Nationwide Layoff Watch: Hunting 87 Employees at Hunton & Williams
I figure that every new person that gets laid off is just a new recruit on the student loan bailout bandwagon. Sure, the shrinks out there would call that my “coping mechanism,” but you can’t start a revolution when everybody is well-fed and content.
The newest foot soldiers come from Hunton & Williams. The firm has laid off 87 people today: 23 attorneys, 64 staff. Hunton & Williams managing partner, Wally Martinez, confirmed the news to Above the Law:
Today, we reduced approximately 23 associate and counsel positions and 64 staff positions in our U.S. offices. The reductions are spread among most of our teams and offices.
AmLaw Daily has this report from Mr. Martinez:
“We conducted our own internal stress test,” says Martinez, adding that the lack of associate attrition was also a catalyst. “We’re quite late getting to the layoff table, but the economic situation is a lot more prolonged and deeper than we had expected.”
Hunton indicated that these were economic layoffs. But tipsters report that individual laid off associates are being told something different:
My colleague … was not allowed to use the word layoff and the departure is being considered a resignation (in order to get a severance package).
I don’t know a lot of people who have involuntarily resigned. I suppose it’s possible, but it sounds like the colleague either got “laid off,” or needs to get themselves to an exorcist immediately.
Good luck to all the people laid off from Hunton today. Welcome to bandwagon, there is plenty of room left.
Read the full Hunton & Williams statement after the jump.
HUNTON & WILLIAMS — STATEMENT — LAYOFFS
Today, we reduced approximately 23 associate and counsel positions and 64 staff positions in our U.S. offices. The reductions are spread among most of our teams and offices. We did not come to this very difficult decision lightly. We have, over the past many months, taken aggressive steps to manage our expenses with a principal goal being to avoid across the board layoffs. While the firm remains financially strong, the prolonged nature of this economic downturn, its depth, and its impact on the demand for legal services, has caused us to conclude that we must take this additional step in order to better align our capacity with present and anticipated client needs. The affected attorneys and staff are talented individuals who have made valuable contributions to the firm. We are dedicated to doing whatever we can to help them with their transition.
Hunton & Williams Cuts 23 Attorneys, 64 Staff Members [AmLaw Daily]
Earlier: Student Loan Bailout: The Choice of a New Generation
Prior ATL coverage of law firm layoffs
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given some of the tragedies the legal community has had in recent months, this headline is inappropriate.
not first
First K&L GATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTES
"Hunting...at HUNTon"
NICE TRY AT MAKING A FUNNY, MYSTTTAL
First to say that "I am not an asslobster."
fillet o fish
1 get over it.
what will happen in the OCI this fall?
will the firms just put on a show when they come here and do the interviews?
"We are dedicated to doing whatever we can to help them with their transition."
Assuming that severance is part of the transition, I'm ready to do my part.
Doesn't this affect their ability to collect unemployment also?
Any of the layoffs partners?
H&W: 977 Attorneys, 19 offices.
Given the fact that I have $250,000 in student loan debt and no job, I'd rather cross swords with Feyd Rautha Harkonnen in an arena on Giedi Prime than listen to the whinings of H&W associates who got laid off.
"HAVE caused us to conclude that we must take..."
Sheesh.
12, sucks to be you. But how in the hell do you rack up that much student loan debt? Sounds like you made some poor choices.
I am against a student loan bailout. For the simple reason that I would like students to be able to get student loans. They will be a thing of the past if they simply no longer need to be repaid.
Breakdown in terms of #'s per offices?
I have $350,000 in student debt, no wife, and no Lexis
Were any attorneys in DC who came over from Akin Gump last year among those let go?
You don't have to make bad choices to rack up a shit load of student debt people. I had ZERO undergrad student debt from a top school. And in my 3 years at HLS have racked up about $185,000 after interest is capitalized. I lived frugally - but not disgustingly - and used over 1/3 of my SA pay to take out less in loans this year. The problem is the over $40K in tuition I had to pay every year, attached to (mostly) 8.5% interest rates.
All that and my firm may or may not bring me on in the alleged deferred January 2010 start date. (they say they will NOW, but who knows?)
Exactly where did I make an unwise decision, such that my current poverty, debt and future insecurity is all my fault?
Stop calling for a student loan bailout and start demanding a new government-backed student loan consolidation/refi program at a fixed rate of 4% (or less). That's how we fix the problem without letting people who made poor decisions off the hook completely and/or endangering future student lending.
Stop calling for a student loan bailout and start demanding a new government-backed student loan consolidation/refi program at a fixed rate of 4% (or less). That's how we fix the problem without letting people who made poor decisions off the hook completely and/or endangering future student lending.
Who cares if you made a bad decision? It may become a bad decision in hindsight if you can't pay it off, but I can grant that it was a perfectly reasonable decision at the time. What does that have to do with whether you should have to pay it off? If you went to Harvard, you could have gone somewhere lower on a scholarship. The prestige, or future potential earnings capacity, or something persuaded you that it was worth the extra money to go there. Somewhere out there there are a ton of people just like you, except that when faced with that decision, they elected not to go to law school or to go to a lower law school to avoid the debt. Why would you think that, if your investment turns out to be a bad move, you have a right to be in the same position those people are, when they gave up the prestige and opportunities that they could have had -- and that you got -- precisely not to be in the position you are now?
here here to 20's suggestion. How do we make THAT happen!
19 - you made a bad decision in going to law school. Should've thought twice before jumping into such debt.
I feel like it is nothing but sad news everytime I turn around. What is becoming of this profession?
How is consolidating loans to an artificially low rate not a bailout?
Also, time for H&W to update their logo.
Not hard at all to rack up huge sums on student loans if you went to a private school. Assume $40-$45 per year in tuition, plus living exenses (which are huge if you live in the city).
Just imagine if you also borrowed to put yourself through undergrad. Even at a good state university, you'll likely tack on an additional $80 to $100.
Employers (once they come out of hiding), should be so surprised when they come across a sharp candidate from a top 30/40 school, wondering why he/she didn't go to a better school. When scholarships are tossed around, it's easy to step back from 10 to 30.
I agree. It's not difficult to rack up a ton of student debt. I had a scholarship and still racked up roughly 20K per year in survival expenses (rent in a modest apartment, bills, food, the occasional trip to the bar, ect.)
24,
Support staff is not welcome on this site. Get back to work.
Who thinks that any of the deferred 3Ls will EVER start at their firm? 100%? 90%? 75%? 50%? 25%?
<10%?
One of the benefits of a free society is you have the right to make your own choices. I have little sympathy for those racking up huge amounts of debt and are now cry babying about it. Bottom line: You should have done the math. Before I took out a single loan, I knew about the interest rate, compound interest, the pros and cons of consolidation depending on market rate, what my personal ceiling for borrowing was, where I was going to live, how much I expected to make etc. I cut costs, worked part time during school, and lived in a shit hole outside Boston. Its one thing to feel sympathy for a GED grad that got conned into some ballooning sub-prime mortgage, but every single poster on this board was a college graduate before they signed on the dotted line. You should have known better.
22 and 27 are just sad they had to go to TTT's.
for those who care, i can confirm that PE is a 1L (soon to be 2L) classmate of mine. we attend a non-T50 school on the east coast. he has become a bit of a mini-celebrity here with his postings, most of which are done during classes. it is common knowledge here that he has been doing this, and the attention has only egged him on. i am surprised that no one here has "outed" him yet. i feel compelled to write this now that he no longer is in my section (and hopefully in any of my future classes). in addition, i think that his postings have become increasingly tasteless and unfunny. he also is a know-it-all jerk who thinks that he is a superstar. anyway, just thought that i would share.
--anonymous
30 -Stay positive. I for one believe that the legal profession can't allow you guys to become the "forgotten generation." For one, firms pride themselves on their prestige factor. It would only take one firm to bring you guys in on the deferred date to give the others that don't a stigma that they could never recover from. Believe me, firms DO NOT want that stigma.
12, I ragged on you on another forum, but you have redeemed yourself by burrowing your references further into obscurity. Well played, sir.
33 ,
PLEASE NAME DROP....PLEASE!!!!
34 - counterpoint (using your logic) - it will only take ONE FIRM to further defer an already deferred incoming associate or to revoke offers to start the avalanche. I don't think the future is as crystal clear as you imply.
Hunttton & Who?
15-under that logic, credit card companies shouldn't exist because credit card debt can be discharged in bankruptcy.
It speaks to the dynamism of the firm, and of the industry generally, that they include the "1000 lawyers" line.
And 19 offices? Maybe if it was 15 offices, or 3 offices, they would still have all "1000 attorneys".
34, there are no stigmas anymore, haven't you noticed?
37,
34 here. That's a valid point, one that I cannot disagree with. It is scary as all hell out there. For everyone's sake, lets hope our earlier logic in 34 is correct.
If you rack up $200k in law school loan debt, maybe you should have gone to a different school? If you can get into a top 10 school, you could probably get a scholly to a top 10--30 school -- maybe you should have taken that. Not every top 10 law school is in NY, DC or another place w/ a high cost of living. Maybe instead of Harvard you should go someplace like UVA or Duke, where the cost of living is really cheap.
You had a choice. You chose to incur a huge debt and take the chance that you could get a job. You apparently made a poor choice. Life's a bitch that way.
I'm always bemused by those who so vehemently argue against a student loan bailout. Let me address what I think are their two main points:
1) "Fairness: you took out the loan, you knew/should have known the dealio, you incurred the obligation, now pay it and quit crying."
I completely agree. However, as a taxpayer, I know that at no time have my taxes ever gone to anything even remotely useful, beneficial, or practical. The Fed government has not been about these things for 20 years or more. Pork, pork, and occasionally a liberal program aimed at a little under the table social engineering. Therefore, why shouldn't I be thrilled at the prospect of my and other's loans getting bailed out? The money's not being used for anything I care about anyway. Why not me (us)?
2) "This will cause the sudent loan indistry to collapse and loans will be available to noone"
Say it with me: market saturation. That's what giving every son of a factory worker and daughter of a crack dealer loans to go on to higher education has gotten us. What's the latest in NY? 1 lawyer for every 175 people? And that's just one tiny slice of what our Aunt Sallie has done to job prosepects in this country. The best thing that could happen is for student loans to go away!
- Word up to my homies on unemployment lock-down
Tell me this, regarding student debts. If your law school promised employment upon graduation, and you relied on that promise (to your obvious detriment), would you have a cause of action against said law school? Not sure if that would work, but I seem to remember hearing something about that in Contract I...
For years, mortgage securitization was a big H&W breadwinner. I wonder if the securitization department was disproportionately affected. When securitization was riding high, they certainly weren't shy about throwing their weight around when it came to asking for bonuses and point allocations.
44 - on fairness: I didn't take out loans. So no, I have no instinct of "why not me". I have an instinct of "why not avoid more undeserved, unnecessary spending, thus decreasing (albeit only marginally) the chances that my taxes will go through the roof to bailout a government that has no money left because it spent it all bailing out people who voluntarily took on hundreds of thousands of dollras in loans (among billions of other useless projects, of course)??" That money has to come from somewhere, and if the government doesn't pay it to the loan takers, it won't have to take (at least that money) from the non-loan-taker taxpayers (like me). That strikes me as a no-brainer from my self-interest, not to mention fairness.
I'm going to start stabbing ass lobsters if people stop bringing up this promissory estoppel nonsense. CUT IT OUT.
Does anybody have any names? I need some more clients!!! It's raining cash these days for me! Maybe I'll even hire a few of these guys!
- Busy Restatement 90 Plaintiff's Attorney
22,
You said, "If you went to Harvard, you could have gone somewhere lower on a scholarship."
Perhaps, but not always. I went to a Top 10 school and mysteriously got the exact same ridiculously mediocre financial aid package (within $1000) at all places I got into.
And I mean all places. E.g. Notre Dame, Hastings, George Mason, and even Santa Clara and McGeorge (I'm from the SF area originally) all offered me nearly identical financial aid packages.
Not a free ride among them.
So yeah, maybe there was a free ride the HLS grad passed up. But maybe not. Weirder things have happened.
Jeremy Anderson!! Law or Dallas has never been hotter.
I'd put Hunton fairly high on my Endangered Species List. Without structured finance work they are basically just a Richmond-based tobacco litigation firm with global pretenses.
Wonder if the lay-offs were done in a "separate but equal" manner.
44
How about:
3) I paid half my 1L and 2L summer salaries, and around $4k/month towards my student loans since starting work in Sept. 08 and finally see an end in sight. If there's a bailout, I want that money back.
The Bankruptcy Code is made for debtors who did their best to do well but failed, including companies that took on too much debt to pursue what looked like a good option.
Why is the idea of discharging student loan debt so inflammatory? Just one more example of the fact that America loves business but hates people.
Including steatlh layoffs, the true Hunton numbers are closer to 50 laid off.
From an insider
The ship be sinking...
Hunton conducted stealth layoffs as early as last May. It seems a bit disingenuous to go out of the way to tell AmLaw that the firm is "quite late getting to the layoff table," Mr. Martinez.
50, any top 10 = harvard?
Can we please have a post on IP shops, departments, etc as requested in yesterday's Fish and RIchardson layoff post.
It's ridiculous one has not been started in the past 3 months! It's supposed to be booming, yet Fish laid off and the dissolution of another major IP shop previously seems like this is a topic that needs to be looked into. Kenyon, Fitzpatrick, Baker, how are these known patent powerhouses fairing?
Patent powerhouses is an oxymoron.
Given that I have $250,000 in debt, no job, and an EE degree, I'd rather harvest spice in the sand with a thumper running next to me instead of rubbing shoulders with IP nerdlets from F&R that got laid off and whine about it on an anonymous legal board.
Who is Lathrop Nelson?
Student loans have driven up the cost of education the same way sub-prime mortgages drove up the cost of housing. The availability of non-dischargable unsecured debt has made $200,000 educations "affordable" to everyone. Therefore it is hardly a surprise that so many schools have increased tuition to a point that maxes out available loans.
Take away private loans and tuition rates would have to fall at most schools. It seems to me that would not be a bad thing. Should people really be going into high levels of debt to pay for schools with country club style landscaping? Should university gyms really be nicer than $100/mo fitness clubs? Haven't salaries of administrators gotten out of hand? Do we need so much wood panelling in a law or business school? Granite floors?
At the undergrad level, the ability to take out private loans to pay for meal plans leads to a competition between schools to offer all-you-can-eat gourmet dining options. Does the student center really need to be so swanky? Brass lights in the library? The list goes on and on . . .
It isn't like you can opt out of these luxeries as a student. If you want to go to a "top school" based on selectivity they all include over the top ammenities and expensive price tags.
Cost-cutting should go up the rankings list to the point that the schools have enough in merit-aid to offer scholarships instead of loans to those in need. If private loans become unavailable schools will have to choose: keep costs high and lower academic standards to admit only those that can pay, or lower costs (across the board or through scholarships) so that they can maintain admission standards.
I agree with 54.
To indicate that a firm is sinking b/c it's having layoffs in this environment is fairly ignorant. Unless of course all firms are sinking, which is a much broader discussion.
Is it more ignroant to think that any firm that has been in existence for more than 40 years is doomed b/c it lost some structured financie work? Probably, but I'm not keeping score.
What does any of this have to do with Evan Chesler being the hottest piece of a*s this side of the hudson? The man makes me want to get down and beg for butter milk.
What does any of this have to do with Evan Chesler being the hottest piece of a*s this side of the hudson? The man makes me want to get down and beg for butter milk.
What does any of this have to do with Evan Chesler being the hottest piece of a*s this side of the hudson? The man makes me want to get down and beg for butter milk.
What does any of this have to do with Evan Chesler being the hottest piece of a*s this side of the hudson? The man makes me want to get down and beg for butter milk.
What does any of this have to do with Evan Chesler being the hottest piece of a*s this side of the hudson? The man makes me want to get down and beg for butter milk.
What does any of this have to do with Evan Chesler being the hottest piece of a*s this side of the hudson? The man makes me want to get down and beg for butter milk.
What does any of this have to do with Evan Chesler being the hottest piece of a*s this side of the hudson? The man makes me want to get down and beg for butter milk.
Less about stupid student loan bailout proposals, more about Hunton specifics. There was already a thread on Mystal's stupid proposal.
61 - I am not from F&R and did not get laid off. I'm at a large boutique and want to see what the rest of the major firms are doing.
60.
66-72,
SHUT UP!!!!
In Kahless' name, I do not understand this human fascination with paying for law school! On Khitomer, our law students earn their degrees through deadly ritual combat, and they only graduate once they have slain their Contracts professor on the field of honorable battle!
Let's get back to Hunton. Anyone got more specifics?
I any one going to be brave and tell the real story about co chairs who cant bring in any business and write off millions and still have their jobs at the big H?
I any one going to be brave and tell the real story about co chairs who cant bring in any business and write off millions and still have their jobs at the big H?
Is any one going to be brave and tell the real story about co chairs who cant bring in any business and write off millions and still have their jobs at the big H?
Is any one going to be brave and tell the real story about co chairs who cant bring in any business and write off millions and still have their jobs at the big H?
Did anyone receive the latest copy of the ABA Journal? It said how great Hunton & Williams is doing and they are expanding, hiring, etc.... I think it was even titled "H&W is hiring."
Bad timing for layoffs.
Did anyone receive the latest copy of the ABA Journal? It said how great Hunton & Williams is doing and they are expanding, hiring, etc.... I think it was even titled "H&W is hiring."
Bad timing for layoffs.
Did anyone receive the latest copy of the ABA Journal? It said how great Hunton & Williams is doing and they are expanding, hiring, etc.... I think it was even titled "H&W is hiring."
Bad timing for layoffs.
post once morons!
Those who chose to become cogs in the gloabalization machine are now experiencing the dark side of that choice.
86
Are you saying that lawyers inevitably become seduced into the Sith?
If it means having a jello wrestling duel with a cute baldie like Asajj Ventress, sign me up!
big wig in a fl office who cant get any business in an area thats booming but still has a job from churning?
75:
Why so hostile? Given that you're on this board, you obviously have the time to read a post more than once. Get over yourself.
66-72 (proudly)
75:
Why so hostile? Given that you're on this board, you obviously have the time to read a post more than once. Get over yourself.
66-72 (proudly)
what does "approximately 23" positions mean? 22? 24? 100? They laid off so many (or "reduced" as they put it) they lost count at 23?
"Hunton & Williams is Hiring"?
The only thing Hunton is hiring is law firm merger advisors.
55, because when businesses go into bankruptcy its the creditors, usually other corporate entities, that get screwed. If students don't have to pay back loans, no one will loan to students anymore. Screwing the rest of those who want them and would be more responsible and/or more lucky and pay them back. Unless you're suggesting a true bailout where Uncle Same (aka the taxpayer) simply pays the money these defaulting students owe. Which is truly ridiculous.
Lathrop Nelson = Evan Chesler's alter ego
when did this turn into a student loand seminar?
#18--Akin Gump folks not included.
#29--Are support staff welcome if the've been included in the layoffs?
When and why did this discussion turn into a student loan seminar?
"big wig in a fl office who cant get any business in an area thats booming but still has a job from churning?"
And taking credit for other lawyers' work.
Linger Longer
and billing so much it leaves that person 5 hours a day to sleep 365 a year
and billing so much it leaves that person 5 hours a day to sleep 365 a year
Getting laid off doesn't suck, getting eaten by a giant worm... that sucks.
102,
Now THAT is funny
Unemployed $250,000 student loan debt and no job poster (and Dune fan)
"big wig in a fl office who cant get any business in an area thats booming but still has a job from churning?"
And taking credit for other lawyers' work
and billing so much it leaves that person 5 hours a day to sleep 365 a year
And of course we cannot forget the Loooooonnggg in the tooth associate who cant do any of his own work, well because he doesnt know how. Im glad I dont have to deal with those people anymore.!
"and billing so much it leaves that person 5 hours a day to sleep 365 a year"
And doing it with the full knowledge and tacit approval of firm management.
"big wig in a fl office who cant get any business in an area thats booming but still has a job from churning?"
And taking credit for other lawyers' work
and billing so much it leaves that person 5 hours a day to sleep 365 a year
And of course we cannot forget the Loooooonnggg in the tooth associate who cant do any of his own work, well because he doesnt know how. Im glad I dont have to deal with those people anymore.!
59, no Harvard does not = any top 10. But the point is that if you can't afford a Harvard education, you can't afford a Harvard education. Taking on 200k in debt, even if you get a degree from Harvard, is, in my opinion, just plain stupid. At the very least, you are taking a risk, and you should be be bailed out because you made a bad choice in taking that risk.
93 - is that a serious answer?
Jeremy Anderson from the bachelorette was laid off. Aww!
I go to Western State University College of Law.
I'm in my last year and may get grades so low that I will have to drop out.
I did bluebook reviews, office hours and practice exams and even made a goal setting sheet to tell me what to improve before each coming semester!
It hurts so bad that a dream I had to become a lawyer will go down the drain.
My parents were so proud of me when I told them that I would go to law school. Have your parents ever looked at you with hope and praise that you feel like you never wanted to let them down?
A lot of you are labeled as "whiners" but I wanted to tell you that I feel like you guys do. I know what it's like and you're not alone! There is someone like me out there that will not look at your "low" grades and look down on you. I know what you've been through.
110 -- "Well, the world needs ditch diggers too."
- The Honorable Judge Elihu Smails
>>"Today, we reduced approximately 23 associate and counsel positions and 64 staff positions in our U.S. offices"
No they didn't. Idiot firm. They ELIMINATED those positions. The only thing they reduced was the economic security of the people holding those positions, as well as their sense of self-worth.
I wasn't able to find out if any associates in Dallas were laid off, but I was able to find out that Jeremy Anderson was definitely not laid off.
To Steve K and Paul T: I am gonna FUCK YOU UP.
Sincerely, your worst effing nightmare.
19 - You chose to become a lawyer. Duh!
Men, don't worry if you have been laid off because:
"Pfizer offers free drugs, Lipitor, VIAGRA, to unemployed"
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2009-05-14-pfizer-free-drugs-viagra_N.htm
[the only problem is you have to had been on the Pfizer drugs for three months]
So get the V now and in 3 months, if you are unemployed, take the stash, go to Brazil for a year and have fun (but be careful too). From Laid off to Laid!
so 33, you guys go to harvard ?
Can somebody please confirm whether one must (as a result of ethical obligations or practical reality) put his temp doc review job on resume? why can't I just say that I worked for that client at my old firm. I did not put every job or even every legal job on my resume (it's not a bar application). For example, I did not mention my split summer firm because I did not have space and did not think it is useful. When they do conflict checks, how exactly is that done? Why would they take away the offer? If they ask me at the interview if I worked during the time off, I can tell them but do not see any reason to disclose. Explain to me why am I wrong because I am seriously considering getting a temp job.
Also, what happens to your unemployment?
putting this aside, there are some really hot female attorneys at skadden new york
So, 33, you and PE go to GW?
63=PE
Me and my boys went Hunton in the Pine Barrens last week, but we didn't see any lawyers....
"I'd put Hunton fairly high on my Endangered Species List. Without structured finance work they are basically just a Richmond-based tobacco litigation firm with global pretenses. "
52, you might have a grain of credibility if you had the first slightest clue what you were talking about. Which you clearly don't.
"I wonder if the securitization department was disproportionately affected."
46, affected, yes; disproportionately, I don't know.
Too many posters: schadenfreude is a very ugly thing. Hopefully some day you'll grow up. Of course compassion and empathy for fellow humans is not high on the list of qualifications to be a law student these days. Likely because so many are only marginally human to begin with. There's little wonder why this profession is so reviled by so many.
Funny that 123 isn't coming to the defense of "big wig in a fl office who cant get any business in an area thats booming but still has a job from churning?"
"There's little wonder why this profession is so reviled by so many."
Do you think big law firm management tactics have anything to do with that?
Wow - looks like HunTTTon is no longer the king of the southeast, or even Richmond VA for that matter.
Wow- 126 is stupid.
Hunton says they are late to the table on the layoff front. This is not true, they had a round of layoffs this time last year, all attorneys then.
hunton has been "redeploying" lawyers to clients for a while and have been laying off since last may. The directive from the higher ups was to do it "over a period of time" to keep it out of the media. what bs.
I was told by an insider that people in Atlanta, NY, DC, Richmond and Miami were affected, among them a relatively high percentage of minority attorneys.
My understanding is that of the 23 attorneys terminated, 10 were from the New York office, representing about one-third of all associates in that office. As for the late timing of these layoffs, Hunton & Williams is on a different fiscal year that ends on March 31, which means that their annual review process is happening right now.
My understanding is that of the 23 attorneys terminated, 10 were from the New York office, representing about one-third of all associates in that office. As for the late timing of these layoffs, Hunton & Williams is on a different fiscal year that ends on March 31, which means that their annual review process is happening right now.
Hunton has not been laying off until now. The firm has tried everything to avoid having to make any of their employees unemployed during this tough economic time. People at Hunton are hopeful that there will be no further layoffs.
Now with that said, I must say that for a bunch of "educated" people on this site, I am amazed to see how so many are not capable of sticking with the subject of an article.
If we read all the comments, some are saying that Hunton has been doing layoffs (quietly) since last year. There are many firms right now that are giving people the ax but doing it (quietly). I think the associate and staff layoffs are all public, but they give the partners the boot quietly so they don't draw bad publicity to the firm. They want everyone, including clients who are now able to give their little bit of business to any firm that will give them a discounted rate (more prestigious firms), to think they are stable, even if they are not. They don't want the clients to think they would harm their employees. These firms want to walk away from the layoffs looking like the good guys. Clients would frown on these firms otherwise.
They tried everything not to let these people go? Tried what? Exactly what did they say...did they elaborate on how they tried? No...because they didn't.
We all know that layoffs don't just happen overnight. Talks about layoffs happen over a period of time, usually a few months. Partners talk about the profits and how they are down and then they look at the numbers, get scared because they will have to earn a little under a million rather than the million and a half they projected and that thought makes their hearts beat faster and faster. Their lifestyle may have to change. They then start to hyperventilate and the decision is made. No turning back. Hunton, like most firms, knew this was going to happen, they are just not being honest, like most firms. They are saving their reputation from being ruined but we have to expect this. Bottom line, they want the money in their pockets and they did what they had to do to keep it there. The associates work on client deals that the partners bring to the firm. If they (the partners) stop bringing in business...who is to blame? The associates or the partners?
Remember, when they do have to make a comment publicly, they tell everyone in their very well written, very well rehearsed public statement how very sorry they are and how it is so hard to do this and these people are our family and good lawyers and contributed so much. Do they say, sorry, business is down because I can't get business to bring into the firm if I could this would not have happened. No.....it is the economy, blah blah. It is well rehearsed BS.
Then the aftershock of it all....the people still working at these firms, the ones who were spared this round of layoffs, are standing around saying awful things about the people that were let go. Making up lies and saying things they don't even know about...like they were "bad lawyers" they sucked at what they were doing? They had bad peformance evaluations and should have been let go long ago. That is how it is in most firms. They should think about this though....they are very possibly the next victim because if they are standing around gossiping about what went on and how and they are making a very juicy story out of someone's misfortune....they don't have any work to do either. And so the vicious cycle begins again. Asthey stand around saying awful things about the employees that were let go they should think about this....the next round of layoffs are probably in the works and being talked about at the same time they are gossiping beause the partners are looking at the numbers constantly (if not dreaming about them) and they are making their list and checking it twice and it is going to be them the next time around. Numbers aren't looking to good anywhere so.....figure it out.
Good luck to all those that have been laid off. May you all find a better job in a better firm where you are much happier with nicer co-workers and better hours and a group of partners that really appreciate your hard work.
Take a few months, collect yourself and remember it is not your fault.
Good luck.
Hunton is just trying to save face and has been laying off associates for a while. Rumor is that more layoffs will happen during evaluations, morale is very low and I hope that clients do know how deceptive the firm's practices are. I heard t hat they told staff that there would not be any layoffs early spring and then they go ahead and lay off 60 plus staff members almost two months later!! Good luck to the attorneys and staff that were let go, you will all find a better job when the time is right.
Severance package offered is three months, no insurance benefits.. COBRA to the rescue.
It is actually true that the firm has NOT been laying off attorneys quietly before this round. Instead they have been forcing "resignations" with benefits. By doing so, they can now assert with a straight face that they have not been terminating their ranks all along. A quite clever -- if not dastardly -- ploy.
I am not surprised how underhanded these firms do things. Like I said above, it is all well rehearsed and now very well planned. They need to save face is correct. They want to look like the good guys.
This kind of planning takes a few months It doesn't happen overnight. Most first say..no layoffs and then they do it anyway.
Good luck to all the laid off people, from the support staff to the partners that were asked to leave. There is a better life/job for you elsewhere.
An H&W insider reports that the business development and marketing communications departments are inefficient. Further layoffs are expected here.
Inefficient? That's one of the biggest understatements I have ever heard.