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Thelen LLP, formerly known as Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner was a bicoastal American
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
formed by two mergers between California and New York–based law firms. The firm peaked at roughly 600 attorneys in 2006, and had 500 early in 2008, with attorneys with offices in eight cities in the United States, England and China. By the time of its decision to dissolve in late October 2008, it had shrunk to 400 attorneys through layoffs and attrition. Thelen was known for its preeminent construction practice which dates back to the 1930s and the local association between the law firm and contractors and developers of large hydroelectric dam projects. The construction practice offered regulatory, transactional and dispute resolution (
litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
and
arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...
) support. It was also known for its energy expertise, particularly in the electricity regulatory area, as well as for legal advice concerning technology and outsourcing.


History

The firm that would become Thelen LLP was founded in 1924 as Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges (TMJB) in
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. The firm counseled contractors and developers in a wide range of big ticket infrastructure projects, including the
Hoover Dam The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado, Black Canyon of the Colorado River (U.S.), Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. Constructed between 1931 and 1936, d ...
, the
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...
, the San Francisco-Oakland Bridge and the second stage of
Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had two powerhous ...
. United States Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was a TMJB Associate Attorney from 1961 to 1963. In June 1998, Thelen Marrin merged with New York–based Reid & Priest, a firm with 160 attorneys founded in 1935 with a Washington, D.C., office, known for its industry experience in the electric utility sector. The combined firm reportedly sought to merge with an English law firm following the revelation that New York–based
Rogers & Wells Rogers & Wells was an international law firm founded in New York City in 1873. After several name changes, it was renamed for William P. Rogers and John A. Wells. Firms that merged with it include Dwight, Harris, Koegel & Caskey of New York. ...
and London-based international firm
Clifford Chance Clifford Chance LLP is a British multinational law firm headquartered in London, England, and a member of the " Magic Circle", a group of leading London-based multinational law firms. In 2022-2023 Clifford Chance was the third largest law fir ...
were in merger talks that eventually reached fruition. However, the firm did not ultimately engage in a transatlantic merger. Instead, it opted for domestic growth by acquiring the 10 lawyers of San Francisco–based
boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...
technology firm Britton Silberman & Cervantez in 2000. Three years later, the firm established a joint venture with UK firm
Pinsent Masons Pinsent Masons LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London. The firm has been cited among the UK's leading legal brands and ranks among the top hundred law firms in the world by turnover. Pinsent Masons LLP has over 490 partners, a ...
focused on construction and
project finance Project finance is the long-term financing of infrastructure and industrial projects based upon the projected cash flows of the project rather than the balance sheets of its sponsors. Usually, a project financing structure involves a number of eq ...
, called Masons Thelen Reid. The joint venture later launched a link-up with a law firm in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
in 2004 to assist firms involved in reconstruction. The joint venture was abandoned in 2007. Thelen Reid & Priest LLP merged, effective on December 1, 2006, with Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner, LLP, to form Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP. The transaction was the largest law firm merger in 2006, according to the Hildebrandt International consulting firm creating a bicoastal firm of over 600 attorneys with revenues of over $400 million. According to the results of the National Law Journal's 2007 survey of the nation's largest law firms, Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner ranked 70. The firm later launched in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
.


Dissolution

Thelen's merger with Brown Raysman created a culture clash on several levels. Thelen had historically been a conservative firm with "older and bigger" clients, while Brown Raysman was a more "entrepreneurial" firm that focused on technology and real estate clients. Thelen linked partner compensation to firm performance while Brown Raysman followed a "payout" model that provided income to capital partners regardless of how the firm performed. Several key partners began to leave the combined firm in early 2007. By autumn 2008, the firm saw the departures of the three "name partners" from the Brown Raysman Steiner side. The firm shortened its name to Thelen LLP in August 2008. The firm lost almost 200 attorneys between merger and the October 2008 dissolution vote, including many important
rainmakers The Rainmakers may refer to: Music * The Rainmakers (band), from Kansas City, Missouri, US ** ''The Rainmakers'' (album), 1986 *The Rainmakers, an Australian band whose members included Neil Murray and Christine Anu Maia Christine Anu (born o ...
and practice groups, who moved to such leading firms as
DLA Piper DLA Piper is a law firm with offices in over 40 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. It was founded in 2005 through the merger between three law firms: San Diego–based ''Gray Cary Ware & Freiden ...
,
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Orrick is a global law firm focusing on serving the technology & innovation, energy & infrastructure, finance, and life sciences & healthcare sectors. Founded in San Francisco, California, Orrick today has offices in over 25 worldwide markets His ...
,
Proskauer Rose Proskauer Rose LLP (formerly known as Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, LLP) is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. Proskauer was founded in 1875 and currently employs more than 800 attorneys in eleven offices worldwide. ...
, and Loeb & Loeb. In late September 2008, twenty attorneys in the firm's China practice group in its Washington, D.C., and Shanghai offices left for
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, also known as Pillsbury, is a full-service law firm with a particular focus on the energy, financial services, real estate and technology industries. Based in the world's major financial, technology and energy ...
. In July 2008, the firm internally announced its intention to seek another merger partner to boost its headcount and stem the tide of partner defections. After merger discussions with East Coast firm Nixon Peabody failed, the firm began looking to shed practice groups and offices under the threat of dissolution. On October 28, 2008, the firm's partnership council recommended that the firm's partnership dissolve the firm. The firm's line of credit was cut off due to many partners departing the firm. In early November, between 60 and 90 attorneys from offices in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Shanghai were reportedly hired by Nixon Peabody. Other practices and groups of attorneys were hired by
Howrey LLP Howrey LLP was a global law firm that practiced antitrust, global litigation and intellectual property law. In March 2011, Howrey dissolved and subsequently entered bankruptcy. At its peak Howrey had more than 700 attorneys in 18 locations world ...
,
Reed Smith LLP Reed Smith LLP is a global law firm with more than 1,500 lawyers in 30 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. History Reed Smith was founded in Pittsburgh in 1877 by Philander C. Knox and James H. Reed. The tw ...
Farella Braun + Martel, and
Winston & Strawn Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago. It has more than 975 attorneys spread across ten offices in the United States and five offices in Europe, Asia, and South America. Founded in 1853, it is one of the large ...
, among other firms. The shut-down was completed by the end of 2008. On September 17, 2009, Thelen filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York, after the firm's only secured creditor,
Citibank Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...
, was also no longer willing to advance funds for the cost of collection and to wind down operations. This subsequently ended the 85-year-old operation that peaked in the year 2006 with offices in a number of cities in the United States, England and China.


Notable mandates

*Provided legal counsel to China Water and Drinks Inc., a Chinese beverage company in its $625 million acquisition by Heckmann Corp in 2008. *Represented
underwriters Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...
led by
Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...
with
Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...
as co-manager in a $1.135 billion debt offering portion of a leveraged lease financing of the Bruce Mansfield Unit 1 coal-fired generating station by FirstEnergy Generation Corp., a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. in 2007. *Advised UniSource Energy Corporation in its $3 billion acquisition by a consortium consisting of
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...
, JPMorgan Partners and
Wachovia Capital Partners Pamlico Capital, which was formerly called First Union Capital Partners and then Wachovia Capital Partners, is an independent private equity firm focused on growth capital and leveraged buyout investments in middle-market companies in the busines ...
in 2003. *Represented the government of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
in the 2001 $2.6 billion privatization of Nigerian Telecommunications plc.


References


External links


Thelen website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thelen Llp Law firms established in 1924 Law firms based in San Francisco Defunct law firms of the United States Law firms disestablished in 2008 1924 establishments in California 2008 disestablishments in California