Layoffs

Expert Warns of Law Firm ‘Overcapacity’ and ‘Further Timekeeper Cuts’

Law firms are going to protect their profits, and that means that more layoffs are likely, according to a Wells Fargo consultant. Jeffrey Grossman, national managing director for the bank’s legal specialty group, told the Washington Post that he foresees more cuts as firms offer more alternative fees. “I still…

Dec 13, 2010 12:24 PM CST

Laid Off Kirkland Associate Lands Job: Trump’s Apprentice

A laid-off Kirkland & Ellis associate has bested another lawyer to win The Apprentice. Lawyer Brandy Kuentzel won the competition overseen by Donald Trump in the season finale on Thursday evening, according to the Daily Mail and AOL Jobs. Kuentzel is a University of Chicago law graduate who started a…

Dec 10, 2010 2:54 PM CST

Legal Sector Loses Jobs Two Months in a Row

The legal sector lost 1,100 jobs in November, the second month of declines. The loss was reported Friday in a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Am Law Daily reports. Revised numbers show the legal sector lost 400 jobs in October after a gain of 1,400 jobs in…

Dec 6, 2010 1:04 PM CST

Fired Associate Sues Akin Gump, Alleging Bias and NALP Lie

An African-American associate laid off from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld claims the law “showcased” her at minority events to create a false image of diversity, even as it was transferring her assignments to white lawyers. The racial discrimination suit by Tameka Simmons claims the firm cited pretextual economic…

Dec 6, 2010 12:00 PM CST

BigLaw Partner Cuts Aren’t Over, Survey Finds

There’s bad news for both partners and would-be associates in a new survey of leaders from the nation’s 200 largest law firms. Nearly 70 percent of the 124 respondents said their firms plan to ask partners to leave in 2011, and 31 percent told of plans to de-equitize partners, the…

Nov 30, 2010 1:45 PM CST

Lower Billable Averages Suggest More Staff Layoffs Ahead

A cut in average billable hours may sound like a good thing for overworked lawyers, but it portends more staff layoffs, according to banking experts. Average hours per lawyer so far this year are in the low 1,600s, compared to averages of 1,700 to 1,800 hours from 2000 to 2007,…

Nov 29, 2010 11:10 AM CST

Is Document Review a ‘Scarlet Letter’ on Lawyer Resumés?

Document review work can help pay the bills for laid-off lawyers, but is it a career killer? That’s the question raised by readers of a Corporette blog post on job-hunting advice, the Careerist blog reports. One commenter suggested contract work can both pay the bills and account for down time…

Nov 23, 2010 1:52 PM CST

Boies Schiller Lays Off 3 Associates Who Worked in Losing EMI Trial

Boies Schiller has laid off three female associates who worked overtime during a trial in which Citigroup was accused of duping a hedge fund in its $6.3 billion acquisition of EMI Group. Last week the law firm laid off the three associates, all women, after the firm’s “stinging loss” on…

Nov 16, 2010 4:18 PM CST

DLA Piper Cuts Staffers, But Won’t Disclose the Numbers

DLA Piper is confirming new layoffs of support staffers, but isn’t supplying details on numbers. A statement supplied by the law firm confirms a “right-sizing” and says it is assisting those who lost jobs with outplacement services. Above the Law first reported on the layoffs on Friday, saying offices in…

Nov 16, 2010 2:23 PM CST

Howrey Lays Off 32 Staffers, Plans to Focus Resources in Three Areas

Howrey has laid off 32 support staffers in an effort to focus its resources in three practice areas. Howrey issued a statement confirming last week’s layoffs. The Am Law Daily, Above the Law and Law360 have the story. “This right-sizing of the firm will allow Howrey to concentrate its resources…

Nov 11, 2010 12:36 PM CST

About 25% of Law Firms Are to Blame for High Minority Attrition Numbers, Study Says

Recent NALP statistics showed a slight decline this year in law firm diversity, but a new study suggests that some firms are more to blame than others. According to Building a Better Legal Profession, much of the decline can be attributed to about a quarter of firms that lost more…

Nov 9, 2010 1:08 PM CST

Asst. AG Axed Over Blog Attack on Gay Student Leader

A Michigan prosecutor who attacked a student leader in a blog, calling him a “radical homosexual” and worse, and sought to get him fired from his job, has now himself been axed over his own behavior. Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell was fired today, said his boss, State Attorney General…

Nov 9, 2010 1:21 AM CST

Largest Law Firms Still Shrinking, Shedding 1,400 Lawyers This Year

The nation’s top 250 law firms shrunk by 1,400 lawyers this year, and associates were hit hardest. Firms shed close to 1,000 associates, a drop of 1.5 percent, the National Law Journal reports. Partner numbers increased, but only slightly, by 0.6 percent. The head count at the top 250 law…

Nov 8, 2010 1:30 PM CST

Stern’s Law Firm & Related Co. Cut Staff By 70% After Fannie and Freddie Pull Foreclosure Files

Updated: A South Florida law firm being investigated by the state attorney general over its mortgage foreclosure work has announced new layoffs today, after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pulled their files earlier this week. Following “substantial” layoffs today, David Stern’s law firm and a related company reportedly will have…

Nov 4, 2010 7:11 PM CDT

Ex-New York Associate Sues Clifford Chance, Alleges ‘Blatant’ Discrimination Against Blacks & Women

A former associate at Clifford Chance in New York hesitated to sue the firm. But after being unemployed for several years after she and five other U.S. associates of the London-based international megafirm were laid off, Karen Ramdhanie apparently felt she had no other choice. Now 48, she alleges that…

Nov 2, 2010 5:59 PM CDT