JD Journal » Layoffs

Little Sympathy Given By ABA To Jobless Lawyers

chelsei — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:24:29 +0000

Upcoming lawyer face enormous financial debt from college only to enter into a legal market with no available jobs. Despite this disheartening fact, William Robinson, the president of the American Bar Association, thinks that law students should have researched the market more thoroughly to understand what they were getting into.

In response to a great deal of criticisms from the media, law students and even Congress, Robinson stood his ground and backed it up with the fact that any student interested in law school would already have an undergraduate degree or higher.

“It’s inconceivable to me that someone with a college education, or a graduate-level education, would not know before deciding to go to law school that the economy has declined over the last sever years and that the job market out there is not as opportune as it might have been five, six, seven, eight years ago. We’re not talking about kids who are making these decisions,” he said.

During the Great Recession of 2007, United States legal jobs shrank dramatically. The huge drop in the market has led many critics – among them being two United States Senators – to ask whether to ABA works hard enough to watch law schools. Allegations say that many statistics given to prospective students by a handful of schools project incorrect statistics regarding the market.

Several media outlets have questioned the process for law school accreditation. They suggested that the American Bar Association encouraging tenure, and some other standards, causes law school costs to unnecessarily rise.

Robinson believes those accusations have no standing. He contends, “None of the studies show that the ABA rules of certification are what’s responsible for the cost of legal education. Other factors, such as competition for professors, are driving the increase in cost.”

He continued by recalling his past with paying his way through University of Kentucky’s Law School in 1971, “When I was going to law school, and I sold my Corvair to make first-semester tuition and books for $330, a sizeable portion of the faculty had tenure. They had tenure then and they have tenure now.”

Nearly 68 ABA-accredited law schools keep tuition near or below $25,000 for those needing a low cost option. However, the American Bar Association is powerless when it comes to lowering the cost of elite law schools.

“I should take the lead in telling these schools that they should reduce their tuition to $25,000 a year? No, I don’t think I should do that. I don’t think it would be meaningful. I don’t think it would accomplish anything for me to do that. It’s a complex question as to whether to cost is higher than it should be or is justified.”

Linklaters LLP to Issue Staff Restructure Plan

jim — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 23:51:36 +0000

Linklaters LLP, based in the United Kingdom, has announced that it is making preparations to drastically restructure its partnership. This includes its partnership with close to 35 partners, which comes out to 8 percent of the law firm’s total equity partners. These 35 partners could wind up leaving the firm according to reports on Law360 Thursday.

The firm has not released any details regarding how many lawyers will actually leave the firm according to Legal Week. The firm did say that those partners who do leave will be a mix between exits and de-equisitsations. A partner from the firm, speaking anonymously, said that close to 20 partners could be leaving the firm, which is based out of London. The unnamed partner also said that the transactional practice of the firm could be one of the hardest hit within the firm when the restructuring begins.

This would be the second restructuring in three years for the firm. The New World program for Linklaters forced close to 35 partners to leave the firm back in 2009. That restructuring also included major staff reductions according to Legal Week.

The report also said that lawyers working in the transactional practices of the firm could be moved to other, busier practices in the firm in an effort to avoid layoffs involving associates. The transactional practice of the firm was affected by the European economic downturn. Some of the junior lawyers working in the firm could be moved to Linklaters’ restructuring and insolvency, litigation and regulatory practices. All of these practices within the firm have much higher amounts of activity.

Sam Davies, the managing partner for the firm, said that the partner restructuring is based on individuals and trying to estimate the exact number would not be an appropriate thing to do. Davies did go on to say that, “We continually look at our business and partner base in the context of the markets and our clients’ needs. A natural part of this process includes some partners moving on.”

An unnamed partner in the firm did say that the partner restructuring does not come from where the firm’s revenues are coming from at the time. The former head of the firm, Tony Angel, left the firm to become the co-global chairman of DLA Piper.

A new office was opened by Linklaters in Abu Dhabi back in July, which is the second office for the firm in the United Arab Emirates, and its 27^th office overall. The firm’s office in Abu Dhabi was launched practicing specializations in mergers and acquisitions, securities, and other financial issues. The firm also plans to freeze the pay of its associates in the United Kingdom, keeping the pay level the same that it was at in 2009.

Even though the firm is freezing the pay levels, it is still expected to issue performance bonuses for its associates. Linklaters worked on 243 cases that totaled $194 billion in 2010.

Staff Layoffs are a Growing Trend

chelsei — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:35:20 +0000

What can a law firms do to prepare for a possible double dip recession?

Well, one obvious answer would be: firms can ”right-size” themselves, by making sure that they are as lean and as mean as they can possibly be. And, luckily, this seems to be what has been happening the past few months.

Even though we haven’t seen much in terms of lawyer layoffs, staff layoffs are a different story. Actually, on the staff side of the layoffs, there seems to be more of a trend of firms reducing their permanent staff in favor of outsourcing.

Since August, O’Melveny & Meyers have laid off 75 positions, and Paul Hastings have laid off 45 positions. Both of these are a result of domestic outsourcing to outside service providers. Other companies have come forward with their number of positions they plan to lay off.

Now let’s start with the Goodwin Procter news, which was announced at the beginning of this month via and internal memo:

”This fall, Goodwin made the decision to outsource it’s Record Management and Accounts Payable functions to William Lea, a vendor who has provided administrative support services to the firm in other areas for a number of years. We shared this news with the Goodwin community in an internal memo on Oct. 13, following discussions with the employees in these groups.
-This decision affected 11 employees in the Records Management area, and 7 employees in Accounts Payable. Together, these individuals represent slightly less than 3% of Goodwin’s administrative staff.
-As of today, we expect that 6 of the 11 Records Management employees will accept positions with Williams Lea and continue to work onsite at Goodwin offices in their former functions. As mentioned below, affected individuals who do not transition to Williams Lea have been encouraged to apply for other available open positions at the firm. Individuals leaving the firm will receive severance packages, outplacement assistance and other job search support.
-We believe that this decision will provide multiple long term benefits to the firm and it’s clients and vendors, including increased efficiency and productivity; access to improved systems and technology; enhanced service for internal and external clients; and cost savings.”

While this news must be very difficult on these affected individuals, the news is just not shocking, given the apparent trend in this years direction. And it’s also worth mentioning that this seems like a rather discrete development.

Fulbright and Jaworski tells us:

”More staff layoffs have hit Fulbright and Jaworski. This time it’s receptionists and a billing clerk. Out of our 17 current receptionists, F&J are getting rid of 12 of them. The reason is ”remodeling” which will result in no longer having a receptionist stationed on each floor. Many of the receptionist being laid off have been with the firm over 30 years”.

Those poor people, such a tough economy for workers.

Could the Next Biglaw Wave of the Future Be On-Shore Outsourcing?

chelsei — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:26:29 +0000

Right on the heels of support staff layoffs, and also on-shore outsourcing efforts at the hands of O’Melveny & Myers, we have some news of another law firm doing the exact same thing. Except for the fact that this law firm has figured out a way to do it with half of the tears, and a ton less relocation angst.

On-Shore outsourcing will definitely be better for the American economy than to just send everyone overseas, and Pillbury Winthrop has figured out a great way to do it that doesn’t involve shipping everyone off to the poor third-world country, more commonly known as ”West Virginia”.

As Pillsbury moves their staff operations farther down south, the firm has decided to bring some of its executives with them.

Today, Pillsbury announced that it would be opening a Professional Services Center down in Nashville, Tennessee. The firm expects to start transferring their current staff members and recruiting new staff to work in Nashville this week, and they have high hopes that the Center will be fully operational by the end of next year.

At least these people get to experience the wonderful Grand Ole Opry, instead of whatever West Virginia has to offer, if there is anything there to offer.

The firm has provided more information about the switch in this press release:

”Individuals at the new facility will include support staff who are critical to Pillsbury’s operations but who are able to work outside of the firm’s currents practice offices. The center will provide services in the areas of information, technology, finance, new client, intake, word processing, and other non-legal professional service. Eventually, the Nashville center will have approximately 150 employees, including professionals recruited from the region as well as current professionals who tranfer to the center.”

So, not only is Pillsbury’s on-shore outsourcing going to hand out jobs, but now the firm is also going to throw some executive muscle behind its decision. A few of the people who will be relocating to Nashville to set up and run the center, are the firm’s CFO Sean Whelan, and also the firm’s CIO, Martin Metz.

This is definitely a better that O’Melveny’s idea, which was to simply give people the cute in favor of ”technology driven efficiencies”

Someone also says that Pillsbury is playing nice and will be offering the following staff who plan to relocate:

”Two weekends in November are set up, firm sponsored, for people to go and check out the Nashville area, talk to companies who have done the same thing, talk to real estate agents, or even rent a car and go explore on their own, also firm paid. They have to give their intent to relocate or not by January 14. They will be expected to start the move around May. Relocation money will be available. Salaries will be reduced in accordance with the Nashville market rate for the relocated jobs, though we have been told that the pay will be higher than the Nashville average.”

Taylor Swift Threatening Legal Action Over Alleged Topless Photo

rebneely — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:00:13 +0000

Country music singer Taylor Swift, who has always put forth a wholesome image over the course of her singing career, has threatened to take legal action over an alleged topless photo of her posted on the website Celeb Jihad. The woman in the photo is allegedly a Swift lookalike.

According to the October 30^th celebs.gather.com article, “Taylor Swift Considering Legal Action Over “Leaked” Pic”, Taylor Swift’s legal team is threatening to file a trademark-infringement lawsuit, demand that the picture be removed from the website, which was posted several months ago. They claim the photograph represents “false news” and “false pornographic images” about Swift. The caption accompanying the post reads “Taylor Swift Private Pic Leaked?”.

Taylor Alison Swift was born on December 13, 1989. She is a country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress. She released her third album, entitled “Speak Now” on October 25^th of this year. It sold over 1 million copies in one week. In 2009, she was named Artist of the Year by Billboard Magazine. She earned four Grammy awards following the release of her second album Fearless. This included Album of the Year at the 52^nd Grammy Awards. The album was at the top of the Billboard 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks.

Currently, she is promoting her Wonderstruck perfume throughout the U.S.

According to her “My Life” page at her website, Taylor Swift writes: “These days, I’ve been trying to classify my thoughts into two categories: “Things I can change,” and “Things I can’t.” It seems to help me sort through what to really stress about. But there I go again, over-planning and over-organizing my over-thinking! I write songs about my adventures and misadventures, most of which concern love. Love is a tricky business. But if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be so enthralled with it. Lately I’ve come to a wonderful realization that makes me even more fascinated by it: I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to love. No one does! There’s no pattern to it, except that it happens to all of us, of course. I can’t plan for it. I can’t predict how it’ll end up. Because love is unpredictable and it’s frustrating and it’s tragic and it’s beautiful. And even though there’s no way to feel like I’m an expert at it, it’s worth writing songs about — more than anything else I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

Clearly, with this type of open minded attitude, Swift will undoubtedly be able to overcome anything that is thrown at her – good or bad.

On November 11, 2009, Swift had the honor of becoming the youngest artist to be awarded the Country Music Association Award for Entertainer of the Year. She is one of only six women to be given the Country Music Association’s highest honor.

Workers Laid Off By KEL Law Firm

jim — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 11:30:50 +0000

Lawyers are leaving KEL law firm but not by choice. No one knows how much staff was actually dismissed but several lawyers were laid off this past week. This is sad news for the lawyer world because many firms were just now recovering from the recession. The most troubling part of this story is that no one knows why these lawyers were dismissed.

One of the founders of the firms covers up the questions by saying they over-hired in certain areas. Letting go some of the lawyers helps release some of the stress of having too many workers. Jeffrey Kaufman (the co-founder) also states that a law firm is a lot like any other business.

“We have people who come and go all the time at different times of the year,” Kaufman said. “It is like the retail business — things slow down at certain times of the year and get busy at other times. But this is not an issue of times being bad for us. Really, this is not a big deal at all.”

While it may not be a big deal to him, it is a big deal to those who walked out of the law firm without a job. Some of the top lawyers of the firm received their notices as early as Tuesday last week. Again, one laid off lawyer explains that no one knows who was laid off and how many were let go. However, there is some speculation as to why these lay-offs might have occurred.

“Mistakes in a consumer-bankruptcy case involving Sanchez and the inadvertent violation of a related court order drew the wrath of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Briskman, who temporarily barred KEL from practicing bankruptcy law in the Middle District of Florida. The Orlando-based judge later filed a complaint with The Florida Bar and cited KEL itself for what he termed “unprofessional” work.”

One of the lawyers who received a “lay-off notice”– states that he has cleared his role in the matter. The lawyer, also known as William Sanchez, states that he must take a few exams to refresh his license and also pay a small fine. However, an ongoing investigation still exists with “KEL partners Kaufman, Matt Englett and Craig Lynd.”

Several of the “laid-off” employees have spoken up about “why they think this has happened.” Many of the “former employees” think it has to do with the foreclosure aspect of the law firm. Whether KEL law firm confirms this or not is up to them. However, Kaufman still continues to deny that this is the reason the company has slowed down with business. Kaufman continues to state the following

“This has nothing whatsoever to do with the downturn in foreclosures. That area is still very good for us,” he said. “It doesn’t make up a majority of our work, anyway. We have huge areas of family law in which we are also doing well.”

Life for Lawyers after Layoffs

jim — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:52:22 +0000

Lawyers are not very often referred to as refugees. However times are tough in the economic times of lawyers as well. Major Law firms have been notorious for laying- off more than 1400 lawyers. This is not a surprise to most people because everyone has been experiencing layoffs around the country. However, landing a position as a lawyer is not as easy when 1,400 of your peers have been laid-off as well. Most of the layoffs of lawyers were from major law firms that simply closed their doors.

Fortunately, most of those lawyers have found new jobs and are not waiting around for employment anymore. Eighty eight percent is a large number of employees that have found jobs. Some of the lawyers who were laid off went on to work for even better firms. Reports have shown that of the 1400 that were laid off—have found major positions with 250 of the nation’s largest firms.

“The vast majority of those attorneys have since landed new jobs, according to a study by Emory University business professor Christopher Rider. He tracked the employment of 1,426 attorneys left jobless by the dissolutions of Heller Ehrman; Thelen; Thacher Proffitt Wood; WolfBlock; Dreier; and Morgan & Finnegan. By reviewing resources including LinkedIn, Martindale-Hubbell and other online directories, Rider confirmed that 88% found jobs.”

A lot of these lawyers did get help finding employment. “Alumni networks were most useful in helping partners find new jobs, the study determined. For associates, working with the right partner often was the critical factor in finding new employment.”

Most of these lawyers found that networking was the best way to find an open position. This often works for more than just lawyers. A lot of people these days are finding employment through networking and talking to others.

“The results of this study indicate that prior education and employment network contacts do indeed facilitate employee-employer matching but that only contacts made during prior employment experiences are likely to help individuals attain positions of greater intraprofessional status.”

While some of these lawyers were burned by their former law firm bridges; a lot were able to move on to bigger and better things. While associate lawyers may not be scoring big with alumni contacts, “big wigs” are finding more success with that job route. A study has shown more details in this matter:

“To Rider’s surprise, his analysis found that alumni networks were more important for senior attorneys than for associates. That might be a result of associates depending on partners to bring them along to a new firm, rather than finding new employment on their own, he said.”

In these tough economic times, lawyers seem to find a job in any way possible. If you know someone who can help you land a position, that is great– but networking also seems to be a major key factor in the life after a lawyer layoff.

Lawyer Malpractice Upticks due to Bad Economy- Industry Analysts

marvins — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:07:14 +0000

The law industry is one of the sectors that have been adversely affected by the recent economic downturn. Various US law firms have been under major business restructuring plans recently that include downsizing, lay offs, mergers, altering specialties in order to compete for new business and other cost cutting measures, all under the goal of survival. According to industry analysts, these changes can lead to increase in law firms malpractice claims.

Michele Wade, Executive VP of Lockton Cos., pointed out that trimming down employees and expenses may trigger lawyers to commit malpractice. “It leads to possibly having the same number of clients and a lot less number of people to help them. It also leads to a lot of law firms hiring independent contractors rather than full time lawyers. That often can lead to problems for law firms.” Wade also mentioned that the lawsuits against firms arising out of unpaid client fees can foster malpractices. “In this economy law firms are not getting paid. Their collections are way down and they tend to want to sue their clients for fees more aggressively than in a good economy. Suits for fees draw counterclaims and that brings professional liability claims. We didn’t like the way you did and we can’t pay you.’ It’s a vicious cycle.”

Kelley Heide Martin, senior claims specialist in the technical resource center of Scottsdale Insurance Co., added that the economic recession today pushes other malpractices. “The bad economy has led to inexperienced attorneys handling areas of law that they may not know well. That leads to additional errors and admissions claims.” Martin also noted that another potential E&O concern involves the use of social media and how its use might invite exposures. “It’s just not a good idea. It’s definitely an ethical violation. There needs to be some type of oversight by the firm or the attorney themselves. Talk about what you do in your own time. If you’re in mediation, and you say, ‘hey, they offered me X amount of money. I’m not going to take it because I’m going to get five times that,’ you’ve just blown through about five different ethical rules. That’s going to lead you to a malpractice claim.”

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:26:26 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Thursday, November 18th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

Lisa Murkowski won her bid to be returned to Washington as Alaska’s Senator…

Boies Schiller let three female associates go late last week…

Sidley Austin’s Matthew Sheridan was promoted to practice Co-Head…

Mintz Levin Co-Chairs will be the featured speakers at MIT Conference…

McGuire Woods finalized an agreement to combine operations with the Houston-based firm of Nickens Keeton Lawless Farrell & Flack LLP…

Hogan Lovells added two partners to its firm, one in Philadelphia, and one in Washington, D.C….

Three Down at Boies Schiller

joshua — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 21:24:48 +0000

The NY Times Dealbook is reporting that three associates, all female, were let go late last week by Boies Schiller. All three were part of a team that lost a major case earlier this month. Boies Schillerwas representing Guy Hands, who sued Citigroup over its buyout of EMI, but a jury ruled in favor of Citigroup.

Boies Schiller & Flexner was founded by David Boies, the lead attorney represent President Bush in Bush v Gore, and Jonathan Schiller in 1997. More recently the firm made headlines when David Boies teamed up with Ted Olson to challenge California’s Proposition 8. Boies Schiller has 10 offices and 240 attorneys.

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.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:17:15 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Friday, August 13th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Baker McKenzie reported its revenues were flat but profits were up…

Ventricelli joined Capstone Advisory Group LLC as Managing Director…

The stay was lifted in California same-sex marriage ban…

Brinks Hofer laid off 18 workers this week…

Law Firm Best, Best, & Krieger was subpoenaed by the Attorney General’s office during its investigation of overpaid employees in the city of Bell…

A top compliance officer from BAE Systems joined Covington & Burling as a partner…

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.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:15:26 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, July 7th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Latham & Watkins announced its launch of an Asian litigation practice centered in Hong Kong…

Detroit-based firm Dykema hired Robin Radomski as its Chief Marketing Officer…

Saul Ewing added a four-person team focused on the gaming industry…

Sidley Austin named a new managing Partner in San Francisco…

Thompson Hine LLP received national recognition for leadership in promoting diversity…

Skadden was found to be first in M&A Advisements for first half of year…

A global study found tracking procedures lacking in lawyer-to-lawyer referrals…

Weil Gotshal received two international Legal Alliance Awards…

Fisher & Phillips opened an office in Washington, D.C….

The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed legal sector lost 3,900 jobs in June…

Clifford Chance named a new London practice head…

Report Shows Legal Sector Again Shedding Jobs

joshua — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:59:16 +0000

The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed the legal sector lost 3,900 jobs in June. And that’s not all the bad news. After initially stating the legal sector added 300 jobs in May,that number has been revised to a loss of 600 jobs.

According to The American Lawyer, the legal job market has seen a loss of 22,200 jobs since this time a year ago.

In all, the U.S. lost 125,000 jobs in June, which is largely the result of temporary 2010 Census jobs having ended. The private sector added 83,000 jobs and the overall unemployment rate fell from 9.7 percent to 9.5 percent.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:23:40 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, June 24th. Here’s a quick recap of yesterday’s stories.

Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan opened an office in Atlanta, the fifteenth for the firm…

DLA Piper announced the expansion of its Venture Pipeline Service and online resource center for entrepreneurs….

Cooley’s bankruptcy and restructuring practice earned top honors at last week’s Turnaround Atlas Awards…

Sonnenschein added a former U.S. Treasury tax counsel as a partner in its taxation practice…

Jones Day cut staff in Cleveland…

Bowman & Brooke launched a blog for women executives in law and other fields…

The former co-chair of Mayer Brown’s litigation practice joined Buckley Sandler…

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.

Jones Day Drops The Axe in L.A and Dallas

joshua — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:36:41 +0000

Jones Day, this year’s No. 4 ranked law firm in the AM Law 200, has laid off staff at its Dallas and Los Angeles offices. A partner at the firm’s Washington D.C. office confirmed the news to the ABA Journal Thursday.

According to a tip provided JD Journal yesterday, 17 staffers in Dallas were axed last week and an additional 15 were dropped from the firm’s Los Angeles office Tuesday. Washington D.C. partner Joe Sims declined to reveal the exact number of layoffs to the ABA Journal, but indicated those numbers were within range.

Jones Day had revenue of $1.57 billion in 2009 to place in the top-5 of the AM Law 200. Sims told the ABA Journal the layoffs were not economically-driven, “but simply rightsizing to be more effective.”

Jones Day has more than 2,500 lawyers in 32 offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Layoffs for Sacramento DA Office

joshua — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:26:47 +0000

Sacramento DA Jan Scully said yesterday that amid a $6.9 million budget cut for the next fiscal year her office will be laying off 50 employees. Those fired include 11 deputy district attorneys whose responsibilities include prosecuting misdemeanors.

One likely consequence, according to Scully, will be a higher number of plea bargains for relatively minor offenses: “What you might see is in the more minor cases,” said Scully, “you might see us early on giving better deals to get that case out of the system. We’re going to need to … focus mostly on the serious and violent felonies”

Morning Roundup

sara — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:14:39 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, April 19th, and here’s a look back at Friday’s stories…

New law grads face a difficult economic climate…

Associates at DLA Piper receive a 10% pay raise…

Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto receive awards in two categories from Managing Intellectual Property Magazine…

An intellectual property lawyer from Haynes and Boone is nominated for the European Patent Office’s Inventor of the Year Award…

Recruitment levels are back to normal at Clifford Chance…

Dewey & Leboeuf has raised $125 million in a bond offering to refinance its existing bank debt…

The Oregon Supreme Court sides with the employer in a case involving medical marijuana…

Two partners leave Mayer Brown following layoffs…

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

joshua — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:28:03 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, February 15, and as the 3rd Monday in February it is also Presidents Day. For those of you not fortunate enough to have a three day weekend, let’s take a look at Friday’s news…

Tipsters tell us that Hawkins & Parnell is opening in Austin…

Colson Hicks is opening in Washingtonwith the help of a managing partner from Greenberg Traurig…

Sidley Austin finally told its associates what they would be paid in 2010…

So did Winston & Stawn, but it’s not good news…

Layoffs are coming in the Los Angeles courts…

The Senate confirmed a few nominees…

25 firms have formed a consortium to file a class action against Toyota…

Podhurst Orseck picked up a big lateral from Holland & Knight…

Harry Reid leveled a sharp criticism against the ABA judicial evaluation committee…

and former President Bill Clinton was released from the hospital…

Revenue Down But Profits Up at Reed Smith

joshua — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:58:58 +0000

Reed Smith had revenue of $942 million in 2009, a four-percent decrease from 2008′s $980 million. But on the brighter side, efforts to reduce expenses resulted in profits per equity partner to rise seven percent to $1 million.

Global managing partner Gregory Jordan called 2009 “a very difficult year” for all law firms.

“For Reed Smith, this included layoffs and redundancies of staff and lawyers, in an effort to reduce the size of the firm to match the reduced need for our services, and other efforts to reduce our costs,” Jordan said in a prepared statement. “However, that was offset by our efforts to reduce expenses. Because of our focus on our long-standing client relationships, our work flow held up relatively well and our productivity increased.”

Other cost-cutting measures launched last year included reducing all US associates salaries by 10 percent; and in November, Reed Smith cut the salaries of incoming associates by 20 percent and lowered their billing rates for work done by new associates. Finally, Reed Smith asked non-equity partners to contribute as much as 15 percent of their base salary to the company or risk losing partnership status.

“It was a really tough year,” Jordan said. “Demand was way down, and we had to make a lot of tough decisions.”

Staff Layoffs at Brown McCarroll

joshua — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:50:38 +0000

Tipsters report that an unconfirmed number of staff have been shown the door at Texas powerhouse Brown McCarroll and that some partners may be on their way out as well. Information is still sketchy as of now, and we’ll update this post as more information becomes available. If you have any specific information for us, please share it here.

Seventy-year-old Brown McCarroll has historically focused on litigation as a core practice area. Its 2003 merger with business law firm Hilgers & Watkins added a corporate and transactional practice. The firm has offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and El Paso.

Staff Cuts at Wilson Sonsini

joshua — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:38:35 +0000

2009 has come and gone but the legal economy continues to struggle, a point made clear by today’s move at Wilson Sonsini. The firm laid off 20 staff and is providing an unspecified amount of separation pay along with some transition support assistance.

Wilson Sonsini laid off 113 last year, 68 of them staff. This year’s round of cuts isn’t nearly as deep, so hopefully we’re nearing the bottom.

Wilson Sonsini has offices in Palo Alto, Austin, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle and Shanghai. Prior to last year’s reductions, the firm had about 620 attorneys. The firm specializes in business, securities, and intellectual property law.

Layoffs at Seyfarth Shaw

joshua — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:20:19 +0000

Seyfarth Shaw is letting go of approximately 40 people, 20 lawyers and 20 staff. It’s been rough over at Seyfarth over the past year and they’ve taken several steps to keep costs down. In December, the firm cut salaries as part of a move toward merit based compensation. In November, it re-deferred half of its already deferred first years for an entire additional year, while cutting the salaries of the first years lucky enough to actually start working. In August, the firm announced that it would not have a summer program in 2010 and in May, Seyfarth laid off 50 people and cut some salaries.

Chicago’s Seyfarth Shaw LLP is a full-service law firm founded in 1945. It has ten offices, nine of which are in the United States. The firm is well known for its labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation and business services.

More Cuts at the San Joaquin DA’s Office

joshua — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:58:03 +0000

A total of eleven District Attorneys were laid off last year in San Joaquin, California, with seven of those happening last month. The department, like most California state and local government offices, is facing steep budget cuts. The DA’s that were cut mainly handled misdemeanor prosecutions, including DUI’s and some domestic abuse cases. The office is concerned they won’t be able to prosecute all of the cases that come to it. According to deputy district attorney Robert Himelblau, “We just can’t say we’re going to refuse to prosecute misdemeanors, on the other hand, we can’t fool anybody by saying we can actually file these cases”.

The County is facing additional layoffs this year, with as many as 600 county jobs in jeopardy if there isn’t significant improvement by June. San Joaquin is struggling under a record high 16.9% unemployment rate, well above the national average of around 10%. No help is likely to be forthcoming from the state, either, where the unemployment rate remains over 12% and the state budget has a $20 billion deficit.

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.

Latham & Watkins Bounce Back In 2010; Open Houston Office

todd — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 23:18:09 +0000

After major layoffs in 2009, Latham and Watkins are reportedly expanding their operation to Houston. Bloomberg is reporting that lawyers recruited from Akin Gump and Baker Botts will head Latham’s new Houston outfit.

Coming from Akin Gump is Michael Dillard, who headed Akin’s energy and global transactions practice, and Sean Wheeler, who focused on representing investors and banks in energy-related equity and debt offerings.

The firm’s 2009 financial troubles took them from Vault’s 7^th most prestigious law firm in 2009 to the 17^th most prestigious law firm in 2010.

Latham and Watkins LLP is one of the largest law firms in the world, with a staff of around 2,000 attorneys, it has offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. While they were founded in Los Angeles in 1934, their largest office is currently located in New York City.

Sonnenschein Abandons Lockstep and Cuts Staff

joshua — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:30:57 +0000

There are two unconnected stories coming out of Sonnenschein today.

The first is that the firm has made staff cuts 14 days before Christmas. The firm has confirmed the staff layoffs to abovethelaw.com but no details were provided on the number of staff cut. No associates were cut.

The firm also laid out the outlines of its new compensation plan being implemented in early 2010. I say outlines, because important details like base compensation seem to have been overlooked. Like many other firms, Sonnenschein is moving to a three tiered merit based system. The firm says that bonuses based on merit will make up a larger part of associate salaries. Although everyone certainly appreciates a large bonus, it does make financial planning a bit more difficult – particularly when nobody yet knows what the baseline pay will be.

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal is an international law firm headquartered in Chicago with 13 offices and 800 attorneys around the world.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:34:33 +0000

Good morning everyone! It’s Tuesday, December 8, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s headlines…

Kirkland & Ellis is under new management…

A transgender teen is suing McDonald’s…

There’s a new round of layoffs at DLA Piper’s middle east offices…

and Mayer Brown has asked some of its incoming associates to voluntarily defer their start dates…

DLA Piper Layoffs Attributed to Dubai Crisis

joshua — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:12:34 +0000

DLA Piper is laying off 7 attorneys and 10 staff in the Middle East in the wake of the Dubai credit crisis. This marks the third round of layoffs for the firm in the region this year with the last round happening in July. All together the firm has let go of 24 lawyers from the region this year. Not every firm operating in Dubai is hurting, however. Several British firms are playing major roles in the ongoing negotiations, as we reported last week.

DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world. It is a legal services organization whose members and affiliates are separate and distinct legal entities. The organization boasts more than 3,500 lawyers in 29 countries and 65 offices.

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.

Staff Layoffs at Day Pitney

joshua — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:58:01 +0000

Day Pitney has laid off 29 staff memebers in its third round of layoffs this year. In may, the firm let go of 20 lawyers and deferred incoming associates and in February it cut 66 staff positions. According to the firm, there won’t be any more layoffs this year and none are anticipated in early 2010.

Day Pitney was formed in 2007 from a merger between Day, Berry & Howard and Pitney Hardin. It employs 382 attorneys spread across nine offices in four states and the District of Columbia.