Layoffs

Simspon Thatcher Denies Layoffs Report From UK ‘Rag’

News about law firm layoffs is hot these days, so it’s no surprise that when a report emerged yesterday that Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett was the latest to join the mix by engaging in so-called “stealth layoffs,” the story spread quickly on the Internet. The trouble is…the layoff claim isn’t…

Aug 12, 2008 9:49 AM CDT

Simpson Cracks Down on Associates

Updated: Dealing with a difficult economy, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has reportedly responded by requiring more from its associates. A new midyear associate performance review has been imposed, and “it is understood that the benchmark for associates to reach in order to keep their jobs is significantly higher than in…

Aug 11, 2008 6:11 PM CDT

Cadawalader Chair Has No Regrets About Riding Securitization Bubble

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft may face recruiting problems after the combined layoffs of 131 lawyers, but chairman W. Christopher White has no regrets about beefing up the law firm’s real-estate securitization practice during years of high demand. In the most recent round of dismissals last month, Cadwalader laid of 96…

Aug 6, 2008 11:44 AM CDT

Philadelphia Law Firms Missed NYC Roller-Coaster Ride

Many law firms in Philadelphia missed out on much of the business boom that benefited their New York City competitors in recent years. Now, however, they are also sidestepping the layoffs and cost-cutting that more out-of-state competitors are making, to deal with a struggling economy. “We missed out on the…

Aug 4, 2008 11:19 PM CDT

Job Hunt Could be Tough for Laid-Off Cadwalader Lawyers

Legal recruiters have some advice for the 96 lawyers laid off yesterday from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Be ready to change your practice area or be ready to relocate. Ninety of the lawyers who lost their jobs were in Cadwalader’s real estate and securitization practices, areas that are hard hit…

Jul 31, 2008 11:27 AM CDT

Bingham Lays Off 10 More Staffers

Updated: Bingham McCutchen has laid off 10 staffers at its Hartford, Conn., office. The cuts follow the layoffs of 17 staffers in the San Francisco area in May. Bingham spokeswoman Claire Papanastasiou told the Wall Street Journal Law Blog the layoffs affect managers and administrative staffers. Papanastasiou told ABAJournal.com that…

Jul 30, 2008 2:44 PM CDT

96 Lawyers Laid Off at Cadwalader

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is laying off 96 lawyers, 90 of them in the firm’s real estate and securitization practices, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. The cuts are not confined to the associate ranks. The number of layoffs appears to be the highest in the current economic cycle,…

Jul 30, 2008 2:18 PM CDT

Legal Sector Adds a Few Jobs in June

The legal sector added about 300 jobs in June, according to the most recent report from the Labor Department. The increase is slight, amounting to about 0.3 percent, the American Lawyer reports. Legal services employees include lawyers, paralegals, librarians and secretaries. Despite the recent gain, legal jobs are down 6,200…

Jul 7, 2008 10:50 AM CDT

‘Soft Economy’ Is Backdrop for Departures of 8 to 9 Patton Boggs Associates

Updated: A spokeswoman for Patton Boggs says eight to nine associates left the law firm this year after it took a harder look at their performance. Rebecca Carr, director of communications and public relations for the law firm, told ABAJournal.com that the firm was tougher this year during midyear associate…

Jul 2, 2008 3:00 PM CDT

Nearly 30% of Lawyers Surveyed Fear Firing

Updated: The fear factor is spreading throughout major law firms, as lawyers who are unable to meet their billable hour goals are wondering if their jobs are secure. That’s the implication of two June surveys by the legal recruitment firm Lateral Link. They found that nearly 30 percent of lawyers…

Jun 26, 2008 11:42 AM CDT

Life After BigLaw: ‘No Job, No Baby and 10 Pounds of Leftover Fat’

Shinyung Oh, the ousted Paul Hastings associate who sent a scathing mass e-mail denouncing the firm’s layoff tactics, is airing her feelings once again, this time on her own blog, Because You Never Know … . The blog contains posts on Oh’s sadness over her miscarriage and her post-law firm…

Jun 24, 2008 2:21 PM CDT

London Law Firm Studying Job Cuts, Could Eliminate 50 Positions

The London law firm Howard Kennedy is studying staffing needs and could cut as many as 50 jobs. Among those who could lose their positions are up to 20 fee earners, Legal Week reports. The publication calls the study a “redundancy consultation.” Property partner Paul Springall told Legal Week the…

Jun 23, 2008 1:46 PM CDT

Powell Goldstein Axes ‘Less Than 10’ Attorneys

Score another legal news scoop on the layoffs front for Above the Law: The law blog says firm chairman James McAlpin Jr. has confirmed that Powell Goldstein laid off “less than 10” lawyers as part of a reduction in operating expenses this year. It was required by “the general economic…

Jun 20, 2008 9:28 PM CDT

More than 30 Thacher Lawyers Quit in Last 6 Months

Ten U.S. partners and about 24 associates of Thacher Proffitt & Wood have voluntarily left the New York-based firm during the past six months, in advance of an expected drop in 2008 profits. Meanwhile, 60 associates have been laid off by the 220-attorney financial services boutique, whose structured finance practice…

Jun 11, 2008 8:25 PM CDT

More Revenue, Less Pay at Philadelphia’s Fox Rothschild

Despite an increase of nearly 50 percent in gross revenue between 2005 and 2007, lawyer pay at Philadelphia-based Fox Rothschild has remained flat. After rising a bit, from $510,000 in 2005 to $515,000 in 2006, average profit per equity partner at the Am Law 200 firm fell in 2007 to…

Jun 10, 2008 10:00 PM CDT