March 2009
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Layoffs, Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Locke Lord Layoffs
It wasn’t that long ago that Locke Lord was provided a lifeboat for a select few partners, associates, and staff from dissolving Morgan & Finnegan. But it appears that was a most temporary landing for the ex-Morgan & Finnegan employees. We’ve been fielding layoff reports from Locke Lord’s offices in Chicago, New York and most […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.31.09
* Sexually harassed by Playboy editors? Perhaps. Surprised? Certainly not. [Legal Blog Watch] * We posted earlier today about Orrick’s West Virginia office. Now, there’s video. [The Shark] * Actually, this isn’t how it works. People tip off Above the Law long before the partner shows up in anybody’s office…. Okay, sometimes it works exactly […] - Sponsored
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Zach Warren from the Thomson Reuters Institute discusses the potential and the pitfalls. -
Allen Matkins, Layoffs, Salary Cuts, Salary Freeze
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Allen Matkins Continues the Layoff & Salary Cuts 'Super Combo'
Allen Matkins, a mid-sized California firm, is the latest firm to offer the “hemlock package” of layoffs and salary cuts. The layoffs at Allen Matkins were relatively small. Only about ten people, six of whom were associates, according to ATL tipsters. But the salary cuts were more substantial. According to one tipster: First year salary […]
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Arent Fox, Deferral Stipend, Start Dates, Summer Associates
Arent Fox Start Date Follow Up
There’s been a little confusion concerning precisely what Arent Fox is doing with its incoming associates. We told you earlier that the firm had pushed back start dates (some to November, others to February), but new information has come to light. According to a spokesperson for Arent Fox. five 3Ls will be starting with the […] -
Layoffs, Robinson & Cole
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Robinson & Cole Names New Managing Partner (And Conducts Layoffs)
Let’s start with the good news. Robinson & Cole, a well known Connecticut-based firm, has named a new managing partner. John B. Lynch (Holy Cross undergrad, UVA law school) was elected managing partner of the firm yesterday. Congratulations. Sadly, it appears that one of his first acts was to layoff associates and staff. Thirty people […] -
Layoffs, Notes from the Breadline, Romance and Dating
Notes from the Breadline: It Ain't No Use to Sit and Wonder Why, Babe
Ed. note: Welcome to the latest installment of “Notes from the Breadline,” a column by a laid-off lawyer in New York. Prior columns are collected here. You can reach Roxana St. Thomas by email (at roxanastthomas@gmail.com), follow her on Twitter, or find her on Facebook. Cliff does not understand why attorney layoffs — mine or […] -
Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Reed Smith Cuts Associates & Staff
Reed Smith already laid off 115 people in early December. Here at the end of the first quarter, the firm has decided it needs to reduce headcount even further. Above the Law has been able to confirm that Reed Smith is letting go 26 attorneys and 74 staff across its U.S. and U.K. offices. A […] -
Arent Fox, Deferral Stipend, Start Dates
Open Thread: Nationwide Start Date Round-up
If you’re a 3L or a clerk with a Biglaw job offer, congratulations. If you were hoping for a traditional start date in the fall, you may be a little disappointed though. Many a firm has pushed its start date for incoming associates into 2010. Yesterday, Milbank Tweed informed associates that it’s pushing back start […] - Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get… -
Job Searches
Sign of the Times: Orrick Offers Jobs in Wheeling, WV to GULC Students
There’s an interesting job opening Orrick is extending to a number of recent graduates. We got this information from Georgetown University Law Center, but we understand that Orrick has posted this job at a couple of top schools: Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (Wheeling, WV) – Orrick currently has an excellent opportunity for recent law […] -
Associate Advice
'Middle Manager' Complains of Firing 2 out of every 3 Associates
I wanted to circle back to a column that appeared in yesterday’s Washington Post and ABA Journal. A small firm “middle manager” wrote into the WaPo complaining that he kept hiring terrible associates: I’m in middle management at a small law firm. Of every three associates we hire, we inevitably part with two within a […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 03.31.09
* The American Lawyer gives you its list of the top 25 dealmakers of 2008. H. Rodgin Cohen of Sullivan & Cromwell came out on top thanks to his work on bank bailouts. [The American Lawyer] * Judge James Munley ruled that teens taking naked cell phone photos of themselves does not constitute “child pornography.” […]
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Skadden Puts Corporate First-Years on a Six-Month Litigation Rotation
Is Skadden hurting more than people think? First, we learned that the firm was extending its Sidebar program in an effort to get associates to take a year off. On Friday, we reported that Skadden laid off over 50 staffers and greatly reduced its staff attorney program. Above the Law just received a memo indicating […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.30.09
* What should you wear while pounding the pavement looking for a job? I suggest the Will Smith “Pursuit of Happyness” look, but there are other ideas. [Corporette] * Because the real world doesn’t have its very own Kyle Broflovski, maybe we should all sign this petition? Whether or not its good policy, a student […]
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Generative AI In Legal Work — What’s Fact And What’s Fiction?
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Layoffs, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Manatt Keeps the Bad Times Rolling
As we follow the sun through its appointed circuit, we’ve learned that additional layoffs have occurred today out west. Manatt, Phelps has laid off 25 people today: 17 lawyers and 8 staff. Here’s the statement the firm provided to Above the Law: The broad economic slowdown continues to present challenges to businesses in every industry. […] -
Layoffs, Start Dates, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Stroock Undergoes Layoffs for 10% of Associates and Staff
More bad news on the last day penultimate day of March. We’re now able to report that the firm so nice they named it twice, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, is laying off ten percent of its associates and staff. Here’s the statement from a Stroock spokesperson: For some time, we have watched, with concern, […] -
Judge of the Day, State Judges, State Judges Are Clowns
Judge of the Day: Lawrence "Lothario" DeBello
The story of New Jersey Superior Court Judge Lawrence DeBello has the makings for a great romantic tale — the forbidden love between a judge and his law clerk. From the New Jersey Law Journal: A Mercer County, N.J., judge has admitted breaching judicial ethics and policies by sending romantic e-mails to his former law […] -
Letter from London, Magic Circle
Letter from London: Where Magic Happens
Ed. note: The legal world is much bigger than New York, or Washington, or even the United States. Welcome to Letter from London, a weekly dispatch from the other side of the pond. Our U.K. correspondent, Isaac Smith, will expose ATL readers to the latest goings-on in the London legal world. You can reach Isaac […] -
Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Fried Frank Public(!) Layoffs
Late last week, we told you that bad things were coming down the pipe at Fried Frank. This morning, the firm announced that 99 people will be let go: Effective today, we are implementing changes that will result in an overall reduction of 41 associates and 58 administrative staff from our U.S. workforce. This decision […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 03.30.09
* Dahlia Lithwick likens the high drama at the High Court over who-will-retire-first to an Oscar Wilde play. [Slate] * Holland & Knight was one of the firms that took part in the pre-Valentine’s Day massacre, but one practice group was actually hiring. It’s a good time to be a lawyer-lobbyist. [Washington Post] * Dewey […]
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Law Shucks, Layoffs
This Week in Layoffs: 03.28.09
[Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks. Law Shucks has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.] Things are either quieting down or it’s just the calm before the storm. We suspect the latter. Although there were more people laid off […]