Sheppard Mullin lays off staffers as it restores pay
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Lawyers and staff members at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton will be getting full paychecks and make-whole payments for money withheld because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the news isn’t all good. Sheppard Mullin is laying off 22 of 44 furloughed staff members and offering voluntary buyouts to the others, who will remain furloughed, report Law.com, Bloomberg Law and Law360.
The furloughed staff members were mostly in office services jobs, such as reception and the file center.
Laid off staff members will receive a severance package and medical coverage through the end of the year. The package pays one week’s salary for every year of service. The minimum payment will be four weeks of salary, and the maximum is 26 weeks.
Those who opt for the buyout will receive the same severance package.
Sheppard Mullin had initially cut pay by 12% for associates, staff attorneys and special counsels and by 5% to 10% for staff members. The law firm reduced those pay cuts by half in August.
