Google's Layoff Predictions?

A tipster has pointed out an interesting Google trend to us:

A sign of the times in the legal industry that I thought you might find interesting: if you have Google’s search suggestion turned on, and begin to type in virtually any law firm’s name, one of the top suggestions that comes up is that firm’s name followed by “layoffs.”

Indeed, type in “law firm” and this is what Google suggests you might be searching for:

We played the “Google game” with a bunch of law firm names. Only one of the firms we tried was free of layoff association in Google search results.


Here are some sample search results:

Google needs to add an “I’m Feeling Scared” button.
Even Biglaw’s safest firm is not exempt!

More from our tipster:

The truly interesting thing about this is it that extends down to mid-market, small-market and non-Big Law firms, many of which have not conducted any layoffs. For example, I am looking at moving to a smaller market — Portland, Maine. Even Googling Portland firms such as “Preti Flaherty” or “Pierce Atwood,” neither of which is particularly big or has conducted layoffs turns up the layoffs search suggestion. Google creates these suggestions by learning search patterns. The fact that for any law firm of any size whatsoever Google is giving this suggestion is a pretty good indication of what Google (as in the search engine itself, not the company) has “learned” about the state of the legal industry. Put plainly, Google has learned to associate law firm names with layoffs.

We did come across one firm that resisted the search pattern. It came in second to Williams & Connolly for Biglaw’s safest firm, but Google has crowned Wachtell layoff-free:

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