SAN FRANCISCO AND NEW YORK (December 1, 2006)-Thelen Reid & Priest LLP, a national leader in construction, energy, and project finance law, and Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP, a pioneer in technology law with one of the country's premier real estate finance practices, began operating as a single entity today under the new banner Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP.
The decision to merge the two firms was announced October 30 and brings together Thelen Reid's unparalleled reputation in such traditional areas as construction, energy, and litigation with Brown Raysman's nationally recognized practices in technology, outsourcing, intellectual property, e-commerce, media, and communications. The combined firm has 630 lawyers in eight offices.
The response to the merger announcement has been extremely positive, as the combined firm provides clients with access to a broad base of integrated services. This includes the combination of Thelen Reid's leading finance practices in the areas of energy, infrastructure, and project finance, together with Brown Raysman's real estate finance practice, which closed $25 billion in loans in the past several years for leading Wall Street financial institutions, money center banks, and hedge funds.
The combined firm ranks in the top 50 on the Am Law 100 and has a national footprint, with offices in major markets of the United States. According to The Lawyer (UK), the new firm would rank 66th in their 2006 Global 100 list. The firm has a total of eight offices-seven in the United States and one recently opened in Shanghai-and a well-balanced national platform with 255 attorneys in California and 373 lawyers on the East Coast, including 247 in New York.
The new firm is led by an Office of the Chair, with Thelen Reid's Stephen V. O'Neal and Brown Raysman's Julian S. Millstein as Co-Chairs and Thelen Reid's Thomas E. Hill as Managing Partner of Operations.
"This a historic day for both legacy firms, and the response from clients has been overwhelmingly positive," said Thelen Reid Chairman O'Neal. "We are at critical mass in all of our markets and now have one of the largest New York offices of any national firm."
Millstein, a Brown Raysman founding partner, said the creation of the new firm was an amazing opportunity for all involved. "It is such a perfect fit in terms of practice strengths, key markets and culture," Millstein said. "The new firm is perfectly positioned to maximize client services and lure top talent for immediate growth."
About Thelen Reid
From its beginnings in San Francisco more than 80 years ago, Thelen Reid & Priest LLP grew to national prominence as an Am Law 100 firm with profits per partner in 2005 of $850,000. Since the firm's founding, it has served a distinguished roster of clients, including many Fortune 500 companies, leading privately owned enterprises, public institutions, and partnerships. The firm's domestic and international clients were from a wide array of industries, including aerospace, banking, energy, construction, e-commerce, financial services, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media, mining, retailing, software, technology, and transportation. The firm has repeatedly been recognized as a leader in the construction, infrastructure, and energy industries, and as a leading project finance law firm.
About Brown Raysman
Founded in 1979, Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP built on its international reputation as a leader in the area of technology and intellectual property law to become a full-service law firm. As it expanded, the firm's focus extended from technology, media, outsourcing, and intellectual property law, to real estate finance, leasing and construction, and corporate transactional work, as well as securities, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, commercial and IP litigation, communications, bankruptcy, and employment law.