Simspon Thatcher Denies Layoffs Report From UK 'Rag'
News about law firm layoffs is hot these days, so it’s no surprise that when a report emerged yesterday that Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett was the latest to join the mix by engaging in so-called “stealth layoffs,” the story spread quickly on the Internet.
The trouble is…the layoff claim isn’t true. That’s according to Simpson chairman Philip Ruegger, who told the American Lawyer that his New York firm isn’t doing anything it hasn’t done for years.
“This is something that was made up by that rag in the U.K., it’s just complete nonsense,” Ruegger is quoted saying. “We aren’t doing anything differently than any other year and we actually have less attrition this year than last year.”
American Lawyer notes that recruiters back up Simpson’s assertion that nothing unusual is going on. Had there been a larger-than-normal number of lawyer resumes on the market, the recruiters would have noticed, the publication notes.
Still, at least one associate who spoke to the Amlaw Daily blog confirmed the layoffs. According to the article, the associate said, that a push to ax mid-level associates, following performance reviews, dates back to 2007 and is “still happening across the board.”
“[T]hey’re focusing more on the midlevels than otherwise would be the case because they’re the easiest to get rid of,” the unnamed associate, who’s now reportedly at a rival Amlaw 100 firm, said.
