Layoffs

Layoffs at Big Immigration Boutique; Fragomen Says Hiring to Be Curtailed

A New York-based law firm that bills itself as the nation’s biggest immigration law firm has reportedly laid off seven or eight associates in its U.S. offices, as well as an unspecified number of staff members. The layoffs at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy were “in selective offices, it…

Nov 21, 2008 10:43 PM CST

Add 11 UK Lawyers to Mayer Brown’s Attorney Layoff List

Add another 11 lawyers in Mayer Brown’s London office to the list of 33 attorneys here in the U.S. that the firm is nudging to the door. “In addition to lawyers who have left in the normal course of business, we have advised 11 lawyers and some support and administrative…

Nov 21, 2008 4:13 PM CST

Brown Rudnick Lawyers Learn of Layoffs in Two Phases

It must have been a harrowing day on Wednesday for associates and staffers at Boston-based Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels. The law firm laid off 20 lawyers and 23 staffers that day, according to a press release issued by the firm, and everyone knew it was coming, Above the Law reports.…

Nov 21, 2008 1:03 PM CST

Squire Sanders Asks 30 Attorneys and Paralegals to Leave

Despite winning a hefty “bailout love” contract to do work for the U.S. Treasury Department recently, Squire Sanders & Dempsey is laying off 30 lawyers and paralegals. “We have completed annual reviews of all of our associates and, as a result of that process and with regret have advised some…

Nov 21, 2008 12:25 AM CST

Mayer Brown Axes 33 Lawyers in US Offices

Due to economic conditions, Mayer Brown has laid off 33 lawyers. They are all in U.S. offices of the Chicago-based 1,800-attorney international law firm. “This reduction does not include lawyers who were asked to leave this year through our performance review process,” the firm notes in a statement reported by…

Nov 21, 2008 12:01 AM CST

Mayer Brown Discloses Staffing Review, Won’t Comment on Layoff Rumors

Mayer Brown isn’t commenting on rumors of possible layoffs, but it has released a statement saying it is evaluating staffing needs. Above the Law reported Wednesday on rumors that the law firm is laying off lawyers. The firm issued a statement about the evaluation in response, according to the blog…

Nov 20, 2008 3:26 PM CST

How to Avoid the In-House Ax—and Recover, If It Falls

As law firm layoffs become relatively commonplace news, it isn’t just attorneys in private practice who are nervously wondering where the ax might fall next. In-house lawyers are at risk of losing their jobs, too—and likely will have more trouble finding new corporate jobs, compared to their law firm colleagues.…

Nov 19, 2008 10:34 PM CST

Stealth Layoffs: That Gentle Nudge to the Door

As some law firms respond to the nation’s economic meltdown by downsizing and/or publicly laying off excess attorneys, other do so quietly, with a gentle nudge to the door, as far as lesser-performing lawyers or those in struggling practice areas are concerned. Either by attrition or by encouraging attorneys to…

Nov 14, 2008 9:20 PM CST

Orrick Leader Defends Associate Layoffs after Hiring 27 Heller Partners

The chairman of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe says you really can’t compare the firm’s decision to fire 40 associates yesterday with its decision just a month ago to hire 27 partners from the dissolving Heller Ehrman. It’s like comparing apples and oranges, chairman Ralph Baxter told the Am Law Daily.…

Nov 14, 2008 12:01 PM CST

Orrick Lays Off 40 Lawyers, 35 Staff in Three Practice Groups

In more BigLaw bad news before the holidays, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe just announced it is laying off about 40 associates and counsel in the firm’s real estate, structured finance, and corporate practices. Some 35 staffers are also getting pink slips instead of a holiday ham. The firm was notified…

Nov 13, 2008 7:43 PM CST

Harvard Law Students, Legal Recruiters among Those Hit by Law Firm Cuts

As the economic downturn hits big law firms, resulting in layoffs and a few dissolutions, legal job seekers—and the people who help them find jobs—are also feeling the pain. The effects extend even to Harvard Law School, ranked second-best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Mark Weber,…

Nov 12, 2008 12:06 PM CST

White & Case Axes 70 Lawyers, 100 Staff

In the latest law firm layoffs over the current economic turmoil, White & Case has eliminated 70 lawyers and 100 staff members from its ranks. A lack of work in practice areas including banking and securities, as well as reduced attrition, were the reason for the layoffs, a firm spokesman…

Nov 11, 2008 9:56 PM CST

Loeb & Loeb Lays Off Eight Associates

Loeb & Loeb has confirmed the layoffs of eight associates. The law firm released a statement that said the lawyers were laid off as part of a “periodic attorney evaluation process and assessment of its overall personnel needs in its various practice areas,” the National Law Journal reports. The statement…

Nov 11, 2008 2:52 PM CST

A Wrong Prediction about Construction Litigation Results in Layoffs

A Chicago law firm has laid off four of its 14 associates after hiring seven lawyers earlier this year in anticipation of an increase in construction litigation that never materialized. Stein, Ray & Harris now has 10 associates and 11 partners, name partner Robert Harris told the National Law Journal.…

Nov 11, 2008 2:32 PM CST

Nearly 25% of UK’s Top Law Firms Considering Layoffs

Nearly a quarter of the top 50 law firms in the United Kingdom say layoffs are possible or likely in the current financial year. Ten percent of the firms responding to a survey by Legal Week said job cuts were likely or very likely. Another 12 percent said job cuts…

Nov 7, 2008 12:47 PM CST