March 2009
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Admin
Enough With The Scare Tactics
Apparently, some of you have been receiving emails from your firm telling you not to communicate with “the media” about all the things going on around the office. Thanks, by the way, for sending us those emails. It seems like some firms want to keep their layoffs really, really quiet. Evidently, these firms believe that […] -
Husch Blackwell, Layoffs, Screw-Ups
Husch Blackwell Follow-Up
For a Midwestern firm, Husch Blackwell drew a lot of comments (and a huge amount of email) yesterday. Perhaps that had something to do with the fact that firm chairman Dave Fenley declined to use the term “layoffs” in connection with the firm’s actions, saying the term wrongly implied the attorneys were let go because […] - Sponsored
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Credit Crisis, Wall Street
Jon Stewart v. Jim Cramer
This isn’t really our beat, but Dealbreaker has the full video of smackdown Jon Stewart gave Jim Cramer on The Daily Show last night. It’s great television YouTube. Granted, Stewart’s grasp of macroeconomics is not great. But it is significantly better than Bill Maher’s (who asked Erin Burnett last week why “growing” was important for […]
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Biglaw, Job Searches
Interview Tips: Biglaw to Small Law (Part II)
[Ed. Note: There are a lot of associates out there who have been recently laid off from Biglaw jobs. Many of them are trying to get jobs at small to medium sized firms. But the mechanics of getting one of those precious jobs are a lot different from what people experienced during on-campus interviewing season. […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 03.13.09
* Welcome to the second Friday the 13th of 2009, and the end of another horrific week in law firm layoffs. “Layoffs are heading inland as firms that were initially buffered from the financial crisis start to see business slow down as with their coastal competition.” [National Law Journal] * After Senate confirmation, USAG Eric […]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.12.09
* I used to like watching Bob Ross. He used to remind me that you could always create something beautiful using very basic tools. And he was so peaceful. I like peace. I like things that are great…. Sorry, do you want a hit of this? [The Complete Lawyer] * Things are pretty hard in […] -
Husch Blackwell, Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Midwest Firms Have Lawyers, Fire Them Too
The mid-sized large Midwestern firm of Husch Blackwell laid off a number of attorneys and staff today, proving once again that nobody is safe from the economic downturn. Husch laid off 17 attorneys, including partners, and 45 staff today. For some strange reason, Husch Blackwell doesn’t want to actually admit that these layoffs were due […] -
Pro Bono, Public Interest, Summer Associates
Skadden Offers a Voluntary Deferral Option
Is there not enough to go around, even at Skadden? Maybe so. The firm just sent around an internal email announcing the expansion of the firm’s “Sidebar” program. For the uninitiated, a tipster describes the Sidebar program: Sidebar allows attorneys to take extended time from the Firm to pursue personal interests while maintaining a connection […] - Sponsored
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Blank Rome, Layoffs, Start Dates, Summer Associates
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Blank Rome Cuts 79
It’s one of those days. We told you that we expected Blank Rome layoffs to come today. And here they come. Blank Rome just confirmed that it has laid off 79 people: 27 associates, 52 staff. And that’s not all. The firm is pushing back start dates for incoming first year associates until “at least” […] -
Layoffs
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Sidley Austin Cuts 229 At Least
It looks like Sidley Austin decided to just get it all over with today. We reported earlier that Sidley was planning layoffs, and now we have official firm numbers: 89 associates, 140 staff. Above the Law obtained the internal memo sent out to all Sidley employees: In addition to routine departures, 89 associates and staff […] -
Layoffs, Summer Associates, Texas
Winstead Cancels 2009 Summer Program
The news keeps flying (galloping?) in from Texas. And of course, the news insists on being bad. A couple of days ago, we received a tip that Winstead has canceled its 2009 summer associate program. We’ve now been able to confirm that information through multiple sources. One bright note is that our sources tell us […] -
Layoffs, Texas
Nationwide Layoff Watch: More From Texas
Not many people outside of Texas have heard of Gardere Wynne Sewell. It’s a mid-sized firm with about 300 attorneys based in Dallas. And, it is undergoing a round of layoffs. It’s a bad day to work in Texas. Just how many layoffs is a little bit unclear. Our sources tell us that 60 people […] -
Layoffs, Texas
Nationwide Layoff Watch: Texas is Starting to Look Like It's Part of America After All
Well, it appears Texas is starting to feel the burn of the global economic recession. And that is not good news at all. We received word from Baker Botts today that the firm has decided to fire attorneys. This is from a firm wide email that just went out: We initially hoped that by imposing […]
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Education / Schools, Money, Student Loans
Student Loan Bailout. Just Do It.
Dear President Obama, First Lady Obama, Treasury Secretary Geithner, Education Secretary Duncan: Hello all. I am writing on behalf of the massive amount of educational debt that I am no longer able to pay. Like so many young Americans, I got into a much better and more expensive school than my family could afford. After […] -
Biglaw, Job Searches
Interview Tips: Biglaw to Small Law (Part I)
[Ed. Note: There are a lot of associates out there who have been recently laid off from Biglaw jobs. Many of them are trying to get jobs at small to medium sized firms. But the mechanics of getting one of those precious jobs are a lot different from what people experienced during on-campus interviewing season. […] -
Clerkships
Clerks: Can't Go Home Again?(Or: An open thread about post-clerkship job prospects.)
On that ill-fated Thursday last month — aka the Valentine’s Day massacre, in which hundreds of law firm employees lost their jobs — a federal judicial clerk quipped: “I know the budget is set, but this almost makes me want to chain myself to my desk so they can’t make me leave. People at firms […] -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket 03.12.08
* Will Bernard Madoff get a “Go To Jail” card today? [New York Times] * The first step to (economic) recovery is admitting you have a problem. The Snark says enough with the stealth firings already, BigLaw. [Fulton County Daily Report] * Are the SCOTUS justices playing fast and loose with the law to be […]
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NYU Law Revue Preview
Many of you know that I am an HLS Parody alum. I have a healthy respect for law students flexing their creative cords. And since it’s not like there’s anything anybody can do to get jobs just at the moment, what’s the harm in having a little fun? That said, I’m not at all above […] -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 03.11.09
* Harvard Law Sports Law Symposium. I hope somebody puts the transcript online so I can finally understand who is liable when a coxswain falls in the Charles and dies of radiation poisoning. [SportsJudge Blog] * Easterbrook v. Posner: Who will prevail in the Supreme Court? Let’s get ready to ruuuuumble. [Floyd Norris] *The DOW […] -
Musical Chairs
Musical Chairs: Greenberg Traurig Loses IP Partners, And Maybe More
A few weeks ago, we heard Greenberg Traurig was losing IP partners in Orange County. Obviously, this is not the time to be losing IP partners. As one tipster put it: Greenberg Traurig’s Orange County office lost its Intellectual Property practice last week when Mark Krietzman and Peter Gluck jumped ship to join Luce Forward […]