Layoffs

Outsourcing leads to IT layoffs at Paul Hastings

Paul Hastings had laid off about 15 information technology staffers in its Los Angeles office after outsourcing the positions. Above the Law broke the news, confirmed in a statement by the law firm. The jobs of about 15 support analysts have been transferred to Keno Kozie in Chicago, which specializes…

Oct 3, 2013 4:38 PM CDT

Wilson Sonsini cuts about 35 secretarial positions

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has restructured its legal support services, a move that eliminated about 35 secretarial positions, mostly in its office in Palo Alto, Calif. The Am Law Daily (reg. req.) obtained a copy of the memo (PDF) announcing the layoffs. The affected secretaries will receive “separation pay…

Sep 26, 2013 3:17 PM CDT

Arent Fox lays off about 20 support staffers, while Schulte Roth offers buyouts

Two more BigLaw firms are trimming support staffers. Arent Fox says has laid off about 20 support staffers, Above the Law reports. In a statement, the law firm says the layoffs are across various offices and departments. “Like many firms across the country, we are making hard choices to ensure…

Sep 13, 2013 2:23 PM CDT

Lateral hires at Duane Morris brought extra legal assistants to firm, spurring layoffs

Duane Morris says the firm has hired around 42 partners and counsel in the last two years, many of whom brought their legal assistants with them. The result was overstaffing and the need to lay off 17 legal assistants, Above the Law reports. “Duane Morris does appear to be in…

Sep 12, 2013 1:28 PM CDT

35 staffers laid off at Pillsbury Winthrop

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has confirmed that the firm laid off workers last week to deal with elevated staffing levels in multiple offices. “The departures affect approximately 35 staff in various offices, departments and sections,” said chief operating officer Richard C. Donaldson in a written statement published Friday by Above…

Sep 9, 2013 2:15 PM CDT

A bankruptcy downturn squeezes restructuring practices

Bankruptcy filings are falling on a nationwide basis, forcing some law firms to cut the size of their restructuring practices or reallocate their lawyers. In the Southern District of New York, the number of business Chapter 11 filings dropped 71 percent over the four-year period from June 2009 to June…

Sep 4, 2013 11:20 AM CDT

$4.4M slashed from budget, 12 laid off at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

Lackluster enrollment is being blamed for a $4.4 million budget cut at Thomas Jefferson School of Law. The cut means that 12 adjunct faculty and staff members at the San Diego school will lose their positions. In addition to the staff cuts, 14 classes that had limited enrollment or were…

Aug 19, 2013 9:12 PM CDT

Patton Boggs tells idle partners to shape up or ship out, WSJ reports

As many U.S. law firms struggle to find their footing in the post-recession era marked by seismic change, Washington, D.C.-based Patton Boggs has drawn up a new game plan. It’s one that includes trimming less productive partners, reworking compensation plans, and refocusing the firm’s growth on practices that support its…

Aug 9, 2013 8:38 PM CDT

Despite ‘fragile’ legal economy, managing partners say they don’t expect lawyer layoffs

Despite reports this week of planned lawyer layoffs by Goodwin Procter and Weil Gotshal and Manges, as well as a 17-partner exit at Patton Boggs, managing partners of six major firms say they don’t expect a mass of competing legal partnerships–including their own–to follow suit as the year reaches its…

Jun 28, 2013 3:50 PM CDT

Goodwin Procter plans to close San Diego office, lay off 10 lawyers and 12 staff

Goodwin Procter has confirmed that the firm plans to close its San Diego office by the end of September, laying off 10 lawyers and 12 staff members. Two of the six partners at the office, as well as six associates and four staff members apparently will be offered a chance…

Jun 28, 2013 3:02 PM CDT

Weil Gotshal layoffs are start of a wave, consultant says (video)

Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ announcement this week that it is firing 60 associates and 110 support staffers and cutting the pay of about 30 partners is the start of a wave of such downsizings, according to law firm consultant Bruce MacEwen, publisher of the blog Adam Smith, Esq. The cuts…

Jun 27, 2013 4:29 PM CDT

Weil Gotshal will lay off 60 associates, 110 support staffers; will other firms follow suit?

Lawyers and support staffers at Weil, Gotshal & Manges got a first-hand lesson about “the new normal” on Monday, delivered in an email from executive partner and chairman Barry Wolf. The law firm will lay off about 60 associates and 110 support staffers, and will cut the pay of about…

Jun 24, 2013 3:32 PM CDT

Downey Brand lays off 11 administrative and support staffers

One of the largest law firms in central California has laid off 11 administrative and support staff members. The last time Downey Brand let workers go was in 2009, when it laid off 14, the Sacramento Business Journal reports. Partner Chris Delfino, a member of the executive committee, told the…

Jun 21, 2013 5:30 PM CDT

Three Orrick execs are leaving; 21 staffers laid off

Three high-ranking executives are leaving Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe, just a few months after Mitchell Zuklie took over as chairman of the law firm. Leaving the firm are chief human resources officer and U.S. executive director Gera Vaz, chief operating officer Reid Horovitz and chief knowledge officer Peter Krakaur, report…

Jun 10, 2013 1:15 PM CDT

Miami law firm shuts down; email demands return of office supplies

The Miami law firm Brown and Heller closed on Monday, leaving 23 lawyers and about 50 staffers out of work. The firm closed after losing its only client, a defendant in a class action lawsuit related to Bernard Madoff’s investment fraud, the Daily Business Review reports. The firm had beefed…

Mar 22, 2013 6:33 PM CDT