JD Journal » voluntary buyouts

Mallesons to Cut 100 Lawyers, Staff

Erik Even — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:58:07 +0000

Commercial law firm Mallesons will begin a redundancy consultation in August, targeting 5% of the firm’s workforce.

The redundancies are being characterized as voluntary, and will affect 100 lawyers and staff. Some lawyers will be offered more than one year’s pay.

The offers are to include a payment based on years of service, an additional stipend, and outplacement.

Founded in 1832, Mallesons Stephen Jaques is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region generally, it is considered one of the top commercial law firms. It has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra, Hong Kong, Beijing, London, Shanghai and Papua New Guinea.

Pillsbury Associates Still Waiting to Hear About Deferals

Erik Even — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:06:04 +0000

Pillsbury has missed its own deadline to inform 22 of its 54 incoming associates that they will be deferred again, to January 2011.

The other 32 will begin work in January 2010.

The firm had promised its incoming class that each member would be informed of their fate by last Friday, but this never happened.

Pillsbury offered $60,000 to incoming associates who would voluntarily leave, and public interest fellowships are available to those deferred.

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.

Herbert Smith Avoids Involuntary Redundancies

Erik Even — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:55:03 +0000

Herbert Smith, which announced in April a redundancy consultation at its London HQ, targeting 84 positions, will not need to lay anyone off after all, after 84 staff members signed on for voluntary redundancy or alternative working arrangements.

The firm offered staffers 3.5 weeks salary per year of service to leave the firm.

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.

Pillsbury Offers Incoming Associates $60K to Drop Dead [Update]

Erik Even — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:34:00 +0000

Pillsbury, which has delayed start dates for its incoming first year associates to January 2010, is now offering $60,000 to associates willing to forget about working at the firm.

Other firms have been offering $75,000 for the same deal.

The firm has also announced a public interest fellowship program. Rather than paying associates to do work with a non-profit or government agency, Pillsbury will pay $5,000 per month directly to the employer.

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.

UPDATE

It appears that Pillsbury is deferring 32 members of its incoming class of new associates to January 2010; the other 22 don’t start until January 2011.

Stroock Offers First-Years $75,000 to Go Away Forever

Erik Even — Fri, 01 May 2009 20:51:31 +0000

According to an internal memo leaked online, New York’s Stroock & Stroock & Lavan is making three offers to incoming associates.

First, deferrals:

…the start date for the incoming class will be January 11, 2010. Prior to this date, you will be expected to take and pass the New York bar exam. We will cover related expenses for both the bar review course and the bar exam itself. We also will make available to you a cash advance of $10,000 in September to help cover your expenses. In addition, if applicable, we will reimburse your moving expenses to New York, up to $2,000.

Or, later deferrals:

Second, we offer the opportunity to defer your start date until January 2011. If you select this option, we will provide you with the cash advance in September and, starting in January 2010, will provide you with an annual stipend of $50,000 to be paid monthly for so long as you secure an approved position in the public interest field… for a period of up to one year… Following this deferral, the current expectation is that you would start with the Firm in January 2011, although this is subject to change depending upon our hiring needs at the time…

Or finally, a big cash incentive to just go away.

Lastly, the Firm recognizes that you may wish to pursue other opportunities, outside of Stroock. If this is the case, we will make a total payment to you of $75,000, half payable in September 2009 and half in January 2010. By accepting this payment, it should be understood that you would have no current or future obligation to Stroock, nor would we to you.

In March, Stroock laid off 10% of its associates and staff.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP is based in New York City, with approximately 350 lawyers in three offices, including Miami and Los Angeles. It was founded in 1876.

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.

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.

Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel Offering Voluntary Buyouts

Erik Even — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:48:59 +0000

Buffalo, New York law firm Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel is offering a voluntary buyout program for 38 of its support staff.

Eligible employees have until May 15th to apply for the firm’s “voluntary separation” program, which offers “salary continuation” for a period of time depending on employees’ years of service.

The firm has 60 full-time support staffers, but only 10 can take the buyout. It has 58 attorneys in its Buffalo and Amherst offices.

Last year, the firm shut its Rochester office.