Alston & Bird Cuts Roster by 14 Associates, 38 Staff
On Friday, Alston & Bird eliminated 14 associate and 38 staff jobs from its offices in Atlanta; New York City; Charlotte, N.C.; and Washington, D.C., according to the Fulton County Daily Report. The firm is also reducing its summer associate program from nine weeks to 12 weeks and deferring the start date of its next associate class.
Alston & Bird’s managing partner, Richard R. Hays, declined to tell the Daily Report how many lawyers from each office would be affected, but he said that they were associates in transactional practices such as real estate and finance.
Hays told the Daily Report that affected associates can either choose a three-month severance package including salary, benefits and outplacement services or be paid by Alston & Bird through December to work in-house for a firm client or at a legal nonprofit organization. Those associates would be hired back in January if work at the firm picks up. Staff will receive a severance package with salary and benefits.
Associate salaries at the outplacement jobs will be “more than the three months severance, but not substantially more,” Hays told the Daily Report.
Alston & Bird’s 68 incoming associates, scheduled to start in September, can either take a $10,000 stipend and start in January or complete a one-year nonprofit fellowship for a $60,000 salary and a September 2010 start date.
Alston & Bird froze salaries in January, and in November it offered an incentive for early retirement to staffers above age 55 who have been with the law firm for at least 10 years. The Atlanta-based firm also has plans to open a new office in Los Angeles.
