McKee Nelson Cuts 17 Associates; Expects 10% Drop in Partner Profits
McKee Nelson announced today that it laid off 17 corporate finance associates and 15 staff because of a steep decline in structuring mortgage-backed and asset-backed securitizations.
“This is market-driven, not the fault of these kids,” William Nelson, the firm’s co-founder, told the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
“All of the affected attorneys and staff members are in good standing at the firm. None of these layoffs are performance based,” the firm said in a release sent to the ABA Journal and other media.
The Law Blog notes that McKee Nelson, which now has 174 lawyers, had already relocated 24 attorneys who agreed to leave.
Nelson also told the Law Blog that profits-per-partner will be down about 10 percent—in line with the expectations of Altman Weil legal consultant Ward Bower that profits per partner would be down 9 percent in 2008. But Nelson may be among the first to go out on a limb and say that, at least at his firm, they feel they’ve hit bottom.
More:
Above the Law: McKee Nelson Lays Off 32 (17 Attorneys, 15 Staff)
Earlier:
ABAJournal.com: McKee Nelson Rode Subprime Boom to Big Profits, Sees Opportunities Ahead
