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More Job Cuts in Pennsylvania Law Firms

marvins — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:13:35 +0000

Pennsylvania law firms registered an average drop of 2% in their gross revenue for the first three quarters of 2010 according to a recent report of Wells Fargo Wealth Management’s Legal Specialty Group. The report, which was based on 12 Pennsylvania firms included in the survey, also revealed that national firms made an average increase of 1% in revenue. Most markets were either up or down by 1% or about flat. In 2009, Pennsylvania law firms registered a strong financial performance compared to their national counterparts, but 2010 was not a good year for the state.

Pennsylvania firms have net income or overall profits up about 3% compared to between 12 and 15% increase in other markets. Jeffrey Grossman, the legal specialty group’s managing director, said that the reason other firms are doing better is because they’ve had more expense cuts. “Again, they didn’t have as much of a downturn and didn’t have to cut headcount as much resulting in a net increase. And the bulk of those cuts in other markets were on the headcount side,” he added.

A law firm analyst speculated that if the trend would not change, job cuts may still be on the horizon for the law firms in the region. Grossman backed up this prediction as to Pennsylvania’s performance. “Even though they’ve made headcount reductions, it’s not enough. So, I suspect next year to sustain profitability, there will have to be more headcount reductions taken.”

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:36:51 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, November 12th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

Energy law firm Burleson Cooke added three attorneys to its growing Pittsburgh office…

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP partner Joseph K. Brenner was named chief counsel of the Division of Enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission…

Howrey laid off 32 staffers across its 10 offices…

Howrey Drops the Ax on 32 Staffers

joshua — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:11:35 +0000

According to multiple online reports, Howrey has laid off 32 staffers across its 10 offices.

Howrey, which confirmed the cuts in an e-mail to several media outlets, described the move as “a limited workforce reduction to adjust support staff levels to match our current and anticipated needs.

“This right-sizing of the firm,” the statement continues, “will allow Howrey to concentrate its resources on its three principal practice groups – antitrust, intellectual property and complex business litigation and to maintain our strong competitive position. We regret that this decision was necessary and will provide resources to help.”

Affected employees will receive a comprehensive severance package and full COBRA payments through Feb. 28, 2011, the firm said.

According to a report on AM Law Daily, the move continues a particularly rough couple of years at Howrey. In 2009, the firm’s partners saw their profits plunge by 35 percent and this past February, Howrey axed 29 associates and 65 staffers.

AM Law Daily reports the latest round of cuts happened during the last week and that no attorneys were affected.

800 Legal Jobs Go Bye-Bye In July … But Still Reflect An Improvement

eric — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:38:52 +0000

While reading through the tea leaves of the latest U.S. Labor Statistics Bureau report, which showed an overall loss of 130,000+ jobs for the month of July, AmLaw Daily reported today that at least 800 of the jobs that went poof were in the legal field. Hold your horses, though. This is, as the piece states, actually an improvement from June, which saw some 3,000 jobs go the way of the dodo.

With the national unemployment average holding steady (not, necessarily, a good thing) what does this mean for the legal industry’s job market? At best, job cuts there seem to be slowing. At worst, the current numbers could reflect an ongoing lack of stability. Let’s wait and see what next month brings.

Jones Day Cuts Staff in Cleveland

joshua — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:11:45 +0000

Jones Day, which last week confirmed it had cut staff at its Los Angeles and Dallas offices, has continued its layoffs. According to local reports, Jones Day recently dropped the axe on an unspecified number of staff in Cleveland.

The firm did not say how many employees were let go, but confirmed no lawyers were affected. In explaining the cuts, Jones Day told the Cleveland Plain Dealer emerging technologies have lessened the need for support staff.

“(The) universal adoption of smart phones, voicemail and email enables (and requires) lawyers to be more self-sufficient.

“Although we deeply regret the need for this action, these changes preserve our ability to best serve clients and remain one of the leading global law firms.”

Jones Day has more than 2,500 lawyers in 32 offices around the world.

Lyle Ganske, partner-in charge of the Cleveland office, said the firm is continuing to hire additional lawyers in order to meet client needs and that its summer and on-campus recruiting programs are slated for expansion.

Mayer Brown Axes 28 Associates, 47 Staffers

joshua — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 18:17:44 +0000

Multiple online reports indicate Mayer Brown has laid off 28 associates and 47 staffers. Mayer Brown saw a 14 percent decrease in revenue in 2009 and last April the firm let go of 45 lawyers and 90 staff.

According to a memo obtained by Above The Law, affected personnel will receive salary and benefits continuation packages, outplacement counseling and other assistance to help them through this difficult time.”

Firm leaders did say in the memo that 2010 is off “to a positive start” for Mayer Brown, but apparently it wasn’t enough. Last year net income fell by almost 19 percent at the firm and overall head count dropped by 144 to 1,657.

Morning Roundup

sara — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:41:19 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, March 12, and here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s news…

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center files a lawsuit against Trinity Law Associates for allegedly defrauding 30 Korean immigrants…

King & Spaulding reveals a new pay scale and bonuses…

Former U.S. Senators Lott and Breaux are in talks with Patton Boggs…

Snell & Wilmer opens a sports agency…

The Obama administration nominates two federal judges…

The Zeughauser Group reports that BigLaw hasn’t fared as badly as predicted…

Quinn Emanuel changes their name…

Howrey is cutting partners after a tough 2009…

White & Case promotes five to partner…

2100 Legal Jobs Lost in December

joshua — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:34:51 +0000

According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the legal sector dropped another 2100 jobs in December, while the job market as a whole lost 85,000 jobs.

In November, the National Law Journal reported that so far 5,259 attorney positions had been cut by the top 250 law firms, with Latham & Watkins (who just opened in Houston) cutting the most jobs at 444. Those numbers do not include staff positions.

Our last layoff report from biglaw was early November. We received no tips regarding layoffs in December. If you were one of the 2100 that lost your job last month, tell us about it here.

Layoffs at Schulte Roth

joshua — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:19:43 +0000

Reports are trickling in, but it looks as though at least 13 associates at Schulte Roth have received pink slips today. We have reports that some of the layoffs at least came from the real estate practice group, but no hard numbers as of yet. We’ll update this as more tips come in. If you have any additional information to share, send us an anoymous tip here.

Schulte Roth & Zabel is one of the top 100 largest law firms by revenue. The firm was founded in New York City in 1969 and launched in London in 2002. The firm also has an office in Washington, DC. Schulte employs nearly 450 attorneys in its three offices.

Law Firms Target Pro Bono, Diversity for Job Cuts

Erik Even — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:41:49 +0000

According to the Legal Intelligencer, law firms are targeting the directors of their pro bono and diversity initiatives when time for layoffs rolls around.

Diversity and pro bono initiatives took root in many firms over the past few years, but the economy might make having individual directors at the fore of those programs a less tenable prospect.

When Saul Ewing laid off 12 people earlier this year, the cuts included the firm’s full-time diversity program manager and its full-time pro bono counsel…

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney briefly had a director of diversity position that was held by Elizabeth Mell… It was eliminated amid a round of staff cuts the firm did in November…

Virginia Essandoh heads up Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll’s diversity program. For firms looking to remain in favor with clients and serve as an attractive environment for diverse attorneys, she said this is not the time to cut back on client service and is the time to invest in their people.

Read the whole story at New York Lawyer.