Winston & Strawn is joining that list of firms, gathering 18 attorneys from Thelen. Other firms that have taken in former Thelen attorneys are Nixon Peabody, Howrey, and Robinson & Cole.
Some bigger names joining the Chicago-based firm include Robert Pringle, an antitrust litigator, and Richard Lapping, a former bankruptcy partner at Thelen.
Pringle was head of Thelen's antitrust practice, and comes with a book between $5 million and $10 million. Other antitrust partners joining Winston & Strawn are Paul Griffin of Thelen's antitrust group and Jonathan Howden.
Managing partner in San Francisco, Charles Birenbaum, was a partner at Thelen until 2003 when he lost his chairman
bid.
Birenbaum said Tuesday that ''Winston is very fortunate to get this group of practitioners from Thelen, and it's personally gratifying because I've worked with them at Thelen.''
Other former Thelen partners making the move to Winston include Kit Loke and Jarrett Fugh; Robert Nelson Jr., a project finance partner; Jonathan Bristol, a business and finance partner; and Dirk Mueller.
Besides Jonathan Bristol who comes from New York and Jarrett Fugh from Los Angeles, all the partners joining the Winston team hail from Thelen's headquarters in San Francisco.
After a steady exodus of partners and the harsh climate of our economy, Thelen voted to close its doors effective December 1.
Many Thelen partners had already joined Birenbaum at Winston, even before the firm became unstable.
Birenbaum is credited with building Winston's San Francisco's office, which is now a veritable who's who of former partners from recently collapsed firms or layoffs, including the eight Heller Ehrman partners, associates, and other legal professionals who joined in early November. Birenbaum wants to form a Silicon Valley office as well.
