Nationwide Layoff Watch: Faegre & Benson Gobbled Up Some Associates for Thanksgiving

I really didn’t think any firm would lay people off last week. I figured the coming turkey holocaust would spare the jobs of any associates Biglaw wanted to devour. I was wrong. A tipster reports:

There was another round of layoffs at Faegre & Benson last week. The partners decided to send six to ten associates off with little to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, unless you consider two or three months severance something to get excited about. Corporate, IP and Real Estate associates were laid off.

As if winter in Minnesota isn’t bad enough already, now these six to ten associates have to put chains on their tires and go hunting for jobs.
Still, this brings up the age old (since 2007) question: is it better to get fired right before the holidays or right after the holidays?
Pros and cons after the jump.


It seems to me that one would rather get laid off after the holiday season. Holidays are a time for friends and family and good cheer, and it’s pretty hard to enjoy all those things as you are trying to mentally process being kicked out onto the street. People should be able to enjoy the festive season without feeling like they’ve just been rejected by their employer.
On the other hand, there is a powerful economic argument in favor of getting laid off before you commit to (potentially massive) amounts of holiday spending. It’d be pretty embarrassing to buy your lady a conflict diamond only to have to ask for it back so you can make February rent after a January layoff.
As far as friends and family goes, some people would rather get laid off before the holiday season so they can spend time with all of their relations without worrying about keeping up at work. Imagine how much more fun you would have had this weekend if you hadn’t been dreading the pile of crap that was waiting for you when you got into work today. I was so terrified about the hundreds of emails piling up in the ATL inbox this morning that I literally lost sleep over it on Saturday night (thank God for Ambien).
What do ATL readers think about the issue? Take our poll below:

Of course, we don’t know if management at Faegre & Benson considered any of this before they decided to drop the ax on a number of associates last week. The firm did not respond to our request for comment. But associates at the firm are worried that Faegre might decide to let even more people go. One tipster put it this way:

The rest of us (associates) are unclear what is going on at Faegre. We are the only firm in our markets that continues to layoff associates. Needless to say, a lot of us will be jumping ship at the first opportunity.

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The “first opportunity” will undoubtedly be at some point long after the holiday season.
Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Faegre & Benson (67 Staff)

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