Another 198 Layoffs Follow Business Slowdown at Foreclosure Firm Under Fire

A litigation support company for a South Florida law firm known for its high number of foreclosure filings has announced another 198 layoffs, after losing business following criticism of its document practices. That brings to nearly 300 the total number of layoffs at DJSP Enterprises after David Stern’s law firm…

Oct 25, 2010 4:23 PM CDT

Layoffs of Perhaps 100 Follow Work Slowdown at Fla. Foreclosure Law Firm

Following news from Bloomberg that a major lender has stopped sending new cases to a South Florida law firm known for its foreclosure work, a lawyer for its chief attorney, David Stern, confirms that it has made layoffs. There were “probably less than 100” workers let go from Stern’s law…

Oct 13, 2010 5:24 PM CDT

Husch Blackwell Confirms Layoffs of Nearly 20 Lawyers Last Month

Nearly 20 lawyers were laid off last month at Husch Blackwell, the law firm has confirmed to the Am Law Daily. “As is our firm’s practice, we constantly monitor our attorney staffing to match the level of experience, expertise and depth necessary to service our clients’ workload needs,” a firm…

Oct 6, 2010 8:42 PM CDT

Then and Now

Oct 1, 2010 8:40 AM CDT

17,500 BigLaw Jobs at Risk? Consultant Denies ‘Evil Plot’ by MPs

A law firm consultant who blogged about the possible loss or shifting of 17,500 BigLaw jobs is trying to put a lid on speculation about the reasons for her forecast. In an interview with the American Lawyer, Hildebrandt managing director Lisa Smith said her words were “just some initial thoughts…

Sep 29, 2010 2:38 PM CDT

Laid Off From BigLaw, Lawyer Posts Fliers Seeking Cleaning Work

A lawyer laid off last year from her $160,000-a-year job in BigLaw has posted fliers seeking work as a housekeeper. Alice Lingo has sought jobs as a lawyer and a paralegal, the New York Daily News reports. She has applied for 15 jobs as a waitress and 30 jobs as…

Sep 10, 2010 11:52 AM CDT

Legal Sector Adds 1,000 Jobs

The legal sector added 1,000 jobs law month, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the second month of job gains in the legal field, the American Lawyer reports. The government originally reported that the legal sector lost 800 jobs in July, but a…

Sep 7, 2010 12:39 PM CDT

Townsend Firm Axes 9 Lawyers, 25 Staff

It was a grim Wednesday this week at the California offices of Townsend and Townsend and Crew, as the intellectual property boutique axed nine lawyers and 25 staff members. Most of the attorneys let go were associates, although a few senior lawyers were also cut, the firm’s chair, Maureen Sheehy,…

Aug 19, 2010 6:28 PM CDT

Abuse of Recent Grads? Howard Rice Sued for Deferred and Rescinded Job Offer

A would-be associate has sued San Francisco law firm Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin for deferring and then rescinding her job offer. The suit by Sarah Martinez claims the law firm actively recruited white associates, especially white males, after her 2008 job offer was deferred, the Recorder reports.…

Aug 19, 2010 11:34 AM CDT

Despite Improving Economy, Brinks Hofer Axes 18

Only yesterday, Crain’s New York Business reported that the pace of law firm layoffs slowed down significantly last month. But while the bloodletting of recent months and years may have slowed from a gush to a relative trickle, it hasn’t been totally shut off. This week, Chicago-based Brinks Hofer Gilson…

Aug 11, 2010 9:42 PM CDT

Ex-BigLaw Associate Faces Ethics Case Over Alleged Nonpayment of $78K Student Loan

A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School who was being paid over $200,000 a year as an associate at DLA Piper in 2009 is facing a legal ethics complaint that alleges he failed to pay his guaranteed student loan debt. Olufemi Nicol, 42, is accused of bad-faith avoidance…

Jul 29, 2010 9:14 PM CDT

Law Departments Hiring More Contract Lawyers, and the Pickings Are Good

An increasing number of corporate law departments are hiring contract lawyers and sending them more projects, according to two principals with Pennsylvania legal staffing firms. James LaRosa, an owner of JuriStaff in Philadelphia, told the Legal Intelligencer that legal departments are hiring contract lawyers for stints of six months to…

Jul 6, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

June Was a Bad Month for Law Firm Employees, Labor Stats Show

Things appeared to be looking up for law firm employees in May, when initial reports indicated an increase of 300 jobs in the legal sector. But now the news is gloomier. In June, the legal sector lost 3,900 jobs, the American Lawyer says, relying on the latest report from the…

Jul 6, 2010 10:30 AM CDT

Survey Warns of Pending Partner Bloodbath: Over 33% of Responding Law Firms May De-equitize

Accompanying bad news that more than 25 percent of law firms responding to an Altman Weil survey de-equitized partners in 2009 is worse news: More than 33 percent of the respondents intend to or might de-equitize partners in 2010, reports the New York Law Journal in an article reprinted in…

Jun 23, 2010 11:47 PM CDT

Thorp Reed Axes 7 Lawyers, 2 Staffers

Updated: A well-known Pennsylvania law firm is laying off seven lawyers and two staff members, at the same time that it is continuing to look for new attorneys to hire. Thorp Reed & Armstrong, the seventh-largest law firm in Pittsburgh, said today that Friday’s layoffs were a strategic necessity, reports…

Jun 23, 2010 10:25 PM CDT