Day Pitney, Thompson Hine Among Six Firms Announcing Layoffs
Updated: Six more law firms have announced layoffs, three of them based on the East Coast and three from the Ohio area.
The largest number of layoffs is at Day Pitney. The firm has confirmed the layoffs of 66 staff members, according to the Connecticut Law Tribune. Co-managing partner James Sicilian said no lawyer layoffs were planned.
Above the Law published a firm memo (PDF) that explained the Day Pitney layoffs were the result of a study that found its costs were “higher than they need to be and higher than those of comparable law firms.”
Colleagues told the Law Tribune that some of the staffers laid off had been employed by the firm for more than 20 years, and one person had been there nearly 30 years.
Another firm laying off staffers this week is Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, the Legal Intelligencer reports. The firm laid off between 25 and 30 staff members in a second round of cuts that followed 25 staff layoffs in November.
Executive director Nolan Kurtz said Buchanan Ingersoll is beginning lawyer performance reviews, and that may account for rumors of impending lawyer layoffs.
“We’re coming off of the annual performance review process and, given the overall economic climate, we believe that it’s more important than ever to ensure that we have the right staffing,” he told the Legal Intelligencer.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports on these layoffs by firms in its area:
• Thompson Hine is laying off 12 lawyers, five paralegals and 29 administrative workers.
• Roetzel & Andress is laying off 13 associates and 18 staffers.
• Calfee, Halter & Griswold is laying off four lawyers, a paralegal and another staffer.
Also laying off employees is Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, based in Hartford, Conn. The firm is letting go three secretaries and two first-year lawyers, according to the Law Tribune.
Last updated at 11 a.m. to correct the number of Thompson Hine layoffs.
