Departures from WilmerHale: An Interesting Internal Memo

Last month, the firm of WilmerHale denied that any layoffs have taken place at the firm. The accuracy of that statement depends on what the meaning of “layoff” is.

In an internal memo obtained by Above the Law, the firm acknowledges that “a very small number of individuals” have been asked to leave WH for economic reasons. The memo also notes that the performance review process “is affected by the reality of current economic conditions, as performance issues sometimes come to light more when business is slower.”

(This may constitute some welcome candor. Other firms try to claim, somewhat implausibly, that performance reviews are utterly unaffected by the economy, i.e., that associates are judged by the exact same standards as in boom times.)

Still, the knowledge that the economy contributed to one’s purportedly performance-based dismissal is cold comfort. From an affected associate at WilmerHale:

I was one of the ones that was cut for “performance” reasons. My evaluations were [several] pages long, single spaced — of accolades… with one half of one sentence that mentioned something I could improve on… from one partner out of [many] that evaluated me. I was let go based on that one phase, copied and pasted on the front of the eval…. Unlike the claim [in the memo] that the firm cannot give associates “three or four” chances to make improvements, I had never received a similar comment in the past.

Many partners were apparently left out of the process of deciding which associates to cut — and as a result have begun to “vent” to the associates that were cut about the process. We (as cut associates) actually had the incredibly uncomfortable task of informing partners that we worked with, who did not know we had been cut, that we were leaving. The resulting frustration of partners has led to a leak of a few tidbits of info on the numbers cut. The numbers floating around differ, but I’ve heard that between 10-15% of all associates firm wide were informed of their “transitions” over the past month. Apparently, another round may be coming in the fall.

Anxiety-inducing for current WilmerHale associates, but perhaps not a surprise. Expect a number of firms to trim their ranks after summer associates head back to school.

More discussion, plus the full memo, after the jump.

Sponsored

A second WH source picked up on a different aspect of the same memo:

[W]e regularly have upward evaluations every spring, when associates review their supervising counsel and partners. This year, only in response to direct questioning from associates, management finally revealed that upward evaluations have been cancelled, and will not be held until spring, 2010. The official party line is that the cancellation is due to budgetary concerns (which doesn’t even make sense!), but there is a widespread belief that the real reason is to prevent all those “transitioned” or with harsh reviews from being able to set the record straight.

Finally, a different internal memo contains this discussion about possible future changes to the firm’s compensation scheme:

6. Have there been any developments regarding WilmerHale’s recent restructuring plan, specifically with respect to merit-based pay?

WilmerHale’s decision to restructure its non-partner attorney positions contemplated a merit-based pay system at some point in the future. Currently, the firm is making progress on the issue, but no final decisions have been reached. One challenge in evaluating a merit-based pay structure is how to measure performance.

Sponsored

Very true. If firms do shift to more merit-based structures, many of them will have to beef up their performance evaluation systems.

(Flip to the next page for the memo summarizing last month’s Associates Communication Task Force meeting.)

Scissors Cut Money

Enter your email address to sign up for ATL's Layoff Alerts.