SNR Partners Consider Leaving Prior to Merger with Denton

A week after partners at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal and Denton Wilde Sapte officially approved a merger between the two firms, a major shakeup could be brewing. According to The Lawyer, some partners in a 100-strong group that SNR hired from the dissolved firm of Thacher Proffitt in late 2008 are actively trying to leave the firm.

According to the report, many of the Thacher Proffitt partners received slightly stronger compensation packages than their SNR colleagues and, as a result, resentment grew among the firm’s partnership.

Additionally, the ex-Thacher Proffitt partners were contractually required to remain with SNR through July 1 of this year or face a penalty. Now with that date quickly approaching, speculation is a major exodus could be forthcoming.

While no one at the firm would acknowledge on the record that any such action was being considered, The Lawyer cited unnamed sources in reporting that several senior lawyers had already interviewed with other firms.

The merged firm of SNR and Denton is slated to go live Sept. 30 as SNR Denton. It will be one of the world’s largest firms with more than 1,400 lawyers and professionals operating in 18 countries.