Nixon Peabody Picks Up 90 Thelen Attorneys (This is Different From a Merger How?)

We’ve previously reported that Nixon Peabody was acquiring 60 ex-Thelen attorneys, but only Thelen refugees located in Manhattan.

But now it is looking like Nixon is picking up 90 ex-Thelen lawyers (partners and associates), former Thelen support staff, and tripling its presence in Silicon Valley.

Yesterday’s press release from Nixon reported:

The new attorneys are joining all four of Nixon Peabody’s departments: business, intellectual property, litigation, and real estate. The firm also plans to hire a number of associates and staff from Thelen to help support the new partners. With the addition of these new attorneys from Thelen in Silicon Valley, which will triple in size, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Shanghai, it is anticipated Nixon Peabody will have more than 825 attorneys worldwide in 19 cities.

After the jump, remember when Nixon and Thelen were supposed to merge?


We first reported on a possible Thelen/Nixon merger back in September:

Wasn’t this the plot to the movie Made of Honor? Nixon plays the role of Dr. McDreamy, with its dulcet law firm song. Thelen is the cute platonic friend, who suddenly starts looking really hot when she’s about to get hitched to somebody else.

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But then Thelen went through a phase where top partners (like their construction practice) were poached by other firms (like PIllsbury). Eventually, the Thelen/Nixon merger withered on the vine:

[I]t’s safe to assume that the laws of “subtraction” still apply to Thelen. It’s not like Nixon (or anybody else) is going to merge with the Thelen associates. A book of business is very different from an active Facebook page.

But it turns out that “merging with associates” is pretty much what Nixon did. Which begs the question, why didn’t Nixon just merge with Thelen outright? Why didn’t they do it before lucrative Thelen practice groups jumped to other firms? Grabbing 90 attorneys isn’t cherry picking, it’s more like harvesting.

And how pissed are the Thelen associates that didn’t get picked up by Nixon?

Highly Qualified Team of Thelen Attorneys Join Nixon Peabody LLP [Nixon Peabody]

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Up to 90 Thelen Lawyers are Joining Nixon Peabody [ABA Journal]

Earlier: Law Firm Merger Mania: Nixon & Thelen You Don’t Have To Go Home But You Can’t Stay Here

Law Firm Merger Mania: Nixon Peabody + Thelen = Nixlen Thelpea?