still first to say first! woo whoooo

I would like a round-up list of firms who have reporting conducted "stealth" under the radar lay-offs

I think you should do a list of all the firms who laid off first years. I think law students should know what they're getting into, so if they can take the necessary steps to avert disaster (i.e., not go there). I think it's important that you list it, because at least my firm is recruiting as usual, even as they are laying people off left and right.

SkaddenDC froze the salaries of their staff attorneys and then laid off half of them. But ATL will never report this because Elie eats all the SkaddenDC cookies.

Isn't the morning docket sponsored by SkaddenDC cookies?

Small firms and boutiques are always a good option.

Lawshucks need to seperate staff from attorneys, and calculate % of total staff and % of total attorneys laid off for each firm.
100 layoffs at Cadwalader =! 100 layoffs at a small regional firm.

So which firms are laying off first years?

Suh-weet, it looks like Stuff Big Law Associates Like hasn't been laid off! A new post:
http://stuffbiglawassociateslike.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/biglaw-associates-like-the-word-attorney/

How about some kind of tracker of how much severance firms are giving to these people that are laid off?

Add Orrick to the list of firms carrying out stealth layoffs, in addition to its mass lay-off last year. First years have not been immune, and the lay-offs have included associates in the litigation group. ATL should be reporting on this - why did Orrick delay its bonus payment to associates by two weeks?

Could we have one that only focuses on the attorneys getting laid off? Lawshucks seems to include staff.

Staff don't count, as they aren't people.

LAYOFFS? Don't talk about -- LAY...

aw, screw it. Its about time this schtick got retired, isn't it?

14 - i still laugh every time. much better than some of the crap that gets posted on this site nowadays.

How many lost at Dickinson Wright?

How many lost at Milbank?

As a GULC night student, should I be worried?

Yes # 18, I hear McDs is hiring.

does anyone think they will cut summer associate salaries?

#17 no one (associates) knows. HR has been doing a good job of keeping it quiet.

Elie, a post solicting reader tips about layoffs conducted publicly or privately and affecting 1st-years would be much appreciated.

So all of these trackers rely on ATL somehow or other. Well ATL certainly missed the boat on my biglaw firm.

14--seems tired to me. I hope Billy Mays makes a triumphant appearance soon.

Billy Mays here, first to comment on this ridiculously stupid story.

24 here--I wished for it and it came true.

BILLY MAYS HERE! telling you that your wish is my command for a small fee of $14.99 + SH

24 here again--believe it or not I am NOT Billy Mays, but he appeared almost instantaneously. Miraculous.

No layoffs at Schulte Roth and Zabel? THANK GOD.

No layoffs at Schulte Roth and Zabel? THANK GOD.

those sites don't even report about the stealth layoffs at Latham, and nobody seems to be talking about the layoffs done at Simpson Thacher, Paul Hastings, etc. *sigh*

21 -- How could HR keep layoffs quiet at a big firm like Milbank? It's simple -- have you heard of or seen people getting laid off or not?

32 - of course it is possible to have lay offs kept quiet - that is common practice at big firms (Latham, Simpson, etc.): they just say those are "performance based" etc. Some firms go a step further and pressure associates that it is "in their best interest" to keep this quiet if they want the firm to say that the associate was in good standing (as you know, many firms contact the former firm to check if the associate is in good standing before hiring anyone). Some firms also make the departing associate sign confidentiality agreements...

33 -- I said nothing about whether the layoffs were performance based or not. Bottom line is that, if people are leaving the firm, associates would know about it.

32 - yes there have been layoffs at Milbank but nobody knows how many people were asked to leave. Why nobody know the number you ask? Because people are not going to scream on every rooftop that they have been fired due to "performance well below" their colleagues, people have a minimum of pride and tend to keep this sort of thing to themselves. If you were fired, I doubt you would send a firm-wide memo to everyone to let them know of your situation, you would prefer to keep it to yourself.

35 -- any first year casualties? Thanks for the info!

Please...Please...Please....Give us a list of firms that laid off 1st and 2nd year associates. Both those years haven't really been given a chance to prove much of anything, while having big loans and expenses to cover.
Please give us a heads-up so that those of who have offers can make prudent decisions. I'm married, about to be a father, and can't afford to to go with an Edward Scissorshands firm.

1st years are somewhat "protected" - since they just started work a few months ago, firms find it hard to push them out as they can't use the "performance-related" excuse since these persons just started and have not been reviewed yet.

However firms have no issues to push out freshly minted 2nd year associates (who became 2nd years last month, in January) by making some lame performance excuses ("you did not bill enough hours the past year", "your performance just does not meet our high standards", etc.).

You must be a REAL loser if you would rather go back to law school than high school. High school was more fun and less work. You also had your entire future ahead of you. In law school, you are pretty much locked in to a boring and possibly dead-end career.

Plus, you read so much as a lawyer that your face actually starts to sag.

I've always wondered why people value excessive money over health, and then I slap myself in the head for actually doing it myself. I woke up after a couple of years and realized that I had lost my true identity. Now I'm looking to get out.

Does anyone else here think that law sucks the life out of you?

How about the partners? Was it worth it? How is life just as a partner, regardless of the work it took to get to that level? You still have high billable hour requirements, so it can't be that great. But let me know.

You must be a REAL loser if you would rather go back to law school than high school. High school was more fun and less work. You also had your entire future ahead of you. In law school, you are pretty much locked in to a boring and possibly dead-end career.

Plus, you read so much as a lawyer that your face actually starts to sag.

I've always wondered why people value excessive money over health, and then I slap myself in the head for actually doing it myself. I woke up after a couple of years and realized that I had lost my true identity. Now I'm looking to get out.

Does anyone else here think that law sucks the life out of you?

How about the partners? Was it worth it? How is life just as a partner, regardless of the work it took to get to that level? You still have high billable hour requirements, so it can't be that great. But let me know.

37- Goodwin has laid off second years...expect more layoffs to come