Nationwide Start Date Watch: Dewey Pushes Back to 2010, Debevoise Stages an Amazing Race
Incoming first years all over the country continue to find out that they won’t be able to start when they had hoped.
Dewey & LeBoeuf officially pushed back start dates for its new associates until January, 2010. The email went out last night:
After careful consideration, the firm’s Executive Committee has decided to delay the start of the first year associate class from fall 2009 to January 11, 2010. Our hope is that by postponing the start date for your class, workflows will have increased across our practices and we will be able to give you challenging assignments from day one.
Dewey emphasizes that just because you can’t start working at Dewey this fall, it doesn’t mean that you can’t start working as soon as you want:
For those of you who would like to start your career in the fall, you may wish to apply for a Community Service Fellowship. You recently received details on the firm’s fellowship program from [Redacted]. Those selected for a fellowship will be able to start with the firm, on secondment to a public service organization, as early as September 2009.
Above the Law has also received the details of the Dewey’s fellowship program. For those accepted into the program, the firm will pay up to $80,000 for associates to not work at Dewey for a whole year. But while the firm says that associates taking a fellowship are still “start[ing] with the firm,” it is not at all clear that associates will advance a class year upon completing the fellowship.
Those taking a fellowship will receive an extra $5,000 from Dewey to tide them over until January.
After the jump, take a look at what Debevoise is doing.
Debevoise & Plimpton isn’t saying they are pushing back start dates. Instead the firm is saying they are offering an extra start date for incoming first years: November 16, 2009:
We’re looking forward to your arrival and are planning orientation and training schedules for next fall. Perhaps not surprisingly in the current economic environment, a large number of you have unexpectedly, in your initial returns, signed up for the first of the three start dates we proposed. Also unsurprisingly, we expect that the economic environment will affect work levels in some practice areas this fall. In order to increase the prospects that all incoming associates will be integrated into the firm’s practice with a sufficient flow of work assignments, we have decided to distribute more evenly the number of associates arriving at the New York office on each of our previously announced fall start dates: September 21, October 12 and October 26, and we are adding a fourth date on November 16, scheduling roughly equal groups for each date. As to dates that are over-subscribed, we will assign arrival dates based on when we receive (or have received) your response requesting a particular arrival date, including requests we already have in hand.
First come, first serve baby. Gentleman, start your emails. A tipster reports these feelings from incoming first years:
It is understandable that Deb might want to spread people out, but the new November 16 start date seems quite a push back for people who wanted to start September 21. That’s almost 2 months! If they hint at the fact that they anticipated this problem, why did they not discuss this up front? I like how the emails says that “perhaps not surprisingly” a large number have “unexpectedly” opted for the first start date.
Hey, it’s a renter’s market in NYC. You might as well try taking your offer letter and your offer push back letter to your future landlord. Maybe they’ll let you off the hook until you actually start drawing a paycheck?
Below, the full emails from Dewey and from Debevoise.
DEWEY & LEBOEUF — MEMO — START DATES
After careful consideration, the firm’s Executive Committee has decided to delay the start of the first year associate class from fall 2009 to January 11, 2010. Our hope is that by postponing the start date for your class, workflows will have increased across our practices and we will be able to give you challenging assignments from day one. Of course, the firm will still pay for the costs associated with preparing for and taking the bar, and will reimburse for moving expenses, in line with our usual policies.
For those of you who would like to start your career in the fall, you may wish to apply for a Community Service Fellowship. You recently received details on the firm’s fellowship program from [Redacted]. Those selected for a fellowship will be able to start with the firm, on secondment to a public service organization, as early as September 2009. Attached are updated details on the Community Service Fellowship. For questions regarding the Community Service Fellowship, please contact [Redacted].
The firm will pay all those in the incoming class whose start date is deferred a second salary advance of up to $5,000, which may be requested beginning September 1, 2009. A further salary advance letter is attached.
If you have questions regarding a salary advance, please contact [Redacted]. If you have any general questions, please contact [Redacted].
DEBEVOISE & PLIMPTON — MEMO — START DATES
We’re looking forward to your arrival and are planning orientation and training schedules for next fall. Perhaps not surprisingly in the current economic environment, a large number of you have unexpectedly, in your initial returns, signed up for the first of the three start dates we proposed. Also unsurprisingly, we expect that the economic environment will affect work levels in some practice areas this fall. In order to increase the prospects that all incoming associates will be integrated into the firm’s practice with a sufficient flow of work assignments, we have decided to distribute more evenly the number of associates arriving at the New York office on each of our previously announced fall start dates: September 21, October 12 and October 26, and we are adding a fourth date on November 16, scheduling roughly equal groups for each date. As to dates that are over-subscribed, we will assign arrival dates based on when we receive (or have received) your response requesting a particular arrival date, including requests we already have in hand.
A member of the Professional Development Group will be calling each of you in the next week, in order to speak with you directly about this decision, but we felt that it would be best for all associates arriving in fall 2009 to receive the news simultaneously and therefore sent this email. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact [Redacted] or [Redacted].
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of start dates
(108) Comments
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This is not a good sign for Debevoise considering how small their incoming class is.
Glad. I hate biglaw lawyers.
The ship be sinking...
Which firms are still starting (relatively) on time?
ELLIE, "GENTLEMEN" IS THE PLURAL OF "GENTLEMAN."
I think Elie/Lat should be focusing somewhat on the SIZE of these incoming classes....
White and Case royally fucked over hundreds and hundreds of associates....and should be taken to task for such shoddy firm management.
But Debevoise had a fairly small class. Sidley also- much much smaller numbers in most of their offices. Seems like those firms' decision to delay is either a) indicative of a seriously shitty economic situation over there or, more likely, b) the firm is taking advantage of being able to save some money without looking all that awful in the process.
Those bastards at Dewey fire first years and did not even offer them some public interest program. Even after DiCarmine said they would not fire first years.
All fellows who work in a law related public interest fellowship will rejoin their class upon return to the firm (as 2nd year associates). Those who pursue not law related public interest work (i.e. building houses in Costa Rica etc) will return as first year associates.
Note that the $5K from Dewey is not "extra" money in the form of a stipend, but a further advance on the first years' 2010 salaries.
Could someone send in an e-mail about Ballard Spahr's delayed start date, please?
As the official spokesman for the White Shoe Silk Stocking Law Firms, of which Dewey and Debevoise are charter members, I am authorized to give the following statement:
"OMG. We never thought this would happen to us."
8, if that's true that's actually surprisingly fair. I'm not sure any other firm has a deferral option where the person can come back as a 2nd year.
However I do wonder how long someone would last as a 2nd year coming in with no real existing connections to partners in the firm. Work might be tough to come by...
Dewey's public interest fellowship started this past year. The people that do it come back as second years.
8 - are you serious? gettting paid $50K to build houses in costa rica would probably be the best time of your life. you would be a relative billionaire, in a capive market, AND for once you will have a cool "foreign accent".
4 - based on this, it seems to me that Debevoise is still starting relatively on time. Typcially the firm offers start dates from mid-Sept to late October, with most associates choosing to start in October. This year they're offering the usual start dates, plus an additional one in mid-November. Not exactly a "sky is falling" kind of scenario.
How can I measure the level of my prestige?
Joke of the day: "We're looking forward to your arrival"
I am in the HR department at a major law firm and I would like to warn associates (especially the new ones) that firms are getting weary of folks releasing confidential INTERNAL memos to places like ATL. I know my firm is making each employment related memo/email to associates a little different by changing sentence order or changing a word or two in the correspondence. After seeing the copy of that correspondence posted on ATL, we will know exactly which associate received that version of the email or memo and deal with that associate accordingly.
From personal experience I can tell you that firms are LOOKING for good (or not so good) reasons to can associates in this economy. While this is very inefficient, firms are more than willing to pay for the additional time to draft these different versions of emails or memos by the HR department than to pay an associate his/her salary.
"This is not a good sign for Debevoise considering how small their incoming class is."
How small is it?
Word of the day:
"Secondment."
BUSTED
Anyone hear anything about Gibson Dunn start dates?
Yes, 18, I bet HR creates 700 different e-mail form letters, catalogs them, BCCs the recipient, then scours ATL to determine which version was submitted.
Sounds to me like firms would be better off right-sizing the huge glut of HR departments.
I know in my old firm we could have cut the number of HR folks by 50% and no one would have noticed, bunch of leeches that don't bring any value whatsoever.
What's on secondment, who's on firstment.
18 - All ATL has to do is only publish the memo's contents and not the exact copy. Problem solved from the associates end. Also, get a life.
18 - you are full of poop. Are you also changing firm-wide emails so that each of us receive a slightly different version? Not very scary and you can't stop us.
18, that wasn't from your HR job, that was from a Tom Clancy novel you read before going to sleep last night.
18-ooh, you've got us quaking in our boots, gestapo. Not too difficult to test your threat; go to your neighbor's office and compare the memos you both got. If they are the same, then gestapo's ploy is a farce.
I just make my own random changes to all emails I submit to ATL.
That way they'll never know who I am!
I call BS on #18. I seriously doubt you are who you say you are. Go find yourself a life.
4 - all the Texas firms.
It is easy to create 100 different versions of an email sent out to upcoming first-year associates. On several occasions, ATL and some other law blogs have copied and pasted verbatum the emails or memos law firms have been sending out to its associates (occasionally even posting an image of the hardcopy).
I have spoken to the heads of HR at different law firms at an industry conference, and other firms are looking at this and other ways to combat the release of this kind of information.
So let me get this straight: Dewey has had to fire 20% of partners, lay off about 100 staff, and has had to postpone the first-year start dates...Yet the firm somehow miraculously hasn't had to lay off associates. Cat is out of the bag. Stop doing cowardly stealth layoffs of associates already. Stop disrespecting your associates and admit that you've LAID OFF over 100 associates this year.
18 = Dewey/Debevoise partner sick of ATL breaking internal firm news.
By the way 18, firms that need to fire people can and do come up with all sorts of performance related reasons to terminate without having to trouble themselves with making a thousand versions of some firm memo.
So let me get this straight: Dewey has had to fire 20% of partners, lay off about 100 staff, and has had to postpone the first-year start dates...Yet the firm somehow miraculously hasn't had to lay off associates. Cat is out of the bag. Stop doing cowardly stealth layoffs of associates already. Stop disrespecting your associates and admit that you've LAID OFF over 100 associates this year.
26: To be fair, if 18 is in a law firm's HR department then she is just doing her job, and so is not necessarily one of those people who post comments on ATL because they don't have lives.
Note to associates scared of 18: Just paraphrase the confidential memo when you report it to ATL. An exact copy is nice, but not required when leaking sensitive firm information. What is important is that the information gets out.
Making up words, such as "secondment" shows creativity and originality.
That's what corporate America wants: people who seem like bold risk takers, but never actually do anything.
As for me, I exist where the possible and the impossible meet - at the possimpible.
So Dewey has had to fire 20% of partners, lay off about 100 staff, and has had to postpone the first-year start dates...Yet the firm somehow miraculously hasn't had to lay off associates. Admit that you've LAID OFF over 100 associates this year.
I am in the HR department at a major law firm and I would like to warn associates (especially the new ones) that I am moderately overweight, decisively unattractive and have a killer case of cottage cheese ass. My breath wreaks, I have horrible acne scars, and I gossip about attorneys to other staff. I'm also a huge drain on firm profits because I inefficiently go about my duties while generating zero revenue. I would advise you to stay far away from me upon your arrival at the firm and advocate for my dismissal to partners.
Wow - I bet the morale at Dewey is at all time high -cutting HUNDREDS of associates (incl 1st years!), singificantly underpaying partners ($10K/month!), delaying the start date and now making backstubbing conniving comments (#18! - HR knows their bloodthirsty venims are next as their will be no more associates to can!)
Guys in my high school used to be unable to figure out what the hell a "bloodthirsty venim" was all the time. It wasn't a big deal, but it was amusing, in a pathetic sort of way.
Milbank email deferring start dates going out this afternoon. You heard it here first.
What a bloodbath at Dewey - do they really think the current associates will stay on once the economy turns around - wak up yo! You hundreds "disappear" especially those right before bonuses are due!
Dewey is a joke and associates frequently arrive at our office to wipe our asses with their handkerchiefs.
SkaddenNY
To The Author of Comment Number 18 to the "Above the Law" Entry of March 24, 2008 entitled, "Dewey Pushes Back to 2010":
While the Management Committee takes very seriously the confidential nature of all communications considered to be (and labeled as) confidential, Management has not authorized employees of any human resources or benefits division of the Firm to make the statements contained in Comment Number 18. The Firm and all of its employees highly value our relationships with incoming associates; actions to create a divisive atmosphere will not be tolerated. If necessary, action will be taken to review outgoing e-correspondence sent by human resources or other departments using Firm resources.
Anyone hear anything about Gibson Dunn start dates?
Frankly, as an incoming associate deciding whether or not to defer, I would prefer the whole class got pushed back a few months than play Russian roulette with my career.
I'm making so much money that it would embarrass some of you laid off pieces of shit and worthless 3Ls.
DOLLAR DOLLAR BILL YA'LL
secondment - noun, the detachment of a person from their regular organization for temporary assignment elsewhere
look it up.
Ah Debevoise. A firm whose HR prides themselves in having no policies, best practices or procedures because they want to be able to change their mind on the fly. A place where bullshit politics is considered sport. I look forward to finding out how Debevoise will deal with next year's crop. 115 SA's incoming 2009. What will they do with all those bodies?
douchebag who looks up obscure word for legitimacy - you
look it up
18 = David Lat, just trying to pump up the hits
51=bowtie wearer
Why would a firm let someone waste a year at a public interest shop and then come in as a second year? What experience does someone pick up at a public interest organization, beyond experience in being a self-deluding ****wad who chases rainbows and shooting stars?
Worrying about the size of your bonus lastDecember feels pretty stupid, doesn't it.
18, won't your firm try to fire you for ruining their scheme by revealing it here? Or is the whole point to intimidate people into thinking this is actually happening?
i don't get it - what's so confidential about the email re start dates? everyone (including the partners!) must be afraid of their own shadows at dewey! and the "pefromance" ax keeps swinging :) what a miserable environment!
I would like to read one smart alec an/or whiner on this board say something to the effect as follows:
"I am using this opportunity to think outside the box. I will not look to mother law as my only source of income. I will create my own career path and do what most of the other lawyers do in this world--hustle for myself."
The big law firms have for too long, kissed the prima donna asses of the so called law school elite, in order to compete with the investment banks. Now, there is a more level playing field and the LSAT victors don't have leverage any more.
Now, we'll see who can make it in this cruel world and who will fall by the way side without a big fat udder to suck from.
Let the games begin, you whiners and schadenfreudists!!
Is it a good/bad thing if my firm hasn't announced start dates yet? Anyone have thoughts on the rest of firms that are yet to announce?
-scared incoming 3L
60 - I like you. When the world is mine, your death will be quick and painless.
"The big law firms have for too long, kissed the prima donna asses of the so called law school elite, in order to compete with the investment banks. Now, there is a more level playing field and the LSAT victors don't have leverage any more.
Now, we'll see who can make it in this cruel world and who will fall by the way side without a big fat udder to suck from.
Let the games begin, you whiners and schadenfreudists!!"
Thank you for this. I needed entertainment.
60, if you couldn't even do well on a 2-hour standardized test for which you had months to prepare, I'm not too optimistic about your chances of future success.
Of course, there are exceptions that people can always bring up, of TTT graduates who end up doing well. Some people also win the lottery.
60- excellent idea. I'm looking forward to landing that billion dollar merger all by myself.
Law firms don't want internal correspendence released to the public regardless of the content. How do you think a client is going to respond to a firm who can't even keep its internal matters confidential let alone a client's matters confidential. One of the partners at my firm was furious when she being mocked (jokingly) by a client who essentially said: "If you can't keep your associates from gossiping and releasing memos about their bonuses and layoffs, how can we be sure that you will keep our matters confidential."
Most clients realize the difference between an associate publishing his/her salary memo and an associate talking about a client's trade secret, but regardless, it reflects poorly on the firm and its ability to maintain confidential information.
17-yes, worrying about bonus size feels stupid now. But, once again, we're all missing the boat. Which in fact is not sinking - it already be sunk.
Firms don't want any new associates starting in the fall, winter or even next Spring. With some exceptions, existing lawyers - associates AND PARTNERS (especially partners) have nothing to do. No new business =sucks. No billables=fatal.
Like it or not, none of us are still on our Biglaw Ships. We're all on those little wooden lifeboats, basically one for each practice area of our Biglaws. The size and durability of our lifeboats depends on how sucky our practice area is doing and whether our little boats can find a new home with the few ships that not be sinking. Success means more of us get jettisoned. But at the same time we'll be getting stragglers from lifeboats at other Biglaw ships. The skeletal remains of the Biglaws will be a combo of all our little lifeboats.
You know where you are?
You're in the jungle baby.
You're gonna die!
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
sha na na na na na na na
knees, knees
My bongo drums ran away this morning with a wayward sailor who was a disciple of abstract theoretical dildology
62 and 64, what makes you think 60 even practices law in a law firm? Maybe he is the general counsel at a company that refuses to allow over paid associates to work on matters because the price/work quality ratio is so high and thinks it might be because said associates spends too much time on ATL.
62 and 64, what makes you think 60 even practices law in a law firm? Maybe he is the general counsel at a company that refuses to allow over paid associates to work on matters because the price/work quality ratio is so high and thinks it might be because said associates spend too much time on ATL.
18 may be (partially) correct: as one who received a deferment letter, one of the paragraphs posted on ATL differs one of the paragraphs in my letter. Only slightly. But still.
Elie,
Almost all incoming Debevoise associates have already submitted their start date preferences. There is no amazing race. It looks like the firm will determine start dates by looking at when people submitted their preferences and how busy the relevant practice groups are.
"How do you think a client is going to respond to a firm who can't even keep its internal matters confidential let alone a client's matters confidential. "
If I was a client, I'd be more concerned about whether I was receiving the best possible representation and whether internal issues are frustrating that goal. If I hire a contractor to repair my roof, I wouldn't like the fact that the workers doing the project are being $%&#ed over by the people I'm sending the bill.
The "firm" is the partnership, if partners are worried about how they look, they should take steps to address that, stifling information is nothing more than a cover up.
Need I even say what 63 = ?
I think not.
Am I an idiot?
I would be surprised if any incoming Debevoise associates who requested the September 21 start date get bumped to November 16. It's more likely that some of those who requested the September start date will be bumped to one of the October dates, and some of those who requested October dates will be bumped to the November date. That doesn't seem like such a big deal to me. It seems pretty fair and reasonable under the circumstances.
The incoming Deb associate tipster should just be thankful he/she will get to start in the fall rather than sometime in 2010!
18 & 66- If you didn't treat the associates like well dressed peons they wouldn't do it. From their viewpoint they are getting screwed.
75- I don't know you, but ... yes.
Down to $135,000
There is no mention of the best news of all, the fact that Dewey associates starting in 2010 will see a salary reduction to $135,000.
Elie you should include this info!
ATL has really dropped the ball and let DL get away with a lot. DL has gone through a large wave of stealth layoffs that have gone unnoticed here. Good they actually posted this one.
DL lays off first year associates!!! Elie, we need a list of firms that have laid off first year associates.
79-really? I heard that they were raising salaries to $180,000. See how easy it is to make up a rumor?
80-agree. Also swept under rug: partners not getting paid. Only report on (1) deadbeat partners and (2) Dewey legacies partners with contracts. What about 3rd category, non-deadbeat partners w/out contracts. Number 2 will get paid now b/c of cuts but not 3. Mayhem. Probably defections.
60-your like the fat ugly girl who takes satisfaction when a beautiful girl breaks out in acne. Nonetheless, the acne will eventually clear and the beautiful girl will have a line of suitors begging for her attention, and you, the fat ugly girl, will have to use your imagination to get a date. Save up my little chubster, batteries are expensive.
60 works in DL IP?
Is it a good/bad thing if my firm hasn't announced start dates yet? Anyone have thoughts on the rest of firms that are yet to announce?
-scared incoming 3L
81---Latham and Proskauer apparently lead the pack, but there are numerous others. Are you simply curious, or attempting to track this information for law school placement purposes?
84, if you think that after a lay off from document productions, rogs, briefcase toting on wheels to oral arguments for your senior partner and after hour cry fests at Houstons, any firm worth its while is going to want to hire your sorry ass, then keep dreaming and bring the tissues to bed while you have that climactic experience. Why not hang out a shingle and practice real law for real clients with real problems and see what it's like to actually be in the arena, with dirt and mud and blood on your face and a cause worth fighting for, instead of pushing paper between two wealthy clients who couldn't give a shit about you?
So my question for Dewey people is, what should we do? Should I apply for a fellowship or not? Because of the late start date we have a choice of getting $80,000 to work for a public interest organization, or $120,000 for the same time period, plus bonus (hahahahaha) which I think if I am reading the materials right you are still eligible for even if you do the fellowship. But then, no one's going to fire you from your fellowship, whereas if Dewey has already been firing first years... who is to say that $120,000 will ever happen? Maybe Dewey will fire a lot of people in the incoming class. On the other hand, the previous comment about being a second year with no relationship with the firm/partners, etc. is a concern. And then, even if you get fired, as long as it is for economic decisions, are you still better off to have worked for biglaw for a few months rather than a public interest org for a year in terms of getting a new job? Any thoughts people?
Howrey sent a letter to its incoming first years today about start dates. Apparently the first years will be able to pick when they want to start, but the decision as to when each associate will ACTUALLY start will ultimately be based on staffing needs in the relevant practice group. So, in the end, the decision is not entirely under the first year's control.
89 - for your own mental and emotional health, you are much better off staying away from DL right now - are you really eager to join its current morale?!
DL associate here -- yeah, morale is shot in the firm. We're pretty much fucked.
89-i get that you need to make a short term decision but.....don't you get that this firm is crumbling?
92-do associates know rain making partners may bolt? does mgt not have the money to pay them so they stay? what's the deal?
stealth layoffs at willkie. where's atl?
DL has been engaging in stealth layoffs for more than a year and has no concept of how to create goodwill among its alumni network. The current state of the economy will provide cover for a lot of things. But they have no clue in good times how to help their attorneys find jobs with clients so why should you expect honesty in bad times.
The shame of it all is that LeBoeuf was an excellent firm that was expanding (rather successfully) on its own. There was no need whatsoever to merge. Typical mismanagement and poor decision-making that has caused the collapse of other Biglaw firms...I take it there's no chance of a mulligan? Dewey was a sinking ship and I cannot figure out why LeBoeuf made this decision.
18/33/HR people everywhere - Maybe you'd be taken more seriously if you knew how to spell verbatim.
97 -- LeBoeuf decided to merge with Dewey (in part) because LLGM's partnership regarded Dewey as having a relatively weak litigation department and a relatively strong financial services practice. The goal was to sell LLGM's litigation department to Dewey's banking clients as the perception (by LLGM partners) was that Dewey was unable to do so successfully b/c of the weakness of their litigation department. Think synergy.
99 Synergy is good, sometimes. Looking back at the merger, and all that has occurred, do Legacy LeBoeuf partners still feel they made a good choice?
99 Synergy is good, sometimes. Looking back at the merger, and all that has occurred, do Legacy LeBoeuf partners still feel they made a good choice?
101-Why would the Legacy LeBoeuf partners "feel like they made a good choice" even though they still haven't gotten paid this year yet, unlike the Dewey legacies with contracts.
one night, during a negotiation with some DL attorneys, I went to the bathroom and took a huge shit. I mean, this thing was massive. it was almost in one piece as it circled around the toilet bowl. plus, the stench was unbelievable. I decided not to flush it so the next person in could admire my work. i washed my hands and dried them using those stupid rice paper towels DL puts in their bathrooms and went back to the negotiation. it was fantastic and I will always be grateful to DL for that great shit.
in other news, start dates have been pushed back.
100/101 -- While the partners don't speak very highly of the Dewey folks (when they speak of them), I've never heard any partner openly saying they regret the merger. In my experience at LLGM/DL, if any given partner doesn't like the situation they will try to move their practice to another firm as opposed to openly wishing the firm had never merged.
-- 99
99- /104 Thanks for your candid response. No one has written much about the merger, and how it has changed the firm. Which I know it has. I am an outsider but I am hearing the stories from a friend.
96 is right - DL has been canning hundreds of associates (and the minorities were disproportionately affected) and created zero good with such a huge alumni class. e.g. I understand all recent layoffs have been targeting those who would have gotten the bonus on March 31 but now they won't (even first years to whom bonuses were guaranteed!). This ain't no good will. Better economic times will come but the DL ship will be still circling in the mine fields they themselves so bluntantly planted ... until ... ship be sinking ...
92 here. We've been hearing more large lay-offs to come, but like every place where stealth lay-offs are going on, rumors abound everywhere. Some offices like DC, from what I hear from colleagues, feel the lay-off threat maybe even more acutely than we in NYC do. But make no mistake -- we all know we're living on borrowed time. We've started sizing-up our personal stuff so we can pack it in a hurry if need be. We pay attention to how partners look at us or deal with us. For the past several weeks, they couldn't even look at us in the eye. It was disturbing and disheartening indeed.
The review process is supposed to "end" on March 31, but most of us suspect the lay-offs will keep rolling for a few more months. ATL doesn't pick up the slow shedding at DL quickly, so, the firm is quite confident it can pull this thing off and bury its stealth lay-offs amid the mountain of other news that flow in ATL.
It sucks.
89- save your soul, take the fellowship, bonus and then quit and do something decent with your life. unless, of course, you are a douchbag - in which case you will fit right in. Good luck!.