US law company forced to fold up

By Lindsay Fortado  |   2008-12-24  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

THACHER Proffitt & Wood, the 160-year-old New York-based law firm whose work in structured finance has slowed because of the subprime crisis, became the fourth firm in the United States to dissolve this year after more than half of its attorneys departed for a competitor.

Thacher Proffitt will wind down operations after December 31, the firm said on Monday in a statement, following the departure of 100 lawyers to Chicago-based Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal.

Thacher Proffitt's planning committee had unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a merger with an unnamed law firm over the past six months, according to the statement. "Although many avenues for a merger were explored, in the current economic environment it became apparent to the committee that a merger could not be executed," Thacher Proffitt said.

"In light of severe reductions in revenue, it became clear that Thacher Proffitt would not have the financial resources to continue business operations," the statement said.

Thacher Proffitt had put up for sublease all five floors of its headquarters during the past six months. In October, it closed its White Plains, New York, office. The firm has faced a decline in business since the subprime-mortgage market began to collapse.