Layoffs

Hogan & Hartson Nudges 30 Associates Out the Door

The beltway powerhouse Hogan & Hartson is letting go of 30 senior associates. Performance and not enough opportunity for advancement are reasons the firm cited when confirming reports posted on Above the Law that associates have been counseled to take three to four months to look for employment elsewhere. ATL…

Jul 10, 2009 7:04 PM CDT

Eckert Seamans Lays Off 90 Temp Lawyers

Citing low work volumes, one of Pittsburgh’s largest firms has announced it is laying off 90 temporary attorneys. The layoffs come from Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott’s document coding center, the Pittsburgh Tribune reports. Timothy Ryan, the firm’s managing partner, said the layoffs were necessary after client contracts expired at…

Jul 10, 2009 3:40 PM CDT

Baker & McKenzie to Lay Off 11% of Lawyers, Professionals in China

Updated: Baker & McKenzie plans to lay off 11 percent of its 350 lawyers plus professional staffers in China and Hong Kong. Baker & McKenzie confirmed its plans in an e-mail to Bloomberg News and the ABA Journal. It plans to lay off a comparable number of secretarial and support…

Jul 8, 2009 11:56 AM CDT

Cadwalader Asks 34 Lawyers to Take One-Year Sabbatical

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has announced that it has asked 34 of its lawyers to take a one-year sabbatical for “one-third of their current compensation and medical benefits.” The firm says in the statement provided to the ABA Journal that its capital markets and real estate finance groups don’t have…

Jul 7, 2009 7:24 PM CDT

Are Law Firms Beginning a Summer Doldrums for Layoffs?

The start of summer marks the slowest month so far for law firm layoffs. A midyear review by the blog Law Shucks finds that June was the slowest month for layoffs this year. That month, 481 people were laid off at major law firms—347 staffers and 134 lawyers. The worst…

Jul 7, 2009 12:11 PM CDT

Dallas Law Firms Better Poised to Weather Recession

Some Dallas law firms are laying off lawyers, but on the whole they are faring better than counterparts in other cities. The firms are doing well in part because they have energy and intellectual property practices that do better in an economic downturn, the Dallas Morning News reports. John Attanasio,…

Jul 6, 2009 4:09 PM CDT

Layoffs a ‘Blessing’ for Now-Liberated Former BigLaw Attorneys, Writer Says

Few may have realized it when Calawalader Wickersham & Taft last July became the first major firm to initiate what eventually became a tsunami of BigLaw associate layoffs during the past year. But Calwalader and the other law firms involved were actually doing many associates a favor, writes attorney Dan…

Jul 1, 2009 8:31 PM CDT

Robinson Bradshaw Cuts 6 Lawyers

A well-known North Carolina-based law firm has confirmed the first layoffs in its nearly 50-year history. Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson cut six lawyers and less than a dozen staff members in what managing partner Robert Griffin describes as a “very painful” move, reports the Charlotte Business Journal. The firm, which…

Jun 26, 2009 4:53 PM CDT

Harvard Law School Axes 12 Staff

In another sign of the dismal U.S. economy and a possible harbinger of program cuts yet to come, Harvard University is laying off 275 employees as it faces a projected 30 percent drop in the value of its endowment. Among those being let go are 12 employees of Harvard Law…

Jun 24, 2009 6:46 PM CDT

Dykema; Miller Canfield; Honigman Miller Lay Off +70

Three large firms in Detroit have announced they are laying off a combined 41 lawyers and 30 support staff throughout their offices. At Miller Canfield Paddock and Stone, the loss amounts to 13 attorneys, though where and which practice areas were not revealed in the Crain’s Detroit Business article noting…

Jun 24, 2009 2:23 PM CDT

Economy Better, But More Partner Layoffs to Come, Survey Says

Corrected: Some two-thirds of 133 managing partners or chairmen of large law firms report that they’re feeling better about the economy and they expect it to continue to get better over the next six months. But in a survey by Citi Private Bank Law Watch, many of those law firm…

Jun 24, 2009 10:20 AM CDT

3 Laid-Off Ohio Lawyers Struggle to Find Work; 2 Others Land New Jobs

How bad is it out there right now for laid-off lawyers seeking new jobs? An article in Crain’s Cleveland Business today paints a depressing picture. Attorney Keith Barton lost his job as an in-house attorney at a nonprofit a few weeks before Christmas. He’s trying to get a solo practice…

Jun 22, 2009 9:13 PM CDT

DLA Piper Lays Off 22 More in Middle East Offices, Including 1 Partner

In a second round of Dubai layoffs since April, DLA Piper is eliminating another 22 positions in its Middle East offices. “Unfortunately, staffing adjustments across the Middle East are unavoidable as the market is still impacted by the global downturn,” the firm’s regional managing partner, David Church, tells Legal Week.…

Jun 18, 2009 7:35 PM CDT

Lehman Bros. Collapse Catapulted In-House Counsel Into Dream Practice

Although Lawrence Bortstein had a great position as global head of technology law at Lehman Brothers Inc., he’d always wanted to run his own law firm. Lehman’s bankruptcy last year gave him a chance to realize this dream before turning 40. Although forming his own practice with former Morgan Lewis…

Jun 18, 2009 4:51 PM CDT

Legal Services Org. Needs Money, Not More Lawyers

San Francisco’s Volunteer Legal Services Program is more used to recruiting volunteers than turning them away. But tough economic times have them doing just that. The group already has the volunteers they need, now they’d like for some of this newfound interest in their services to come with a little…

Jun 18, 2009 11:43 AM CDT