At Least 100 Heller Employees Laid Off on Friday
Updated: Two e-mails were dispatched to Heller Ehrman employees last Friday. One informed the recipients they were being asked to continue working at the law firm, for now. The other had bad news for at least 100 staffers: It was their last day at the firm.
Both the Recorder and Daily Journal (sub. req.) had news of the layoff notices. The Recorder story says the laid-off employees were not paid immediately for accrued vacation or 60 days’ wages required by federal law, but firm managers hoped to pay the money eventually.
The Recorder identifies laid off as staffers as those not in client-service positions and lawyers already known to be leaving. They included some legal assistants, library staff, marketing staff, recruiting staff and about 10 information technology staffers.
The e-mail blamed Heller’s lenders, Bank of America and Citigroup, for forcing the layoffs. “Generally, they have refused to pay employees who we cannot convince them are necessary (as they define it) for the wind down efforts,” the e-mails said.
Last Friday’s e-mails also stated that firm expects to inform other employees of layoffs over the next two weeks, the Daily Journal story says.
The e-mail was true to its word. More staffers were informed Thursday that they were being laid off; few are said to remain, the Recorder reports.
A secretary at the law firm told the Recorder it was becoming difficult to work in Heller’s stripped-down offices and being laid off comes as a relief. She said she printed a document, but found that the copier had been removed before she was able to pick it up.
“We don’t have any records people. They took away our coffee machines. Our cafeteria is gone,” she said.
Updated on Oct. 17 to include new report of layoffs.
