JD Journal » layoff staff

Brinks Hofer Lays Off Staff

joshua — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:46:52 +0000

Brinks Hofer, a boutique intellectual property firm, laid off 18 workers this week largely as the result of a still-sluggish economy.

According to legal tabloid Above The Law, which broke the news Wednesday, most of the layoffs occurred at the firm’s Chicago office. Brinks Hofer President Gary Ropski told ATL the layoffs equate to less than 5 percent of the firm’s 400-strong workforce.

“We want to make sure the firm is well-positioned for 2011, with the right resources in the right places,” Ropski said.

In addition to Chicago, Brinks Hofer has offices, in Morrisville, N.C., Indianapolis, Salt Lake City, Ann Arbor and Washington D.C.

Covington & Burling Laying Off Staff Attorneys

Erik Even — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:28:14 +0000

According to stories in the blawgosphere, Covington & Burling is in the process of laying off an undisclosed number of staff attorneys.

Those affected have been offered one or two weeks of severance depending on length of service, in exchange for a promise not to sue the firm over the circumstances of their termination.

The firm says it has released staff attorneys as the number of projects has dropped.

Covington & Burling LLP is an international law firm with offices in Beijing, Brussels, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Diego, and Washington, DC. It consistently ranks among the top 20 on The American Lawyer’s prestigious “A-List.”

Skadden Freezes Salaries for Counsel

Erik Even — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:51:59 +0000

New York’s Skadden has announced it will not raise salaries for counsel in 2009. Associates will not be affected.

The firm still intends to offer discretionary, merit-based bonuses.

Skadden is offering all its associates, about 1,300 worldwide, the option of taking one-third of their base pay not to work for a year.

The firm in March laid off an undisclosed number of staff attorneys and 50 support staffers. It has also launched a litigation program for its deferred incoming associates.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, founded in 1948, is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world. Forbes magazine called Skadden “Wall Street’s most powerful law firm.”

Herbert Smith Poaches From Linklaters for Madrid Office

Erik Even — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:10:07 +0000

Herbert Smith will launch a new office in Madrid, Spain with a group from Linklaters.

Alvaro Sáinz, Miguel Riaño and Ignacio Paz were partners at Linklaters. Ignacio Díez-Picazo was a senior consultant, and joins Herbert Smith as a partner.

Current Herbert Smith finance partner David Wyles will join the group in Madrid.

This month Herbert Smith announced a redundancy consultation at its London HQ, targeting 84 positions.

Herbert Smith was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith, and today has 230 partners and 1,200 fee-earners. It is widely considered to be the UK’s leading litigation practice.

Hogan & Hartson Cuts 93 Staff

Erik Even — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:48:59 +0000

Today Hogan & Hartson informed 93 US support staffers they don’t have to come back next week.

From the memo:

…we reluctantly have concluded that two steps are required at this time: (1) a layoff of 93 non-legal staff members in our U.S. offices; and (2) temporary implementation of our established 1,800 hour associate compensation track in all U.S. offices for U.S. associates whom we cannot currently project will meet their 2009 billable hours expectation.

In addition, we are undertaking a comprehensive review of associate and support staff levels in offices outside of the United States…

The individuals being laid off are being personally contacted today, and each is being offered an above-market separation package of from 4 to 6 months of compensation, depending upon their tenure with the Firm…

Apparently, February’s voluntary buyout plan didn’t go over so well.

… We had hoped that the voluntary separation program we announced in February would largely address our staffing overcapacity. We made that offer to about 250 staff, but only 28 accepted it. …

Founded in 1904, Hogan & Hartson is the oldest major law firm headquartered in Washington, DC. It is a global firm with more than 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices worldwide, including offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.