This Week in Layoffs: 06.13.09
[Ed. note: Above the Law has teamed up with Law Shucks. Law Shucks has done excellent work translating all of the layoff news into user-friendly charts and graphs: the Layoff Tracker.]
That’s it? We’re looking for that one perfect week of no layoffs and we lose it to a Tennessee firm and two UK firms? So much for midsize firms being a safe harbor. The dream of a week without layoffs lives on. Instead, we’ll catch up on the regular activity. The trend of initial jobless claims declining continues, with new applications down to January levels. Same old song and dance, though, as total unemployment continues to climb, setting a record for the 19th straight week.
Businesses are slowing staff reductions as signs emerge that the worst recession in at least five decades may end in the second half of 2009. Still, economists in a Bloomberg News survey predicted the unemployment rate will climb to 10 percent by year-end and restrain consumer spending, muting any recovery.
That’s pretty much in line with the trend in the law-firm sector, although we might have our first green shoots. After the jump.
Back in March, we reported that every major Chicago law firm had laid people off, other than Locke Lord, which promptly laid people off a week later, and Winston & Strawn, which has not had any reported layoffs but we’ve been keeping an eye on them since January due to reports of stealth layoffs. Now things might be looking up. The National Law Journal reports that Skadden, Cozen O’Connor, and Nixon Peabody are all hiring in Chicago. Skadden has laid off 80 staff attorneys but no associates.
Skadden, which has its third-largest U.S. office in Chicago, has flexibility in the number of additional lawyers it could post in the new office, said [Skadden real-estate partner Marian] Wexler, who declined to specify how many new attorneys might be coming on board. In the eight floors that Skadden will occupy in the new building, the firm also has a new cafeteria from which it will not only serve meals, but also provide food for meetings, allowing it to reduce catering costs, she said.
So there’s no actual confirmation that Skadden is hiring, just that they’ve taken more space. Cozen has laid off 61 staff, and will be moving into larger space next April (one of Skadden’s vacated floors, as it turns out). Tia Ghattas, the firm’s managing partner in Chicago says the firm is “actively recruiting,” and in particular is looking for corporate lawyers and commercial litigators who “already have books of business.” Who isn’t? And that’s also not likely to mean they’re interested in the associates who have been affected by recent events. Finally, the piece turns to Nixon Peabody. There might actually be a real sign of life there:
Nixon Peabody earlier this month moved into a new office building at 300 South Riverside Plaza, nearly doubling its Chicago space to 32,676 square feet. The firm has 22 lawyers there now and wants to add 15 to 20, said Stephen Rudisill, who leads the office. The firm opened its doors in the city in 2007 with a group of intellectual property lawyers. “Chicago is a major market in the country so [the firm management would] like to add some of the other practices here,” Rudisill said.
While this series focuses on law firm layoffs, the hardest-hit legal employer this week were the South Florida County Clerks’ offices. At least 259 people have been laid off from Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. All in all, this was a much-appreciated quiet week in law firm layoffs. On Law Shucks, we wrap up the rest of the firms’ cost-control practices, including lots more salary cuts and a whopper of a start date deferral. We also have the updated numbers for the week, month, and year.
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Comments
Sonnenschein is the worst firm in the V 100. That is all.
How come Latham management laid off all the bar failers except for a partner's son?
Latham clients, do you want to pay $400 an hour to have this guy on your deal/case?
sonnenschein > latham
Latham shits allover associates. It worked them to death during the good times, then once the economy got bad, threw them out, especially the first years. All these firms are going through hard times, but most have treated their associates better than LaTTTham.
Never forget.
Disagree. Businesses have to renege on promises from time to time. It's unfortunate. When you do renege, however, the decent thing to do is pay some compensation. Latham did that. I think most people would find that reasonable.
Sonnenschein on the other hand screws its people regularly. This firm revoked offers without pay.
Big law firms: it's time to pay the piper for all that mismanagement of those high fees just to create an atmospheric pressure designed for delusional egos and overpaid HR vampires out to suck blood from hard working people and disguard like Tuesday's trash. HA! HA! HA!!
It's just too bad we all can't shut the hell up and get back to work and GET RID of those stupid ass HR people who do nothing good for morale.
5,
Latham laid off the majority of its first years in NY (except for a bar failing partner's son). Skadden, Simpson, DPW, Paul Weiss, and just about every one of Latham's former peer firms did not. In fact, most of the vault 100 didn't layoff first years, and if they did, it was just a few people; nothing like the massacre at Latham.
You think 6 months of severance adequately compensates the first years? Guess again. Most of these peoples' careers will be permanently altered for the worse by this. The salary difference over a lifetime could easily amount to several million, and probably will for many of them.
Moral of the story: Do not go to Latham. They will work you to death during good times, then fuck you during bad. They could have offered Skaddenesque deferrals, or moved people between offices, or chosen a number of different options. Instead, they chose the most drastic and damaging course of action possible.
@2 - because he's the partner's son. is this really such a big deal to warrant posting about it obsessively?
Does anyone have any advice on whether I should go to Latham? Anyone?
ATL needs to do an update on salary decreases at Schiff Hardin.
9.
go to Latham NY. you can't lose!
8, it represents everything that's wrong with this country.
for an extreme example see GW Bush.
I'm a rising 3L splitting my summer between Latham and White and Case. Any advice or should I just kill self?
What happened to Edificial? Did Lat stealth layoff all the architecture and design bloggers?
12 - the Latham partner's son was chosen to stay based on a majority of the popular vote?
13--
My opinion: Buy a Chrysler. Make it a trifecta.
14 - Stealth to us, but not to whoever was reading it:
http://edificial.com/2009/04/this-is-what-it-sounds-like-wh.php
Am I the only first year working in office today? Any thought on how many hours a first year associate need to bill to be safe from layoff.
-first year at v10-20
OMG A LAWYER WAS IN A SKYDIVING ACCIDENT AND DIDNT DIE!!!!!
CAN WE GET A POST ON THIS, PLEASE?
The truth behind the legal profession:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRIbUT6u7Q
Ignore the last post and check out this link for the truth about the law:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcaVSTsYyOI&feature=PlayList&p=CCF1AC5C3CA08778&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=6
Yes my friends, let's just hope we all get to wrap our lips around it!
This series would be a lot better if they would just team up with someone to do it
I'm surprised at the lack of reporting about Kelley Drye. The firm has quietly laid of people in various offices, reduced partner salaries and decided not to make any new partners.
What about the decline of dildo based transactions?
I just free based a fat pile of horse shit.
6, sounds like you know all about Hunton & Williams
The conduct of firms during the summer associate program has been worse than I expected. From what I gather, firms are not only engaging in announced layoffs, but they are also terminating associates by stealth--bogus performance-based dismissals. This is just a really shitty time to be a summer associate. Firms aren't even trying to sugarcoat how bad their lives are going to be if they have the good fortune of receiving an offer, a deferral notice and, if they even want to work in a firm anymore, a concrete start date. Terrible.
At my firm only the patent group and the bankruptcy group are busy.
15 - that's actually not how presidents are elected in this country.
I've heard rumors that Latham has laid off associates this year. Is there any truth in that?
Has anyone who was laid off actually received a pink slip or is that just in the movies?
32. real. comes with your paycheck or statement.
I heard that Hunton wil be going for round 2 layoffs in August.
Sonnenschein > Latham > some hobo on the street > K&L GaTTTes
2 - how come Latham gave 6 months severance when market was only 3 months???
Has ATL teamed up with LawShucks? Please advise.
36,
they were above market in laying off first years (> half the class in NY) so they had to pay an above market severance. it'd be much better to be at another firm and still have a job.
they also laid off all bar failers except for a partner's son.
I hear Clifford Chance is going to bring the smackdown on the remainder of its new york litigation department this coming week ...
39 - How do you know?
40--
The Lawyer in New York has been reporting on the problems at Clifford Chance's NY office, generally, and the litigation department in that office for some time now. The only news I see in 39's post is the timing.
--Not 39
37,
yes it is true.
There will be layoffs this week or next. Business has not improved. There are enough hours in for this quarter to make a decision. The only question is where is the cut-off. That will vary from firm to firm, but less than 75 billable hours would be reasonable.
So what is the story with Nixon. Good place to work?
So what is the story with Nixon. Good place to work?
Paul Hastings (a/k/a BigLaw Shithole) is dismissing its satellite office word processing departments and centralizing the entire operation in LA. There, the dirty little secret is out. Fuck you Uncle Paul!
PH = home of the inflated billable hour.
PH clients = victims of the inflated billable hour.
41:
Yes, I know about CC's problems generally. My question was HOW do you know about the timing. Thank you for not answering my question.
-- 39
The laid-off Latham first year who constantly posts bitter comments clearly shows that Latham laid off the right people.
49 - and by "right people" you mean over half of their first year class?
49 is just some sack of shit Latham partner.
wouldn't it be great if abovethelaw could team up with some site like law shucks?
49--
I see how you're attacking the person making the comments and not the substance of the comments. And that tells you all you need to know about why you're losing that argument.
And, you could have just as easily said, "The fact that nobody is complaining means we must have laid off the right people. They didn't care enough to complain. Can you believe it?" My point here is that your criticism doesn't add very much value.
It's clear that Latham treated some really good people like crap, and they have the likes of you out on boards like ATL trying to lay the blame at the feet of the discharged associates. Terrible.
HTH
Anyone ever hear of lawshucks? I hear they team up with lots of people. Is that some sex code word or something?
I think I'm taking an above the law hiatus. Morale is low at my firm and this drivel just feeds the beast/fuels paranoia. Life is more than this shit.
Goodbye, ATL...it was nice knowing the gossip, but i'd rather be oblivious.
Squisha squisha!