San Francisco law firm Thelen is holding a dissolution vote, and management expects the firm to be gone by December.
Thelen's Partnership Council recommended Tuesday, in a meeting that's still ongoing, that the firm's partnership vote to dissolve the firm, the firm's spokesman confirmed.
Management asked the partnership to vote for dissolution during a partner meeting that began at 10 a.m. PDT and lasted more than two hours. The vote will remain open for seven days and the firm hopes to shut down by Dec. 1.
The 84-year-old San Francisco-based firm consummated a merger with New York's Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner in late 2006, but that has since been widely viewed as problematic. Name partners Peter Brown, Richard Raysman and Jeffrey Steiner -- and more than 100 other lawyers -- have left the now-roughly 400-lawyer firm this year.
More recently, since merger discussions with Nixon Peabody died several weeks ago, it had become clear that various groups from Thelen were talking to other firms about lateralling, including rainmaking energy partner Ellen Bastier and firm Chairman Stephen O'Neal.
Only a month ago, fellow San Francisco stalwart Heller Ehrman decided to dissolve. In a worsening economy, observers fear that more firms nationwide may face such dire decisions.
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This article first appeared on Legal Pad, a blog on The Recorder's Cal Law Web site.
