Reed Smith Cuts 115 Support Staff, 11 Associates
BigLaw firm Reed Smith, just in the news for picking up laterals from Thelen, is tightening up elsewhere by cutting support staff and associates.
The firm announced today in a firmwide memo first reported on the legal tabloid Above the Law that because of the economic downturn, it is letting go 115 support staff from offices in the United States and cutting 11 associates from its office in London.
In a Q&A with the Am Law Daily blog, Reed Smith managing partner Gregory Jordan said he expects more pain in 2009, but believes the firm is positioned well because it operates under a diversified model. “We’re about 53 percent litigation, 47 percent transactional firmwide,” he said. “That’s a model that helps hedge in times like this and the litigation side is running ahead of pace. We hope and expect that to continue.”
The interview concluded with this remark, “Our crystal ball is no clearer than anybody else’s, but everything we hear tells us that we need to expect a pretty tough year for business.”
See also:
Philadelphia Business Journal: “Reed Smith cutting some support staff”
