Legal Jobs Now Stand at Same Level as March 2004
The legal industry lost 1,300 jobs in January, the same number of jobs that had been added in something of a turnaround the month before, according to Labor Department statistics.
The temporary December uptick in jobs followed six months of decline, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). With the latest job losses, the legal sector has lost 14,500 jobs since the recession began in December 2007, according to the Am Law Daily. The last time so few people were employed in legal services was March 2004, the Am Law Daily says.
The statistics were seasonally adjusted and included both associates and other legal staffers.
The website LawShucks had recorded 1,487 law firm layoffs in January, including layoffs at law firms outside the United States.
Among the law firms announcing layoffs in January were Morrison & Foerster (laying off 53 attorneys and 148 staffers), Cooley Godward Kronish (laying off 52 lawyers and 62 staffers), and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (laying off 45 lawyers and 68 staffers).
