4th!!

First Poll Taker. Screw yah!

news OF Morrison & Foerster's layoffs.

Um, husband works at Latham. Crisis is only 30 minutes into a 3 hr. film.

Correct answer: Quinn Emanuel.

http://www.thelawyer.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=136516&d=415&h=417&f=416

Revenue up 15% from $384.5 to $441.8 million
profit up 12.6% from $248.2 to $279.5 million
PPP up 10.9% from $3 to $3.3 million

BOOYAH

Why isn't MoFo on the list?

If I don't get a job when I graduate, I will be forced to move to Nevada to sell my virginity...

watch the latham losers try and stuff the ballot box. nobody believes latham is doing the best.

6 - those #'s are fantastic from a partners perspective, but associate hours and compensation blow. Few associates will ever share that pie, so in my eyes Quinn would be lower than everyone else on the list!

Is OMM really doing that well? Seems like a firm on the rocks and ready for MoFo or Latham sized layoffs. Actually surprised they haven't come already.

Pillsbury Winthrop

Did you really write "tried to reassured summers"?!
-- Me fail English? Unpossible.

Did you really write "tried to reassured summers"?!
-- Me fail English? Unpossible.

These comments are not intelligent enough. Please remove and start over.

I don't know what's worse checking my stock portfolio or visiting this site to see which one of my friends has been laid off today....

10, I interpreted "doing the best" to mean "doing the best financially." On that interpretation, it's hard to dispute that Quinn is doing the best (and has been for the past several years). That said, I would hate to work there.

weathered the challenges better than: [Thatcher Proffitt] [Morgan Finnegan] [Drier LLP] [Heller] [Another dissolved firm]

where the fuck is the Latham & Watkins bullshit follow up?

PHJW - the firm has NO debt

Why isn't Paul Hastings included? No layoffs and no freezing of associate salaries . . .

Why isn't Paul Hastings included? No layoffs and no freezing of associate salaries . . .

Ouch. To those of of you we laid off, adios and good luck. To those of you joining us this summer for frequent drinking and socializing, our cup overfloweth. The salaries that we would have paid those laid off suckers will ensure our lunch budgets remain unchanged.

Bad form.

What about incoming first years? Did they receive any info?

Ouch. To those of of you we laid off, adios and good luck. To those of you joining us this summer for frequent drinking and socializing, our cup overfloweth. The salaries that we would have paid those laid off suckers will ensure our lunch budgets remain unchanged.

Bad form.

Some non-CA headquartered firms have CA offices that are doing relatively well, or are firms doing alright generally.

Kirkland
Weil
Skadden
DPW
Wilmer
Covington

Also, I'd presume Irell and Munger are doing OK.

19 - Latham didn't do anything to try to reassure its incoming classes.

Comment removed by moderator.

Paul Hastings? Now that is a miscarriage of justice.

Uh, Irell? Munger? Keker?

Nice try 23, but that's not what it says at all.

8 = EPIC FAIL.

Well played, 29.

It's funny how quickly firms reps rise and fall in the world of atl

Well played, 29.

It's funny how quickly firms reps rise and fall in the world of atl

To the new MoFo summers, take very little consulation in MoFo's assurances to you. In a few short years, you will be in the same place as the attorneys that MoFo fired this week. If there is a downturn, you will share their fate.

Know this, and plan accordingly.

Dear newly fired associates: I practice employment law in the SF Bay Area and am interested in talking to you about your experience. Please call me at 1-877-352-6400 or email at ewynne@wynnelawfirm.com.
Ed Wynne

What about Irell and Munger? After all no news is good news, right?

I'm not voting. The answer is Munger, Skadden, Irell.

Trophy Wife, how much did your boob job cost your hubby? I'd like to buy a set for my wife.

I am going to be a MoFo SA for my 2L summer. I am not worried about my summer offer but I'm very worried about getting no-offered.

I might speak to my schools employment office. Find out how i should plan for a no-offer and getting shut out of "biglaw"

Biglaw commentary is offensive. Please censor.

what's an Irell and Munger? is that from Urban Dictionary?

Why are firms still hiring all of their summers? They are a drain on the bottom line.

43: I would imagine that it is an optimistic outlook. They probably feel that they'll be very viable in 2 years and will need the talent then.

Fenwick & West is the new dominant firm in the Bay Area. They haven't frozen salaries or laid anyone off.

weathered the challenges better than: [Thatcher Proffitt] [Morgan Finnegan] [Drier LLP] [Heller] [Another dissolved firm]

as a nervous T-10 1L going into OCI i would easily pick quinn over any of these firms. i also think you should add irell to the list, they seem to be doing ok too. oh yeah, and lol at the 8% who chose latham.

-nervous T-10 1L
4 offers
3 interviews
1 sa position

Top link on the MoFo webpage: "Financial Crisis Legal Updates and News"

You can't make this stuff up.

Trophy Wife, how does it feel to be nothing more than a moist hole?

How do you have Wilson Sonsini on this list and not Cooley?

I vote for Cooley. No indication of long term troubles, layoff was truely a one time adjustment (rather than being preceded or followed by trickling firings).

i noticed they didn't assure last year's summers that their offers are secure... all incoming CA zero years should be scared

As an associate, what I care about most is my own comp. At OMM I got a substantially higher bonus than I would have gotten at GDC or Quinn this year. Substantially.

51 - they did, in a separate email. the one posted above was sent only to SA's.

MoFo cannot possibly be a financially sound firm if it had to eject all those bodies. Steer clear.

Paul Hastings is having one of the worst PR cycles in major modern law firm history. Pick an office and you will find an outrageous story: insider trading, malpractice for working with a client who ultimately was engaging in a ponzi scheme, stealth layoffs in all offices but a particular slaughter of their much advertised Asian offices (half of the shanghai office is gone), an implosion of there project finance team, murder/suicide and the biggest story of last year on ATL.

Any one of these stories could happen at a firm, but all of it added up together is an ugly mess. Can someone tell me one thing this firm does well that generates huge revenues? It isn't employment law and commercial RE ain't lookin too hot.

The firm will continue to attract attorneys because they do a great job of hiding the ball when it comes to bonuses and advancement (paying full Mkt. In years 1-2 then stiffing/terminating every other year). Ask them where the original recruiting classes of 2005 and up went. They are all gone.

45- This might be incorrect, but I heard Fenwick announced some layoffs this morning.

Yes, MoFo SA 2L summers, rest assured that your offer to work for an employer who will proceed to shitcan your ass during the next economic down turn is nice a safe.

39, would you believe they're real?

The bodycount may look big, but I work at MoFo and the administrative staff were the equivalent of civil servants -- no one every got fired, no one (with the exception of a few) worked very hard, and everyone kept their jobs and benefits for life -- This was largely the result of the feelgood/be-nice culture. The firm has hopefully recognized that the prevailing culture of keeping everyone around forever, regardless of competence, would do them in financially in this economy.

Paul Hastings pushes female associates down the stairs.

I would caution any person even entertaining the notion of going to MoFo San Francisco to seriously re-think that decision. The office has one of the most notorious reputations for being a complete sh--- hole to work at. Anyone in the legal market in the bay area knows that mentoring and training is non-existent and the partners are complete a** holes that treat associates like sh**. Thank god I didn't end up there.

Good luck to all of those who lost their jobs!

60:

Shoving is the answer. Shoving will protect you.

ditto #59

Gibson is most certainly the best place to be working in this market

58, you lie worst than a Morgan Lewis partner. How much did they cost?

46 - you read my mind
MoFo's pathetic; this beats even MLB's [the number of associates leaving is consistent with prior years... ] crap

Why isn't Cooley on the list?

Why is Wilson Sonsini on the list and not MoFo? WS just had huge lay-offs.

Trophy Wife -- shouldn't you be on jdate, looking for a new hubby?

Whether their claims of being financially sound are true or not, from a 2L's perspective it's a nice gesture. I'd rather have my firm at least try to blow sunshine up my ass then leave me in the dark with shit in my pants.

Paul Hastings.

MLB hasn't told incoming associates or SAs anything. SAs were previously told that many would not recieve offers.

55 -- don't know what you are talking about re pay. In recent years, PH has paid bonuses that are as good as any other peer firm. And, trust me, I am obsessive about making sure this is the case. If you felt you were underpaid, you should have looked for another job before the economy tanked.

Also, that a law firm had an associate who allegedly engaged in insider trading *unrelated* to his work at the firm or an employee who happened to be the unfortunate victim of a domestic dispute is hardly a reflection on the firm. Your hyperbole re the "worst PR cycle" smells of bitter loserishness.

WTF: I got canned yesterday, how strong can the firm be if they had to lay us off. Not like I am suggesting that the firm should have stripped their offers, but what sense does it make to replace second years who are acclimated to the firm and work, with stubs who know nothing at all... especially, since in all likelihood, we would both have made the same anyway with the eventual pay freeze?

You can't claim to be sound and have weathered the storm when you lose quality associates for economic reasons. Those two ideas do not reconcile in my head.

55, I didn't think the subject of the post was who had the worst PR cycle. But I guess a few bad-publicity incidents are more important than zero debt, no salary freezes, no half-bonuses and no massive layoffs.

As an incoming 2L MoFo SA, I am somewhat worried. That said, my impression, gleaned from a number of qualified classmates who didn't get Summer offers after MoFo callbacks in August/September, was that Mofo reduced their Summer hiring significantly as the economic downturn continued. My hope is that they reduced the numbers accordingly and still plan on hiring a significant number of their Summers full-time. Even hurting firms need a strong young associate class coming through the pipes. I am still looking forward to the Summer, and of all the firms I interviewed with, MoFo's attorneys (NYC office) were by far the nicest of the bunch (and, at least at the first impression, quite intelligent).

MoFo incoming first years got an email last night confirming they still had jobs.

As an incoming 2L MoFo SA, I am somewhat worried. That said, my impression, gleaned from a number of qualified classmates who didn't get Summer offers after MoFo callbacks in August/September, was that Mofo reduced their Summer hiring significantly as the economic downturn continued. My hope is that they reduced the numbers accordingly and still plan on hiring a significant number of their Summers full-time. Even hurting firms need a strong young associate class coming through the pipes. I am still looking forward to the Summer, and of all the firms I interviewed with, MoFo's attorneys (NYC office) were by far the nicest of the bunch (and, at least at the first impression, quite intelligent).

77: I know it was written by Elie, but did you even bother to read his story above? Moron.

If I were a summer, I'd brace myself for a no-offer.

I know of a large Texas firms who have been bandying about the idea of eliminating their summer programs entirely. The idea is that they won't pay $160k to train allegedly "worthless" first-year lawyers anymore, and will then just poach 3rd year associates from the big firms. I doubt it would ever happen because of the serious hit to reputation that would ensue, but really? Not a bad idea from a business standpoint. Could save a whole lot of money.

Gibson Dunn FTW!

As an incoming 2L MoFo SA, I am somewhat worried. That said, my impression, gleaned from a number of qualified classmates who didn't get Summer offers after MoFo callbacks in August/September, was that Mofo reduced their Summer hiring significantly as the economic downturn continued. My hope is that they reduced the numbers accordingly and still plan on hiring a significant number of their Summers full-time. Even hurting firms need a strong young associate class coming through the pipes. I am still looking forward to the Summer, and of all the firms I interviewed with, MoFo's attorneys (NYC office) were by far the nicest of the bunch (and, at least at the first impression, quite intelligent).

Sorry for the triple post, but it never said the message went through, but insteadwent to an error screen.

-76, 78, 82

76/78/82 "My hope is that they reduced the numbers accordingly and still plan on hiring a significant number of their Summers full-time."

Yeah....I don't think that is going to happen.

Is it just me, or are 85 and 86 posting from the future? Weird

The idea that anyone showing up at a firm doing large scale layoffs should feel secure is laughable.

Look for another job kids - nothing is guaranteed, and certainly not a job at a firm that is cutting people who are already both productive and billing at higher rates. Some of the firms you have seen in these pages recently will implode. No telling which ones. Have a plan B.

61: for someone looking for a large office in SF (and would like to avoid driving to Palo Alto if possible), where would you look instead? There aren't many viable options in the market with MoFo, Latham, and Orrick having problems.

87, it depends on your practice area.

79: Article is about summers not first years. U r the moron.

i know for a fact that mofo has a couple of 1L summers coming in this year.

89, Ropes & Gray is a great option and well respected, K&E is even a better option than MoFo (at least you get training, even if it is miserable hours), OMM has been standing strong (but it is still a Calif firm which is definitely scary right now) Paul Hastings is a solid option as well. Unfortunately the market is tight, but I can tell you that MoFo SF has a terrible reputation in the city.

89, Ropes & Gray is a great option and well respected, K&E is even a better option than MoFo (at least you get training, even if it is miserable hours), OMM has been holding strong (but it is still a Calif Firm, which is scary right now), Paul Hastings is a solid option as well. Unfortunately the market is tight, but I can tell you that MoFo SF has a terrible reputation in the city and I would warn anyone against going there.

Mofo doesn't have any debt. 2009 expenses have been prepaid. These layoffs were to ensure that they won't have to take on any debt in 2009. I'd be more scared of firms that are taking on debt right now to avoid layoffs (like did Heller, for example). Unfortunately, layoffs are the way to go right now. I'm very sorry to those laid off, but this is the correct economic reaction, which most firms will need to do (if they haven't already).

91/92--

" MoFo SF has a terrible reputation in the city"

What is your basis for this statement? Working at Mofo, or working at other firms where this reputation is salient? What is that reputation?

Don't get defensive, it's not the reputation of the legal work or the name, it is the reputation of the "culture."

Anyone who is familiar with the legal market in the bay area, as far as the big hitters go, knows the reputation of MoFo SF. I don't often feel a need to trash other firms, but the SF office is notorious for crappy partners who treat their associates like sh**. It is just a well-known fact, especially in the corporate group. So many other firms (including MoFo palo alto) have infinitely better reputations for associate morale.

If that offends anyone, sorry.

Don't get defensive, it's not the reputation of the legal work or the name, it is the reputation of the "culture."

Anyone who is familiar with the legal market in the bay area, as far as the big hitters go, knows the reputation of MoFo SF. I don't often feel a need to trash other firms, but the SF office is notorious for crappy partners who treat their associates like sh**. It is just a well-known fact, especially in the corporate group. So many other firms (including MoFo palo alto) have infinitely better reputations for associate morale.

If you have been doing this long enough, then you know and understand how familiar you get with a city's legal community after you've been in it for a while....Legal communities are pretty small.

If that offends anyone, sorry.

Any word on how many summers MoFo is taking this year? Last year's class was bloated, but they still gave offers to almost everyone.

I would like to know what is left of Paul Hastings's Real Estate practice.

93 - Yes, and continuing to lay people off, no-offering the incoming summers, etc. will allow them to continue not taking on debt.

Anyone working at or going to a firm which is having large scale layoffs - we're not talking a few here and there, but dozens of people - should be lining up a plan B or actively pursuing other options.

Even if you DO manage to end up working there for a while, morale will be decimated as associates watch the partners drive to work in their 7 series BMWs and go to their cabins in Tahoe for the weekends, while the people they fired are moving back in with their parents on unemployment.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls.

I'm offended, and I do NOT accept 95/6's apology!

95/96-- 94 here.

Wasn't getting defensive. Wanted more information re: reputation, i.e. departments, behavior, and basis for.

I've heard same about corporate department, but wondered what else you might know.

99 - I agree with you mostly. However, most firms will need to lay off dozens. I'm willing to guess that all international firms have dozens of extra associates right now. Not to sound like a heartless bastard, but "dozens" is only a few percentage points in 1000+ attorney firms. If your firm hasn't laid off dozens yet, then they will be coming in the next few months, maybe a "few" at a time. Nobody is safe.

Summers may have to fight it out for fewer spots this year. Too bad. No law school student is guaranteed a biglaw job upon graduation. Gotta earn it nowadays.

-93

102, my opinion of MoFo, has little to do with the layoffs and more to do with the prevailing disfunctional culture. The layoffs are simply another reason not to go there.

And yes, none of us are safe. I am lucky enough to be at a big firm that hasn't laid anyone off, but that's today, tomorrow I might be singing a different tune.

65/95/103 = laid off by mofo

Does anyone have any info about Fenwick?

Kill the Partners
By Tyrone Green and his Reggae Band

I was laid off from MoFo,
had to move to a shantytown.
Now we have no money
so we have to sleep on the ground.
I went to top 14 law school. And now I dig a ditch.
My wife she do laundry, life sure was a bitch.

But 'till we killed the partners.
Ooh we gonna make them hurt.
Kill the partners yeah.
But pay my severance first

We sing of fair reviews and equality.
But we really don’t care
we just want money money money.
We want to drive in a big black limousine.
Get so high off ganja we cant even see.

And then we kill the partners.
Ooh we gonna make them hurt.
Kill the partners. Yeah.
Ooh but pay my severance first.

When they come for my review.
We gonna wait outside.
We gonna hit them in the head with a bat
and make them cry.

And then we kill the partners.
Ooh we gonna make them hurt.
Kill the partners. Yeah.
Ooh but pay my severance first.

You could at least put Paul Hastings on the list, even if they come in last they are a large CA based firm that hasn't announced a salary freeze or massive staff layoffs.

I'm a MoFo associate in San Francisco. These last two days have been difficult. A few thoughts to add to this thread:

1. Many of the attorneys who were let go were talented and hard working.

2. I agree entirely with 59. Also, the firm, as a whole, was overstaffed compared to its needs and its peer firms. The needs of the firm changed, but the structure of staff support did not change with it. The layoff of staff, while painful, might have happened whether or not the economy tanked.

3. In the end, I respect the way the firm handled these very difficult decisions. I thought the process was approached with candor and compassion. The firm has signaled to the market that it respected and appreciated the contributions made by the separated employees. The severance packages were above market (individualized packages based on firm seniority: staff got up to 52 weeks severance, attorneys received between 4 and 8 months total compensation). The firm has held several meetings with staff and associates to explain the decision and the reasoning behind it--a rare show of transparency in BigLaw.

I disagree with the posters who say MoFo San Francisco is a sweatshop, True, we work really hard here. But I respect the people I work with and, as upsetting as these last two days have been, still feel good about the firm and the work we do.

To those affected: your colleagues still at MoFo respect you and we wish you well.

108 - I agree wholeheartedly, but particularly with point 3. These layoffs were done with as much tact and class as possible, given the ugly situation.

MoFo is not a lifestyle firm by any means, but I'm certainly happy. It is a biglaw firm, just with nice people and some damn good lawyers. I genuinely believe it's the best place to be a biglaw attorney in SF.

Best to those laid off at MoFo and everywhere else.

I'm another MoFo associate in SF and I agree with 108 (with the caveat that I don't have any insight/opinion on this point: "The layoff of staff, while painful, might have happened whether or not the economy tanked.")

In addition to 108's other thoughts, I wanted to add:

- I appreciate the firm's reiterating its commitment to diversity at this time.
- I appreciate that our policy of pro bono hours receiving 1:1 billable credit has continued even in this difficult economy (I was surprised to hear this was still the case)
- I'm not sure who the "crappy partners who treat associates like shit" are, but I haven't felt treated badly at all during my time at MoFo - and for the most part have been very pleasantly surprised at the respect I've been shown even as a young associate.
- I had no idea that the alleged "shithole" reputation of MoFo SF was a "well-known fact." Well-known to whom? When I was interviewing, many Bay Area attorneys (and even judges whom I spoke to) spoke extremely highly of MoFo and encouraged me to accept my offer at MoFo over several competing offers. I've never questioned that I made the right decision as between MoFo and the other biglaw firms I was considering.

Also, I'm surprised to hear that "mentoring and training are shit" here. Really? We have assigned formal mentors through our Odyssey program, and I'm incredibly happy with my mentor, who has been accessible to me any time I needed to talk to em (within a few hours at worst, and often will make time for me in 10-15 minutes); has provided both constructive criticism and support as necessary; and has been great both as a supervisor and as a mentor. As for informal mentoring, some partners and senior associates are better than others. I've worked with some people who were great at it and others for whom it was not a priority - I'm sure the same is true anywhere. As for training, I can only speak to litigation, but the firm conducts a series of weekly breakfast meetings for new litigators (roughly a 2.5 month training series), which I found very helpful; the routine CLE trainings have been more helpful than not; we had a litigation department retreat this past year which had some good training; and just today we got en email about a Trial Advocacy College training they'll be running over the next few months, culminating in a department-wide mock trial event in May. Informal training, like at any other firm, is what you make of the opportunities you receive and seek out.

No firm is perfect, sure, and I don't mean to be Pollyanna-ish about MoFo. I could easily identify, shall we say, areas for improvement. But I feel pretty strongly that MoFo is one of the best biglaw shops to go to (if you're masochistic enough to choose biglaw ;), and I dislike seeing anonymice trash the firm without bothering to provide specifics.

106: Death threats? I think you're going a little too far...

Friday is tomorrow!! Look out for massive layoffs. Most people get laid off Friday

Friday is tomorrow!! Look out for massive layoffs. Most people get laid off Friday

According to law.com, the most leveraged major in California is Orrick, then (in descending order) PHJW, WSGR, OMM, QE and LW. GDC is the least leveraged. And apparently LW is reducing their leverage the best they can.

At the end of 2009, GDC, QE and LW should be in good shape in terms of PPP, and they don't really step on each other's toes. It's unlikely that the status quo in California will change anytime soon for GDC and LW. QE will probably grow some more.

Mofo is in between Latham and GDC on that table. Funny how the stories come. PHJW and the female associate they fired. OMM's bad press last year. Orrick. WSGR. LW. Now Mofo. Thelen was up there too.

45 /56/105 - Fenwick laid off 36 staff members this morning. No word yet on Associates... but stay tuned.

Re: Fenwick, see: www.callaw.com. And will the PH homers please STFU. Nice effort, but your firm sucks. Yeah, I know the whole thing about a few bad apples, but your firm has a disproportionate share of them.

January’s Carnage: 1,487 Law Layoffs
Posted Jan 29, 2009, 02:15 pm CST

By Martha Neil

So far, it hasn't been a happy new year for many lawyers working at well-known law firms throughout the country.

As 2009 began, so did news of a growing tsunami of attorney layoffs being made at many BigLaw firms—not to mention London's magic circle, in-house legal departments and midsize law partnerships.

The latest wave followed hundreds of lawyer layoffs announced last year, but the pace of the attorney axings seems to be picking up: It appears that at least 500 attorneys have been let go by major legal employers this month, according to news reports, and additional layoffs may have been made without attracting media attention.

This afternoon, the Law Shucks blog listed a total of 1,381 layoffs reportedly being pursued by law firms based in the U.S. and abroad during January, in a chart on its Layoff Tracker page. (This figure included both attorneys and staff.) By the end of the day, the layoffs total had been increased to 1,487, after Ropes & Gray announced that it is letting 106 staff members go.

"More firms are in a fragile condition than I've ever seen," legal consultant William Brennan of Altman Weil Inc. recently told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).

However, law firms making layoffs likely will be on a stronger financial footing as a result, and in layoff announcements they routinely say their financial condition is strong. Those at risk appear to be not law firms making layoffs but, as discussed in the newspaper article and an earlier ABAJournal.com post, law firms like the dissolving Heller Ehrman that lose a critical mass of partners who voluntarily depart for jobs elsewhere.

As several articles about lawyer layoffs also note, a number of law firms are naming new partners and hiring laterally, even as they ax attorneys in slow practice areas. The financial well-being of the firms that fired them, though, may be of little consolation to laid-off lawyers, as the Above the Law blog has frequently pointed out in its posts.

Among those on the ever-lengthening layoffs list are Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft (9 associates); Choate Hall & Stewart (15 lawyers and 23 staff); Clifford Chance (up to 80 London associates); Cooley Godward Kronish (52 attorneys and 62 staff); Foley Hoag (a total of 32 associates and staff); Kirkland & Ellis (about 15 lawyers, according to legal recruiters); Linklaters (at least 100 lawyers and 130 staff); Merrill Lynch (6 senior in-house counsel); Morrison & Foerster (53 attorneys and 148 staff); Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein (13 lawyers and 15 staff); Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (an unspecified number of staff attorneys apparently amounting to nearly half of the staff attorney group); Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon (approximately 10 attorneys); and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (45 lawyers and 68 staff).

Other law firms have announced staff cuts, but have avoided lawyer layoffs, at least for now.

"necessary/truthful" - just the usual hollow PR speak. Who are their competitors? SF based litigation firms. Pointless comparing them to Latham or Gibson. The UK Lawyer is reporting MoFo axed another 5 lawyers in London. 53 is now 58 and counting.

The ship be sinking...

120 - TITCR.

104, actually not laid off and happily employed by a big NY sweatshop. I do know some who were laid off though. While I respect some of the opinions posted from those who work at MoFo, anyone in the legal community in the city knows the culture has a terrible reputation. The reputation isn't as a sweatshop, and I am not attacking the quality of the associates or the work, the partners in the SF office are just known to be as**holes.

can someone post a link to the law.com table/article on lawfirm leverage?

I feel bad for the people who got fired but as a SA for this summer, id rather they do that now and hire us later...3rd years etc have at least paid of their loans and have skills to go elsewhere...if SAs dont get offers where can we go? people arent going hire 3Ls in this market at all!

I feel bad for the people who got fired but as a SA for this summer, id rather they do that now and hire us later...3rd years etc have at least paid of their loans and have skills to go elsewhere...if SAs dont get offers where can we go? people arent going hire 3Ls in this market at all!

I feel bad for the people who got fired but as a SA for this summer, id rather they do that now and hire us later...3rd years etc have at least paid of their loans and have skills to go elsewhere...if SAs dont get offers where can we go? people arent going hire 3Ls in this market at all!

122 = dinged by mofo (if that is even possible)

123- http://www.law.com/jsp/tal/PubArticleTAL.jsp?id=1202426909972

As 3L in top 10% of my class and no job yet, I am doomed! Why oh why did I take a year off before going to law school?

- Screwed 3L

108-110 - Seriously? Do you really think it was respectful of the firm to not even allow staff members who had worked there for over a decade a few minutes to say goodbye to their closest co-workers? They weren't even allowed to gather their personal items from their desk, but were instead told that facilities would take care of that and that a box of their stuff would be sent to them. That's really classy. As for the asshole partners in the SF office, let's start with everyone on the 36th floor. I wouldn't wish working up there on my worst enemy.

This message board is pathetic. What a bunch of whiners! I agree that it appears that MoFo wasn't very classy how they treated terminated staff, but what does that have to do with the partners on the "36th floor." I agree that the corporate partners at MoFo may be considered assholes when compared to Joe on the street, but after practising law for a long time most of which at MoFo and now at another BigLaw those guys (mostly men) are far more pleasant than most partners you will find in BigLaw. So grow up.

The culture at MoFo reputably was wretched. I suspect that this wil not make things any better.

I have been proud to be an associate at MoFo this week. The first has acted with far more dignity than nearly all of the other firms that are being discussed on this blog.

MoFo = MotherFucker

I am a staffer at Mofo who survived the layoff.

There is very little difference between what is happening in Lawtown USA than the real estate market. The higher you climb, the harder the fall. Associate salaries were upped insanely in order to stay "competitive". There were associate groups at Mofo demanding higher base compensation or threatening to leave at a time the firm was so busy they were turning away business. Like just about every other firm, they gave in and raised their salaries (and rates) to disproportionate levels. And just the way the real estate market bubble broke, so did the economy of Lawtown USA. All of a sudden the need for associates dropped considerably. But UNLIKE the housing market which has and continues to readjust it's medium home price, the associate salaries don't adjust downward. So there's nothing left to do but cut. And for each associate cut, the need for support staff lessens and those people who were not responsible for creating the mess are the ones to suffer.

If you're an associate that got laid off, consider yourself lucky. Chances are you have only worked for the firm less than 5 years. Staff people with 30 or more years of experience were let go last Wednesday. Try to imagine what it's like working for a company for three decades and then have it all come to an end in a matter of hours and then tell me who is really suffering. These long time employees have spent most of their lives at Mofo. In some cases, Mofo has been the only place they've ever worked! The associates that were laid off are still considered "young". They will bounce back into something way before the 40 - 50 year old long time staff people who were let go will ever find anything. Yea, the severance package was a good one, but when you have to start shelling out $600 - $800 a month to pick up your medical costs on top of your mortgage and/or rent, believe me, that money goes real fast.

It was the greed of the associates along with partners who feel that a 1.2 million dollar per profit amount is just impossible for them to live in the manner they have become accustomed to that literally ruined the lives of many people.

I'm not sure who really are worse off though - the staff that were let go or the staff that remain. Does Mofo think that anyone remaining will EVER feel a sense of loyalty to a firm knowing that they could work their for half their life and be given the boot the next time profit per partner amounts decline? Loyalty means nothing to them - in fact, I'd go so far to say that it's more of a disadvantage to have tenure in a company like Mofo than it is to not have it. It used to be the other way around, but through the years, Mofo has become just like any other big law firm around and tossed everything out the door that used to make it unique in order to keep those partner profits climbing. The money they have spent on consulting firms to help re-image themselves into more of a Wall Street Firm alone could have paid he salaries of the staff people who were let go for the next 10 years.

Feel free to diss me as an ungrateful staff person that was spared the ax if you are over 40, otherwise, save your breath because you don't have any idea of what it's like to lose your job when you're 5 - 15 years away from when you were hoping to retire.

130,

My understanding is that terminated staff had individual meetings in which they were informed that they were being laid off. They then were permitted to go back to their desks and collect some of their personal belongings. They were not permitted to pack up their entire desk (this would be done by the firm and shipped to them).

I believe it is standard protocol across all industries for employees to be asked to leave immediately following a separation--businesses do not want to risk harm to confidential client material, work, or others by disruptive, destructive, or disgruntled employees. When you have wide scale lay offs, you do not have enough personnel to go with the separated individual and supervise while they pack their desks. So staff are allowed to collect personal belongings and then asked to leave (with the rest of their belongings being packed and shipped to them).

Remember too that all of this happened in the middle of a work day--with filings going out, client meetings happening, etc--so the firm may also have been working to limit the distraction the process would have on our work for our clients. I know that my MoFo colleagues have been reaching out to their friends who have left to get together for dinner, or over the weekend, etc. to say their "goodbyes" -- but more than that, to say that they are supporting them and remain their friends, etc. (In fact, as part of what I consider a very thoughtful presentation to the firm, Keith Wetmore encouraged us to *not *distance ourselves from our separated colleagues.)

These were trying circumstances. I write only to offer my individual opinion that the firm handled its very difficult decisions with as much candor, compassion, and respect as possible given the circumstances.

Again, to those affected: your colleagues at MoFo respect you and we wish you good luck.

-108

Were MoFo to do as 135 suggests (i.e. simply pay its partners and associates less money and keep all of its staff and attorneys), partners and associates will leave, and it will end up like Heller, or one of the other many other big firms that will have to dissolve before this crisis is over. MoFo competes in a challenging business environment, and it made a difficult yet absolutely necessary business decision to keep the firm healthy and strong for the thousands of employees and hundreds of attorneys that remain. It has to act "just like any other big law firm" in these types of decisions, otherwise it will fail. At least the firm did what it did with honesty and transparency, and at least it gave those affected generous severance packages. I am proud to be an associate at MoFo, and I believe most of the staff are too.

This is not meant to make light of the difficult situation that those who lost their jobs may face. Good luck to you all.

The ramifications for a workplace can be pernicious and long-lasting. Research shows that reduced commitment and diminished productivity — even when people are expending more effort — can linger for the better part of a year after a layoff takes place. Especially in situations where layoffs aren't handled gracefully — like those in which employees are brusquely escorted to the door — workers can wind up distracted and rigid in how they approach their job. "At the very time companies need innovation and creativity to have new products and bring in new revenue, people tend to become self-absorbed," says Wayne Cascio, a professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver. "They tend to say, I don't want to stick my neck out too far, because I don't want to get the ax."

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1874592,00.html?xid=rss-topstories-cnnpartner