blah blah

Oh snap! blah blah was number 2. Suckah.

Wow, it is fun stuff like this that keeps ATL in business. A million little articles about firms lowering salary, cutting bonuses, laying people off. Then more articles making lists of those firms, in numerous variations. Once every couple of weeks some actual interesting gossip. And then more lists, and the occasional bracket thrown in to mix up how the lists look.

Wow, it is fun stuff like this that keeps ATL in business. A million little articles about firms lowering salary, cutting bonuses, laying people off. Then more articles making lists of those firms, in numerous variations. Once every couple of weeks some actual interesting gossip. And then more lists, and the occasional bracket thrown in to mix up how the lists look.

Perhaps the affected are on the
receiving end of some
"meaningful feedback."

Fenwick & WesTTT llp

ELIE:
Do you think that this is the last possible week for layoffs, with the summers starting next week (I think)?

Do you think a firm would conduct layoffs with SA on board?

Thanks and keep up the hard work,

The guy who asked for the vault ranking and other stuff.

The toilet be flushing!

The market's not buying what Bernanke's selling. Given the continued downward trend in the Dow, reflecting the continuing contraction of the economy and the resulting lessening of the demand for legal services, Fenwick & West is pursuing a wise course with these layoffs.

Section 90 Promissory Estoppel
PE: "This is not a peer firm"
The ship be sinking
The dow is up/down
YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS
3500 sq ft, wife, etc.
Guys at my high school used to . . .

carry on.

Although this firm belongs in the commode of non-peer firms, it had the opportunity to emerge as a winner by adopting my tough love package. Layoffs are not enough. To any member of a management committee, trust me when I say layoffs coupled with salary cuts will promote discipline and efficiency among the remaining rank and file associate/employee. Instill fear and promote cutthroat competitiveness. Remember, this is a seller's market and the market is saturated with too many buyers (associates/attorneys) who will glady buy into the dream of slaving away their youth for a peer firm. We have an opportunity to correct the lockstep compensation structure that has proven to be a disaster and promotes inefficiency and bad morale. Seize the opportunity created by the economic tsunami.

This may not be the best place to ask, but here goes. The partner that I am working for just asked me to "wreevyou" some "dah-q-mense" on a deal that we are working on. I have no idea what his means, and I have consulted my legal dictionary and everything. My officemate has no idea either. Please help!

Fenwick has been conducting "stealth" layoffs across the board for months, at all levels. And they did let go all of the Of Counsel except the one that does bankruptcy work.

Must be bad if they have to abandon that strategy.

NYC to 190!!

This would never happen in Austin.

8,

Nope... firms will just do layoffs more piecemeal than or they have already shrunk the number of weeks so most students probably aren't starting until June 1st.

But, I would be afraid to go into work on Thursday or Friday this week... could be really ugly... just what I heard through the grapevine.

22? that's nothing. Latham laid-off more first years than that in the NY office alone.

Where is the guys in my high school guy? He is my all time favorite...

Why is it that EVERY firm doing layoffs is doing better than my firm? Thompson Hine has been doing layoffs and paycuts. Do I seriously work at the shittiest firm ever? Somebody tell me about a firm that is even less competent than mine so that I will feel better...

:-(

Elie, when will you confirm stealth layoffs at Debevoise & Plimpton? Friends there have confirmed them to me, I'm wondering if you're following up on them or "waiting for confirmation."

9% of guys in my high school used to get laid all the time. It was no big deal.

13 for the win! That was definitely funny. A comment that was actually funny! Thank you!

17,

Thanks. I wish we could have more constructive comments like yours. Seriously.

I assumed that the summer would start in may but be done with by August 1st. However, if its an 8 week summer, June 1 to August 1 satisfies the time requirement.

My firm, thankfully and knock on wood, has not done a lot of this stealth thing and when you keep the figures to single digits or below 15 for a 400+ attorney firm, the dismissals could be "performance based. " I just wanted to get a pulse for this summer and Labor Day (Labor Day Massacre?).

Thanks again.

/ dickjoke

13: www.hookedonphonics.com

Are fist year associates effected?

This comment is addressed to post no. 8.

Get back on your medication. Do you think summer associates hold some magical, mystical power that will prevent management committees from wielding the axe during this economic tsunami? Summer associates will learn to appreciate their employment even more when they witness first hand terminations. Stealth terminations are continuing on a rolling basis at many peer firms so as to escape negaitve publicity. There will be no tolling of terminations during the summer.

Partner Emeritus,

I work at a fairly shitty non-peer Ohio firm called Thompson Hine. Thompson Hine has adopted (with gusto!) your hybrid tough love package. Does that mean I now work at a peer firm and can brag to my friends?

Or do I just work at a shitty firm that exercised poor risk management, grew its business in an unsustainable way, and responded by pushing all the pain on associates and staff?

Thompson Knight laid off today.

25 -- way to take an awesome joke by 13 mocking another actual post on another thread, and then make your dumb joke off of it...

Partner Emeritus - 8 here.

I'm a realist and not a 1L with too much time on her hands. There are real concerns to the timing of the "axe" as you put it. 8 weeks is not a long time to keep what you may deem as "dead weight. " No firm really wants to show the summers how the sausage is made, even in lean years.

If a firm does conduct a full blown round of layoffs, similar to Milbank's round this week, during the summer, you can assume that firm is suffering -- and suffering tremendously.

I am sure that your business contacts have discussed such a thing as goodwill with you.

are first year associates affected?

This comment is addressed to post no. 28.

Tough love is better than no love. Hybrid tough love is better for peer firms than the "deferral start" and "public internship" charades. Most of these firms are hoping the economy will turn around by 2010 or 2011. I have seen what President Obama has in store for the private sector. We will not see any recovery until probably 2014. Thus, the deferral is really a deferred termination. The public internship is a cheap PR stunt to prop up pro bono hours and it is also a tax break for the firms. Those that took the internship will be ostracized from their firms. Mark my words.

Quiz: Who has two arms, two legs, and the manhood of 8 Ricardo Montoblans? Answer?

Quiz: Who has two arms, two legs, and the manhood of 8 Ricardo Montoblans? Answer?

Quiz: Who has two arms, two legs, and the manhood of 8 Ricardo Montoblans? Answer?

Quiz: Who has two arms, two legs, and the manhood of 8 Ricardo Montoblans? Answer?

EVAN CHESLER. Load dropped.

EVAN CHESLER. Load dropped.

Evan Chesler makes me feel like the woman wish to become.

Evan Chesler makes me feel like the woman wish to become.

Evan Chesler makes me feel like the woman wish to become.

Evan Chesler makes me feel like the woman wish to become.

Evan Chesler makes me feel like the woman wish to become.

PE FAILS AGAIN (in 33).

Pro Bono is in no way a tax break. A partner at any firm would know that.

Of course 8/31 is right (at least about public layoffs) - who is going to lay off associates while the summers are around unless they absolutely have to?

If summers aren't around for the layoffs, they can assume "those people just weren't as good as the rest" or "that wouldn't happen to me" or "that's just how it is at large law firms." If they're around for the layoffs, they'll see that it's largely a fallacy that few of those getting laid off are guilty of anything more than working in a slow practice area, working for a firm which overleveraged itself or not being absolute superstars. Only those busy, in busy firms or superstars are really safe, and firms don't want to show summers that the "safe" group is only about 25% of all associates and there but for the grace of god go the rest of us. My firm has poor morale and a relatively toxic environment even more than a month after layoffs. They definitely don't want the summers to see a fresh round.

Another round of stealth layoffs, well, that might be another story for firms that do those.

DIdn't read past 11, which I'm sure sums up all the other comments quite well. Well played.

- not 11

32: yes.

PE's never touched a vagina.

Deferred, Laidoff & Letgo is now the largest law firm in the United States.

11 displays just how pathetic the schtick on this blog is.

The Dow is Up/Down Guy needs to be more creative.

NewsFlash doesn't have enough time on his hands to consistently be entertaining (apparently).

And all the others are just annoying.

Come on People! Hoping for good schtick is the reason I look at this website!

46 - 8/31 here.

Excellent point of view post. I never considered the morale aspect, and I just can't see how a summer gets any type of work this year. Our mantra at my v75 firms, pretty much told to us by the management team, is to bill, bill, bill b/c who knows what September will bring for our clients. Basically, I am trying to fit 2000 billable into 8 months, as I wait for the (inevitable?) slowdown.

And, while I am above board, I am no where near that pace.

If I had the ability to take one of those deferred year things like the Skadden sidebar, I would jump on it. This environment sucks and our morale is relatively good. I hope you guys keep your sanity.

@11 - well played sir, well played (except that we really haven't seen much about the 3500 sq. ft wife since section 90 got big)

My balls got some good shtick for you.

53 - Public libraries are shut down in Texas due to the flu

Can testicals yearn? If so, all this Chesler talk is making me throb.

I appreciate the effort 54.

-51

20-why is Thompson Hine worse than Squire Sanders & Dempsey? SSD has done layoffs and an across-the-board 10% paycut.

Let's stay on topic people. Evan Chesler: mere mortal or ivory g-d? Discuss.

Let's stay on topic people. Evan Chesler: mere mortal or ivory g-d? Discuss.

Evan Chesler makes me so horny that I could suck start a leaf blower.

Evan Chesler makes me so horny that I could suck start a leaf blower.

Evan Chesler makes me so horny that I could suck start a leaf blower.

Evan Chesler makes me so horny that I could suck start a leaf blower.

what class year?

Evan Chesler makes me so horny that I could suck start a leaf blower.

Stroock situation yet again

Partner Emeritus remind me of all them cracker ass motherfucker partners that used to try to take vantage of me when I was a big time lawyer at Sidley Awesome (oh baby, that's what it was called when I worked there. Snap!) I used to walk my bubble butt over to humane resources and tell them that the whiteboy slavemaster partners weren't going to treat me like they bitch! I be saying to them, "I ain't doing this shit work, you let me do what them cracker partners is doing or you ain't going to have Michelle Robinson picking yo cotton no more!" And then I met my baby dadda and now we be taxing Partner Emeritus to the poorhouse! Payback is a bitch, whitey, and so am I!

58,

Thompson Hine is worse because our paycut was just a hair under 15% compared to 10%, we've had to deal with the stress of constant career-killing stealth layoffs of our friends, and, to be honest, the partners at our firm are bigger assholes and douchebags than at yours.

Also, at Thompson Hine we've been hearing whispers that the paycuts for non-first year associates were pretty arbitrary. ALMOST everyone took a big paycut, some much bigger than others, and no one seems to know why or based on what criteria. We have almost no information as to what is going on. It sucks.

-69

68,
Love it, but shorten it up a bit eh

STROOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK

What practice area were affected by the layoff?

I would also be interested to know about the distribution of layoffs across Fenwick practice areas (both the current ones and prior stealth ones)

Latham Truth # 3:

Latham NY free coffee is so bad that almost everybody buys and brings in their own coffee or coffee machines.

Share your truths.

PLEASE PARTNER EMERITUS, PLEASE DO US A FAVOR AND SHUT THE FUCK UP. YOU ARE SO ANNOYING. YOU ACT LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. YOU ARE PROBABLY A 1L WITH TOO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO US A FAVOR AND SHUT UP.

Professor T got a three point plan for turning da economies around:

1) Drink your milk
2) Don't do drugs
3) Stay in school

They fired first years, avoid this firm.

thank you, 76

Fenwick & Who?

Word at Wilson was that stealth layoffs (i.e., trumped up performance based lay offs) would occur in the spring in an attempt to avoid, or reduce, actual layoffs in June. Given that clients are now being charged for cokes and coffee in the conference rooms, it doesn't seem far fetched that further cuts are in their future.