to each affected employee for:
• Back pay: Back pay at the average regular rate of compensation received by the employee during the last three years of his or her employment, or the employee's final rate of pay, whichever is higher. [Lab.C. § 1402(a)(1)]
• Lost benefits: The value of the cost of any benefits to which the employee would have been entitled had his or her employment continued. This includes any medical expenses incurred by the employee that would have been covered under an employee benefit plan. [Lab.C. § 1402(a)(2)]
a. [6:831] 60–day maximum: The employer's liability for pay and benefits is limited to a maximum of 60 days (or one-half the number of days the employee was employed, if less). [Lab.C. § 1402(b)]
Everyone gets what they deserve...Even Peelen.
9/17: "Now . . . I'm employed full time in an unshrinkable industry."
Prostitution?
It is too bad. A lot of people are going to be hurtin'. This will get ugly.
30/34/36: Skjerven, Morrill, MacPherson, Franklin & Friel (SJ-based IP firm)
47 - Government, where else?
54 - I had a "friend" at Heller. He made the jump. As for class, I don't need it. I have a job.
48: If you have an accepted offer, you may have a contractual claim against the firm -- at least for whatever reimbursements you have coming, and any stipend you were supposed to get that was already due and not paid.
Send a demand letter. And if they later file bk, file a proof of claim.
47 - Government, where else?
54 - I had a "friend" at Heller. He made the jump. As for class, I don't need it. I have a job and my bitterness. I don't need "class".
48... sorry for you man. Hope you were smart enough to have been looking in the meantime and have some leads. To you and all the real thelen employees...good luck.
62 - you're a moron. How many people would he have to get in line behind?
9/61: 58 is probably right about your job and you need to realize that your clients who were in banking and legal fields can't pay for services without a regular paycheck.
19 - Thelen(der is foreclosing on my home)
53,
If your friends cannot hold a job, then, perhaps the fault lies with them.
Country club schlubs who think that they're entitled to a high paying job are suddenly finding out that they're disposable as toilet paper in today's economy.
I am shocked. I am totally shocked.
59, the signs have been out there for a while and all of these people could have done something about the situation months ago.
19 - how about "Thelen Your Pain"
65: I'll spare readers the namecalling.
48's claim will have the same priority as all the other staff and associates. So it's a big line but he'll be right in it.
-- 62
Having worked at Thelen for quite a while (and by sheer luck getting out of there a little while ago), I pass on my thoughts and best of luck to those who remain. The disparity beween the people who work there (almost all wonderful people) and the management (ego driven) is almost impossible to put into words. It was obvious to me early on that the BR "merger" (more like an acquisition, but the name partners at BR wanted their own egos spared) WAS the last ditch effort to keep Thelen alive. This whole Nixon thing was window dressing.
To be honest, it always seemed that upper management were more yes-men than anything (when they were at work, which wasn't that often) and I've never been in an environment where there has been less communication. I mean, there is all this talk on other threads about O'Neal hiding BR debt or lying about how bad of a situation it was pre-merger...but isn't that what due diligence is about? Wasn't upper management involved in that process?
Who gets the Yankee tickets ?
scooped again
http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/10/28/sadness-in-san-francisco-thelen-to-close-doors/
Wow, moronic and inaccurate post results in idiotic comments. Not that that's a surprise at ATL. Keep feeding the law student trolls -- they don't really know anything anyway.
I like "Thelen Blue" for the support blog
Insert Elie: "We know that various Thelen associates that this type of dissolution was not going to happen"
No grammar comments yet, thought I should throw my hat into the ring.
Seriously though, can Elie ever get through an article without butchering the English language?
Government is not unshrinkable, ask Ron Paul.
If you saw what was coming months ago in your firm, and you did nothing, then you deserve to have a beating.
Thelen associates who left a year ago must be thanking their lucky stars.
Thelen associates who are left are SOL. There are far too many qualified associates applying for jobs in today's depressed economy.
I hear that UPS is hiring. Country club schlubs in brown shorts LOL.
reelin' at thelen?
I laugh at O'Neal and the rest of management. Where in the world is Tom Hill ?
I feel for the associates.
79: how can you even walk with that chip on your shoulder? must be difficult....
signed,
biglaw attorney who steadfastly refuses to step foot in or join a country club.
30/34/36/60: Steefel, Levitt & Weiss
How could clients respect the lawyers at TRP (or whatever the acronym is)? They got hoodwinked by BR&S and are idiots. They lost their own money. What client would trust them?
How about "Thelen Needs a Priest."
I don't understand why everyone hates on country clubs. I like mine, and it isn't as pretentious as you would think. Clients love it, I do a lot of negotiations on the golf course. For many corporate lawyers it is a legitimate business expense. Not that I'm deducting it from my taxes or anything.
Hey Bill Baker - PUHCA was repealled a couple of years ago. Wake up !
82,
Reading comprehension is not your strong point, I take it. Let's hope that you don't accidentally misconstrue "reign" for "rein" like many of the retarded associates that post here in your work. If you worked for me and didn't know the difference between the two, you'd be fired.
In today's economy, it's a buyer's market for associates.
Enjoy.
Elsie scooped again
I don't understand why everyone hates on country clubs. I like mine, and it isn't as pretentious as you would think. Clients love it, I do a lot of negotiations on the golf course. For many corporate lawyers it is a legitimate business expense. Not that I'm deducting it from my taxes or anything.
90 thank you for reposting to try to make me look like a douche
-86
91,
You ARE a douche.
You're welcome.
For those keeping the list of shut down San Francisco firms, don't forget:
Graham and James
thelen partners will be getting a lump of COAL from me for christmas
- santa claus
What I can't get over is how quickly the downturn has tanked some of these firms...obviously there is a lot of piss poor management going on out there. PPP at nearly a million last year but still can't hold it together during a downturn....
92 - perhaps, but I am a well-paid douche. I buy enough toys that my overall douchiness doesn't really upset me that much. Its a life choice, but I'm happy with it.
-86/91
5 - pretzels was short for "these pretzels are making me firsty" which is long for "FIRST"
1
Will someone tell Strniste to stop sending out conflicts checks...
Will someone tell Strniste to stop sending out conflicts checks...
Will someone tell Strniste to stop sending out conflicts checks...
Hey Strniste: stop sending out conflicts checks.
HTH
86 - How many minorities are on the CC staff? How many are members? Enough said.
What is the Skadden DC story?
You guys are a bunch of friggin assholes.
Having worked at Thelen for quite a while (and by sheer luck getting out of there a little while ago), I pass on my thoughts and best of luck to those who remain. The disparity beween the people who work there (almost all wonderful people) and the management (ego driven) is almost impossible to put into words. It was obvious to me early on that the BR "merger" (more like an acquisition, but the name partners at BR wanted their own egos spared) WAS the last ditch effort to keep Thelen alive. This whole Nixon thing was window dressing.
To be honest, it always seemed that upper management were more yes-men than anything (when they were at work, which wasn't that often) and I've never been in an environment where there has been less communication. I mean, there is all this talk on other threads about O'Neal hiding BR debt or lying about how bad of a situation it was pre-merger...but isn't that what due diligence is about? Wasn't upper management involved in that process?
"As we know from the Heller situation, employees are entitled to 60 days notice."
Well, unless an exception applies. http://www.lawmemo.com/articles/warn.htm (Failing Company Doctrine).
106 --
as per your link:
"Businesses who are able to show that a closing or mass layoff was caused by business circumstances which were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would have been required are free from the 60-day advance notice requirements under the Act."
**************
So you are trying to tell us that Thelen's possibility of closing or laying off a lot of people WAS NOT REASONABLY FORESEEABLE 30 days ago?
106 --
as per your link:
"Businesses who are able to show that a closing or mass layoff was caused by business circumstances which were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would have been required are free from the 60-day advance notice requirements under the Act."
**************
So you are trying to tell us that Thelen's possibility of closing or laying off a lot of people WAS NOT REASONABLY FORESEEABLE 30 days ago? You think the "business circumstances" that caused this came as a total surprise and were not there at all 30 days ago? I hope you are not a lawyer, although you probably are one.
Addendum to 108:
I don't think Thelen is trying to skunk us out of the entire 60 days' pay. As per their agreement with Citibank, they are definitely paying salaries until Nov. 30 and funding our benefits until Dec. 31. Those of us who do not have a new job before the layoff will have to wait for the additional 30 days' pay and we know it will most likely NOT happen until 2009 unless Citbank has a change of heart.