JD Journal » stealth layoffs

Nixon Peabody Lay Offs – Shhhh

joshua — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:36:45 +0000

In February we told you about staff layoffs at Nixon Peabody, and in April we reported on salary cuts. Those salary cuts were billed as a way to save associate jobs in a struggling economy. Now it appears that those cuts were not enough and that Nixon Peabody has been quietly laying off 2nd and 3rd year associates. The affected attorneys are being let go based on performance, but performance in this case may mean there’s not enough business for you to keep up with your billable hours. Unlike earlier cuts, the firm has remained tight lipped about these layoffs, so exact numbers are hard to come by. If you have more information or want to share your own layoff story anonymously, send us a tip here.

Tipster: Fish & Richardson Lays Off Corporate Lawyers [Update]

Erik Even — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:56:30 +0000

According to a JDJournal tipster, intellectual property firm Fish & Richardson, which in January laid off 30 staff members across its eight US offices, “laid off its entire corporate section on Wednesday.”

That’s all we got. If you know anything about stealth layoffs at Fish & Richardson, please — send us a confidential tip!

Founded in 1878, Fish is one of the largest law firms in the world practicing intellectual property, litigation, and corporate law, and has as a legal staff of more than 450 attorneys and 1,200 employees in 12 offices across the globe, including an office in Munich, Germany.

UPDATE

Another tipster says:

This statement is not true. While it is correct that several corporate attorneys have been asked to leave the firm, the firm plans to keep corporate attorneys in the Northeast.

Okay, but who was laid off? How many? Why? Help us out, people!

Survey: Aussie Partners See Salary Cuts

Erik Even — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:24:27 +0000

A new survey of Australian law firm partners shows plummeting incomes and soaring stress levels.

Mahlab Recruitment reports that partner salaries are down by over 5% in Sydney, and 4% in Melbourne. Last year, partners in both cities saw an 11% increase.

The survey also says that firms have been quietly booting under-performing partners for the last year.

Almost 70% of private practice lawyers were not satisfied with their salary reviews.

Mahlab Recruitment, a legal and practice management recruitment consultancy, has offices in Sydney and Melbourne.

Tipster: Layoffs at USC Law School

Erik Even — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:13:06 +0000

According to a JDJournal tipster, there have been stealth layoffs at the USC Gould School of Law.

With all of the recent focus on the University of California Law School furloughs, it’s got to be asked why USC Law laid off staff members this past week, and none of this is being made public by USC Law. In this economy, what’s all the silence about?

That is an excellent question.

If you know anything about layoffs at USC Law, please — send us a confidential tip!

The University of Southern California Law School (Gould School of Law), located in Los Angeles, California, is a graduate school within the University of Southern California. The oldest law school in the Southwestern United States, USC Law had its beginnings in 1896, and was officially established as a school of the university in 1904.

It currently has about 600 JD students, and a growing LL.M program of 90 students.

Tipster: More Layoffs Today at Fulbright & Jaworski [Update 2]

Erik Even — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:07:33 +0000

We have been covering rumors of ongoing stealth layoffs at Fulbright & Jaworski.

We now believe that six associates and four staff were laid off in Los Angeles; 10 staff in San Antonio; 8 staff in New York; 24 staff in Dallas; and 12 secretaries 29 in Houston.

And a JDJournal tipster warned us that more layoffs were coming today.

Now, from the tip line: “Fulbright & Jaworski has laid off staff in Austin, TX – starting this morning at 10:00 a.m.”

C’mon, people! Who? How many? How were those targeted informed?

If you know anything about layoffs today at Fulbright & Jaworski, please — send us a confidential tip!

Founded in 1919, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP employs over 1,000 lawyers in 16 locations in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Denver, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Munich, New York, Riyadh, San Antonio, St. Louis and Washington, DC.

UPDATE

From a JDJournal Tipster:

Your numbers re Houston are incorrect. F&J laid of an additional 17 staff members on Friday in Houston. That’s on top of the 11 or 12 let go on Thursday, for a total of 28 or 29. I haven’t heard numbers from Austin either.

Thanks for the tip!

UPDATE 2

Now a tipster informs us that F&J Austin has lost four staff – two floaters, one secretary and one recruiting assistant.

Thanks!

Mintz Levin Lays Off Associates, Staff

Erik Even — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:35:25 +0000

Boston’s Mintz Levin has laid off an undisclosed number of attorneys and staff. Blawgs are reporting that 15 associates were targeted, amongst others.

The firm is also working on making changes in compensation.

Blawgs are also saying the firm conducted a round of stealth layoffs in February.

Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo is a general practice law firm employing 500 attorneys worldwide. Headquartered in Boston, Mintz also has offices in New York City, Washington DC, Stamford, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, San Diego, and London.

Tipster: Husch Blackwell Laying Off More Lawyers

Erik Even — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:15:07 +0000

Husch Blackwell laid off 17 lawyers and 45 staff in March, and 10 lawyers two weeks ago.

Now a JDJournal tipster says the firm has laid off an undisclosed number of additional attorneys.

More attorneys were laid off last week at the St. Louis Husch, Blackwell office, including well respected partners and associates. [They] also demoted equity partners, cut salaries, etc. No one knows until the very last minute. Possibly more to come?

Thanks for the tip!

If you know anything about layoffs or salary cuts at Husch Blackwell, please send us a confidential tip!

Husch Blackwell Sanders is a multinational litigation and business services law firm based in St. Louis, Missouri. It has approximately 675 attorneys in 13 cities. The firm was formed in 2008 as a combination of two regional law firms, Husch & Eppenberger and Blackwell Sanders. The firm also merged with Welsh & Katz of Chicago.

Tipster: More Layoffs on Horizon at Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt [Update 3]

Erik Even — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:00:48 +0000

In June we reported that Portland, Oregon’s Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt would cut associate salaries and lay off support staff.

Now a JDJournal tipster informs us that more layoffs are coming in August, and the new round will likely include associates.

The tipster says (edited for length and clarity):

Hopefully, Schwabe will handle this round of layoffs better than the June 15 layoffs of nearly 10% of its secretarial and professional staff, in which management attempted such a stealthy layoff that they did not even bother to tell the attorneys that their secretaries would be eliminated – many attorneys came back from a CLE event, a meeting, or a vacation and discovered their secretaries were simply gone.

It would be pretty interesting if management attempted to conduct any associate layoffs in this manner, and just left it up to the supervising partners to figure out who was still around to work on their cases.

Much of the staff affected by the June 15th layoff has been seriously questioning the timing of it – while Schwabe is still insisting that these staff members were cut due to the current state of the economy, Schwabe went on to hire two full-time secretaries within a week of cutting nearly 10% of its secretarial staff… None of the laid-off secretarial staff were asked to return to fill either one of these positions.

…it is worth mentioning that nearly all of the secretarial staff laid off on June 15th had raised some complaint to their supervisor, Virginia Zingg, in the seven months preceding the layoffs, leaving most of the secretarial staff who lost their jobs on June 15th to reach the conclusion that Ms. Zingg simply used the layoffs as a convenient way to clean house for those staff members who she apparently perceived as troublemakers.

If you know anything about layoffs at Schwabe, please — send us a confidential tip! And thanks to all our tipsters!

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt is a law firm with over 160 attorneys in seven cities. The firm currently has offices in Portland, Bend and Salem, Oregon; Seattle, Vancouver and Stevenson, Washington; and Washington, DC. It is the seventh largest law firm in the Pacific Northwest, and the second largest in Oregon.

UPDATE

Another tipster has a lot to say. Edited for length and clarity:

Viginia Zingg did use the layoffs as an excuse to clean house of those she didn’t like… She breaches confidentiality between the secretaries and staff behind her closed doors, and starts rumors just to get someone to give up information.

There has been no support to the secretarial staff since the layoffs took place, and the associates and summers are doing yet another rafting trip to the Deschutes this weekend, like last weekend wasn’t enough!

The staff get to go pull weeds out of Washington Park and have a picnic at the Zoo afterwards as their reward this summer. I bet we will see an article about how great of community services the firm provides after the staff go sweat all day pulling the weeds at their summer event, which used to take place on the Portland Spirit. I guess those days are over…

…the morale at Schwabe is null/void. It is beyond low if that is possible – non-existent.

UPDATE 2

Another tipster writes in (edited for length and clarity):

…one of the managing partners went before the entire firm to announce that every level of Schwabe would be making sacrifices in these difficult times; staff suffered layoffs, associates received pay cuts, and the partners would not be receiving their “holdbacks.” (The partners have a percentage of their salary held back each month. and then receive those funds in June and December pending good receivables).

Within two weeks after that announcement, the partners did in fact receive their holdbacks. Also, note that mid-level management was not mentioned with regard to any sort of sacrifice — no layoffs, no pay cuts.

There have been complaints brought to upper management for years with regard to Virginia Zingg’s inability to maintain confidentiality. It has been a wonder to staff how she maintains her position as a mid-level manager, and further why Schwabe’s upper management and board would allow her to make the decision with regard to which individuals would be laid off.

UPDATE 3

Disturbing reports are emerging from several staff members at Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt that Virginia Zingg allegedly commented to them, “Now that so many staff have been eliminated, there will be bigger bonuses for all of us at the end of the year.” In light of the recent reports that the partners did, in fact, receive their holdbacks, it is becoming increasingly clear that the June staff lay-offs, the attorney pay cuts, and the future lay-offs planned for August are not due to the current financial forecast.

Rather, according to Ms. Zingg – a member of management, who would be privy to knowing such things – it was all so that there would be bigger bonuses for all employees at year’s end.

In fact, if Schwabe were legitimately concerned about remaining economically viable, they would terminate Ms. Zingg because she is a huge liability – upper management already has substantiated evidence that she has violated employees’ protected health information under the HIPAA Regulations, and it is just a matter of time before one of these employees obtains a judgment against Schwabe big enough to shut the whole place down.

K&L Gates Lays Off Long-time Staffers

Erik Even — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:53:41 +0000

Blawgs are reporting that K&L Gates let go five staff members last week, due to lack of work.

At least two of the staffers had worked for the firm for more than 20 years, according to reports.

In March, K&L Gates laid off 36 associates and 79 staff; and the firm is rumored to have laid off 20 staff in April.

If you know anything about layoffs at K&L Gates, please send us a confidential tip!

K&L Gates LLP is a US law firm with over 1700 attorneys worldwide, and is ranked as the 10th largest law firm in the world.

Rumor: Cahill Gordon Lays Off Associates

Erik Even — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:19:28 +0000

According to online sources, former Am Law 100 firm Cahill Gordon laid off an undisclosed number of associates last week, with second-years particularly targeted.

Those laid off have been offered severance packages, but no details are available.

If you have any additional details about layoffs at Cahill Gordon, please send us a confidential tip.

Founded in 1919, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP is a leading New York-based international law firm with additional offices in Washington DC and London.

Rumor: Cravath Holds Stealth Layoffs, Cuts 25 Associates

Erik Even — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:33:50 +0000

Blawgs are reporting that Cravath has been holding stealth layoffs of associates since December 2008, letting 25 lawyers go for “performance” reasons.

According to online sources, more layoffs are expected this month. Cravath has refused to comment.

Apparently this news is coming out because laid off associates are angry that Cravath will pay incoming 2009 associates $80,000 to defer to 2010.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is based in New York City, with an additional office in London. The second oldest firm in the US, Cravath was founded in 1819.

Tipster: Stealth Layoffs at Sughrue Mion

Erik Even — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 21:05:06 +0000

A JDJournal tipster says he or she is the latest victim of stealth layoffs at intellectual property firm Sughrue Mion:

I am, perhaps, the latest casualty of Sughrue. It is my belief and understanding [that]:

1.) almost weekly, several people are fired, attorneys and/or staff, which I believe [is] more related to internal issues than economic [ones];

2.) there is a hiring freeze in place;

3.) staff overtime has been slashed, and partners have agreed they will not receive an increase this year due to economic issues.

And I have observed frequent erratic emotional explosions [from] an unnamed senior partner, and that many people are walking on eggshells wondering who, or whether they, will be next to be given their walking papers.

Sughrue Mion PPLC concentrates on the practice of intellectual property law, with offices in Washington DC; Menlo Park, CA; and Tokyo, Japan.

Tipster: Stealth Layoffs at Dykema

Erik Even — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:39:28 +0000

A JDJournal tipster says that Dykema has laid off at least 20 lawyers and 30 staff since November. This was not reported to the media.

The tipster reports plans to further reduce attorney and staff headcount due to the GM bankruptcy, although this is being kept from firm employees.

If you know anything about the situation at Dykema, please — send us a confidential tip!

Dykema Gossett PLLC is a law firm headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1926, the firm has offices across the United States, including Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. It currently employs over 450 lawyers and lobbying professionals. With the 2008 acquisition of 53 lawyers from the now-defunct Schwartz Cooper, Dykema’s largest office is now in Chicago.

Davis Polk to Shut Frankfurt Office

Erik Even — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 18:39:30 +0000

Davis Polk, home of stealth layoffs, will permanently close its office in Frankfurt, Germany in August.

The office’s long-time resident partner, Patrick Kenadjian, is retiring at the end of the year. His successor, Harald Halbhuber, has decided to leave the firm as well.

Much of the office’s work will be taken over by Davis Polk’s 31-lawyer London office.

Two associates and one counsel at the Frankfurt office have been offered other positions with the firm.

Davis Polk & Wardwell is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm employs more than 700 attorneys and is primarily known for its corporate, litigation and tax practices.

WilmerHale Asks Lawyers to Please Go Away Soon

Erik Even — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:08:53 +0000

WilmerHale has informed an undisclosed number of associates and counsel that they will lose their jobs this Fall. The firm stresses that these are not “layoffs,” although rational persons are hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Those affected are being given “a number of months” to find new jobs. The cuts are the result of a new “up or out” program. If a lawyer is not promoted within a certain time frame, he or she is asked to leave the firm.

In April, WilmerHale deferred start dates for its 2009 associate class.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the US, Europe and Asia. It was created in 2004 through the merger of the Boston’s Hale & Dorr and the Washington’s Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, and employs more than 1,100 attorneys worldwide. As of 2008, it was the 23rd largest law firm in the world in terms of revenue. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked the firm as the 22nd largest in the United States by number of attorneys.

Ropes & Gray Cuts Up to 40 Associates [Update]

Erik Even — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:02:33 +0000

Ropes & Gray, which deferred start dates in March, has let go between 30 and 40 associates.

Blawgs are reporting that the layoffs include eight two first year associates.

If you have any details, please send us a confidential tip!

Ropes & Gray LLP is a national law firm with offices located in Boston, New York City, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Hong Kong and Tokyo; and a conference center in London. The firm has over 1,000 lawyers worldwide.

UPDATE

The firm confirms it has sent home only two first year associates, not the 8 to 10 initially reported online.

Rumor: Stealth Layoffs at Willkie Farr

Erik Even — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:50:27 +0000

The blawgosphere is abuzz with rumors that Willkie Farr has been conducting stealth layoffs, and that a big round of public layoffs, affecting 10% of the workforce, may be on the way.

The recent layoffs are said to have targeted senior and mid-level associates in New York City and Washington, DC, who have been given five months notice.

If you know anything about what’s going on at Willkie Farr, please — send us a confidential tip!

Founded in 1888, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is an international law firm with offices in New York, Washington DC, London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Frankfort, Germany and Brussels. It employs 600 lawyers and staff attorneys. Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo has been of counsel with Willkie Farr since leaving office in 1995.

Tipster: Holme Roberts & Owen Lays Off Up to 15 Associates

Erik Even — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:54:46 +0000

A JDJournal tipster informs us that Holme Roberts & Owen laid off between 10 and 15 associates in mid-April.

According to the tipster:

Several first year and second year associates were cut. This is less than six months after the firm told us our jobs were safe. Both the Denver Post and the ABA Journal ran stories on the firm’s announcement in November that they wouldn’t lay anyone off. I believe most people got 3 months severance.

Also in April, a tipster informed us that HRO deferred its entire incoming associate class for one year.

Holme Roberts & Owen employs employed approximately 265 attorneys. The only international law firm based in Denver, it has several other offices in the United States and worldwide.

Attorneys Disappear from Troutman Sanders Website

Erik Even — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:35:04 +0000

In March, Atlanta’s Troutman Sanders said layoffs were likely. Now legal industry news sites have noticed that 28 names have mysteriously disappeared from the firm’s roster of attorneys on its web site.

The firm refuses to confirm a specific number of lawyers who have left the firm, and will not give circumstances behind why lawyers have left.

The firm offered a voluntary buyout package last month.

Troutman has pushed incoming associates to January 2010, and cut two weeks off its 2009 summer associate program.

The firm, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, has offices in Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, Newark, Norfolk, Orange County, Raleigh, Richmond, San Diego, Shanghai, Tyson’s Corner, Virginia Beach and Washington, DC.

Rumor: Stealth Layoffs at Alston & Bird

Erik Even — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:47:37 +0000

Various blawgs report that stealth layoffs are underway at Atlanta’s Alston & Bird.

The firings seem to be taking place across all practices, but are hitting real estate especially hard.

Laid off lawyers are being given three months to find new positions.

First year associates have been laid off as well.

If you know anything about layoffs at Alston & Bird, please send us a confidential tip!

Alston & Bird LLP is the second largest law firm in Atlanta and the forty-third largest in the United States. Founded in 1893, the firm has local offices in Atlanta; Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; New York City; Washington, DC; Dallas; Los Angeles, the Silicon Valley and Ventura County.

Stealth Layoffs at Davis Polk

Erik Even — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 16:34:29 +0000

According to the online rumor mill, Davis Polk & Wardwell started laying lawyers off in December.

At least 12 corporate law associates have been laid off for performance reasons and given three months notice.

Up to 30 total may have been cut in New York City alone.

If you know anything at all about layoffs at Davis Polk, please send us a confidential tip. Keep coming back to JDJournal — as soon as we know more, we’ll post it.

Davis Polk & Wardwell is an international law firm headquartered in New York. The firm employs more than 700 attorneys and is primarily known for its corporate, litigation and tax practices.

Andrews Kurth Held Stealth Layoffs

Erik Even — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:08:06 +0000

Sources within Houston’s Andrews Kurth have revealed the firm laid off at least 20 lawyers across its offices several weeks ago.

The lawyers were given several weeks notice. At least seven were from the firm’s corporate department.

The firm has declined to comment.

If you have more information about these layoffs, please send us a confidential tip!

Andrews & Kurth LLP was founded by Frank Andrews and Congressman Thomas Henry Ball in 1902, and later joined by Melvin Kurth in 1913. The firm currently has over 400 attorneys internationally, including offices in London and Beijing.

Rumor: Shearman & Sterling Laying Off Support Staff

Erik Even — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:46:48 +0000

According to rumors on the Tubes (it’s not a truck!), Shearman & Sterling is laying off administrative staff today.

Lawyers are apparently unaffected. An official announcement is expected tomorrow.

If you know anything about layoffs at Shearman & Sterling, please send us a confidential tip!

Two weeks ago, Shearman & Sterling reported a 4.9% drop in revenues to $876 million for 2008, and a 9.6% fall in profits per equity partner, to $1.665 million. Revenue per lawyer remained above the million-dollar mark.

Shearman & Sterling LLP is a law firm headquartered in New York City, with 19 offices located in major financial centers around the world. It was founded in 1873.

As of 2006, it was the 17th largest law firm in the world as measured by 2006 annual revenue. Shearman & Sterling is a white shoe firm, the equivalent of the Magic Circle in the UK.

Schulte Roth Laid Off Up to 30 Associates

Erik Even — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:07:21 +0000

Above the Law reports that late last year, Schulte Roth let go up to 30 associates.

We’ve been receiving reports of layoffs at Schulte Roth & Zabel since last summer, but were unable to confirm them until now. These days, it can be difficult to differentiate between “performance-based layoffs” and “economically-motivated layoffs.”

Schulte’s spokespeople say all layoffs in 2008 were performance-based. They deny any recent layoffs in their office, saying that any departures in 2009 have been voluntary. Between 20 to 30 associates left in the fall; “approximately” 20 of them were let go for performance-based reasons after their reviews in November. The others were supposedly voluntary departures…

One of those laid-off from Schulte informs us there was no severance package, though associates were given 2-3 months notice at Thanksgiving, asked to leave at the end of January or the end of February…

…they did not get bonuses or pay raises.

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.

Via ATL.

Sheppard Mullin Admits to Stealth Layoffs

Erik Even — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:34:36 +0000

Sheppard Mullin, which instituted salary freezes in January, now admits it has been shedding attorneys since the beginning of 2009.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Sheppard Mullin Associates’ Forum, firm management announced that by the end of this week about 25 attorneys firmwide will have been let go since the beginning of the year. Some of these terminations were performance-related; others were true “lay-offs,” done in order to adjust professional staff levels in practice groups whose level of business has been adversely affected by the economic downturn.

The terminations have been carried out incrementally over the last two months, because firm management has very carefully assessed each associate’s performance in the context of the level of work projected for the associate’s practice group.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is an Am Law 100 law firm with over 520 attorneys in 10 offices in the United States and one in Shanghai. Its first office was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1927.

ATL: Paul Hastings Layoffs in L.A.

Erik Even — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:27:26 +0000

First LA’s Paul Hastings announced the layoff of 10 Atlanta associates.

Now tipsters tell Above the Law that the firm is holding stealth layoffs today at its Los Angeles HQ.

I just wanted to let you know that stealth layoffs are ongoing at Paul Hastings. Rumor has it that the grim reaper is making rounds to many offices [in California].

There are also rumors of layoffs in the firm’s Shanghai office.

If you know anything about layoffs at Paul Hasting, please send us a confidential tip!

Founded in LA in 1951, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP is a leading international law firm with over 1,300 attorneys and 18 offices worldwide. Paul Hastings serves a diverse client base that includes many top financial institutions and Fortune 500 companies.

Via ATL.

Update: Pillsbury Winthrop Offers “Voluntary Departure”

Erik Even — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:16:00 +0000

As we reported last week (and in case you didn’t overhear it yourself on the train), Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is laying off an undisclosed number of attorneys.

The firm has now announced a “voluntary departure” plan for any of the firm’s lawyers who don’t like hearing about their impending joblessness from the blogosphere instead of management.

As you were advised last week, Pillsbury is planning to implement a reduction in workforce that will affect attorneys and staff. Although we have taken many prior steps to respond to the current challenging business climate, we have reluctantly concluded that a reduction in the attorney workforce is necessary to align ourselves with the volume of work we expect in 2009. As part of this reduction process, the Firm is offering a voluntary departure plan to associates, senior associates and counsel.

The voluntary departure program will provide attorneys who elect to leave and are selected a severance package that consists, among other things, of three months of base pay. Attorneys interested in considering the program will have until Friday, February 27, to state their desire to be included. Promptly thereafter, the local and firm-wide practice section leaders will consider whether attorneys in their sections who have expressed interest in the voluntary departure program can be accommodated.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is an international law firm with offices located throughout the US and globally, including key financial centers New York, London, Tokyo and Shanghai.

Know anything about these layoffs? Send us a confidential tip!

ATL: Kaye Scholer Lays Off At Least Five Attorneys

Erik Even — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:45:50 +0000

Tipsters tell Above the Law that at least five lawyers were laid off from Kaye Scholer on Friday, including some first- and second-year associates.

The firm conducted layoffs in the Corporate and Finance department on Friday. The number of affected attorneys is not known, but is believed to be at least five…

Kaye Scholer has been utilizing the “stealth layoff” approach quite heavily since December / January. I was given notice to look for another job a few weeks ago, and I personally know of about 10 others that [have been] “asked to leave” since then.

At the associate meeting, [managing partner] Barry Willner told everyone that associate numbers would be “about the same” in 2009 as in 2008. Given that there has been almost no attrition and a sizable incoming class, you can do the math to figure how many people had been told to leave.

Via ATL.

ATL: Stealth Layoffs at Latham?

Erik Even — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:04:03 +0000

Above the Law is getting numerous tips about “stealth” layoffs at Los Angeles-based 2,100-lawyer firm Latham & Watkins, but the world’s fifth largest firm denies there are any layoffs, except for ordinary firings in the wake of year-end reviews.

Consistent with our standard practice at the end of each year, we have completed our associate review process. We counsel our associates at the completion of our review process each year, and in those conferences discuss topics such as job performance, compensation and career tracks. Our decisions relating to associate departures were performance related and part of our usual year-end process, not part of an economic layoff.

Law Firms Avoid Announcing Layoffs, Even to Staff

Erik Even — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:50:22 +0000

From Am Law Daily:

The Am Law Daily is running out of leads for layoff stories, so we were relieved when we saw that Meredith Hobbs at the Fulton County Daily Report, an Am Law Daily sibling publication, got the managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw‘s Atlanta office to open up a bit about the recent layoffs there.

This statement from the partner, Paul Mattingly, especially caught our attention: “I’m not concerned about announcing layoffs publicly because these days they’re a fact of life.”

From the article:

Most firms still opt for “stealth” layoffs, preferring to cull lawyers and staff just a few at a time, in the hope that the cuts will escape the notice of the legal community — and, often, even people in their own firm.

They are loath to announce they are shedding associates and staff because business has slumped, fearing it will affect their ability to recruit and retain laterals…

Many firms also prefer to say cuts are performance-related because they worry about the stigma of admitting they don’t have enough work…

Seyfarth bucked the trend with last week’s e-mail memo explaining that it was laying off employees because of the economic downturn.

“Since layoffs have become so pervasive, clarifying that they were not for performance reasons, but because of market conditions, seemed like the fair thing to do,” said [Atlanta managing partner Paul] Mattingly.