Staff Layoffs at K&L Gates
Given the fear and loathing going on in the associate market, we’ve been overlooking the fact that support staffers are getting eviscerated thanks to the global financial crisis. The White & Case bloodbath yesterday also hit 100 staffers. We’ve also reported on Alston & Bird’s attempt to force out older staff.
Many people have heard reports that K&L Gates laid off a number of staff over the past week. The firm has refused to comment about these layoffs, so we don’t yet know the full extent of the damage. But we understand that it has hit many, many people, across all offices.
We don’t understand why K&L Gates is trying to keep these layoffs secret. As many smart attorneys know, competent support staffs are critical to excellent legal work. Right now, the market for paralegals is probably even worse than it is for attorneys.
Whether or not you have evolved to the point where you can appreciate the crucial role staffs play in Biglaw offices, most people can agree that they deserve to be treated with respect — even on their way out of the door. One report from a K&L Gates tipster is therefore particularly disturbing:
[T]hey watched [me] pack [my] office and I was not allowed to say goodbye to anyone including a senior partner [I worked for]. … Escorted out of the building … very undignified treatment of a 15-year employee.
If you want to treat a temp secretary like crap, that’s terrible etiquette. Treating a colleague who has dedicated decades of service to the company like an industrial espionage convict is a whole different level of “class.”
But K&L fixes the coffee, after the jump.
Last month, we reported on K&L Gates switching to cheap toilet paper and requiring associates to jump through a number of hoops in order to get their ABA fees comped.
But apparently it’s not all about frugality over there nowadays. A tipster happily reports:
K&L did upgrade to Wolfgang Puck coffee instead of Flavia.
So for those keeping score at home: K&L is offering dissolving TP, no ABA fees, a demoralized support staff… and not totally rancid coffee (anymore).
Associate jobs at K&L Gates appear to be safe. We can’t know how many people will remember this kind of treatment when the economy picks up and young lawyers have options once again. But it’s always interesting to note how people are treated when times get tough.
Earlier: K&L Gates to Nickels and Dimes
Alston & Bird Staff: You Don’t Have To Go Home But You Can’t Stay Here
(132) Comments
Comments
third
I've seen support staff get treated like children...Its ridiculous
told in K&L gates callback: we are rock solid financially, and the firm doesn't operate on debt.
TURD
K&L = TTT
Everyone talks badly about K&L, but I interviewed at their home office last year as a 2L, and they were the nicest people I'd met ANYWHERE.
Granted, I ended up taking a job elsewhere due to the salary, but I've only good things to say about them
MysTTTal
3. They still probably don't operate on debt, my guess is that this was a way of ensuring that they don't have to use any debt. Better to lay off staff than be known as the people who ran the firm when they actually used debt.
staffs
Any law firm and "class" in the same sentence risks the universe imploding.
The last classy lawyer was Bill Kuntsler.
Dammit, why did I choose K&L Gates over my other offer at Kelley Drye?
- CLS 2L
I didn't think Flavia coffee was *that* bad.
11
Because you're an ignorant guido northerner.
-Prestigious Southerner
12,
This past summer, I couldn't like without my 2pm Milky Way Choco-cino.
jarvis probe
"Associate jobs at K&L Gates appear to be safe."
Wait a month.
How is KL Gates doing? Are we seeing a possible KL Gates / Thelen merger setting up here?
Is this even a real firm? This is a joke right?
During my callback with KL they also stressed how rock solid they were. I was skeptical given their extremely explosive growth over the past few years... maybe my suspicions will be proven corret... then again maybe I'm fooling myself and all firms will soon follow
During my callback with KL they also stressed how rock solid they were. I was skeptical given their extremely explosive growth over the past few years... maybe my suspicions will be proven correct... then again maybe I'm fooling myself and all firms will soon follow
11
Because you're an ignorant negro northerner.
-Prestigious Southerner
Suck it, MysTTTal.
Former Thelen partner Tom Glascock (aka Glass Cock) here, agreeing that Flavia coffee sucks and disclosing that my decision to be the Lucky Pierre between Weitzel and Sherman on the train to Orrick was specifically motivated by how awful the Flavia coffee was.
10-0 BABY ROLLLLL TIDE!!!
The Ass of Cravath shall be wiped be all TTT firms as well as GULCers and Hofstra grads.
You got served.
MysTTTAL
K&L in D.C. was a nice place to work - I'm surprised to hear about the poor treatment of staff.
And who doesn't love Flavia's Milky Way(tm) swirl?!?!? Sheesh.
24
I was unaware that Tide made toilet paper.
K&L to Tide Rolls!
TIDE ROLLS!
12, 14, 27 - What firms give the swirls? My v20 only provides the coffee and tea pods, and only the basics. One time they messed up and bought Sidamo Gold, which was my coffee highlight of the past 3 years.
K&L < Flavia < TTT
If this report about the treatment of the 15-year staffer is accurate, K&L needs to spend a little time behind the woodshed being talked to by my friend Mr. 2"x4".
He speaks softly because he is a big stick.
TIDE ROLLS!
Alabama = just a plain 'ole T
Those milky way swirls are gross. I like sidamo gold. And costa rica. And japanese tea. And mini-moos that mysteriously don't have to be kept cold.
NYC's glory days are gone. It's now a wretched city with no wealth or talent.
Chicago is now the most prestigious city.
27--"K&L in D.C. was a nice place to work - I'm surprised to hear about the poor treatment of staff. "
They did the escort treatment in the DC office to people who had been there for years, so it's not that nice anymore.
Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer Give 'em hell ALABAMA
Flavis wasn't any worse than Keurig crap. I wish my floor would just have a nice solid 14 cup pot with real coffee, and someone could be assigned to start the pot at the beginning of the day.
One cups will NEVER be better than a real pot of freshly brewed coffee.
11
Because you're an ignorant negro northerner.
-Prestigious Southerner
NYC = TTT
Trash on its streets....and there's no place for the garbage either.
Flavia coffee is awful. I swear my firm is trying to poison the staff and associates by drinking Flavia hoping some of us perish so they can avoid firing anybody.
"Rammer Jammer"? Seriously?
"Yellow Hammer"? For real?
And then "Alabama"?
Why not just, "Alabama....not just for butt pirates anymore!"
I blueberry farted during my K & L callback and still got an offer.
- CLS 2L Stud
More like, "Alabama, exclusively for butt pirates"
Cravath = TTT quality personalities. Same goes for most of the rest of the "top" firms. All the skills and "prestige" in the world can't make up for institutionalized, irreversible douchebaggery.
Drown 'em Tide!
Flavia... agree not the best, but in this market, free coffee is free coffee. Its not like starbucks is any better.
6-with all due respect, you are an idiot. The way people treat you at interviews has nothing to do with how they treat people on the job.
NYC is the most TTT major city in the country. Unbelievably dirty and smelly, disgustingly humid summers, ugly apartment buildings, unattractive women.
And yet, insane people pay a premium to live there. LOL!
Grass stains? Tide!
Watching people pack up their things and escorting them out of the building may suck but unfortunately, most companies (not just law firms) have this policy. Most ATL readers may be too young to know this but there were instances when terminated employees destroyed office equipment, ransacked offices, sabotaged computer systems, and yes, even attacked the unfortunate person delivering the news. The only reason most associates don't get this treatment is because they need to close out and transfer matters on their plates - and bill a few more hours to do so.
11-excellent work, very funny
Phliadelphia takes a dump on NYC. It actually improves NYC.
Freshly brewed coffee breaks down and is awful in a 1/2 hour after making. Keurig one cup French Roast is the best!
I personally think that people who say Crahvahth are of much higher caliber than people who say Crehvehth.
Edwin Non Sequitur
RMFT!
Cravath's Ass is recession proof. It will be wiped by the lesser beings no matter what state the economy is in.
The Ass of Cravath
49,
Thanks for the spin attempt, Grandpa, but that treatment is absolutely not the norm with terminations - no matter the size of the company.
Which one are you, the "K", the "L" or the "Gates"?
But the bottom line is this...
Most law students go into lots of debt to get their legal education. They need to pay this off somehow, so they will always be willing to sell their soul to BigLaw in order to do so. As much as it may suck, firms will always be able to treat their people like crap or fungible billing units who can be unceremoniously dumped once they're no longer needed. As long as firms pay the salaries they do to both associates and support staff, they will be able to get away with whatever they want, right or wrong because there's no shortage of people willing to take their money.
If there's one thing I learned in my time working in BigLaw (for a bullshiTTT firm), it's just that.
North vs. South
The proof of which sucks more, or less is easy to deduce.
Talk trash about the north to a northerner & they'll laugh at you b/c of how silly the notion is.
Talk trash about the south to a southerner and they will have to be physically restrained b/c they know it's true.
--------------------
v20 to Instant Coffee!!!!!
K&L Gates is pretty big...any specifics on which offices?
47 - Ugly women? Are you joking??? New York women are right up there with LA and South Beach as being hot (if not a little more natural as well)
K&L sucks. Their NY office in particular is a joke. Full of partners from mid-sized TTT firms and ones they brought Pittsburgh (where K&L is a big deal), who have tons of attitude and yet get trounced on deals against the big boys in town.
Packing up and leaving promptly, after supervision, is NOT the norm. The norm is having at least two people in the room when bad news is given, with one person being from HR. This helps the firm/company cover its arse against allegations of what was or was not said. It also lets two people judge how much the poor sould is going to freak out, and whether or not they are a threat to people, property, files, etc. If they are, security comes, and out they go. If not, they get time to wind down. That's the norm. That's professional courtesy. And that's the least firms should do.
Then again, in i-banking, even a person voluntarily leaving on good terms, has until the end of that day to wind his shit up. No 2 week notice in that world.
56, just because a policy is not always enforced doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. In addition, there are problems if dealing with a mass layoff. Sucks for the ATL tipster but there probably was more to the firing. In my experience, any escort is bad news.
I piss K&L Gates.
- CLS 2L Stud
new york women are TTT, often hard to distinguish from long island and jersey girls...fake tan, too much make-up, drama-queens, superficial personalities and no brains...nevermind the fact that they are high maintanence
65, you're lost. you just described LA women!
49/63,
Boy, you're stupid.
The point of the story was that there was nothing more to it - an escort from the building with justification.
It's everyone's experience - not just your own - that this is unwarranted treatment barring exceptional circumstances, which is why your initial point - that being escorted from the building is the norm - was so amazingly idiotic.
And your contention that it's probably a hidden, secret policy that no one knows about except you is really too stupid to be taken seriously.
You're clearly a dumbshit who spoke out of turn. You might do well to note the hole that you're in and stop digging.
Any info on associate layoffs?
I know the CLT office of K&L GaTTTes terminated around 10 staff (in addition to the app. 20 or so staff that got terminated eariler this year when it was still Kennedy CovingTTTon).
60, you're blind if you seriously think NYC women are on par with LA or Miami women. Those cities have hot women who are tanned with amazing bodies. NYC women, in contrast, are pale, pasty, horse faced. They're either chubby or too skinny and smoke way too much.
I've been to the hottest NYC clubs. And the girls I saw there can't even come close to the quality in hollywood, newport beach, south beach, etc.
unlike #49, i'm not a grandpa, and am in my late 20s... and I too, twice in fact, have seen secretaries get fired, and go apeshit in the office. At a small firm I worked for, I once saw a paralegal throw papers into the shredder and knock the plants off the counter where she was sitting. Another time, at Baker & McKenzie, I saw a secretary escorted out because he was told he was fired by the head of HR in the office, and then started screaming that he was being discriminated against because he was black, that he was gonna sue the firm, and that the partner he worked for was a racist whore.
Escorting someone out of the building has NOTHING to do with how a firm treats its associates, secretaries, paralegals, or janitors. In hard times, sometimes layoffs are necessary as sad as it is, everyone is tense, and escorting someone out of the building is not an indication of the quality of a firm or its treatment of employees.
Besides being partial because I work for K&L (NY), I can honestly say, the support staff here are not only treated well, but they appear to be extremely happy and content with their jobs.
I'm not saying escorts are the norm- I'm simply saying that if there was a risk that the person would cause a scene or damage property, an escort might have been warranted, and isn't an indication as to how they are treated.
As a sidenote, I believe there were 6 secretaries in NY who were let go. Not sure how many firm-wide.
Southern firms are a complete joke. Talent = ability to play golf and woo beer swilling, redneck clients.
Wow, 67, what's with the strong reaction? Where in the "story" did it say that there was nothing more to it? The post barely said anything substantive. Did you read the comments? Neither 49 nor 63 said anything about escorts being the norm, only that companies had policies. I agree with them - I found about it at my last firm when an IT person got terminated and saw an escort for the first time. You should ask around at your place of work.
Let's start a list of firms that carry no debt -
I'll contribute Kirkland.
69: Additional staff cuts in CLT were not unexpected given the merger intergration (and staff duplication) of a 200 attorney regional shop with a global law firm.
I LOVE the random abusive remarks aimed at Hofstra Law grads, especially when they are combined with GULC comments. The anti-Hofstra comments are so random. I am confused as to why someone who graduated from Chicago/NYU/Columbia would waste time on the Pride (our amazing mascot), but keep it up!
-Hofstra Law Grad feeling great to be lumped into the same pile as GULC, even if for negative reasons.
67, you're an a**. What makes you think...Never mind, see Comment #73 and add: Take a refresher course in reading comprehension.
Hofstra -- The Anus of Long Island
GULC -- The Anus of Anus
46,
That's true to an extent, but I had other people at interviews come across as complete jerks. If they're NOT nice in an interview, they CERTAINLY won't be nice when you work for them. The inverse may not always be true, but there's some correlation...
-6
72 - Seriously? I've been missing out. I'm dropping LR for next semester and taking Golf 101 as my skills course.
To be honest, 80, that may be one of the best business moves you ever make . . . .
-Not a Texan
Chuck Norris is a Texan. See, not all Texans are retarded farm hands with aids. There is some hope.
This post is unsubstantiated crap. It's based on a single e-mail from an unnamed ex-employee who probably has an axe to grind. K&L is a firm with 1,700 attorneys, and it is very possible this firing, assuming it took place at all, was for reasons other than economic downturn.
62, its even faster than that. i worked at a big bank, and if you were leaving (even on your own terms), you were out the door within 20 minutes of giving notice...
84 - I hear ya. The 20 minutes vs. end of the day depended on how likely a good relationship might lead to continued referral business, vs losing competitive info.
62
a number of secretaries were let go in the Boston K&L Gates office.
To all you Texas bashers -- get over it. Life is different here, if you don't like the way we practice law, the way we recruit, or the way we do things, get out of the state. It's that simple. Believe it or not, not everything the northeast does is better. Our economy is way stronger than the rest of the country right now, but of course, we're stupid rednecks, so I guess it's just dumb luck.
Man, I would love to have the folks around my firm lay off my staff. Every time I walk down the hall, someone is groping me, grabbing at my pants. It is really irritating.
62: "Packing up and leaving promptly, after supervision, is NOT the norm. The norm is having at least two people in the room when bad news is given, with one person being from HR. "
The other person is usually a partner who does employment law.
If an employment law partner shows up at your office to give you your review, it is very likely that you are shafted.
An associate at K&L Gates (Boston) was escorted out of the building by security.
2Ls: K&L Gates only sends the nicest attorneys to speak to you during a call-back interview. Even when you are a summer associate, you will only interact with the nicest and friendliest partners and associates. The gloves come off once you are an associate (which is true for most firms). Just keep in mind that K&L Gates prides itself in cost-efficiency. Cost-efficiency comes at a cost to you, whether it is toilet paper, bar membership, 401K, CLE expenses or conference expenses.
Staff are usually ungrateful incompetents. Screw them.
And I agree, Roll Tide!!!!!
K&L Gates always was and always will be an utter trash hole.
K&L GaTTTes
They no-offered the NC summer associates this summer.
65 & 66 - you both simply described women.
93 -
They no-offered 3 of 15 NC SAs. 80% offer rate. 100% of those remaining 12 accepted their offers. The sky is falling.
Is there a doctors' blog where doctors refer to other hospitals as TTT's, as in "all other hospitals wipe Cedar Sinai's ass. The Mayo Clinic and Columbia Presbyterian are TTT shitholes." If not, then there should be. There's no reason why lawyers should have all the fun of being bitter assholes.
Staffers were let go firmwide and the manner in which it was done was unprofessional. There has been no official communication with attorneys regarding the lay-offs so they don't know what's next. The expectation is that associates will be blown out by the end of the year but the associates are speculating about whether it will be done using reviews or based purely on billable numbers with a dash of partner animus.
K&L (non-Gates) staff and associates should have seen it coming in December 2007 when the firm "boosted" its year-end numbers by skipping to pay all staff and associates their last week of salary and shifted payroll from every 15th and next to last day of the month to 7th and 21st.
More firmwide stealth layoff is coming.
Ditto to 97 and 98. K&L takes every opportunity to nickel and dime associates and staff alike. They shifted pay at the end of 2007 (as 98 stated) and long ago shifted pay raises to March, so associates work half a year billing out as, for example,a sixth year associate while being paid as a fifth year. Neither of these is as egregious as the layoff, on Tuesday, of a secretary who had worked for the firm for more than 30 years in Pittsburgh. Though they let her pack her things, her only compensation - beyond earned pay to date - will be health care benefits through the end of the year. Might as well of taken her to the roof.
Wow for 99. If 99's message can be taken at face value, they appear to be a rare Pittsburgh poster. Most of the Pittsburgh employees (from full partners to the staff) are too affraid to voice any view other than that of the managment committee.
I heard that the partners told the Pitts associates that 2007 did not exist, and the associates did not object. As noted, payment of bonuses was moved from mid-December to January this year--meaning the 2007 bonuses were paid in January 2008. Yesterday, management informed the associates that so far, 2008 has been a great year financially and is on pace to equal or better 2007. They went on to give an elementary accounting lesson and noted that bonuses paid in January 2009 would actually be reflected in the 2009 financials and that because most analysts are projecting 2009 to be a down year, associates should expect reduced bonues. If management seriously thinks associates are so dumb as to believe that line of reasoning, the K&L hiring process must be an epic failure. They can seriously want to employee lawyers that would believe that.
Staff layoffs were this week with associates and contract partners to follow in the comming weeks.
What is the total # of staff layoffs per office?
Boston--14
DC-10
Pittsburgh--26
Harrisburg- 1 secretary
100: of course 2008 has been a great year financially for K&L Gates because the firm has "diligently" reduced its work force (both in number of staff and associates) and thus lowers its cost. Not to mention the toilet paper and cancelling the summer employee party.
BTW, the toilet paper fiasco are likely to be at either Pittsburgh or DC where K&L owns the buildings and has control over the type of toilet paper to be purchased. Both Boston and New York offices are rentals, and the toilet paper selection is done by management companies.
K&L does not require staff and associates who are to be laid off to sign a non-disclosure agreement on their last day. Maybe it should.
The writing was on the wall for these layoffs. Although, they should have happened earlier...as in right after the merger in 01.07. the tp and coffee are fine. the dow continues to drop and will be in the 7's before it bottoms out. why wouldn't you want to clean hse. revenues are up; debt is nill; give it a rest. it's all good.
K&L does not owns it building in Pittsburgh. It is a rental and the whole TP issue, from whichever office the complaint originated, was stupid. Why anyone takes these complaints public is beyond me. It is in my self interest to make my firm look as good as possible so that if I ever decide (or am otherwise forced) to seek other employment, the guy on the other side of the table considering hiring me thinks highly of K&L and not that its some miserable place that he or she can hire from cheaply.
And 100, it Pittsburgh you jagoff, not Pitts.
K&L is great. There is nothing to see here. Move along.
It is always peachy keen at K&L Gates. I have worked for really fantastic litigators who are nurturing and supportive. Yet quite a few of my fellow litigation associates had been rendered to tears by demanding partners numerous times. Every firm has its share of good and bad partners and associates. Most K&L associates are happy where they are because they have nowhere to go in this present economy. They are too afraid to go anywhere in this economy, and have been told repeatedly that this firm is unlikely to fold because of how financially secure the firm is. 100 and 102 were probably jilted ex-K&L associates.
Just keep an eye out for more "departure" in the coming weeks. Most K&L associates keep very quiet because (1) they are worried about losing their jobs; (2) they want to keep up the facade so that they can find new jobs; (3) layoffs are kept very quiet and no one knows who is leaving and when someone is leaving; and (4) the firm has stopped publishing its "coming and going" section in its (pre-Preston Gates) weekly newsletter so no one knows what partners/staff/associates have left.
If you still have a job at K&L Gates, congratulations and be happy. Just watch your back.
Do other firms rank associate utilization every month (by percentile) regardless of seniority and departmental affiliations?
A first year associate who does nothing but doc review 80 hours a week for 4 solid weeks may rank #1 among all associates at one office and an 10th year real estate attorney who spent all month writing a section of a treatise and only billed 40 hours a week may rank in the top 90% percentile.
Looks like 12 staff members were let go in Charlotte. One of my friends went in to work Monday morning (first of all, don't they know you're supposed to fire people on Friday?) to find that her computer password no longer worked. She tried to call IT and the attorneys she worked for, but no one would answer her calls. She then tried to check her email on her Blackberry, but it had been wiped out- no email, contacts, or calendar. She went to talk to the attorneys she works for, but they were either gone or had their doors shut. After a while, two HR people came to tell her she was let go. They read a general statement from a piece of paper...bad economy...changes due to the recent merger, etc. She was asked to leave as soon as possible, and they offered to ship her personal belongings to her. She was given almost no severance. She still has not heard from any partner.
As if getting fired isn't bad enough, they just cut her off and made her sit around on a Monday morning waiting for the axe to fall. And they made HR do it, no word from the head of her department or the attorneys she worked for. Surely there is a more professional way to let people go, even if it's a mass layoff.
i'm not sure where you post tips on this board - but I heard that Dewey's structured finance group was getting the axe. They laid off all the paralegals recently.
maybe someone could look into this?
107- im at K&L and I can safely say that staff/secretaries/etc are not given a blackberry- so it appears that not only was your story apocryphal, but i saw several secretaries get laid off in the NY office last week and nothing you described even remotely resembles what actually happened. they dont clean out/delete e mails that contain confidential information, or could potentially be subpoenaed for discovery, just because a secretary is fired.
K&L is an excellent place to work, and the staffers all seem happy. In hard economic times of course someone is going to feel it- there's nothing anyone can do about it. at least it wasnt cadawalader or white and case- laying off associates. these ridiculous stories picking on K&L for switching toilet paper (which I can happily say is untrue) or escorting someone out of the building- are NOT newsworthy. the economy is in the toilet- if the worst thing that happens is a few secretaries from each office are terminated- i'd say they're in good shape.
according to rumors, next to fold is either Dewey or Cahill. maybe focus on them.
107- im at K&L and I can safely say that staff/secretaries/etc are not given a blackberry- so it appears that not only was your story apocryphal, but i saw several secretaries get laid off in the NY office last week and nothing you described even remotely resembles what actually happened. they dont clean out/delete e mails that contain confidential information, or could potentially be subpoenaed for discovery, just because a secretary is fired.
K&L is an excellent place to work, and the staffers all seem happy. In hard economic times of course someone is going to feel it- there's nothing anyone can do about it. at least it wasnt cadawalader or white and case- laying off associates. these ridiculous stories picking on K&L for switching toilet paper (which I can happily say is untrue) or escorting someone out of the building- are NOT newsworthy. the economy is in the toilet- if the worst thing that happens is a few secretaries from each office are terminated- i'd say they're in good shape.
according to rumors, next to fold is either Dewey or Cahill. maybe focus on them.
K&L GaTTTes always has been and always will be an utter shiTTThole.
110: K&L's Charlotte office is formerly of Kennedy Covington. Secretaries there have blackberries. Unlike secretaries in NY (formerly KLNG office) who do not have blackberries. A lot of non-attorney staff have blackberries (e.g. paralegals, e-dat, IT, PD personnel etc).
Various K&L offices have different firm culture. Former Preston Gates offices on the west coast operate differently than former K&LNG offices on the east coast. Former Kennedy Covington and Hughes and Luce offices are also different. Their computer systems are not yet integrated after all these mergers. Associates on the west coast (from a Preston Gates office) cannot access documents in K&LNG (east coast) databases. Neither can anyone from Hughes and Luces or Kennedy Covington.
33 suffers from delusional disorder
112: I would also add that each part of the firm retains its own historical culture which affects the manner in which each office treats its employees including the way it conducts lay-offs and the transparency of the actions taken by management.
Speaking as an ex-kclh person, this has been like a kick in the stomach. We didn't know who the axe was hitting until it fell. Feel like we are paying for the sins of Pittsburgh.
the layoffs in K&LG's Charlotte office included consultant attorneys- guess they're labeled as staff
One secretary was talking to one of her lawyers (associate) and when she went back to her desk her computer had shutdown on its own. Then the HR person called her to her office and told her she was getting the can, gave her a couple checks (severance, vacation) and escorted her out the door.
115- lets just hope things get better but somebody said that associate layoffs are next.
K&LG usually gives a mid-level associates 4 weeks to wind down and to transfer files after dropping the axe. Junior associates may get less, if they get any notice at all. After all it is at-will employment. If members of the associate committee want to talk to you out of the blues, you know the axe is falling.
Good luck.
Re K&L Gates staff layoffs ...
at least 10 in Charlotte (formerly Kennedy Covington, on July 1st became K&L Gates),
15 in Boston,
10 in D.C.,
12 in Seattle,
a larger number in Dallas,
quite a few in Pittsburgh ...
many IT folks ...
and a conference call on 11/12 indicating the possibility of more in the near future ...
What sucks is the very expensive partners retreat at a resort in Arizona in October ...
Fortunately I was not treated nastily - I was told to leave as soon as possible, not to access my PC, etc.
And yes, many CLT staff had Blackberries ...
Wonder if they're going to hold the CLT office Thanksgiving luncheon, or will it become potluck "bring a casserole"?
K&L (pre-merger) doesn't hold Thanksgiving luncheon. If CLT is going to hold one, it will probably be the last one ever.
Don't expect a good holiday gift either. Last year K&L gave secretaries boxes of K&L cookies that were leftover party favors from the holiday party.
120 - Yes the Thanksgiving luncheon in CLT is on the calendar and is Kennedy Covington culture - not to be expected next year!
And no, I don't expect a holiday gift since I got laid off on Monday!
107, Good HR people don't fire on Fridays because it leaves the person let go with no control and time to stew or worse over the weekend. You want at least one work day after the layoff so that the person can sign up with a temp agency, for unemployment, or something similar. This time and sense of control helps avoid desparate actions, which can benefit all involved. So you let people go later in the day, with Wednesdays or Thursdays being the favorite
Let no one fool themselves. The staff "reductions" are the beginning rather than the end of changes at KL Gates. All you need to do is keep track of Pete Kalis' remarks as reported in the professional press. When he says there are metaphysical changes going on in the profession, what the hell do you think he means??? If I was a senior associate or income partner, I'd be brushing up my resume about now. KL Gates is starting a house cleaning; first with staff, then associates, and next Spring it will hit the income partners when their yearly contracts are up for renewal.
Hasta la Vista, baby!
Let no one fool themselves. The staff "reductions" are the beginning rather than the end of changes at KL Gates. All you need to do is keep track of Pete Kalis' remarks as reported in the professional press. When he says there are metaphysical changes going on in the profession, what the hell do you think he means??? If I was a senior associate or income partner, I'd be brushing up my resume about now. KL Gates is starting a house cleaning; first with staff, then associates, and next Spring it will hit the income partners when their yearly contracts are up for renewal.
Hasta la Vista, baby!
K&L isn't done yet. You can COUNT on that.
K&L Gates is not done yet...I have a friend that was the product of the Dallas office lay offs. They were not kind at all when you got the word. They locked you out of the computer, walked you to your desk, allowed you to pack the bear minimum and walked you out of the bldg. No loyalty whatsover and this is after they held a meeting stating that they had $80 million in the bank, owed no one and everyone was safe. They gave you 1 week severance for every year you were there and insurance ended at the end of the month. I hear that attorneys are next. Instead of getting your popcorn ready...get your resumes ready! Oh, yeah, no bonuses/no raises/no 401 distribution!
K&L Gates is not done yet...I have a friend that was the product of the Dallas office lay offs. They were not kind at all when you got the word. They locked you out of the computer, walked you to your desk, allowed you to pack the bear minimum and walked you out of the bldg. No loyalty whatsover and this is after they held a meeting stating that they had $80 million in the bank, owed no one and everyone was safe. They gave you 1 week severance for every year you were there and insurance ended at the end of the month. I hear that attorneys are next. Instead of getting your popcorn ready...get your resumes ready! Oh, yeah, no bonuses/no raises/no 401 distribution!
Word is they laid off more staff the Friday before Christmas. I heard more recruiting staff, but there could be others. Another classy move by a real TTT firm.
KL Gates is made up of a team of incompetent, unprofessional people. You can say they are idiots. They talk about you behind your back, lie, cheat, etc. Everyone is kissing ass or sleeping with someone to get ahead. They are all back stabbers. You cannot trust anyone. KL Gates is all about who you know not what you know. They say one thing and do another. There is no honesty. No one will stand up for you or fight for you. No wonder the firm is is bad shape. Now they gave the staff a week less of vacation. Who knows what tomorrow brings each day another bomb drops. What a way to end a year and start another. Let's see what bullshit they come up up with now.
The ax continues to fall. Recruiting people throughout the firm were let go without so much as a thank you. Income partners were told that there will be reductions in their ranks and were also informed on New Year's Eve late in the day that no 401K distribution would be made even though they never missed a contribution previously. At the same time, firm managment says they had a great year in 2008. Either the firm is in more trouble than it is willing to let on, or Pete has some big plans for expanding the Empire. Either way, income partners and associates are going to get shit on.
From the law.com article on Morgan Lewis's bonus anouncment...
"But the firm leaders The Legal Intelligencer spoke to said they did away with the lockstep model years ago.
"It's always nice to welcome as distinguished a law firm as Morgan Lewis to the merit-based club, which in fact has been in existence for some time," said Peter Kalis, chairman and global managing partner of K&L Gates.
He said the firm has long relied on a performance-based bonus structure that does not include "hours quotas triggering bonus results."
"[Our bonus structure is based on] judgments combining not only productivity issues but also qualitative issues," he said, adding that the firm has no plans to tinker with this system in 2009.
And the goings keep on going at KL Gates. Three fairly new partners are leaving. Associates were also asked to leave. All is hush, hush,