First!!!???

Lat has been posting a lot lately.

second

second

second

not sure why you think this implies Thacher isn't dissolving-- business is always portable, and the main question is which partner would take this job with him (or her)

TPW is on the brink of insolvency and they get TARP work? WTF? Is this engagement based on the 'it takes one to know one' theory of managing insolvent businesses?

is this a joke

clueless bureaucrats, put out an ROI to a list of firms they know from the past, and have no idea about current state of this firm

Please stay, Lat

maybe now k&s will want to merge to steal the treasury as a client

Government idiots have no idea what they are spending their money on. My sources say that Thatcher is going under within two months. Of course, my source is my left butt cheak, but it has never let me down.

500 k won't save TPW.

care?

Actually, it makes sense. Without any other current business or prospects for future business, TPW has no conflicts issues.

And plenty of time to devote.

Hey 10 - ROI = return on investment. RFP might be what you're looking for.

16, damn! you beat me to it! well, at least now we know why only lit dept is getting tossed (for now).

Geez, the government isjust giving TARP money away. I may register as a bank and start sucking from the teet of mother U.S.

FIRST to say that the Michigan 2L comment thread should be reopened, and that Michigan 2L should consider offering a "free one" to the TPW partners.

20-bad person, bad karma-will probably be hit by bus soon

Treasury, TARP, Thacher Proffitt.

Love the TTT alliteration.

Thacher may be in trouble, but that trouble is a result of a larger economic down turn; a down turn that even the most brilliant economists could not, and did not, predict.

But, for the record: Thacher has always been different -- it defied the very concept of "BigLaw." It was the place you could go if you hated BigLaw. It was the place you could go for interesting work and yet be around cool people -- that is, people who are smart but, more importantly, are your friend.

That is the reason I chose Thacher as a recruit many years ago. But importantly, that is why I stayed.

I chose to stay at Thacher because I could never be sure that I would ever meet a better group of people. That is the tragedy.

23 - you sound like the people from Thelen

Might be time to move on

What a joke. TPW's bank (recipient of fed funds) won't let the firm pay draws to partners so Treasury hires the firm (so the bank can get more Treasury money?)

23 is right. It's a rare place with a great culture, and with people who aren't arrogant assholes looking to take a shit on you. It's a huge loss for NY law that this island of sanity is going down.

500K in revenue is not even the comp+benefits of a 4th year and his secretary. Whatever.

23- Was laid off last July. I still miss the place and the people.

Former TPW associate - great people and a great firm. So sad.

I was a paralegal there for a year right after college in the late 1980s working in the mortgage backed group (or whatever it was called then). Really boring work, but really nice people. Definitely nicer than other places I worked later as a lawyer. Even in the late 1980s, except for a small litigation department that still handled maritime cases, it seemed like they had too many eggs in the mortgage finance/real estate basket.

I was at TPW in late 80s too. I think the women and men I worked with back then were some of the nicest people you would ever want to work with. Lots of them are still there. TPW survived two disasters. I remember some of the attorneys staying behind during the early 90s WTC bombing to walk down the stairs with a disabled secretary. TPW didn't lose a person during 9/11 because it didn't hesitate to send its people home immediately (despite the potential loss of billables). I wish them well - I hope this signals a new beginning.

I was at TPW in late 80s too. I think the women and men I worked with back then were some of the nicest people you would ever want to work with. Lots of them are still there. TPW survived two disasters. I remember some of the attorneys staying behind during the early 90s WTC bombing to walk down the stairs with a disabled secretary. TPW didn't lose a person during 9/11 because it didn't hesitate to send its people home immediately (despite the potential loss of billables). I wish them well - I hope this signals a new beginning.

I agree with all the above. After having worked at other large law firms, I can say that TPW was the most wonderful place to work with a group of special lawyers who truly care about and are invested in one another. Anyone happy about TPW 's current state of affairs is happy about the potential failure of one of the few large law firms remaining in this city where the practice of law is enjoyable and the environment is inviting.

Seems like the partners of TPW have nothing else to do but post on this site!

Seems like the partners of TPW have nothing else to do but post on this site!

I used to be at TPW and the good comments about the place are true. It's the last of a dying breed, though, I'm afraid.

Purely business, they should have found a merger partner in a bigger firm while the MBS/ABS market was booming. It's hard to time trades, but sooner or later everybody knew real estate had to crash. It was hard to see in advance how dramatic the consequences would be, though. It seems stunningly clear in hindsight, though, doesn't it?

Was told the BIG decision was coming today, but I'm still waiting....K&S is suppose to announce that they are taking over TPW....or maybe not??? Hmmm....

Anybody have any info on this???

Former associate here-laid off earlier this year. Tpw was/is a great place. I'm not talking about one or two partners- I'm talking about most of the people accross the board. Secretaries, paralegals, partners for the most part were great- normal people. News of any firm in trouble is nothing to celebrate- and let's all stop the too many eggs in one basket. It's not like tpw is in a unique position. UBS, Citigroup, Goldman, etc have all lost billions and their stock prices have all suffered. AIG is on life support- fannie/freddie are controlled by the federal govt- the automakers are getting emergency loans from the US. The pain is being spread around and this economic harm is unique and never experienced before in our country- at least since the great depression. Let's keep the "too many eggs" or "downturn in real estate was inevitable" or any other I told you so comments to a minimum. If you were really that smart and truly saw this coming you would have made millions shorting all the companies in trouble today. People are losing their jobs here. Let's keep a little perspective.

TPW sucks.

TPW really sucks

I love TPW.

-your mom