Nationwide Layoff Watch: Getting the Message Across to WilmerHale Associates
Here on Above the Law, we have extensively covered layoffs caused by the shrinking economy. We’ve also covered stealth layoffs. And we’ve covered performance review layoffs that have been done out in the open.
But at WilmerHale it looks like we are seeing an example of this: economically induced performance reviews resulting in stealth messages that require people to openly leave the firm.
Say that ten times fast. A tipster reports:
I know of [several] associates and counsel that have been laid off at Wilmer in the past week. Many of the associates are 2-4 years, but the lay-offs reach up to the 6 year level. All of them were let go for “performance” reasons - but everyone that I’ve talked to has had nearly perfect evaluations….The not so subtle indication we are getting from the firm is to tread lightly - find something else and leave quietly, and if [people] do that, they will get help, resources, support and references. I imagine the flipside of that is [squeaky wheels] will get a performance based dismissal to hang over their heads. … People are just too scared to say anything in this economy. Of course, there is always the shame of thinking you’ve been let go for “performance” reasons that will keep people quiet as well.
As we understand it, these cuts have taken place in Washington D.C. and Boston.
After the jump, WilmerHale tells us that there have been no “layoffs.”
A WilmerHale spokesperson was very clear that there have been no layoffs at the firm:
We have done no layoffs and we have no layoffs planned. Unlike many of the firms that have conducted layoffs, we did not go into the recession with highly leveraged practices that suddenly collapsed.
But whatever is going on at WilmerHale, the economy is playing a large role.
That said, many of our clients have been adversely affected by the recession and we therefore have seen a decline in demand for legal services in some practice areas. This does have consequences for how we manage attorneys, and economic considerations and demand for services do affect the career guidance we give lawyers, but we have not conducted layoffs and have no plans to do so.
And here comes the oxymoronic “openly stealth, non-layoffs, layoffs” part:
What you may have heard also is that we have, over the past two years, developed a career advancement program, which is intended to give more meaningful career guidance to our associates, senior associates and counsel. As that program is implemented and mentors meet with associates and counsel, career messages are given which may lead over time to departures.
Obviously, our tipsters are getting the message that they have to depart the firm.
The WilmerHale statement concludes with:
The firm will continue to monitor economic conditions and client needs. As you may know, we have reviewed our budget and tightened it further, delayed the incoming associate start dates and created a deferral program, and we are not doing a significant amount of lateral hiring at this time. Performance reviews will continue to be held twice a year, during the spring and fall.
Despite the clarity of the WilmerHale response, there are lingering questions about WilmerHale’s career messages. Above the Law has received conflicting reports about the amount of time WilmerHale associates have to find new jobs. Some people tell us they’ve been given two months, other people claim they have three.
We asked WilmerHale to clarify the notice or severance given to associates. A spokesperson said:
There is no one answer to this question because unlike a layoff, with bi-annual performance reviews messages to those who will need to transition out of the firm are individualized.
Regardless of what you want to call it, there are current WilmerHale associates who probably won’t be there by the end of the summer. It’s a tough message to receive in this economy. Good luck.
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of law firm layoffs
Nationwide Start Date Watch: Winston & Strawn, WilmerHale, Baker & McKenzie, and Sonnenschein Delay Start Dates
(188) 
Comments
Comments hidden for your protection. Show them anyway!
Sotomayor says fire the white males first!
SECOND!
First to he bitch man slap Mystal's moobs.
THIRD!
"transition out of the firm" = layoff.
I remember sitting down with the Rockets and saying, "Yeah. I'm going to retire." They said, "Well, we'll give you $9 million." And I said, "You got a pen on you?"
Sotomayor just eats the white males first.
Halverson is pissed Sotomayor stole her thunder.
Johnny Lawrence here. After I graduated from law school, I decided to join the Kobra Kai of law firms, Skadden Arps. Mercy is for the weak, if you see another lawyer at the other end of the table, he is your enemy. The enemy deserves no mercy!
Baby, baby, it looks like WilmerHale,
Baby, baby, it looks like WilmerHale,
Is gonna lay off associates
And they're gonna cry and wail!
Jesus, I don't work at WilmerHale and know just a few people that do, but why do these firms think they can get by with lying?
Fess up. The work isn't there. The clients that blindly paid sticker prices aren't doing it anymore.
The WilmerHale spokesperson is a fucking liar, and the people enabling said spokesperson are bigger liars.
As a WilmerHale associate, I would like some IDEAS as to where I can lateral to? I have applied to dozens of places and received no response. I'm getting, frankly, a little desperate.
Jones Day is doing this as well.
Skadden does this too.
Impressively passive aggressive. Wow.
Skadden does this too.
The ship be sinking...
11
SkaddenDC?
White males go first, because clients give preference to diverse attorneys and require them to be assigned to their matters. There are also more white males to dismiss. But others go too, and it is horrible for anyone and everyone.
I absolutely guarantee you that Judge Sotomayor took her share of abuse from white males at Princeton -- because I was there and saw it. I have never seen her behave in the way that the commentators on these threads behave (and they seem to assume that she will behave like them and abuse and discriminate.) I did see her win the Pyne Prize with Dave Germany for top student, which is quite an accomplishment.
We didn't have frats, but frat boys will be frat boys, even at BigLaw it seems.
.
You are all worthless.
Louis Zaccareli
11 sounds like that wimp Larusso. We don't want him at Skadden.
10 - Lying is a fact of life in Corporate America. People are, for the most part, cowards, and recoil at the prospect of having to tell anyone any kind of bad news. But, as you can see with these messages from WilmerHale, most of the lying people do is to themselves.
"Help?" Like what? Virtually no one is hiring. I'm not sure what this firm thinks they can do for departing associates other than offer a generous severance package.
It sounds like WilmerHale is taking a page from the Latham "how-not-to-lay-people-off" Handbook. Latham did this too. Latham had many, many midlevels (and junior associates) that had previously had stellar reviews suddenly get reviews that said either 1) Your (very minor) screwup in the past is a huge "performance issue" and we can't keep you on 2) You are not "productive enough" (even though people had begged for work" or 3) You are "behind" your class year in terms of development (although a mere six months before, their reviews were stellar).
MEMO TO LAW FIRMS:
Your employees aren't stupid. The public isn't stupid. Most of all, your clients aren't stupid. Why not just fess up and refrain from destroying your previously loyal employees careers? There's something to be said for honorable candor. Do the right thing. Let people go, but don't smear them, make them doubt their abilities, and screw with their self-esteem and references in the interim. DO THE RIGHT THING.
WilmerHale Associates:
Here's your "career message."
Paul
11
I guess reality is telling you that you don't deserve to be a lawyer anywhere else.
Sucks to be you.
Earth to WilmerHale:
"Economic considerations and demand for services do affect the career guidance we give lawyers" = layoffs.
Except instead of having the dignity to say that you have a shortage of work and too many overpaid associates, you instead have decided to piss on people's reputations. Grow some balls and face the music already.
WilmerHale Associates:
Your "career message" comes with a complimentary "neck massage."
Paul
Hey WilmerHale summers, enjoy, if you get an offer, this will be you in two years.
This is happening at Beveridge & Diamond, an environmental law firm in DC, too...
They can dance around it all the want, they have taken the "Stealth Layoff" to a new level/art form!! I vote WilmerHale as most intellectually dishonest law firm during the BigLaw Great Recession Layoffs.
"White males go first, because clients give preference to diverse attorneys and require them to be assigned to their matters. "
I love these types of arguments. So if clients wanted "diverse attorneys" to "go first" because they required "white males" to "be assigned to their matters" it would be entirely justifiable and non-discriminatory, right? Why do people that fail to see this obvious hypocrisy even bother to post. Go entitlements go!
Oh please, WilmerHale tells people to leave the firm every year. Some people simply aren't up to the firm's high standards. I know people who have been told to leave in years past - they were given clear messages in their reviews (even though they hated to admit it and didn't want to believe it), and they had 3-6 months to find a new job, depending on how long they'd been with the firm. You can't fault the firm for deciding to get rid of people with performance problems more quickly if they aren't good and there's not enough document review or other relatively easy work for them to do. It's an up or out system, and some people are out. It sucks, especially in this economy, but it's necessary.
32 = WilmerHale stooge.
Fuck off guy, if WH hires moronic people let their clients know about it so they can recoup some of their unjustifiable fees.
Oh please, you are a major firm boot-licking douchebag.
Beveridge & Diamond fills the Coke machines at my firm. Their delivery guy is really nice, I hope he doesn't fall victim to their lay-offs. In fact, I think I'll go buy a Diet Cherry Coke right now. Just doing my part for the economy.
33: why do you assume 32 is male? That's a bit sexist, no?
34
You mean your firm doesn't provide you with free Cokes, etc?
So much for your judgment in choosing a firm that doesn't provide employee necessities like that while requiring 24/7 accessibility.
Expect to see a lot more "stealth layoffs." What most don't realize is that the large firms are running out of money, period. They are firing people because they cannot afford to pay them anymore, not even a reduced salary as some firms are trying to get away with. The stealth mode is employed because firms cannot afford to let the market know about their weakened condition (would you hire a law firm if you were worrried it might collapse in 6 months?). Thus, no massive and obvious layoffs. But the firms still need to reduce costs -- hence the stealth layoffs.
Some large firms will fail this summer, and others will shrink by half. Very few summers will get offers at the surviving firms.
Its that bad.
Expect to see a lot more "stealth layoffs." What most don't realize is that the large firms are running out of money, period. They are firing people because they cannot afford to pay them anymore, not even a reduced salary as some firms are trying to get away with. The stealth mode is employed because firms cannot afford to let the market know about their weakened condition (would you hire a law firm if you were worrried it might collapse in 6 months?). Thus, no massive and obvious layoffs. But the firms still need to reduce costs -- hence the stealth layoffs.
Some large firms will fail this summer, and others will shrink by half. Very few summers will get offers at the surviving firms.
Its that bad.
36, why did you assume I meant 32 is male.
Haven't you seen South Park?
"I'm not you guy, pal? I'm not your pal, buddy, I'm not your friend, buddy, I'm not your buddy, guy."
Oh, and Wilmer Hale, outside of Latham this is the crappiest thing I've seen.
-33
Sure, GM went bankrupt, and Citibank and AIG needed billions of dollars, but there is no way a stable law firm like Wilmer could be short of money. No way. I refuse to believe that a well-established law firm could be short on cash.
Sure, GM went bankrupt, and Citibank and AIG needed billions of dollars, but there is no way a stable law firm like Wilmer could be short of money. No way. I refuse to believe that a well-established law firm could be short on cash.
Who is Louis Zaccareli?
37
I take it you're a gray kind of person, right? Can't see the sunny side of things in life.
The plus side is that a lot of partners will be losing their jobs and lucrative lifestyle this summer, if your scenario is right. So instead of Sidwell Friends in DC, partners will be transferring their brood to local D.C. public schools. Who cares?
As 32 said, Wilmer (and every other firm for that matter) does this every year. Or does anyone here believe that the normal attrition rates in normal economic climate are in no way spurred on by helpful hints and winks to associates from partners during the regular review process? The only difference may be quantity. Which also makes sense given that firms can be more picky about the quality of their associates when the supply of qualified labor is that much higher.
This is happening at Morgan Lewis.
36 - Screw you. My firm donates all soft drink profits to an organization dedicated to surgical assistance for third world children born with cleft palates, so that they may some day enjoy the simple pleasure of sipping a root beer through a straw. Plus, we're helping out those poor bastards at Beveridge & Diamond.
So do I regret my firm choice? No. Do you regret being a pompous leech on society?
Sincerely,
34
29 - Seriously? That's sad. I would have thought they would have any of the environmental work that's remaining, given their prominence in the field and (I believe) being able to charge lower rates than some of the larger corporate law firms.
While my abacus softly weeps...
-Count Layoffula
This is comic opera buffa to disguise the fact that associates are fungible; in a down economy, associates are a luxury that can be done without.
Face it, you may think you deserve a BMW, expensive vacations, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a model wife on a $160,000 salary, but life has other plans for you -- like a studio efficiency in Washington Heights or East Harlem or, God forbid, Soundview or University Heights in the Bronx and an unshakeable $150,000 plus student loans and no job.
Sucks to be you.
49
You forgot to add "roach infested" and/or bedbug infested apartments and the frequent sound of "pop-pop-pop-pop" at 2 am in the morning. And being accosted by people outside your filthy apartment building who are even poorer than you seeking to sell you bags of indeterminate herbs, likely, oregano laced with rat poison.
Have fun. When the fall comes, it's a pretty fast descent.
49 & 50 need to stop reading Charles Bukowski.
It's interesting how some people use the anonymous posting function to tear into other peoples' firms in such an insulting manner. I'm looking at you, 34, but not only you. Every time I read comments on ATL, there is so much of this stupidity. Is it resentment? Insecurity? It certainly is pathetic, whether you're joking or not. Law was once a profession, but all of the hyper-competitive, arrogant douchebags who staff its ranks have turned it into one of the most hated lines of work on the planet. Its the 34s out there that give me a touch of shame each time I introduce myself as a lawyer.
51
Have you actually lived in those areas?
The Bronx: Soundview, University Heights, Castle Hill, Kingsbridge, Wakefield, Hunts Point.
Queens: Hollis, Jamaica, Rockaway, Ozone Park.
Brooklyn: East New York, Brownsville, Bushwick, Crown Heights, Coney Island.
Staten Island: Mariners Harbor, Stapleton, parts of Jersey Street.
Manhattan: Harlem, Washington Heights, East Harlem.
You're in for a treat. These places are far worse than anything Charles Bukowski conceived. You'll be lucky to escape with just a popped collar.
Comment removed by moderator.
Comment removed by moderator.
54, hilarious and possibly credited.
Wilmer's response is a masterpiece of newspeak and gobbledygook. Way to hide the ball, assholes.
56 -TY, I know.
-54
52 - Yeah, it was a joke. Law firm names are sometimes unintentionally a little silly, or sound like they may practice some other sort of business than the law.
And you're right, jokes are inappropriate in the ATL comment section. It is the place to call Obama a socialist, Sotomayor a fat racist, and write mini-essays on how corrupt corporate America and BigLaw are.
Get over yourself.
Everyone knows that before the economy took a dive most firms would hold onto weak players until they eventually got the hint -- usually in the form of constant doc review assignments -- that they weren't going anywhere.
I'm not sure that placing a greater emphasis on actual performance -- due to the economy or not -- and not letting weak players coast is really the same thing as conducting stealth layoffs. It's more like, the days of easy money are gone, so you kind of need to actually do your job to keep it.
It's interesting how some people use the anonymous posting function to tear into other peoples' opinions of other peoples' firms in such an insulting manner. I'm looking at you, 52.
I think this would be more enlightening if we knew (1) how many associates and (2) what practice groups. For example, if it's a few associates from litigation or securities, it's pretty clear the issue is performance, because there is plenty of work.
And remember, just because someone is good enough when they are hired doesn't mean they will be 3 years down the road. The level of work required of a first or second year is pretty basic. Many can do it, but some people never progress beyond it. With the lock-step model of salary and promotion, those who can't keep up have to be kicked to the curb.
53, it's not a question of an ability to list lousy neighborhoods. It's that the notion that someone will end up that low just because they lost one overpaid job.
There were lots of people struggling when BigLaw associates didn't have a worry in the world. If the economic order is collapsing as severely as people like you think it is, those folks will have turned to cannibalism before a Wilmer Hale associate ends up in a Bronx ghetto. It is roasting, not poverty, that BigLaw associates must fear.
63
Is this roasting before or after you pop a collar?
And do you taste like chicken?
This has been going at the Pittsburgh firm of K&L Gates for the last two years.
11
I, too, would appreciate some guidance as to WHERE I can apply for a job. What I'm hearing is that it's spectacularly tough to get jobs these days. If you're a first year Latham associate who got laid off, you can forget it. Help much appreciated!
61. People are free to say whatever they want. We're all free to tear into other peoples' firms or opinions as we so desire. My point has less to do with people posting anonymously, and more to do with the fact that the nobody I know wants to work with or hire abrasive, antisocial, unprofessional attorneys, whether they get the job done or not. Its all for nothing when nobody likes you, and when you're the person nobody likes, you rarely figure it out until it is far too late. Seemingly trivial courtesies make a world of difference to colleagues and clients alike, and our profession will only be bettered in result. Snarkiness might make someone briefly feel witty and intelligent, but the collective cost is greater than the benefit. Perhaps I'm addressing the wrong audience.
- 52, awaiting a string of insults
I'm so glad this is finally coming out. It's been happenning since 2007. It's even worse in smaller firms that don't have the cash flow of the big firms. They nonverbally back you into a corner to resign by either 1) The "Set UP" they will set you up to dismiss you (even with previously stellar evals) OR 2) nonverbally threaten to "black ball" you in DC if you fight back. Or course, if you sue you can NEVER work in that firm again or anywhere in DC. They say, it's your choice....or just resign (can't sue them, no unemployment insurance payments, etc.) so lying is very beneficial for them.
Law firms will be changed after the economy bounces back....Unions in law firms?
"abrasive, antisocial, unprofessional attorneys"
You are describing 90 percent plus of all attorneys.
Are you really this naive?
61. People are free to say whatever they want. We're all free to tear into other peoples' firms or opinions as we so desire. My point has less to do with people posting anonymously, and more to do with the fact that the nobody I know wants to work with or hire abrasive, antisocial, unprofessional attorneys, whether they get the job done or not. Its all for nothing when nobody likes you, and when you're the person nobody likes, you rarely figure it out until it is far too late. Seemingly trivial courtesies make a world of difference to colleagues and clients alike, and our profession will only be bettered in result. Snarkiness might make someone briefly feel witty and intelligent, but the collective cost is greater than the benefit. Perhaps I'm addressing the wrong audience.
- 52, awaiting a string of insults
It's worse at WH than most people think.
-Anonymous
69, you should know by now that 76% of all statistics are 38% made up.
worst
62: Define "plenty of work." Litigation and Securities is plenty slow right now. WilmerHale won't even hire back associates who went to clerk for a year.
62: Define "plenty of work." The Litigation and Securities groups are plenty slow right now. WilmerHale won't even hire back associates who went to clerk for a year.
Wow, 75, if litigation at Wilmer is slow, it must be completely dead in corporate.
What a bunch of spineless pussies.
Looks like Wilmer Hale is opting to take the Dewey & LeBoeuf route.
75: I'm in litigation and at a 2200 hour pace without trying (and without doing an ounce of document review). I know plenty of others on the same pace or higher. That strikes me as plenty of work, but maybe I'm just a slacker.
Comment removed by moderator.
Comment removed by moderator.
75: You're clearly an outlier. That is plenty of work. Especially for a firm whose average associate billable hours across offices and practice groups was never above 1900 hours even during the good years. But go to securities floors in DC and you'll see a bunch of empty offices.
Here, Here, 52/70. Couldn't agree more! I do think the ability to post anonymously has a lot to do with it. I wonder how many people would come out and say racist, hateful, insulting or down right stupid stuff if their real name was stuck next to it.
I wouldn't say litigation is dead at Wilmer. There's some work. But it's telling that the firm, which has always prized itself for hiring federal clerks, won't hire back its associates who left to take a year clerkship.
83,
I like being laid off. It gives me more time to eat my girlfriend's vagina in the morning.
IF there are floors with 20 attorney offices at Wilmer, but only 4-5 attorneys, then Wilmer is in trouble. Seems like that should be pretty simple to verify.
If true, its Game Over. Empyty office space is a sign of disease. It will kill a firm, because the 4-5 attorneys on that floor, even if they have work, are just paying the rent on the empty space.
Any of the other 'transitioning' lawyers still getting new assignments like I am? Fuckers.
I can confirm #74/75. In DC, litigation was sluggish going back to summer 2008. Securities was fairly busy at that time, but I would not be surprised to learn that group had slowed down too. Corporate wasn't moribund, but wasn't exactly buzzing either. I'm a little surprised it took Wilmer this long to decide to release people.
If several attorneys were laid off last week, does that me they were informed to transition to another job in 1-6 months or they have effectively left the firm? Any terminations in New York?
we (or at least me) have until end of August to "transition out."
Has Simpson Thacher NY had any layoffs recently?
I keep hearing about slowness, but who is slow?? I was busy in 2008 and am busy now.
There are some very bogus "factual" comments on this board.
Probably to make way for the 40+ summers at their DC office alone.
93 - Exactly. Like Beveridge & Diamond servicing Coke machines. Everyone knows they became an exclusive Pepsi distributor back in '98.
These empty offices are for summer associates, people.
Who in the holy hell is hiring in this economy?!
~WH associate who has to 'transition' out by September.
90 and 97 - And what happens if you can't find a job. Do they fire you then in August/September, respectively? Will they object to unemployment?
90 and 97 - And what happens if you can't find a job. Do they fire you then in August/September, respectively? Will they object to unemployment?
Comment removed by moderator.
What's happening with WH's staff attorneys?! They are the proverbial "canaries in the mine."
Because Wilmer focuses heavily on litigation, it would be suprising if they needed to lay off attorneys.
I'd find work in a nonprofit after being transitioned out of WH. Nothing like going from 210,000 to 30,000 in several months.
The thing that sucks worse is that Wlmer has way way too much staff. The secretaries go in there every day and sit around doing their summer reading while on the clock. But they are untouchable for some reason. Seriously the firm refused to install a key system a few years back because they were worried they would have to lay off the floor receptionists. I don't know why they keep unproductive overhead on the payroll while those that generate cash are let go.
The thing that sucks worse is that Wlmer has way way too much staff. The secretaries go in there every day and sit around doing their summer reading while on the clock. But they are untouchable for some reason. Seriously the firm refused to install a key system a few years back because they were worried they would have to lay off the floor receptionists. I don't know why they keep unproductive overhead on the payroll while those that generate cash are let go.
Comment removed by moderator.
104,
You shouldn't begrudge staff their employment. Their work options are fewer and less remunerative than yours. (And, as the spokesperson, 106, and others have stated, it is far from clear that Wilmer is actually laying off any attorneys.)
Yeah 107, its not as if the Wilmer spokesperson would keep something like layoffs a seceret...um, these are layoffs.
Responding to No. 104 -- because you attorneys need babysitters.
Responding to No. 104 -- because you attorneys need babysitters.
Responding to No. 104 -- because you attorneys need babysitters.
Responding to No. 104 -- because you attorneys need babysitters.
Responding to No. 104 -- because you attorneys need babysitters.
This is WH's way of saying "You have a mighty purty mouf."
Get the hell out.
WH also has waaaay too many administrators. There are about 20 of them in the NY office alone. They should go first. Start with VC and CK and continue on down the list!
Any of these layoffs in NY?
The classier BigLaw firms have always culled the herd by informing some associates that it was a good time for them to start looking. Seems to me WilmerHale is taking the classy route. Certainly if the laid off attorneys are allowed to stay in their offices for three months while looking, that is not terrible. Were the times not so tough this probably would have gone down without a ripple.
The classier BigLaw firms have always culled the herd by informing some associates that it was a good time for them to start looking. Seems to me WilmerHale is taking the classy route. Certainly if the laid off attorneys are allowed to stay in their offices for three months while looking, that is not terrible. Were the times not so tough this probably would have gone down without a ripple.
"Were the times not so tough this probably would have gone down without a ripple. "
Indeed, but times are tough and these are layoffs, Wilmer should call it as it is. This isn't class.
Wait a second - don't firms do this even in good times??? Don't firms always lay off people for performance reasons? I don't see what's signs in this article that the forced departures are economic disguised as performance yet. If WilmerHale is guilty here, then EVERY FIRM out there is guilty of the same thing.
Who are these moronic WH cheerleaders?
WH is in just as much trouble as anyone else. You WH admin people saying it isn't doesn't make it so.
If you have bad performers being let go, are you cutting your clients a break on bills with their time, since they weren't legitimately WH attorneys? If not, shut the fuck up.
The thing is, there have been some indications that Wilmer has not been hit as hard by the slow down as other firms (and a litigation-heavy practice focus could explain such a circumstance). Therefore, it is odd that any layoffs would be happening.
"I don't know why they keep unproductive overhead on the payroll while those that generate cash are let go."
Let me help you out, there, son: I don't know why they keep [tight-bodied secretaries who have sex with partners] on the payroll while [easily replaceable associates] that generate cash [when times are good--which they are not right now] are let go.
Comment removed by moderator.
How common really are liaisons between partners and secretaries? At my biglaw firm, I haven't been aware of any and have no reason to even suspect one.
125,
It's more common than you realize.
Just look at the guys pumping away their tiny dicks at their secretary's ass and posting away here.
121 - angry much? do you have information that leads you to believe this? If so, please share. At the core, there's nothing in this ATL post that shows that WH is doing something that it wouldn't do anyway - push out the underperformers. With that in mind, I would love REAL INFORMATION about layoffs if ATL can get any.
In any case, what firm has EVER cut their clients a break on laid off attorneys' time? Idiot.
I really doubt the existence of the Wilmer "underperformer." Wilmer one of the most selective law firms in the country and gets its pick from a pool of candidates that have already been through many rounds of selection in their lives.
128 (paul): you’re dreamin’. just look at the credentials of the attorneys on the website … far from being exclusive.
A typical Wilmer associate is a grad from a Top 10 school, on law review, with a federal clerkship.
130 - You got it wrong! Fail.
"Under-performer" is too unkind. In any group you can rank everyone 1 to n. If you only have work for n-x lawyers, the last x on the list are deemed under-performing. Politics biases this ranking process, yet it is reasonable and not unfair. How would you decide whom to cut, if cut you must?
Great - my comment has to follow the most awkward post in the whole blog.
Weird that the firm is doing this with the starry eyed and eager summer associates around. Surely they will get wind of this and wonder about the stability of this place. I'm sure they can't wait to deal with this shit when they join the firm. Welcome to the firm guys and gals!
I have until the end of August.
for those of you asking for advice on where to look, it is difficult to say. in the government (DC), we are getting resumes from attorneys who have incredible credentials - partners and counsel with many years of experience in our particular area of expertise. the more junior resumes are coming from excellent firms as well - just today i looked at resumes from associates at skadden, jones day, wilmer, hogan, and sidley. from our hiring group's perspective, the only downside is we don't have money for more full-time positions. given what we are seeing, it must be ugly out there. unless i had a gold-plated resume, i'd be tempted to do something completely different - maybe open a business or learn mandarin. good luck.
Great - my comment has to follow the most awkward post in the whole blog.
Weird that the firm is doing this with the starry eyed and eager summer associates around. Surely they will get wind of this and wonder about the stability of this place. I'm sure they can't wait to deal with this shit when they join the firm. Welcome to the firm guys and gals!
I have until the end of August.
Great - my comment has to follow the most awkward post in the whole blog.
Weird that the firm is doing this with the starry eyed and eager summer associates around. Surely they will get wind of this and wonder about the stability of this place. I'm sure they can't wait to deal with this shit when they join the firm. Welcome to the firm guys and gals!
I have until the end of August.
Wilmer Hale, who do you think you are? Schiff Hardin? Well I know Schiff Hardin, and you, sir, are no Schiff Hardin. Ron Safer perfected this two-faced bullshit.
Hail to the WM cheerleaders!
When did partners infiltrate this blog?
"In any case, what firm has EVER cut their clients a break on laid off attorneys' time? Idiot."
An honest one that admits their work wasn't up to firm standards.
Douchebag.
Seriously, how many WM partners and staffers are posting here. God you folks suck.
Why hasn't there been more Ropes trolling on this topic? Here I'll start it off:
At least Ropes had the balls to be honest about their "performance reviews" Ropes>WH>Goodwin
No WH is not doing anything unusual WH>Ropes>Goodwin
Discuss . . .
130: federal clerkships don't matter at WilmerHale any more.
79: If there was so much work in litigation, then WilmerHale would've hired back these former associates who went to clerk for a year. If WilmerHale can't absorb 5 former associates with clerkship credentials, then you can bet that litigation won't be busy for long.
134 -
what specific agency are you referring to?
ferc
Any confirmation on clerkship rescissions at Wilmer? Or is this all the same anonymous poster?
I feel sorry for the WilmerHale support staff. WH is incredibly stingy with raises for staff. How would you like to receive a annual raise ranging from 2% - 3% for the next decade, regardless of your performance? Or an annual bonus range of 0 to 2 weeks pay, depending on the firm's operating results, regardless of your personal performance? That place is the proverbial BigLaw factory, and the staff are unfortunate cogs in the wheels of the heartless machinery.
WH has a June fiscal year end, so we will soon see how the firm does for the period July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009!
144- I am not the anonymous poster - I have friends that did a clerkship after working at WH. In that situation you don't have a guaranteed job when you return for ethical reasons, but normally its understood that if you want to return you are welcome too. This year the "returning" clerks were told that they could apply to come back, but they would only be able to actually return if WH could actually justify rehiring them. I don't know whether anyone has actually been told whether they can or can not return.
That's not really a rescission then, 146.
134, thanks for sharing your observations.
144- I'm not the anonymous poster. But I have a friend who left WilmerHale last year for a federal clerkship and was told that the firm wasn't hiring any of its former associates back from clerkships. (I don't know how many that is.) But as 146 pointed out, it used to be standard practice for WilmerHale to take back its clerks.
@125-
At my biglaw firm, the managing partner got his secretary pregnant while he was married to wife #1. Dumped wife #1 & married the secretary. No one batted an eye.
-midwest
Shame on Wilmer Hale. This is shameful! STEALTH LAYOFFS and not hiring clerks back? R U SERIOUS?
I used to think that this firm was classy. SHAME ON YOU.
140,
WTF are you talking about? We (Ropes) certainly weren't "honest" about much of anything regarding the people asked to leave. Both Ropes and Wilmer have provided pretty transparent/BS "performance" based reasons for letting people go ... at least Goodwin was forthright about its layoffs.
But yes, Goodwin froze salaries, so Ropes/Wilmer trump Goodwin in that regard. But Goodwin handled it a lot better than the other 2 in terms of layoffs.
(Yes, I'd rather take the extra money and be here rather than there, but that's not the point for present purposes.)
Why is making a standard (and good) business decision to get rid of some bottom percentage of associates so criticized on this blog? And what is wrong with not hiring clerks or others if there isn't enough work to keep them busy?
Oh by the way, you can have someone from Harvard with a clerkship who still sucks when it comes to the real world.
And as to 125, the staff, overall, is not terribly good.
The reason WH is not doing actual layoffs is because it has been fiscally conservative all along. Performance reviews are not layoffs.
It would be very unlikely to have someone from Harvard with a clerkship (and the commensurate excellent grades) who "sucks" for purposes of biglaw litigation.
97 - try fed govt; the SEC's Mary Schapiro told Congress today that she submitted a budget request for FY2011 to fund a 1,000 increase in personnel...note that our agency now has about 3,600 employees...we also expect to add staff in FY2010...so apply if you have any interest in securities law/regulation...
Wilmer used to be probably the most stellar, credentialed, nice firm in D.C. It really was a special place. That changed in about 1998 or so. Since then it's been downhill fast. They used to compete with Williams & Connolly and Covington but now that's not really realistic.
154, your view is the view of many associates, but it's terribly wrong. There are many, many top graduates of top law schools who, within a few years of graduation, prove to be not very good. Grads of top law schools seem to succeed at a higher level on the whole, but you're way off if you think that these grads are generally all pretty good once you're more than 18 months out of law school.
157 - You disagree that grads from top schools are generally all pretty good?
157 here again. 128, same for you. There are plenty of people who have superb grades from top law schools who are average or well below average when it comes to actually practicing. Just as there are many Harvard MBAs who wind up flopping at I-banks. This is a hard job and not for everyone. Some people succeed, some don't. Those who got great grades and went to top law schools will, as a group, tend to do better than those who didn't. But it's just nuts if you think that everyone in that group will actually be a "good" associate.
I confirm that in my years of practice, I have met many smart harvard and yale law students that turned out to be terrible associates. The most common flaws: smart but socially inappropriate (think about the QE guy), no common sense, inflated ego, thought they knew too much to have to do the grunt work that we all do as young lawyers. I have seen plenty of idiots and freaks from other schools too. It just stands out more because they often are so smart. I will take great grades at a school like UCLA, Wisconson or Vandy because these students seem to be the most well rounded and willing to work.
158 - you're an idiot
Why did the WilmerHale DC partner kill himself back in January?
How did they manage to keep it quiet?
158 -- I don't think any partner at any firm would say grads from top schools are "generally all pretty good". That's just silly.
130!! huh? top 10 BigLaw -- someone is misinformed. You're confusing WH with another "W" firm I fear. please check the website.
I think most people would agree that WilmerHale can't compete with Covington and W&C. Anyone who has a choice among the three would be dumb to choose WH.
W&C gives staff longevity bonuses starting at 10 yrs and then in 5 yrs increments -- $1,000 for each year -- Hence - 10 yrs = $10,000. They're not laying off - but let's see if that holds up. Sure hope so!
WH sucks ass.
Given that I have $250,000 in debt, and no job, I would much rather cross swords with Duncan Idaho after I insulted his wife, Alia of the Knife, rather than get a near perfect evaluation from Wilmer Hale as an associate and be told to "transition" out of the firm by August.
168 - go to SEC like lots of other WH attys over the past few years -- it's turning into an annex. i guess staff should start applying there, too.
The original tipster reports: "but everyone that I've talked to has had nearly perfect evaluations...."
Ha, ha, ha....that's a good one. Please tell me you don't actually believe that.
169
Will the SEC let me troll ATL with Dune references?
More importantly, do they have a loan assistance program of some sort? Sallie Mae is getting rather shrill in their demands for repayment. I'm sure that they'll send some folks to give me an attitude adjustment.
168
Way too much office space -- why are so many offices empty?
171 - Obama is going to fix everything - so they say.
To 145 -- you got it right. They're super-stingy with nonattorney benefits and raises. Paralegals get dinged if they don't bill out the wazoo -- no matter if the work isn't there or what they do is excellent quality. Bill high hours, even if it's the crappiest work around, and you get the bonuses & raises. Non-attorneys get ignored most of the time.
Comment removed by moderator.
Comment removed by moderator.
Comment removed by moderator.
Comment removed by moderator.
145 and 174: You are obviously "staff." I haven't come across too many staff who do not surf the web 25-50% of their day. Although I'm not WH - your firm should probably lay off some staff before letting go over experienced lawyers who bring in a lot more revenue than the staff surfers.
Hey 160: "Vandy"? You are quite the dandy. Beware the spice - it will turn your eyes blue.
Hey 179, you're obviously an attorney who lets "staff" do the work and then takes all the credit. Watch your behind, you'll sink just as fast as everybody else -- especially when TPTB find out you're not really doing any work.
Experienced staff do a heck of a lot better job than you pitiful first-years (or senior associates who think they're god's gift to creation).
Thank you for finally saying that associates from top 10 schoools do not necessarily make good lawyers! Now would someone explain that to the people coming up with the job requirements for most of the transactional positions I have been applying to for over 3 months since informed of my 2 month notice stealth layoff? Recruiters and in-house law departments also seem to think that unless you went to a top 10 school AND worked at BIGLaw, you couldnt possibly be a good attorney! I have 10 years experience in commercial real estate law - do you think that only big firms get the good work? You are very wrong!
Of course T10 grads don't *necessarily" make the best laywers. No one said there is an ironclad rule. But you would think that the recruiters and in-house folks know a thing or two about legal acumen. The success of their businesses depends on making good hiring decisions.
Taft Stettinius & Hollister is also doing this. They gave 2 months notice to associates and of counsel to "find new employment", as if that were possible in this economy and yes I am collecting unemployment so they did not deny it, but were definitely surprised when I broadcast it to the world in my attempt to find new employment before I was out on the street. Word is there are more to come. The work is not there and the two mergers they entered into in 2008 cost a lot of $$
Does anyone know where Wilmer's associates have been going in the past few months. With voluntary attrition at 0 percent, anyone leaving must have been asked to leave. Where are they going? The gov't? Porn?
August is the defining month at WH! They will have to be honest.
H&D met WH and became so infatuated with each other that they eloped against their families' wishes (employees). Over the years the arguments and lies have become overwhelming and their parental skills are lacking! Isn't it time for a divorce?
Latham stealth here (23, thanks for the nod, and for the accurate characterization). All you WH stealths reading this have my sympathies and good thoughts. Your stories sound eerily, and depressingly, familiar. Don't let the bastards get you down . . . .