zib

Any indication of what years the cuts came from? My friend is a 1st year in Boston and I don't want to come straight out and ask him if he was fired today.

zib

Wow, Elie, you said something vague about "something happening" at Proskauer almost three months ago. You sure called it!

Attrition rates are probably down across the board. The only question is how firms will deal with that. Will they hire fewer new associates or will they cut more mid-levels?

No real surprises here. Proskauer has been in a long, slow decline for years now. They are but a shadow of what they used to be in the 90's.

Sad for the people involved, of course, but it looks like at least they are doing it in a decent way, giving the associates a fair chance of finding employment somewhere else and not screwing them on the bonus they worked for.

They just started a Chicago office last year or so. It's still just 10 attorneys. Any news on that office?

THE LIST: This list does not include "redeployments," mergers, staff, or staff attorneys.
Announced | Firm | Location | Total | "Review-Based"? | Acknowledged?
1/11/2007 Kenyon & Kenyon US 16 No Yes
10/1/2007 Thacher Proffitt & Wood US 24 No Yes
10/17/2007 Kirkland & Ellis Chicago 6 to 8 Yes No
1/10/2008 Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft Charlotte 9 No Yes
1/10/2008 Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft NYC 26 No Yes
2/14/2008 Winstead PC Dallas ~3 Yes Yes
2/29/2008 Dechert US 13 No Yes
3/20/2008 Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner US 26 No Yes
4/4/2008 Dewey & LeBoeuf Jacksonville 10 No Yes
4/4/2008 Dewey & LeBoeuf Hartford 22 No Yes
4/4/2008 Dewey & LeBoeuf Austin 16 No Yes
4/25/2008 Sutherland Asbill & Brennan Atlanta 8 Mix Yes
4/25/2008 Sutherland Asbill & Brennan DC <7 Mix Yes
5/12/2008 Paul Hastings US 22 Yes Yes
5/28/2008 Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal US 37 No Yes
6/5/2008 Blank Rome Philadelphia 6 Yes Yes
6/5/2008 Blank Rome NYC 2 Yes Yes
6/5/2008 Blank Rome DC 1 Yes Yes
6/11/2008 Thacher Proffitt & Wood US 36 No Yes
6/23/2008 Powell Goldstein US <10 No Yes
7/1/2008 Patton Boggs Dallas 4 Yes Yes
7/1/2008 Patton Boggs US 5 Yes Yes
7/14/2008 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LA, SF, San Diego 15 Unk No
7/16/2008 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman East Coast <10 Unk No
7/30/2008 Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft NYC, Charlotte, London, DC 96 No Yes
8/4/2008 DLA Piper London 1 No Yes
8/6/2008 Sullivan & Worcester Boston & NY 7 Yes No
8/12/2008 Simpson Thacher & Bartlett global 30 Yes No
8/21/2008 Morgan & Finnegan NYC ~4 No Yes
9/22/2008 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer unknown <5 No Yes
9/25/2008 Heller Ehrman US ~600? No Yes
10/2/2008 Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal US 25 No Yes
10/14/2008 Clifford Chance NYC & DC 20 No Yes
10/20/2008 Dewey & LeBoeuf Charlotte 8 No Yes
10/20/2008 Katten Muchin Rosenman US 21 No Yes
10/21/2008 Jenner & Block US 10 No Yes
10/22/2008 Dechert US 10 to 30 Yes No
10/23/2008 O'Melveny & Myers LA 5 Yes Yes
10/27/2008 White & Case Milan 14 No Yes
10/28/2008 Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner US ~500? No Yes
10/30/2008 Bell Boyd & Lloyd Chicago 10 No Yes
11/3/2008 McKee Nelson NYC 13 No Yes
11/3/2008 McKee Nelson DC 4 No Yes
11/11/2008 Loeb & Loeb US 8 Yes Yes
11/11/2008 White & Case US, London 70 No Yes
11/12/2008 Moore Van Allen Charlotte 20 No Yes
11/13/2008 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe US 40 No Yes
11/14/2008 Greenberg Traurig NYC unk No No
11/19/2008 Brown Rudnick US 20 No Yes
11/20/2008 Mayer Brown US 33 No Yes
11/20/2008 Squire Sanders US <30 Yes Yes
11/21/2008 Dewey & LeBoeuf NYC 5 to 11 Unk No
11/21/2008 Fried Frank US 15 Yes No
12/1/2008 Fried Frank US 15 Yes No
12/3/2008 Reed Smith UK 11 No Yes
12/4/08 Proskauer Rose US 35 No Yes

Clearly #6 does not keep up. Proskauer has opened 6 new offices world wide in the last couple of years and has been very active in bringing in lateral partners with business, That hardly represents the actions of a firm that is a "shadow" of what they used to be.

Eighth

Nice work 9 - keep it up. I am voting for you for next editor.

Hahaha 9 do you really have DLA Piper London 1 associate laid off on your list? That is simply sensationalism.

Hey 10: Here's a newsflash for you: Thelen and Heller both opened new offices "worldwide" in the last few years, and look where it got them. And if Proskauer really were bringing in lateral partners with business, they wouldn't be laying people off today.

Prokauer's glory was in the last decade, when they were growing, hiring top end law students, and getting in on more well-known deals/cases. While Proskauer may not end up on the trash heap with Thelen, et al., that old gray mare of a firm just ain't what she used to be.

Nice work 9 - keep it up. I am voting for you for next editor.

test

Firms that can somehow manage to get through 2008-2009 without any major layoffs will come out of this STRONG.

Being employed is everything in this economy.

9 -

Please post the updated data every time layoffs are announced here. Elie is too lazy. Thank you for compensating for him.

- Everyone

anyone know which offices?

Clearly #10 works for PR's PR department.

Face it, the thread is about 50 layoffs. Can't shine that piece of coal up. Oops, did I say 50? I meant 60. Ouch.

No, the list needs to be updated:

DLA to shed 40 jobs across UK offices

http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=135933

3 - If he is your good friend, just ask him how he's doing and if there is anything you can do. If he is not your good friend, then you are just being nosey.

Elie I can't believe you would draw attention to that previous post on Proskauer's summer offer letters. That was just about the most embarrassing post you've ever written, and it was rightly disparaged by every commenter.

You must be relatively young #6 and #10. Proskauer's glory days were clearly not in the 90s. No one who was actually a lawyer during that period would actually claim that. In fact, Proskauer has been pulling itself up the rankings in terms of profits and prestige for over a decade.

This sucks. The market is so saturated with lawyers that if you get laid off you are screwed. No one is hiring.

Hey 9: You're missing 5 "performance based" layoffs from Sullivan and Worcester in November

how does laying off work? is it immediate?

how does laying off work? is it immediate?

are layoffs immediate?

Texas released bar results this morning and they are huge. Seriously, really really big.

This sucks. The market is so saturated with lawyers that if you get laid off you are screwed. No one is hiring.

mainly
two ways: immediate with severance, or they give u a couple months to find somehting else, while keeping you employed

Proskauer was a nothing firm in the 90s and it is a nothing firm now. And firing people three weeks before Christmas? Sweet lord. That place is crap and they deserve everything they get for this retarded move.

27-29: It's case-by-case. Usually immediate, though. And judging by your repeated posts, I am going to go ahead and assume that it will be immediate in your case as well.

I love how PR is getting props for openly laying off people now. they have been secretly booting people for "performance" for at least 15 years.

It is pretty bush league to be firing right now. Was it not obvious 2 weeks ago that people would have to be let go?

i don't understand how these firms get off firing all these people and pretending everything is awesome at OCI. PR gave a million callback offers at oci, its pure bait and switch come to our firm for a year and then have a nice life. they just should immediately suspend hiring, like normal corporations.

Maybe no one at PR celebrates Christmas?

Don't forget stealth layoffs at SkaddenDC, plus announced layoffs of staff attorneys. (Well, the people that were laidoff were told it was a layoff. It wasn't annouced to the firm.)

And you, #35, has just made the dumbest comment ever on this site.

"Secretly booting for performance for at least 15 years"

As opposed to what, Einstein? Publicly announcing each underperforming associate who gets asked to leave? Are you a lawyer? Do you know anything? Have you ever had a job? Do you believe in not "booting" people for performance, period?

And for 15 years? What on earth are you talking about?

"They just started a Chicago office last year or so. It's still just 10 attorneys. Any news on that office?"

Since Elie has clearly shown how poorly the Chicago market is fairing, I think it is safe to say that the 6 Proskauer associates in Chicago are all being layed off TWICE, just to make sure it sticks. That accounts for 12 of the 35.

9,

Baker Hostetler Orlando laid off 2 real estate associates in September. They also shed around 7 associates over the past year (this amounts to around 20% of the associate class). This is much higher than their normal rate of attrition.

34: douche

Elie- I received eight summer offer letters and every one of them guaranteed compensation of no less than last summer. At the time everyone said not to read anything into it and they were right. Get over it!

I don't think this has much to do with the salary figure Elie commented on. Most BigLaw firms are paying market for their summers, which is around $3000. Mine's paying $3100. I'm not saying I'm worth that, because I'm not at this stage in my learning, but that's just what the market is.

I don't think this has much to do with the salary figure Elie commented on. Most BigLaw firms are paying market for their summers, which is around $3000. Mine's paying $3100. I'm not saying I'm worth that, because I'm not at this stage in my learning, but that's just what the market is.

Maybe no one at PR celebrates Christmas?

44: i think i speak for all of us when i congratulate you on your 8 summer offer letters.. bravo

2L here who really doesn't know how these things work. Are these midlevel's getting fired, or do any of these firms fire those in years 1-3?

Seriously, what is the difference when a firm lays off staff or attorneys? There really is no right time to do it and the people who just lost their jobs face the same grim employment opportunities.

Firms need to do a better job at hiring the right number of associates per class year. By managing class size better, firms would find it more difficult to lay off larger numbers during economic downturns.

I assume Elie is now working feverishly to provide the numbers for which of Proskauer's locations are effected. Right?

Thomspon & Statham laid off 14 associates in its Cleveland office.

Proskauer is significantly up in many prestige measures as opposed to prior years, but, as recent times have shown, those rankings are not indicitive of any firm's future. The layoffs were handled in as dignified and open manner as anyone could expect.

Next Economies of Summer Associates Story on ATL:

Which is the best predictor of layoffs?

a) Firms offering summers $3077 (clearly pinching pennies)
b) Firms offering summers $3080 (trying not to look cheap, but stealth)
c) Firms offering summers $3100 (at $33 a week more than their peers, how do these firms stay alive?)

"Outplacement?" Ew.

How much longer can this go on? I hear NY firms are quiet but firms in Wasilla are booming.

Proskauer is significantly up in many prestige measures as opposed to prior years, but, as recent times have shown, those rankings are not indicitive of any firm's future. I doubt a major firm exists that hasn't previously engaged in "stealth" layoffs. This round of layoffs were handled in as dignified and open a manner as anyone could expect.

I was fired by these folks through a stealth layoff bad review many moons ago. Good news is I got to make sure my inhouse employer never used them again. They were truly disgusting in how they told people that it was performance based when it wasnt and they did absolutely nothing to help me with reference (I even found out later that I was bad mouthed by a partner). Back then, they did a few layoffs every couple of months to try to fly under the radar (which largely failed).

With that said, I have to give them some credit for being open about it this time around. I wonder if they will play games in paying out bonuses to these people (they are notorius for announcing bonuses and not paying all of them to many people even in good times). I also hope that they are paying out at least the three to four months of severance (or salary continuation as they did with me).

In any event I am in a much better place now. I wish the associates that are left behind or have been laid off nothing but the best.

I will warn folks that you have some real prima donnas at Proskauer. You can probably go to a comparable firm with less attitude in better times.

To those now being laid off, I was where you are. If you have saved up some money, take a deep breath and you will be ok. There are much greener pastures out there (or there will be when this economy turns). I now view getting canned by Proskauer as the best thing that ever happened to my career.

I was fired by these folks through a stealth layoff bad review many moons ago. Good news is I got to make sure my inhouse employer never used them again. They were truly disgusting in how they told people that it was performance based when it wasnt and they did absolutely nothing to help me with reference (I even found out later that I was bad mouthed by a partner). Back then, they did a few layoffs every couple of months to try to fly under the radar (which largely failed).

With that said, I have to give them some credit for being open about it this time around. I wonder if they will play games in paying out bonuses to these people (they are notorius for announcing bonuses and not paying all of them to many people even in good times). I also hope that they are paying out at least the three to four months of severance (or salary continuation as they did with me).

In any event I am in a much better place now. I wish the associates that are left behind or have been laid off nothing but the best.

I will warn folks that you have some real prima donnas at Proskauer. You can probably go to a comparable firm with less attitude in better times.

To those now being laid off, I was where you are. If you have saved up some money, take a deep breath and you will be ok. There are much greener pastures out there (or there will be when this economy turns). I now view getting canned by Proskauer as the best thing that ever happened to my career.

42, Did Baker get rid of that loud mouth partner Dennis in the Orlando office?

I was fired by these folks through a stealth layoff bad review many moons ago. Good news is I got to make sure my inhouse employer never used them again. They were truly disgusting in how they told people that it was performance based when it wasnt and they did absolutely nothing to help me with reference (I even found out later that I was bad mouthed by a partner). Back then, they did a few layoffs every couple of months to try to fly under the radar (which largely failed).

With that said, I have to give them some credit for being open about it this time around. I wonder if they will play games in paying out bonuses to these people (they are notorius for announcing bonuses and not paying all of them to many people even in good times). I also hope that they are paying out at least the three to four months of severance (or salary continuation as they did with me).

In any event I am in a much better place now. I wish the associates that are left behind or have been laid off nothing but the best.

I will warn folks that you have some real prima donnas at Proskauer. You can probably go to a comparable firm with less attitude in better times.

To those now being laid off, I was where you are. If you have saved up some money, take a deep breath and you will be ok. There are much greener pastures out there (or there will be when this economy turns). I now view getting canned by Proskauer as the best thing that ever happened to my career.

ok ok ok ..Ill stop complaining about half bonus now

I was fired by these folks through a stealth layoff bad review many moons ago. Good news is I got to make sure my inhouse employer never used them again. They were truly disgusting in how they told people that it was performance based when it wasnt and they did absolutely nothing to help me with reference (I even found ou later that I was bad mouthed by a partner). Back then, they did a few layoffs every couple of months to try to fly under the radar (which largely failed).

With that said, I have to give them some credit for being open about it this time around. I wonder if they will play games in paying out bonuses to these people (they are notorius for announcing bonuses and not paying all of them to many people even in good times). I also hope that they are paying out at least the three to four months of severance (or salary continuation as they did with me).

In any event I am in a much better place now. I wish the associates that are left behind or have been laid off nothing but the best.

I will warn folks that you have some real prima donnas at Proskauer. You can probably go to a comparable firm with less attitude.

To those now being laid off, I was where you are. If you have saved up some money, take a deep breath and you will be ok. There are much greener pastures out there (or there will be when this economy turns). I now view getting canned by Proskauer as the best thing that ever happened to my career.

58: I see why they fired you.

Sorry to post my Proskauer tale of the past three times. It was my first post and wacky stuff happened when I sent it.

One, Two, Three, Four FOUR tales of a PR layoff of the past. Hahahaha.

- Count Layoffula

testes

9 - Fix the info about Dewey's Jacksonville, Hartford and Albany offices. The offices were closed but the attorneys weren't fired. All of them were given the option to transfer to other offices.

40 - you are the biggest douche ever. either you're drinking the kool aid or you know nothing about Proskauer.

Does this trend make people reluctant to pursue Biglaw and slum it in secondary or rural markets where 45 hour weeks and modest homes await?

Does this trend make people reluctant to pursue Biglaw and slum it in secondary or rural markets where 45 hour weeks and modest homes await?

58 here. I was thrilled to be fired (now that I have the hidsight of many years). Sorry if i didnt meet your grammar, spelling or other rules. I was trying to quickly convey information not win the lawyer drafting award.

I think the biggest issue lawyers have is sweating the stupid stuff.

please make count layoffula a fixture

You're all trolls.

http://www.bitterlawyer.com/index.php/site/columns_detail_comment/seven_species_of_legal_website_trolls/?cat_id=13

PEANUTS and CHEESE!
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PEANUTS and CHEESE!
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Proskauer has a history of laying people off just to save their bottom line. It is no surprise that in these economic times, they would lay off more individuals most most other firms. Proskauer as a firm is extremely short sighted.

58, how do you know it wasn't performance based? Maybe the partner hated you for being a shitty lawyer. Most lawyers are so conceited they wouldn't even realize if their work sucked.

60, Denis in litigation is still at Baker Hostetler Orlando. I'm not sure if he is the same person you are referring to.

60, Denis in litigation is still at Baker Hostetler Orlando. I'm not sure if he is the same person you are referring to.

Elie, I am in disbelief; SHOCKED that not only have you not begged Lat to remove that previous Proskauer post you made in September, but that you have the chrome-plated balls to actually cite to it as some sort of success in foreshadowing. If I were you, I would be praying to the powers that be each and every day that it would be filed away deep within the bowels of the internet equivalent of some Raiders of the Lost Ark-style government warehouse never again to see the light of day. That was the single most atrocious post I have read on any blog, ever; the way you got open-hand slapped by the immutable principles of logic (not to mention every commenter) will go down in blog lore as a failure of the most epic variety. Let's recap that September "scoop" of which you seem so proud, shall we?

Proskauer sends out a boilerplate offer letter to its prospective summer class with the SAME LANGUAGE THAT NEARLY EVERY OTHER FIRM HAS INCLUDED IN EVERY V50 SUMMER OFFER LETTER IN THE PAST 5 YEARS, saying that their summer salary "will be no less than $x". To everyone, including the slow-witted barista with a lazy eye who serves my coffee, it was obvious that Proskauer (and every other firm that uses that same boilerplate language) was just setting a compensation floor so that they could raise summer salaries to match peer firms if the those peer firms for some reason raised salaries between that time and the start of summer. But wait!! Elie has a Eureka moment as he nearly chokes on his morning power shake of maple syrup and goose fat: what if the words "no less than" are pregnant with meaning -> a secret language Proskauer Recruiting (which has been known to advise Al-Qaeda operatives in Pakistan on how to signal their internationally-placed sleeper cells via secretly-coded emails appearing to be no more than birthday e-cards) was quietly letting the market know that they planned on giving the crashing US economy a big gangrenous middle-finger by raising associate salaries to 190K!?? Now, Elie could have just cut his losses at this point, hit "publish" on that abomination of a deductive leap and called it a day, but no, he went on to...

(wait, wait, sorry give me a moment here: "paging Logic, Reason, & Common Sense...Logic, Reason, & Common Sense, if you're in the building, you may want to take a lap around the block before I continue so that the magnitude of your simultaneous aneurysms doesn't rip a hole in the fabric of space." OK, let's go on.)

So Elie went on to surmise that by setting a floor for their summer compensation, they must be looking to make cuts ELSEWHERE! That's right, Elie took the following two ingredients: (i) Proskauer set a standard salary floor in their summer offer letter, and (ii) gosh darnit economic times are tough, and baked them into a OMG-Layoffs-is-Coming-What-Is-I-Gonna-Do clusterf$@*$-meringue pie, which he presumably then devoured.

And now, wow: you have the partially-descended-testicular fortitude to link to the aforementioned post of shame..."Are you there God? It's me, Elie's undeserved sense of smug self-satisfaction. I just want you to know that today was a banner day."

Wow, 80, that was quite the overly long drawn-out rant about Ellie!

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PS: I enjoyed reading every word. Thank you.

58, I was also laid off by PR years ago and it was a blessing in disguise. I quickly got a MUCH better job and a MUCH more reputable firm...where I worked for people I respected. It was a huge boost for my career to not be associated with PR...and i urge anyone who is laid off not to dispair because there is life after PR...and it's brillant.

58, here five months earlier got a good review. In all honesty large firm life wasnt for me. I needed to be in a different type of place.

58, here five months earlier got a good review. In all honesty large firm life wasnt for me. I needed to be in a different type of place.

Here's why Biglaw won't cut back on 1st years while axing more senior associates. Their plan is to consolidate the substantive work in fewer mid-levels and seniors and staff up on massive doc review type work with the newbies that they bill out with minimal overhead. The system is built on burning out the youngins, but not before you milk them for as many billables as possible. In good times the firms pretend that they are investing in you and just wait for you to leave on your own schedule once you burn out. Now they can't wait. If the choice is cutting underperforming partners or expensive mid-levels we know who goes first.

hahahahaha. 80 = best post of the month! "maple syrup and goose fat shake"! i love it!

54 - it's $23 more per week. Clearly your head's next on the chopping block. Failure.

Anyone know anything about which practice groups/cities are affected?

Thanks, 78. That would be him. Hopefully age has mellowed him a bit, at least for the sake of the remaining B&H associates.

54 - it's $23 more per week. Clearly your head's next on the chopping block. Failure.

80--you need to find a hobby

poster #180 for president

80--you need to find a hobby

80 clearly does have a hobby . . . PWNING 91/93!!! Booyashakah!

Gosh, I hope I am poster #180. I wonder how long I'll have to sit around until then...less than 90 posts to go. Sweet!

Thanks be to 80. All hail the mighty 80- you da man or woman of the year.

40 - you are the supreme douche. Stop drinking the Kool Aid, Herr Proskauer.

80 and count layoffula to ATL editors

wow...80, you have wayyyyy too much time on ur hands

Although PR would likely call it "natural attrition", the firm has been performing stealth layoffs in the name of "poor performance" for years across all levels of associates (including first years). The firm seems to have a pre-set attrition rate (usually influenced by a bottom line PPP target, hence the elimination of first years when they over hire in slow practice groups) and when associates do not help the firm by leaving on their own accord, associates who are not beloved by partners get a "poor performance" review. As mentioned by #58, the firm used to let go a few associates at a time every few months, even in boom times. The “highlight” of these stealth layoffs, perhaps, was in late summer / early fall 2007, when a large number of senior counsel and senior/mid-level associates all “happened” to leave the firm within a couple of weeks of each other.

Also, it's funny how #10 mentions that the firm has expanded significantly by adding new partners and new offices. Those expansions have limited opportunities for home-grown associates to make partner or specialize. Those new partners either bring with them their own group of associates and rarely integrate current associates into their group or outright replace the home-grown counsel and associates specializing in that area, which, in each case, eventually leads to the home-grown associate’s and counsel’s departure. The firm’s decision to grow by lateral-partner acquisition has done little to help home-grown associates, who often seem to be an after-thought in such decisions, which is one of many reasons the firm is such a demoralizing place to work.

99, we all have too much time on our hands. 80 is doing something useful with it.

#90 - even worse. What does it say about a firm that wound spend $23 more per week to keep up with its peers? Or is it the $3100 firms who are clearly going to be laying off mid-levels left and right to afford the $23/week burden?

i'm not sure why ATL hasn't announced the new NYU curve

103

Because you're not Columbia.

Any 2Ls get holiday stuff from firms yet?

Maple syrup and goose fat was particularly brilliant. Well met, 80. Well met, indeed.

80 appears to have no work to do, and will probably get laid off.

It worked 16! You've passed the test. You may now use that forefinger to do such other complex tasks as pointing at various things in your windowless office and scooping out the cherry at the bottom of a martini glass.

58 here. I think 100 explained PR really well.

It ashame. There are a few nice partners there (at least when I was there), but their personalities are overshadowed by the powers that be.

Based on my experience from years passed, If you need a big firm job to credential yourself (and dont have comaparable offers) take the offer at PR, but expect even less loyalty (and honesty) than from most large firms. Such is life.

So, there are associates who billed enough to pay their way and then some but are being canned? Sounds like proskauer has very serious liquidity issues.

80, can we hang out sometime? You seem to be one of the only "normals" in the legal profession.

I think the best investment one could make these days is in Hindi or Mandarin language lessons.

80-you are the reason i can't read ATL in class. so rediculously funny. ATL commenters need to make a movie or something.

i can't stop laughing at 80s post. that is one of the funniest freaking things i have read on this site

I left Proskauer by choice last year - and it was one of the best career decisions I ever made. They have a great summer program - and once you get there, you are like sheep left to the wolves. The firm has a huge identity crisis and has no direction. The morale (pre-layoffs) has been in the tttoilet for years (as evidenced by their nearly always bottom 5 of the mid-level associate surveys). Big law life is not all peaches and cream - but at Proskauer the cream is poisoned w/ a misery that I have rarely seen at other places. Best of luck to those of you who accepted your summer offers...May god help you.

9, please do not steal without attribution. That was my list. (12, 15, 18--take note when voting for EiC next time around.)

13, DLA Piper fired "only" one in London, but it accompanied four non-attorney firings.

This list is not meant to be "sensationalism," but factual.

I left Proskauer by choice last year - and it was one of the best career decisions I ever made. They have a great summer program - and once you get there, you are like sheep left to the wolves. The firm has a huge identity crisis and has no direction. The morale (pre-layoffs) has been in the tttoilet for years (as evidenced by their nearly always bottom 5 of the mid-level associate surveys). Big law life is not all peaches and cream - but at Proskauer the cream is poisoned w/ a misery that I have rarely seen at other places. Best of luck to those of you who accepted your summer offers...May god help you.

80 is great.

9, I put your #s into chart form. Things seem to be picking up steam even if you back out Heller and Thelen.

http://lawlayoffs.wordpress.com/

I'll try to break it out by location and firm rank later, as this is my new hobby.

NOT TRUE that Proskauer hasn't been doing stealth layoffs. They have been doing stealth layoffs all through the summer and fall, even as early as last year in their Boston office. Associates were beginning to notice and the firm had a meeting 2 weeks ago, to say that they were not doing layoffs, and that they would have this meeting. This is why they have come out of the closet, as it were, and made this grand announcement. Don't put them in any saintly category. Even first years were laid off.

I left Proskauer by choice last year - and it was one of the best career decisions I ever made. They have a great summer program - and once you get there, you are like sheep left to the wolves. The firm has a huge identity crisis and has no direction. The morale (pre-layoffs) has been in the tttoilet for years (as evidenced by their nearly always bottom 5 of the mid-level associate surveys). Big law life is not all peaches and cream - but at Proskauer the cream is poisoned w/ a misery that I have rarely seen at other places. Best of luck to those of you who accepted your summer offers...May god help you.

what about the peaches?

Zero, ZERO misspellings or typos in my posts, so I cannot be an ATL editor. Hahahaha.

- Count Layoffula

"Any 2Ls get holiday stuff from firms yet?"

Yes, several 2Ls have received singing telegrams by lawyers in x-mas costumes saying "woops, we were just kidding," which was followed by a swift kick in the ass and a letter rescinding their offer.

That counts as holiday stuff, right?