Chicago’s Chapman and Cutler is taking steps to reduce costs, including laying off an undisclosed number of “underperforming” lawyers, and possibly cutting salaries.
The firm has canceled its traditional May partners’ retreat and shortened its summer associate program to eight weeks. Chapman has been paying $160,000 to first-year associates, but may reduce the pay to $145,000.
It has also eliminated its public relations budget, which may be why it thinks stealth layoffs are a good idea.
The firm may shed more employees by early summer. The firm is hiring in New York, where it opened an office with one partner in February. Chapman’s other two offices are in San Francisco and Salt Lake City.
