Layoffs

New Spin on Dechert Layoffs

Today is the deadline for 13 unlucky associates in Dechert’s finance and real estate group to decide whether to accept a severance package or shift to a busier practice area. But even if they opt to stay, the Philadelphia-based international firm is only guaranteeing another two months of employment, according…

Mar 4, 2008 7:09 PM CST

Dechert to 13 Associates: You’re Fired ... No, You’re Not

Updated: After notifying 13 real estate and finance associates last week that they were being laid off, apparently because of a slowing economy, Dechert has reportedly changed its mind. The 13, who were originally told to depart the Philadelphia-based international firm by the close of business tomorrow, as discussed in…

Mar 3, 2008 7:41 PM CST

The Wall Street Journal’s General Counsel Is Fired

The Wall Street Journal has axed Stuart Karle, the paper’s longtime general counsel who achieved some important First Amendment victories. Karle did not disclose why he was fired in a conversation with Legal Times, but he did say he “had a spectacularly good time” helping the newspaper defend its stories.…

Mar 3, 2008 2:32 PM CST

Dechert Lays Off 13 Associates (But That’s Not the Final Answer)

Updated: In an apparent response to the slowing economy, Dechert has reportedly laid off 13 associates in offices throughout the U.S. They work in the Philadephia-based international firm’s real estate and finance practice, according to the Legal Intelligencer, which attributes the information to an unnamed source. There are 167 attorneys…

Feb 29, 2008 9:31 PM CST

Duane Morris Trims Office Staffers

Duane Morris has cut 26 of its 724 legal secretaries and file clerks, a move that is part of an overall trend of reducing the number of office staffers helping lawyers. Duane Morris spokesman Joshua Peck confirmed the cuts in a conversation with the Daily Business Review. He said the…

Feb 28, 2008 2:22 PM CST

Home Depot Lays Off an Estimated 17 In-House Legal Staff

An unnamed source who reportedly was among those adversely affected says perhaps 17 in-house legal staff are included in Home Depot’s layoff of 500 corporate employees late last month. The downsizing involves 10 percent across-the-board cuts in departments throughout Home Depot’s corporate headquarters, notes the Fulton County Daily Report. “Some…

Feb 21, 2008 8:39 PM CST

Law Firms See Litigation Downturn, Likely to Weed Out Underperformers

Updated: Fears of a recession and the subprime mortgage crisis have led to a downturn in corporate legal work and litigation at big law firms, according to a report due to be released today. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog got advance notice of the report, to be released by…

Jan 28, 2008 7:25 PM CST

Laid-Off Cadwalader Lawyers Got Little Notice, But Months of Severance Pay

The 35 lawyers who learned Jan. 10 that they would be laid off from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft got little more than a week’s notice. One laid-off associate, who said he was getting three months of severance pay, was worried about his job search, the New York Observer reports in…

Jan 23, 2008 4:50 PM CST

More Law Firms May Be Considering Layoffs

The Daily Brief blog of Portfolio.com wonders if more law firm layoffs are in the offing after the announcement yesterday that Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is laying off 35 associates. The associates work in Cadwalader’s capital markets and global finance departments, hard-hit by volatility in the financial markets. Gregory Markel…

Jan 11, 2008 11:32 AM CST

Cadwalader Lays Off 35 Lawyers

Updated: Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has announced it is laying off 35 lawyers because of volatility in the financial markets affecting its clients. Both Above the Law and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog carried the announcement. “Unexpected and persistent volatility continues to disrupt sectors of the financial markets; and…

Jan 10, 2008 3:42 PM CST

Thacher Proffitt Warns of Associate Layoffs

Thacher Proffitt & Wood has warned associates of upcoming layoffs unless its structured finance practice shows substantial improvement. The law firm notified 24 associates who are second years or above that they will be laid off in January unless circumstances change, according to a statement issued by the firm to…

Nov 28, 2007 12:02 PM CST

Clifford Chance: Laid-Off 6 Akin to Contract Attorneys

Once upon a time, even major law firms routinely hired associates with the expectation that they could become partners. While no fairy tale, that expectation is now something of a relic of legal history, as yet another account of modern-day practice makes clear. In the wake of recent news that…

Nov 12, 2007 10:04 PM CST

Law Firms: Layoffs a Possibility

Although the legal market is still strong and many major firms reportedly are competing hard for desired associates, some see a potential storm cloud on the horizon. The stock market gyrations following the subprime mortgage meltdown are creating a credit crunch that makes it more difficult to finance corporate transactions.…

Aug 27, 2007 11:32 PM CDT

Back from the Brink

After the Bubble, Silicon Valley Finds a Kinder, Gentler Brand of Lawyering

Aug 1, 2004 7:20 PM CDT