Last month, Philly-based midsized firm Wolf Block joined Thacher, Thelen, Heller, & Morgan & Finnegan as victims of the Great Recession. The firm officially dissolved on March 23.

The press release at the time said:

WolfBlock will remain in the practice of law for several months to protect the interests of its clients, employees and creditors. The decision to unwind was reached in view of a confluence of unfavorable factors: the economic recession, especially in the firm's core real estate practice; the constriction of credit occasioned by the ongoing banking crisis; and the intended and anticipated departure of significant partners and practices.

We now know where some of those partners and practice groups went. Duane Morris is picking up 50 of 290 WolfBlock attorneys, including the firm's Trial Practice Group, Employment & Immigration Practice Group, and Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group.

It's not a good time to be part of a Real Estate Group, but two Real Estate partners and one associate managed to make the jump.

From the Duane Morris press release:

"When this unique opportunity materialized to add such a prominent group of lawyers from a venerable institution, we acted immediately," said John J. Soroko, Chairman and CEO of Duane Morris. "These lawyers bring an impressive level of experience, knowledge and business acumen that will integrate well with Duane Morris' international platform. Our collective goal is to take their already significant practices to the next level."

The lawyers will be joining Duane Morris's offices in Philadelphia, Cherry Hill, N.J., and New York. See the full press release and the names of the saved, after the jump. As to the other 200+, WolfBlock attorneys, we've not seen any press releases as to their fates.

Former Thelen associates might still be scrambling to pick up the pieces of their aborted legal careers, but former Thelen partners continue to land on their feet. The latest partner refugee is an All-Star. Richard Raysman (of what used to be known as Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner) has ended up at Holland & Knight.

Raysman left Thelen in August for Otterbourg Steindler. He got out before Thelen collapsed. Not surprisingly, Holland & Knight's announcement downplays Raysman's connection to his defunct former firm:

After graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and receiving his J.D., from Brooklyn Law School while working at IBM as a systems engineer, Raysman founded the firm of Brown, Raysman, Millstein, Felder & Steiner which grew to 250 attorneys. The Brown Raysman firm was the first significant firm to focus on computer law. Raysman was among the first lawyers to recognize that the practice of law in the area of computers would be increasingly important as digital technology spread through commercial enterprises.

But ex-Thelen employees still remember My. Raysman. Remember, earlier this month former Thelen employees were granted class status to pursue claims against Thelen. Their lawyer has indicated a willingness to go after former partners of the firm.

But clients probably won't care about Raysman's connection with the unfortunate events surrounding Thelen. He's a leading lawyer in an important field. We're sure Holland & Knight will be thrilled by the extra rain.

Check out the full press release after the jump.

Thelen dissolved, not that long ago. But some former employees claim that they did not get sufficient notice under the WARN act. Those employees are now allowed to pursue remedies as a certified class:

Lawyers and staff for the now-defunct firm Thelen have won class certification of their suit claiming the firm failed to give federally required 60 days notice that it would close its doors....

Thelen stipulated to class certification, a move praised by Steven A. Blum, who represents former Thelen employees.

Congratulations guys. Good luck getting blood out of a rock.

Of course, there are people affiliated with Thelen that still have money, and the lawyer representing former Thelen employees intends to go after those deep pockets, regardless of where they practice now:

Asked if sufficient funds exist for a recovery, Blum said, "From one source or another there should be a substantial recovery. From Thelen itself there are banks to contend with first and we may have to go to other sources in addition to Thelen to get maximum compensation."

He said those other sources would include "other law firms that have taken large groups of Thelen partners and discarded the employees."

Interesting. Nixon Peabody picked up 90 Thelen attorneys. Any chance that former Thelen partners now at Nixon will disgorge profits to this new class of former employees?

Ex-Thelen Lawyers Granted Class Certification [ABA Journal]
Judge approves class certification of suit filed by employees of shuttered Thelen [National Law Journal]

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

There doesn't appear to be a Wolf Block miracle in Philly today. The firm is dissolving. A press release was just issued by Bradford Hildebrandt, whom the ABA Journal reported this morning had been brought in by the firm to oversee a possible wind-down.

The partners of WolfBlock LLP have voted to commence an orderly unwinding of the firm's business.

WolfBlock will remain in the practice of law for several months to protect the interests of its clients, employees and creditors. The decision to unwind was reached in view of a confluence of unfavorable factors: the economic recession, especially in the firm's core real estate practice; the constriction of credit occasioned by the ongoing banking crisis; and the intended and anticipated departure of significant partners and practices.

We're not sure which practice groups in particular felt they'd be better off on their own.

Time to brush up on your WARN law, again. The Intelligencer reported that the overall headcount at Wolf Block is 290. There's a lot of sadness in Philly today.

Read the full release after the jump.

We hope you enjoyed last week, a "relatively quiet week" in layoffs. We'll see if the relative calm holds as we get closer to the time for firms to make another payroll.

Last night, the Legal Intelligencer broke the news that Wolf Block could be doing a lot more (subscription) than laying off employees this week:

Several sources have said members of the executive committee met Saturday to discuss a possible dissolution of the firm. The matter is said to be set for a full partnership vote as early as Monday. A decision to dissolve the firm would need to be approved by at least 75 percent of the partnership, one source said.

After the jump, the now familiar story of failed mergers as precursors to dissolution.

Given the news that has come out about Morgan & Finnegan yesterday and today, this isn't going to come as a galloping shock to anybody.

Morgan & Finnegan has officially filed for Bankruptcy. Chapter 7. It's up on PACER right now.

If you are Morgan & Finnegan employee waiting on severance, it is officially time to stop holding your breath.

For those interested, here's the 87 page document.

M&F Ch. 7.pdf

Earlier: Anatomy of a Dissolution: Morgan & Finnegan In Receivership
Anatomy of a Dissolution: Morgan & Finnegan Still Hasn't Paid Severance

Yesterday, we reported that JPMorgan Chase was suing Morgan & Finnegan. Today, AmLaw reports that a judge has named a receiver for the defunct IP boutique:

A judge on Wednesday ordered the appointment of a receiver to defunct IP shop Morgan & Finnegan and enjoined it from selling or transferring its assets after the failed New York firm found itself the target of a lawsuit from lender JPMorgan Chase.

Locke Lord is busy washing its hands of this entire Morgan & Finnegan mess:

A spokeswoman for Locke Lord says the firm is aware of the lawsuit, but notes it is not a party to the lawsuit.

"The handling of it is totally up to the former Morgan & Finnegan lawyers and their counsel," the spokeswoman says. Senior partner John Sweeney was not immediately available for comment.

We are about to get a good look at the books of a law firm that couldn't make it in new economy. We already know that Morgan & Finnegan doesn't have enough money to pay severance, but what do they have?

JPMorgan says it has seized the firm's bank accounts, valued at $981,641. University Management, which JPMorgan hired to review the law firm's books, found the firm had $6.6 million in billable accounts receivables through December 31. About $1.7 million were marked as disbursements.

Who do you think is going to get their money first: JPMorgan, or laid off M&F employees? In the meantime, how much soap do you think Locke Lord is trucking into the office?

Morgan & Finnegan Target of JPMorgan Suit [AmLaw Daily]
JPMorgan Chase v. Morgan & Finnegan.pdf [AmLaw Daily]

Earlier: Anatomy of a Dissolution: Morgan & Finnegan Still Hasn't Paid Severance

Over a month ago, we reported that Morgan & Finnegan was bouncing checks to attorneys and staff that were left behind when the vanguard of M&F's partnership jumped ship to Locke Lord. Back in February, we reported:

Is it that the firm can't make payroll, or is that it won't make payroll?

We know a number of former Morgan & Finnegan partners are getting ready for their new practice at Locke Lord, but it looks like those people might not be done with their old practice quite yet.

Well, here we are in March, there are Morgan & Finnegan people that have been out of work for two and a half months now. There are still no severance checks.

Where is the money? About a month ago, M&F people received this terse letter:

M & F issued WARN checks drawn on its account with J.P Morgan Chase ("Chase") that was fully funded to cover those checks. Without prior notice to M & F, Chase froze the account and rejected the checks when they were presented for payment. The transition team has been trying to resolve this situation with Chase, both as to WARN payments and future WARN payments. But, we do not know, at this time, what the outcome of those efforts will be.

As Heller proved, blaming the bank -- while doing nothing for former employees -- is a good press strategy. However, in this case, the bank is fighting back.

Details after the jump.

On December 21, we reported on the rescue of some Thacher Proffitt lawyers by Sonnenschein. One hundred TPW attorneys were able to move over to Sonnenschein, while their colleagues went down with the ship, when Thacher dissolved the next day.

We obtained a version of the Memorandum of Understanding between Sonnenschein and the TPW partners it picked up, dated December 19, 2008. The memo provides interesting insights into aspects of law firm business that associates rarely see -- and also lists the compensation of all Thacher Proffitt lawyers who were picked up by Sonnenschein.

Not surprisingly, the need to ante up comes first. The memo begins with the buy-in, explaining how much cold hard cash the TPW partners had to cough up to Sonnenschein. Sonnenschein asked TPW partners to put up 45% of their total budgeted compensation by February 28, 2009. For partners at the top end, the amount could be as high as $630K.

Maybe that's why the firm needed to go to Vegas so badly. Now is the time to double down.

When we got a hold of the offer letters Locke Lord sent a couple of rainmakers at Morgan & Finnegan, we saw that the "budgeted compensation" for M&F's John Sweeney was $1.6 million. For TPW partners joining Sonnenschein, the top nine equity partners are budgeted at $1.4 million each. The next seven come in at $1.275 million. Two are slotted for $1 million, and two more for $750,000. Total compensation for the 20 Thacher Proffitt partners who joined Sonnenschein as equity partners: $24.85 million.

After the jump, we take a look at the highlights, and provide a link to the full memo.

In August, we reported on significant layoffs at Morgan & Finnegan. Two and a half weeks ago, we told you that Morgan & Finnegan would be dissolving with survivors going over to Locke Lord.

Thanks to the recent dissolution of Heller Ehrman, Thelen, and Thacher Proffitt, we have learned what to expect as a firm shuts its doors. Employees are supposed to have sixty days of paid warning, under the WARN Act.

But what is the use of a severance check if there is no money in the bank? Morgan & Finnegan employees are finding out. Last week, a tipster reported:

Morgan & Finnegan severance checks were sent to fired employees. They were drawn on an account that is frozen. The checks are not good. The signature is illegible.

At the time, we thought this was a minor clerical error. But yesterday, ATL received additional confirmation that Morgan & Finnegan employees are having trouble getting paid. Details after the jump.

When faced with a struggling and a declining job market, I'm sure there are some Penn Law students that have some time on their hands.

Which is great news for us! And pretty good news for the general UPenn Law community. It looks like an unknown number of students have started a comedy publication. A tipster reports:

So we came into school yesterday, and every available surface was covered in copies of these.... Hearing law students laughing was a nice change. It seems the student names are all fake, but the professors are real.

The stories seem pretty real too:

Check out the full paper by following the link below.

goat's milk.pdf

Last week we brought you news of an impending partner defection from Morgan & Finnegan to Locke Lord. Today, Locke Lord made it official. A press release from Locke Lord heralds the bad news for Morgan & Finnegan:

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, a full-service national law firm of approximately 700 attorneys, announces that more than 30 lawyers previously with New York-based Morgan & Finnegan are joining Locke Lord. Morgan & Finnegan was one of the oldest and most well regarded Intellectual Property law firms in the country. The attorneys include 13 Partners and the previous members of Morgan & Finnegan's Executive Committee.

This move more than doubles the size of Locke Lord's New York office to about 50 attorneys and
leads to Locke Lord opening a San Francisco office - the Firm's 13th office and its third in
California (Los Angeles, Sacramento and now San Francisco). Morgan & Finnegan was in
existence more than 115 years and was well-known for providing well-rounded IP services
including IP litigation, patent and trademark prosecution and IP counseling and advice.

Notice the interesting use of the word "was?" "Morgan & Finnegan was in existence more than 115 years ..."

Does Locke Lord know something that has not yet been announced to the general public? Or are they just parroting the obvious along with everybody else?

Read the full press release after the jump.

Earlier: Nationwide Dissolution Watch: Morgan & Finnegan?

The law firm of Morgan & Finnegan, a leading intellectual property boutique, will be dissolving imminently, according to several sources at the firm. Some (but not all) of its lawyers, including prominent partners John Sweeney and James Gould, will join Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell.

Last month, we mentioned the possibility of a merger between the two firms. It now appears that it won't be a complete merger, but a selective acquisition of certain lawyers (a la Sonnenschein's absorption of Thacher Proffitt & Wood attorneys when TPW dissolved). As a result, Morgan & Finnegan lawyers who aren't offered spots on the Locke Lord life raft will be out of jobs.

John Sweeney will become the deputy managing partner of Locke Lord's New York office, while James Gould will assume the role of co-head of the intellectual property department. At least 11 other Morgan & Finnegan partners will also be making the move. Joining Locke Lord as equity partners are Matthew Blackburn, William Feiler, Peter Fill, Harry Marcus, and Steven Meyer. Coming aboard as income partners are Seth Atlas, Robert Goethals, James Hwa, John Osborne, Richard Straussman, and Andrea Wayda.

Rumors of dissolution have been swirling around Morgan & Finnegan for quite some time. Back in August, the firm engaged in staff and attorney layoffs.

As for how the word got out, something rather strange happened on Friday. An email from an anonymous address was sent to a large number of M&F associates, attaching the Locke Lord offer letters to Sweeney and Gould (posted below -- but you may have seen them already, since they were in wide circulation over the weekend, sent to us by multiple correspondents). From one source:

Morgan & Finnegan is dissolving on Monday. They are sending termination letters to everyone. Then, a number of those people will receive offer letters from Locke Lord (so it is not really an acquisition).

Not everyone will get offers. A large number of staff and attorneys will be laid off on Monday. Rumor has it around 70 people. Most first years, and some other associates. Pretty much all staff. LLBL just wants the lease and some of the partners....

Interesting that [Sweeney and Gould] are making off with $1+ million apiece at the cost of most of the jobs of their employees. Needless to say, most people are disgusted. John Sweeney is the person who has kept saying that people should not worry and the firm is fine. Now he is cutting his losses and running.

More discussion -- plus links to the James Gould and John Sweeney offer letters, which are an interesting read, especially if you don't know what a lateral-partner offer letter looks like -- after the jump.

Bad things happened in the business of Biglaw in 2008. Some people are still so scarred by the experience that they'd just as soon pretend last year never happened.

But the events that transpired in 2008 could have ramifications for the legal industry for a long time.

Our third-place story is the Biglaw salary freeze. It could be the "Shock Doctrine" of the market meltdown. Slashing bonuses during a down year is one thing, but freezing pay (or cutting pay depending on your perspective) is downright deflationary.

We've given a lot of "credit" to Latham & Watkins for being the most prestigious firm (according to Vault) to freeze salaries, but as commenters have pointed out, Latham wasn't the first.

That distinction goes to Squire Sanders. When they froze salaries back on December 15th, the news was so shocking people didn't know what to make of it. Back then, we said:

The memo below was sent to us by a tipster, with this prefatory comment: "No one really knows what the f*** the second half of the first sentence of the memo means."

Since then, the following firms have instituted some form of a salary freeze: Orrick, Dorsey & Whitney, Reed Smith, Venable, Sidley, DLA Piper, Arnold & Porter, Sheppard Mullin, and Sonnenschein.

And those are just the ones we know about.

But it's also important to remember which firms are not on that list. Skadden and Cravath and countless others are going ahead with the expected pay raises for rising classes. Neither Squire Sanders nor Latham set the market for associate pay. They just gave firms another option in dealing with the financial crisis.

Firms need options because you don't want to work for a firm that is part of our number two story of the year.

Second place melts away, after the jump.

This morning The Recorder is reporting that Bank of America and Citibank could lose $57 million because of a clerical error that could void the preferred status of BoA and Citibank:

A secured creditor must "perfect" its security interests with uniform commercial code filings and file updates every five years. The bank last submitted such a "continuation" in 2005, so another filing wasn't needed until 2010. On Oct. 1, a week after Heller said it would dissolve, the bank filed a "correction statement" saying the 2007 filing was a "clerical error." On Monday, the bank declined to discuss how or why the error occurred, or who made it -- the 2007 filing required no signature.

The error would nullify BoA's and Citibank's secured creditor status:

The firm had paid the banks $51 million since announcing its dissolution and would owe them almost $6 million more if they remain secured creditors.

Closing the loop on Heller's bankruptcy after the jump.

Thacher Proffitt & Wood made its dissolution official last month. Last Monday, the firm officially rescinded offers to approximately twenty 3Ls who were bound there after graduation.

One would-have-been Thacherite said no one was surprised to have the offers rescinded but that the soon-to-be law school graduates are still "bummed."

The "firm did it right." The partners in charge of Thacher's summer associate program called all of the 3Ls on Monday. With the firm bound for nonexistence by May, the reason for the call was fairly obvious. The partners offered to do anything they can to help: forward resumes on, provide references, resend offer letters, etc. (Though those not rescued by Sonnenschein may be a bit busy looking after their own job prospects.)

Law students who placed their eggs in the baskets of failing firms Thacher, Thelen Reid, and Heller Ehrman may no longer be looking forward to cap-and-gown day. One Thacherite-would-have-been talked to us about what it's like to see one's Biglaw prospects dissolve. "When you take an offer from a 150-year-old firm, you think it's pretty solid," said the UnThachered 3L.

Full interview with "NoMoreTP", after the jump.

Heller Ehrman's bankruptcy has been a long time coming. The firm made the news official on Sunday:

Today the Dissolution Committee of Heller Ehrman LLP, in Dissolution (the "Firm") authorized the Firm's counsel to file a Petition for Reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. We took this step only after very careful and extensive analysis.

But the firm's Dissolution Committee also notes:

The Dissolution Committee's decision to conduct the continued wind down of the Firm under the jurisdiction of the Bankruptcy Court was not prompted by the Firm running out of money. On the contrary, thanks to the dedication and tireless efforts of the Firm's remaining employees who comprise the Liquidation Team, the cooperation of the Firm's former shareholders, and the positive responses received from hundreds of the Firm's former clients, collection of accounts receivable over the past three months has been strong. And going forward, we continue to expect collection of tens of millions of additional dollars.

After the jump, we post the full Heller memo and check in with Thacher Proffitt.

As Thacher Proffitt prepares to shut down, the "how did this happen" reports can begin. AmLaw Daily notes that while other firms had banner years in 2007, Thacher was already struggling:

Thacher entered 2008 already struggling financially. The firm had suffered a dismal 2007, with gross revenue growing only 1.6 percent to $194.5 million and profits per partner dropping 22.1 percent to $1.02 million. The year to come didn't treat the firm much better, especially come September, when several bank clients either collapsed or went into hasty mergers.

As we noted many times in these pages, a merger with King & Spalding had been the best hope for TPW to remain in business:

For months, Thacher had tried and failed to convince King & Spalding to acquire the firm outright. Discussions with the Atlanta-based firm to instead hire a chunk of its lawyers had plodded along for weeks. A deal to hire about 75 lawyers was close, but still not final, two sources at the firms say. With time running out for the 150-year-old firm, Thacher's lawyers began talking to others, including Sonnenschein.

At least Sonnenschein was able to step in a save a lot of jobs. But after the jump, things are still pretty somber over at TPW today.

The Thacher Proffitt people who were not picked up just now by Sonnenschein will soon be picking up unemployment checks. Multiple sources report that TPW is dissolving today. The official WARN notices will be sent out shortly.

People are being brought into a conference room, group by group, and being told of the bad news.

In keeping with WARN regulations, which require 60 days notice in a situation like this, TPW lawyers have 60 days from today during which they can still earn a paycheck. However, TPW attorneys have been told that they still have to show up to work for the next two months in order to get their pay.

Good luck with that. I see a flurry of "vacation memos" in the near future.

We can't emphasize how terrible we feel for the TPW litigators on their way out the door. Getting let go days before Christmas is only supposed to happen in the movies.

We'll update you as more details become available. In the meantime, somebody should probably fire up "Heller Drone."

RIP TPW.

Earlier: Breaking: Sonnenschein Saves 100 Thacher Proffitt Lawyers

It looks like Thacher Proffitt had a "plan B" in case the King & Spalding negotiations broke down.

We mentioned on Saturday that Sonnenschein was looking into acquiring some Thacher Proffitt lawyers. AmLaw Daily reported:

Within the past week, according to the partner, as King & Spalding neared a deal with Thacher for the structured finance group, it emerged that Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal was talking to Thacher lawyers.

Tonight we've got news that Sonnenschein is doing a little more than talking. A Sonnenschein spokesperson reports:

[On Monday morning] We will announce the tremendous addition of 100 lawyers from Thacher Proffitt & Wood.

Happy Holidays!

What a nice present for a bunch of TPW lawyers. On Friday it looked like they'd start 2009 updating resumes, now it looks like they will be making new friends.

Morale is pretty high at Sonnenschein as well. An internal email went around Sonnenschein this evening heralding the news:

With today's move, we dramatically enhance our national and international corporate and finance capabilities, and double the size of our New York office -- both of which have been strategic priorities for Sonnenschein.

These new colleagues accelerate our global growth strategy and reaffirm our continued commitment to client service. In particular, these lawyers bring highly regarded expertise in the fields of structured finance, banking, corporate, real estate and regulatory law. Also joining is a strong and complementary group of litigators, ERISA and employee benefits, and tax lawyers.

Read the full firm-wide email after the jump. We'll update you as more specifics become available.

It's the most wonderful time, of the year.

Update (12:00): The WSJ Law blog is now saying that what is left of TPW will dissolve, and the vote could be happening as early as today. TPW spokespeople could not be reached for immediate comment. Stay tuned ...

Update (12:21): Multiple sources have confirmed that Thacher Proffitt is dissolving today. WARN notifications will be sent around by the end of the day. For continuing coverage, click here.